Viewing: Musician Life - View all posts

Why Did I Play That?

Ego and self-consciousness are tough things to deal with sometimes.

Bear with me through this story and I’ll try to explain.

In Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Part 1, George Weasley suffers a serious wound to the head; specifically…

Read more

Why Do Musicians Get Paid So Much?

Before I answer, let's take a moment to recognize the fact that too often, musicians actually do not get paid so much.  And part of the reason for that may be a lack of understanding about what's really involved in…

Read more

Freelance 101 for Musicians

Often times, the hardest part about being a musician is just getting a gig.  On top of that, some people make it even harder on themselves by not knowing how to act when they do get a gig.  There's a…

Read more

Why I'm Spending Another Year As A Musician

January is traditionally a slow month for me musically.  But it's ok.  In a way I prefer it.  December is usually busy to the point of being barely sustainable.  The income is nice, but so is the time off in…

Read more

Almost A Sucker- My Halloween Wedding Scam

The first bad sign was that the wedding was on Halloween.  But on other hand, I thought something like that could turn out to be pretty cool.  I love Halloween! 

It started with an unknown guy texting me, looking for…

Read more

Hammers, Identity & Musicians With No Gigs

Can you still call yourself a musician if you don’t have any gigs? My vocalist daughter wondered this out loud during a recent conversation, in which I informed her that yet another one our gigs together had been cancelled due…

Read more

Normalcy Cancelled: What Now?


Cancelled.  Cancelled.  Postponed.  Cancelled.  Last week was like that too.  Tomorrow too.  Next month, who knows?  Welcome to Covid-19. 

Like all my fellow musicians and countless others, my calendar is now basically blank.  It would actually be blank except for…

Read more

I've Been Working On The Railroad

Trains have long been associated with Christmas.  And although I'm not a model train collector, I do get plenty of "train time" during the holidays by working as a brass caroler at the Strasburg Railroad.  Each weekend I post similar…

Read more

Nursing Homes, Nazis & A Polka Band

Everybody has a story.  One of the things I like best about playing music is meeting people and hearing some of their stories.  Even better than that, is when the music we play invokes a story so meaningful to the…

Read more

Gary Miller- Reflections On A Great Man

Everybody has energy that washes all over us every time we’re around them.  We can’t help it.  Some people bring us up, others bring us down- whether we’re doing it consciously or not.  Gary Miller was one of those people…

Read more

Why I Quit Teaching

It’s 9:30am on a Thursday morning in September.  I’m sitting at home, at my dining room table, writing and giving my dog too many treats.  It feels great but not quite normal.  Normal for me at this time of day…

Read more

It Wasn't Europe But It Was Still Good

Is it ok to be jealous of your kids? I hope so. This summer my daughter Ally spent 6 weeks studying in Spain. After classes, my wife flew over to meet her and they spent the next 2 weeks traveling…

Read more

It Sucks To Suck

Young people have a phrase.  “It sucks to suck.”  And it’s true.  It really does suck to suck.  Whether it’s playing music or sports, working your job, or whatever else.  It just doesn’t feel good to not perform well. 

As…

Read more

Behaving Badly: Observations From The Bandstand

As humans, we're all born with a few "not-so-adorable" traits that really get on other people’s nerves.  It's ok though.  Hopefully we've all learned to tolerate each other and to get along well for the most part.  But despite our…

Read more