This is mostly for the professional everyday players,...that just had enough playing keyboard & singing day after day for 30, 40+years and need to step back for a while?...either from sickness, the burned out syndrome, plain boredom, change of act, a new setup with new gear, or performance strategies, etc,? or whatever the case may be, making a clean break from playing the keyboard for 6 months to a year is what I've just done,.....
In my case sickness, but now on the mend quite nicely and starting to trickle in again playing 30 minutes here and there at home just to stay sharp, but in no way will ever return to a grueling performance schedule ever again, just cherry picking occasionally, instead just playing at home and recording love the creative process etc,......but it does make you rethink your music & how you do it and why.
Music has been very good to me & I am grateful for for all the years of magic.

Sorry to hear that your not well Donnie ... happy to hear your on the mend. Music is in your blood, unless you went through several transfusions, you'll never be able to stay away from music ...

Jerry thanx wanna make your show sometime also.. Ciao

thats me! 45 years playing every night, consumed with playing good, having the best equipment i could get. it was a hard life but it was what it was. it was all that i knew how to make a living. along with the drinking drugs bad marriages i survived for years, then time took its toll. started playing with lesser quality musicians, places , less money. then with no insurance, the body started to give out. 3 divorces, 3 heart attacks,vascular shut down, cancer, bankrupt twice. i played my last full gig 12/31/06, cause the doctor (again) gave me 2 years since i didnt have insurance for treatment. then the crap really hit . cancer treatments, quad bypass, corotid artery , gall bladder , arotic anuryism, severe ostio porosis surgeries in less than 7 years. Well here it is 10 years later, still alive. now about my music . its not important to me , it doen't define me like it use to. im a 70 year keyboard player who dreams of playing like i use to 50 years ago but soooooo glad i dont have to anymore. for once in my life i dont have to pass the audition for the gig. as i look at the ever changing world of music/entertainment, i am so grateful that i survived it and left with diginity that i always gave it. now im the rock star in my bedroom studio and thats enough for me. but what if?...................
hope you feel better.

Stay well Donnie.... You are important to all of us here.

Take care of your health first Donny, nothing is more important... Music will come back in your live if you conquer your health problem... And even listening to music should give some comfort, music is all around is, and will allways have some way into our lives...

I am not a religious man, but if i where i would have added you to my prayers.. The fact that you are less active on these boards is definitely noticed...

Donny I do my best to stay positive, let me share.
You’re special to this forum; I have felt that way since I read your posts.

My question:
Why do people take change so seriously? For a man who has been blessed to have a great music career there is more coming. More music? Who knows, but more of something good is waiting on you.

I read a book called Portholes (like on a ship) As you go through a porthole you enter into a big change. New furniture, painted walls, and whatever – Donny embrace what’s coming and don’t look back. There are many ways to enjoy music. And it is possible that your feelings about performing may come back.

Better still it may be time to change the type of jobs you have played. I have turned from all-about-me to helping people; my music is part of what I do. I am thankful for the change.

Take care my friend, John C.

Donnie's just pissed because the ladies don't look at him as often as they did in the DARK AGES (LOL)!

Heal up, bud! Been where you are, and where "Wrinkles" has.

Hey, we can start a survivors club.

We all paid the price, and survived.

THAT'S GOOD!


R.

Thanx everyone, ....makes me feel good that Im not alone is this crazy game.In fact tonight night I sat down and played & sang one of my favorite tunes "The Dance" by Garth Brooks
Music IS the Magic Medicine!

Sure wish music would provide me with a new pair of lungs. I struggle to sing, which was my strong point when I was still on stage. Today, I went to the boat, hauling my oxygen generator with me because I no longer can be without supplemental oxygen for more than a few minutes. I am very close to the point where I last saw my old friend and synthzone member, Hank Bowman a few years ago. I really and truly miss being a performer and entertainer - it was the absolute best job I ever had in my life and if I would have died on stage, it would have been a fitting end for me.

I still sit down at the keyboard and play nearly every day, but the words to those songs are just in my head. In the next few weeks I will be going to pulmonary rehab a couple days a week, which essentially does not really improve your lung functions, but does give you back some strength lost from the decrease in physical activity from not maintaining a reasonable level of exercise.

