A bit wordy...sorry.

I'm booked the rest of this month, and next, about two to three times a week...depending on what I agree to. All are nursing homes, assisted living and senior living etc.

As Gary would say, I'm an entertainer, not keyboard player...and I love what I do.

Today, I played to a group of about 30 seniors. A group came up afterwards to tell me how they enjoyed what I did. A couple of the staff also commented on how much they like what I do.

Thing is, I will have the opportunity to work in industry for a short time in the fall..much better pay...pay will make my wife happy...we're not poor, have a good income..but...

And, she's a very good entertainer in her own right she's just never seen the $$$ in entertaining...but then, who has?

To take the job in industry which pays well(not my love; did it for 25 years), I will have to cancel most of my August jobs and many of my Sept. jobs...all new business.

Every part of me says stay with the music. The rest of me is used to keeping the wife happy for $$$.

One other thing. I'm retired.

I do have income coming in from many years of working and a nice S.S. check from paying in age 18-65.

OK, perhaps a bit off topic and perhaps a bit vague, but I'll put this out there anyway.

Thoughts?

You know the answer. Play music. Life is too short to work when you don't have to. You are bringing joy to yourself AND the people you are entertaining.
Nobody else needs to comment. Sorry. Trust me. I'm right.

music was my life work. I'm retired 8 years at 68 years old due to health. if its a choice wife or music, you gotta go with family. I put my music career above everything and everyone because it was the ONLY way i knew how to make a living. i was
good at it, but a terrible family man. they lost a husband and father to music. you say you're retired and it doesn't seem to be a money survival issue. Of course this is your personal choice, but remember are both going to be happy with your decision? i quit playing several times to make the wife happy only to make the situation worse because i could not function normally not being a musician and ended up losing my family NOT ONCE BUT THREE TIMES trying to fit in a non music world. food for thought .......i wish you the best and good luck with you choice. do i regret my choice , i don't know even at this time in my life. i think i had no choice, i still believe music was my destiny it could not be changed. sorry for the long post.

listen to don , he's right

DITTO

If you have the stamina to do so, try to reschedule those music jobs for the evenings and do the industrial job during the day.

If not, screw the industrial job, charge more for the music jobs and give the entire paycheck to your loving spouse to spend upon whatever makes her happy.

As Don Mason has always said, "I've made hundreds of dollars in my lifetime playing music." I don't believe any of us will ever become filthy rich as entertainers, but over these many years I've made enough to purchase a nice sailing yacht, pay for my home and car, raise and feed a family, plus put enough away to retire upon. So, I guess we're doing something right, and as I told a lady where I performed this evening, it's the best job I've ever had at any time in my life and I hate the thought of having to retire in a couple months, but now I'm kinda looking forward to it. After 65 years in the workforce, non-stop, in many careers, I'm just tired of working every day, and often every night.

Listen to Don Mason - he's a pretty smart fella fer a Cajun.

Gary

Anything I'd rather be doing? Yep, spending my lottery winnings.

chas

Did you buy a ticket Chas?

Unfortunately, only YOU an answer this question, because only YOU know the entire situation and what the ramifications of your decision - either way - will be ...
It is easy for the rest of us here to speculate on what WE would do, because none of us is going to be affected by the decision ... and nobody can be POSITIVE that that would be their answer if the decision actually DID affect them ...

I can only say this;

"Do what you love and you will never work another day in your life" ... but then, we don't always have that option either ...

I was watching Woody Allen's movie "Whatever Works" (title) last week. Couldn't figure out what the title meant. Woody Allen wrote and produced this movie and as most of you know, he's a pretty melancholy person in real life.

The movie was awful but the message was great....something we often forget.

Boris (the lead actor) is rambling through life as a borderline psychotic, but with a brilliant mind. He's talking to his friends about his experience in "life."

He states: my story is "whatever works" ....as long as you don't hurt anybody. In any way you can filch a little joy in this cruel, dog-eat-dog, pointless, black chaos of a world.

He then says later on: you've got to take what little pleasure you can find in this chamber of horrors called life because that's what life is.....a series of happy events wherever you can find them and put them together.

********

I'm sure most of you know by now that, when I'm not playing music, I'm a very deep thinking Spiritual type person......more Spiritual than religious. I think that's how most musicians are, though many don't know it!

MARK

Oh darn! No wonder I haven't won yet.

chas

Correctiob:...Susan is Cajun,.....Don is an Okie...

Tx all, food for thought.

I forgot about the lottery option, guaranteed results right?

After I grew up enough to stop using music to get women (last week, I think), realized that my challenge was to combine music with my other passions; film making, photography, copy and graphic production.


It's a GREAT combination. If you think about it, everything you see on the internet,. hear on radio or see on TV and various forms of recorded media have audio. Someone is writing and recording that sound. I say "sound" because, often, what you do is NOT at tune with a head, bridge and ending. There are many tempo changes, inserted sound effects, etc.

Since I'm not an entertainer, I get maximum joy out of a completed project where I created all the elements.

My live jobs are used to "fish" for large clients with big pockets and challenging ones with philharmonics, jazz groups, etc.

Where else could a 70 year old man have this much fun and make enough to help some people in need?


Russ

... happy wife, happy life. There's always another gig.