I always have to laugh at musicians who take themselves so seriously and act like elitist. Sorry folks, but unless you are a Mozart or Stravinsky, you are not the elite. Musicians are in the service industry, not unlike chefs, servers or caterers. Granted, good chefs can be like an artist, consistently creating high-quality presentations, but most are simply serving a popular recipe over and over. I know many musicians who are extremely talented and hard-working, but elite and pioneering artist? I think not. Most are little more than a food truck delivering Bossa novas (blues, boogie, country, Bop, rock, or whatever).
Most everyone I know believes they must work to make a living. However, I have always tried to live to make a living, mostly just doing the things that I'm interested in or passionate about. Whether it is playing music, leading a band, racing bicycles, graphic design, computer programming, coaching, teaching, or whatever. Live for living, don't work for a living.
In the mornings I like to sit out on the back deck with a cup of coffee and strum my guitar softly. My dogs seem to really enjoy it also. They lay in the grass or slowly wander about, occasionally they are startled by a low flying hawk or a squirrel that happens to pass into their general proximity, but basically they feel safe and content as long as they can hear me and know that I am nearby. Like the shepherd who sings or plays the flute, it provides a reassuring audio boundary.
Interestingly, they have learned the endings to all my songs and when they hear me ending a song they look up to see if I'm going to leave or play another one.
Just over two weeks of cycling, a little over 200 miles, and my resting heart rate has begun to lower slightly, the saddle is feeling a little more comfortable again and my disgust for motorists who rage against cyclists has returned.
No stylish sunglasses or bronze tanned legs, these days it's bifocals and hairy legs. Three days and as many rides. Today's 22.3 mile out-and-back, steady moderate pace at about 17 mph was highlighted by a little rain on the way back in, felt good!
Almost exactly three years to the day since I last rode a bicycle. The old carcass is seven pounds heavier since the last ride, legs are completely covered in hair, absolutely no tan. Took a while to clean the rust and dust off the bike and find my shoes, clothes, HRM and pump.
On the bright side, all the equipment worked perfectly and I had not slowed down nearly as much as I had feared. In fact, the ride seemed easy and relaxed. Didn't try to do anything heroic but cruised around a rolling 15.2 mile loop, 16.2 mph avg, HR avg/max = 132/152.
Dan Coy and the Gypsy Players - live at Darwin's. Unfortunately, I woke up feeling very sick and could barely carry my equipment into the venue from the parking lot. But the show must go on. So I suffered and tried to play and look happy- but totally sucked and could hardly wait to go home and back to bed!!
http://www.dirtysouthtv.com/videos-on-demand/dirty-south-tv-shows/acoustic-lunch-hour/acoustic-lunch-hour-s3.html