Russ, I know about the residuals - remember, I was the voice over guy for several car manufacturer and dealership commercials, probably some that you supplied the background music for. Residuals are great when they pay them, which is not often the case. However, I usually did the voice-overs in one take, with no residuals, so the pay was no where near $3,000 for those 30 to 60 second commercials - it was more like $300, but that's OK because I only had to work for 5 minutes at most to take home the paycheck. And, 4 minutes of the 5 was rehearsal time.

As for the NH guys on stage, most of them, at least the ones that I know, including myself, were on stage with bands long before they went the NH route. The vast majority were and are, really great musicians, some Peabody trained, such as Jerry Burns, who played the Baltimore nite club circuit for 50 years. Johnny Walker played Baltimore as well, and did a couple jobs with Zim Zimmerel's orchestra, which is one of the few bands selected regularly to perform at the White House. And, it would hard to beat Joe Ayala's incredible talents. Those that heard him perform here at my home for the Synthzone Jam can attest to that. Now, I don't believe anyone would to throwing rotten tomatoes at Don Mason just because he plays a keyboard. Don used to do the NH circuit and he made a pretty fair living at it.

Just because someone performs the NH circuit doesn't mean that he or she is not highly talented. No more so than because someone plays a lot of jazz on a sax, piano or guitar, they are musically superior to other musicians who play other instruments. Those that perform the NH circuit do so for several reasons, the least of which is it's a far better income, very reliable, long-term work, less stress and better working hours, just to mention a few.

If and when I get back to Lexington, I'll be sure to bring my gear with me, and if you wish, we can jam a bit.

All the best,

Gary

I don't feel that way at all, but maybe I play arrangers differently, or not how they are supposed to be used, so it is "live" when I play....

I always play full piano with accompaniment. So, there is zero Karaoke as I am playing live keys and having a backing band & telling the drummer when I want a fill or break.....

its the "musical automation" in any way shape or form that makes people believe its KARAOKE, FAKE, ETC, ETC,..

its the "musical automation" in any way shape or form that makes people believe its KARAOKE, FAKE, ETC, ETC,..people see someone "OPERATING A MACHINE" vs playing an acoustical instrument of sorts.

Donny, believe me, it was the same when I played a 12-string guitar and sang. With some folks, you have to hit them in the head to make them understand that the machine, or the guitar, does not play by itself, and yes, it was really me singing.

Gary

There's my justification of all the mistakes i make - it (hopefully) convinces someone that it's really me playing

- Jimbo

Jimbo, sometimes when I make a mistake, I'll make an announcement and tell them that "during the course of the evening they may think they hear me make a mistake, but that's on purpose, because some people are always looking for something wrong, and I like to try to please everyone!"