Franklin! Welcome to the asylum. The land of where those subconcious thoughts that would normally never reach the surface are surfaced by one or more members somehow tearing a hole through that barrier by saying some keyword or phrase to trigger a new opening into unseen lands of realizations and enlightening you in the way you never thought you could be. Synthzone can do this, or at times can be a place to steer newcomers in the right direction (omg, ...sounds like an AA meeting LOL), and sometimes the board can turn into a red hot think tank. Lately I have been somewhat dormant on the board because I have been bathing in this vast heavy water pool of XG MIDI. Exploring while intentionally not missing a single facet of the XG system through it's mother controlling program: XG Works. While studying this, I believe I hate the telephone and love my "Do Not Enter or Disturb" lighted sign, the double steel airlock doors, the door camera, my wife and daughter of course. They ward off the undesired which is just about everything that I usually do desire when not in deep study. My wife and daughter know me so well that they are the only ones permitted into my domain of study. Down here at "central control" as I've coined it, it's like a home within a home that controls everything above me as well as it being my sound and music study. One time about two years ago I was in here for a day short of three weeks picking apart all the Alesis A6 (Andromeda) was capable of. I look at the study as an investment because some people sometimes use me as a consultant. Things just happened to fall that way. Since it's bad enough that I can err since I'm only human; the last thing I'm going to do is have the words that come out of my mouth poorly lead someone who has paid me for proper guidance, all due to my lacking of knowledge.
I have not done very much live work lately, but have occasionally in the past using guitars and keyboards. What I have found to work out best in the past is to be an open book to all. Think of all it has cost you to be the quality of musician you are at this point. It's quite a bit and it shows. When others with great potential ask me questions I tell them that I am willing to tell them everything I know, if they are willing to listen, and I will help them if they will help me. It develops into sorts of a crew or following. "Grasshoppers" per se. Just be right with them and tell them "Hey, there is no way that I can haul all this stuff around by myself and you would be so greatly appreciated if you could just lend me a hand." I just tell them to please care for my equipment like it is a newborn baby because it can be that delicate sometimes. You become a mentor and they your students. You get the help, and they get their thirst for your knowledge satisfied (plus a few bucks over their costs for gasoline and stuff). It's a fair trade that way, and your system will be setup exactly to your specification, you make good friendship, many long term too. I learned it all when I was a grasshopper for my uncle back in the jazz circuit in the Manhattan (village area) some three decades ago. Before you know it, you'll have a road crew of five that are at your house thirty seconds after you hang up the phone, care for your gear just as you do, and set you up perfect to the last detail. It's a fair deal and it's worth the small price of time talking to and educating them. There is no disrespect or pompousness on your part because you realize they are not just a road crew, they in essence are you.
Hey, it's a weird post, but that's me.
Weird.
EDIT: Oh yeah and Franklin, I forgot to say, Start a group from scratch. That's a for sure thing sir. There is no sense in just being an additive part of a sculpture you are not the foundation of if you are at a point being capable of developing your own sculpture that you can be the foundation of. Groups are best formed by the anchor musician in them.
[This message has been edited by MORPH! (edited 10-13-2005).]
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