The DNJ thread morphed into an interesting subject that deserves its own thread. Ian eloquently stated a change in his passion of playing arrangers. Others referred to quitting or retiring. Then I ran across a local article featuring an interview with Frank Sinatra Jr.

This is what he had to say about his father working right up to his death:
It�s obvious that Frank Sinatra Jr. takes seriously his role as the keeper of his famous father�s flame. But he also believes that he, and the music, helped extend not only that legacy, but the life of the man himself.
�That working environment he put himself in is what kept him alive,� says the 65-year-old singer, who was his father�s band leader for the last seven years of his life and encouraged him to keep performing as long as he could.
�That was the most important thing � Now that I�m approaching that age, I know that the dirtiest word in the English language is �retirement.� You get old, you get sick and you die. I am firmly convinced that means death. He was working, and it kept him alive.�

The entire article can be found here: http://www.pbpulse.com/events/2009/12/29/sinatra-jr-happily-picks-up-the-torch/
Eddie

One of the things working at the retirement communities, nursing homes and assisted living facilities does, is provide you a window into the future. You can readily see what happens to those that decide to retire and do nothing for the rest of their lives--they quickly fall apart and die.

The flip side of the coin is also readily seen when you encounter those that remain very active. Some continue to work well into their late 80s and beyond, and a significant number of individuals pursue other activities that may be somewhat demanding physically and mentally, but still within their capabilities. You'll see them on the walking trails, riding bikes, fishing, boating, and dancing. I know many folks in this category, and nearly all will tell you that they'll continue to do what they do until someone pulls the sheets over their face--it's what keeps them alive.

My passion for performing has waned somewhat over the years, but I still have fun being an entertainer. The physical demands have decreased to some degree by the advent of lightweight keyboards and amps. If I was still lugging 50-plus-pound keyboards and 100-pound speakers around, especially after experiencing a heart attack, the demands would be beyond my current, physical capabilities. Fortunately, advancements in technology have made it possible for old codgers such as myself to continue our favorite avocation.

Good topic Eddie,

Gary

[This message has been edited by travlin'easy (edited 01-01-2010).]

I made my living as a State Farm agent for years, supporting my family. During this time, I taught myself the organ and keyboard. Eventhough I was somewhat successful and retired in 2000 at age 59, I always wondered what kind of musician I could have been if I had devoted fulltime to music, instead of moonlighting at nights in retaurants and bars. After retirement I have endeavored to carry on with that quest.
I have no regrets as I needed steady income for my family and I venture to say, financially, I made the right decision.

At 69, I play out 3 or 4 times a week and can't wait to get started early in the morning to improve my acts. I have a studio full of TOTL keyboards,computers, Receptor, controllers, etc to keep me busy with many projects(some call them toys).

This is what keeps me going at 69, and I will never quit trying to be just a little better. I was told by an old pro, many years ago, that one should keep on performing until it becomes a job, then quit. Many have had no choice, as this is how they have fed the family. I may never be as good as they, but I love every minute of it and spend about 10 hrs a day doing it.

At 64 years old, I have had 9 weeks off from playing since right after my 11th birthday.

Every once in a while, I get down in the dumps. Right now, for instance, I'm not recovering very well from damage to my left hand...nerve damage...not good for a "walking left hand bass" B-3 player.

But, every time I get to the point where I'm considering throwing in the towel, I run into a player or tune that inspires me.

The "deal breaker" would be when you stop learning/improving.

I stopped playing a very lucrative 14 year patio job because of the nature of the snobs who frequented the place, rather than just be miserable. Then, I took a job at a little buffet place...$8.95, all you can eat. Everyone warned me that I would ruin my reputation, but, I stayed 3 1/2 years and am now going to the owner's 2nd restaurant-a well-known Chinese place.

Music is what you make of it. For me, if I stop playing or working, I have failed and ceased to do something that has been a major part of my life for 80% of my life.

After all, that's the only way I ever got laid (LOL)!


Sorry, folks...priorities (in the past), you know.


Russ

I'm in sync with everything said so far with the exception of the above comment. I'm sure Gary might agree that some of those people in NHs are not there because they gave up or even gave up because they were there. Each case is personal. I just wanted to clarify that I do not accept, nor do I think Gary purposely set out to create such a stereotype.

Is this why you don't do NHs, Russ?

Happy New Year, my friend.

Taike



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Bo pen nyang.

Bernie, I love your story.

You did make the right decision. It's a lot of fun for me doing music full time, but as my wife is a financial underachiever (with enough beauty to compensate), it is tough for me to make enough $$. I make more than the average US individual, but a little less than the average US family.

I'm hoping that by sprucing up my website with video and a CD for sale and targeting some of the higher paying gigs available for arranger keyboardists - that I can bump our family up income-wise.

At 47, I'm no spring chicken either. I'd love to be performing at 77, but not hauling equipment to two shows a day driving 23,000 miles a year. It's tiring for me now - but unless I build up more of a nest egg, I might have to be hustling when I'm older instead of kicking back.

I recall the saying, "It's better to live burgeois and think bohemian than to live bohemian and think burgeois" meaning it's better to live well materially and have artistic thoughts than to live like an artist and to be thinking of material comforts.

Beakybird

Cass,

Most of the folks I meet in the Nursing Homes and Assisted Living Centers are not there by choice--they're there because of some sort of physical problem them could not overcome. That's not the point I was trying to make. I have, however, seen people, including my own father, retire at age 62, sit down in front of a TV set and rapidly deteriorate. After 45 years of driving big rigs, he retired and said "I'm never going to work another day of my life." And, he meant just that. In less than 10 years he was dead. I meet folks in retirement communities that feel the same way. They figured that once they retired, the best thing they could do was nothing. Doing nothing will quickly bring about their untimely demise. As for me, on the other hand, I hope to be shot by a jealous husband at age 108 while climbing out of a second story window with my trousers down around my ankles, and a 19-year-old lady screaming "Don't Leave Me! (Gotta' think ahead. )

Cheers,

Gary

Gotcha, Gary. I assumed as much, but I just had to point out the stereotype you may have created. I didn't think you meant your original coment literally. Thanks for that further clarification. You are 110% correct.

For me,. music has always been a conversation. You talk to the guitarist, he talks back. The sax player picks up on the conversation, adds something new, all of a sudden the conversation goes somewhere you didn't expect, and your ears and attention pricks up.

You don't get that with an arranger...

Don't get me wrong, it is an amazing tool to make music with, you all know how much I love mine! But I don't look to it for inspiration, or to give me musical purpose. It looks to ME to make the inspiration, to work it so that it doesn't do the same damn thing every time you call up the same damn style...

Many of us here are retired from playing fulltime, or amateurs. But are still playing with a tool designed to assist you make something that SOUNDS like real music... but it isn't. There's no conversation. Just a monologue.

If you are looking to find a purpose in playing, I suspect you are going to find it getting out and playing music with real people again. You probably started music like that, and if you have the time for it now, seems a good thing to end up doing it that way, too... Rediscover what made making music the obsession that it became.

This last year has found me primarily playing in bands, rather than doing duos or solos, which has been my main thing for, on and off, the last decade or so. And my playing and my commitment to making the best music I can has never been more firm. I was starting to treat playing as a job. But now I'm back to treating it like a calling.

If your arranger is starting to pale a bit, don't spend $5000 trying to simply get a more elaborate arranger. It won't solve the problem other than temporarily (you can get used to anything!) because it STILL, despite sounding better, is still NOT a conversation. It's a one way street, musically. You do all the talking, it just listens.

Find some musicians to play with that have something to say to YOU... Bet you you'll come up with something new to say back.