Post 1026, Day 349 of 2013
- and 1079 days since I started this blog -
Daily Comment
- and 1079 days since I started this blog -
Daily Comment
The good news is that i am Fool is opening up for Rusted Root, a great band with two decades at the forefront of world/rock music.
The bad news is that we had to guarantee (that is, purchase) over a $1200-worth of tickets to get the gig.
It is incredibly exploitative, and I hate the deal, and voted not to do the gig. Mine was the only "no" vote.
But, we're doing the gig, my out-of-pocket costs will not be too large, and it is a great opportunity for the band, so...
I am on board, now.
Please leave a comment if you visit my blog. Thank you!
Food and Diet Section
Today's Weight: 203.0 lbs
Food and Diet Section
 |
| 2013 Daily Weight |
Previous Weight: 203.8 lbs
Day Net Loss/Gain: - 0.8 lbs
Diet Comment
I am approaching my lowest weight of the year. A few more good days, and I'll blow right through it.
Food Log
Breakfast
Lunch
A cacao-kale-hemp-chia protein shake (almond milk, kale, a large egg, raw organic cacao powder, hemp seeds, chia gel, whey powder (30g protein), cinnamon and stevia-inulin blend), with Ezekiel 4:9 Flax sprouted-grain and guacamole.
Dinner
Buffalo chicken breast on Ezekiel 4:9 Flax sprouted-grain bread with mayonnaise and cole slaw, with a salad of baby kale, spinach and chard with balsamic vinegar.
Snack
Liquid Intake
Dinner
Snack
 |
| Ezekiel 4:9 Golden Flax sprouted grain cereal, hemp, blueberries, almond milk and stevia-inulin blend. |
Liquid Intake
Coffee: 28 oz. Water: 100+ oz.
Please leave a comment if you visit my blog. Thank you!
That is what they make Dan do as a d.j. Although not quite so much money. I think it is great. I have a famous brother. Incredible about weight, as well. Love you, Joan
ReplyDeleteDo you at least get the tickets at a discount? Who'd'a thunk! --Dan R.
ReplyDeleteNo - that is the way some other promoters work - you buy discounted tickets, and the pay of the band is based on the profit you make from ticket sales. This is different. It 'qualifies' you to open for a national tour. In this case, the promoters find themselves with a national touring act, in a small city on a Wniter Thursday night, have made the prices very expensive for the venue (in fact, twice as much as they usual charge on a weekend) and need a local act to drum up ticket sales. So, that's us. The good news is that if we sell our tickets, it doesn't cost us anything to play, and playing this venue, and opening for Rusted Root, is good publicity and makes it worthwhile. However, it grates on me. No other profession is treated this way. Musicians have been exploited by promoters since the dawn of history.
ReplyDeleteMany groups play benefit concerts. You're apparently with a group of guys who would like to move up in the music world, and perhaps it makes more sense to view this as simply a benefit concert for the group. Yes, the difference is that you've got to pay for it, yet there's the possibility, over time, of making it back. It's a gamble (though not even that big a gamble), and yes, I see where one could find this demeaning, but in a business as tough as the music business one may sometimes have to make a dramatic move such as this. From what I know, the great bulk of musicians do not make much of a living at it. I know a guy in town who is a tenured economics professor at the local college and in his spare time the leader of a well-respected surf music band, but all the guys in his band have full-time jobs. What your guys are doing is, in effect, putting their money where their mouth is and making a bet on themselves. Good for them! Being much older than the other guys in the group, you're at a different stage of life. Your guys apparently love what they do and want to move ahead in it. You love what you do but may not feel the same desire. Part of the problem is that many other bands could probably have been chosen for this gig. Your guys could continue as they've been doing, but they want to try for more. It's an exciting moment and, being that you've accepted the vote of the majority, I wish you all good luck! --Dan R.
ReplyDeleteHi, Dan - I think that your perspective on the situation is perceptive and positive.
ReplyDeleteKen, let me add that it's only money! What you will be paying for is the opportunity to do what you love (live) to do : find joy in playing iamFool music, with your fellow band members, and, sharing that joy with anyone who will hear it ( the more, the merrier).
- Light - Love - Compassion - Harmony -
Dan, Andy:
ReplyDeleteI'm not particularly hung up on the economics, and, if we sell all the tickets we have to, we will not be paying to play. The money involved was never the issue. Also, if the band had a goal to go national, this could be seen as, as you put it, making a bet on themselves. But the fact is, this band is direction-less. I am the only person in the band who wants to do more than what we're doing. The band is my highest priority, but I am unique in that. All I want to do is have more playing time with the band. Also, even though we vote on stuff, there is only one person who decides what we will play and when. I am good with all of that. I just don't like to see a group of artsy-fartsy guys like we are exploited by a system. I am trying to think of any other group of artists or, for that matter, providers of ANY service, who have to pay up-front (besides material costs - in our case, instruments, amps, publicity stuff, web sites, etc.) to provide that service. When is the last time a plumber, or a photographer, paid you to fix their toilet or take your picture (unless you're a model; then, when was the last time you had to pay a professional photographer to be in a commercial photo-shoot?). My band plays any charity event we can, for free, even making a donation. If this were something like that, I would have no problem. This is just exploitative, and is one of two things I promised myself 40 years ago I would never do.The other one is playing in a battle of the bands that is judged by attendance, not quality. I have broken this promise twice because the band felt it would advance us. That never works. This will do nothing for us, either. As far as I can tell, the maximum we could possibly get out of this is to be invited to tour with Rusted Root, or be picked up by management. However, this band would decline both those, with (again) me being the only vote in favor. This band will not go national, will not tour. The success of the band is a low priority (given their various family, health and career situations) for every member except me.
That explains a few things. I think I would have voted with you under these circumstances. --Dan R.
ReplyDeleteI still think the only relevant thing is the music. you either make music or you don't.
ReplyDelete- Light - Love - Compassion - Harmony -