So, Donny, don't feel like the Lone Ranger with this - you are definitely not alone.

Good luck, old friend,

Gary

John....among other members feedback here, I particularly enjoy reading your many philosophical and real-life responses to issues that are posted on the forum. i.e.....I like the way you think.

What is the complete name of the book? I Googled but couldn't come up with anything.

Mark

Hey Donny
Hope your getting better every day. The break from preforming, while necessitated because of your health, may be a good thing. Time to recharge and refresh, physically and mentally. And now that your away from it for awhile step back and take a look at how much you want to keep doing it.

I've been slowing backing off too, not because of health, but fewer opportunities that I can comfortably fit into. I'm amazed that I still do it at all but the things I've done recently have gone well. I don't think I could of ever kept it up if I was a full timer like you, its a tough grind. Your a true survivor in the music biz.
Relax, enjoy your free time and do whatever you want, you, like Gary, have earned it.

The only thing you can predict with certainty is change, although a close second is "sh#t happens"!

The trouble I have with getting older is that my brain still thinks I'm 21....

Doo-doo occurs!

a nicer phrase that I should have used!

Donny, Wishing you the best for a healthy future and being able to do what you love most!

Thanx everyone... It's such a tug of war mentally also... But working on it slowly...

Donny, you must've had lapses from performing at times before now (chest infections, flu, etc.) but you'll have come through them okay. I'm sure you'll come through this current episode, too. Powerful stuff, music. Be well.

Hey Donny
Sorry to hear you have been unwell. I do hope you get on the right side of it soon. I know all too well how ill health can rob us of the things we cherish. I can't play much at all now because of the MS. It can be hard and more than a little frustrating to find your way again but find it you will. I can't imagine anything that would keep you down for long.

Personally I spent far too long dwelling on what I lost rather than the amazing discoveries out there that I had never even thought were for me....and that in turn made me settle back down into allowing myself to enjoy music again, in different ways than before but with the same joy and enthusiasm I used to have. All of which is my long winded way of saying take time for you, don't force it and never be afraid to try new stuff.

Be well old friend x

Thank you Tony appreciate your kind words

Mark I tried to send you a PM message. It said user not know. If there is interest email me.
John C.

jpcinto@bellsouth.net

Like most people, I've had times of health issues - various surgeries - that kept me from performing for short periods of time, but the longest I ever stayed from playing professionally was after I moved to RI ... Having been in one band with four other players for 26 years, it was very strange to think about playing solo or with other musicians, and I did not play a gig for 7 years ... but I would sing and play at the piano for hours on end at home, and finally my wife convinced me I should go out and try to get some solo gigs, which I did ...

I just spoke with a very long time friend - he was the founder and drummer on our band in NY - who just had colon surgery, and has been diagnosed with stage 4 Cancer with multiple related problems ... besides, drums, he played and taught piano, led church choirs, etc. etc., and now can do none of it ... While we are both 'believers in our faith' I was still amazed to hear how positive his attitude is ...
I dealt with prostate surgery about 14 years ago, so I know what the word 'cancer' can do to your mind ...
while illness will take us down certain paths, what we do along those paths is still mostly up to us ...

Tony I put a band together with friends from my music studio. The bass player was the singer. The bass player was up front so he received a lot of attention.

After a few years he started drinking. The jobs became distasteful. I told the other members that he had to go. Because he was out front he told the other members that he would be getting the jobs; not me. So they asked me to leave. My band – I had to leave. I sat home and played cards on Saturday night for six months. Aaaaaaaaah!!!!

He kept drinking and the men could no longer stand it. They asked me to come back. Hmmmmm. Not only did I go back but I became the lead singer. It is possible to turn something bad into something great. The band stayed successful for many years.
The Bass player was my best friend. He died of cancer due to his drinking.

And life goes on, John C.

PS, the longer you live the more stories you have.

Donnie......I'm not understanding your post. May I ask you? You're physically sick or just mentally burned out.......or.........both?