I imagine this post will wind up as the “About” page in some form or other, but for now it will serve as this first post on the new blog. I say ‘new’ because this is my second blog, I have another out there somewhere which is anonymous and shall remain so. It has little or no related content to this blog.
As a reader of many blogs, I hope that I can be sensitive of the little time you, the reader can afford to dally here. So let me cut as quickly as possible, ‘to the chase’, as they say and let me give you the critical information you require to make a ‘stay or go’ decision.
To Whit:
What’s my motivation?
Well, as stated, I have written a blog before and there was a lot of dark stuff contained therein. It was a form of therapy for me, and it worked, to a point. I also managed to share information with a target group that met with varying amounts of appreciation and that too, gave me satisfaction. This work, however, is intended to allow me to share some of the more positive aspects of my existence, particularly as those apply to the area of music and entertainment. More specifically, those opportunities to which I have been witness or had close association with in some form. As I live in the Hudson Valley of New York State, you can expect that these writings will center on events in that area.
So who is this guy?
I’m nothing to write home about, for sure. Just a guy, an old guy, who has been around the block a time or two. I like to think I have learned some things on a few of those trips. You want specifics, hah? OK, I am a Husband, Father (2, both grown), Volunteer Firefighter and EMT, First Aid, CPR, & Fire Instructor. I have worked as a dishwasher, food handler, summer camp staff, carpenter, machinist, draftsman, Design Engineer, Manufacturing Engineer, Manufacturing Manager, shop foreman, machine shop owner, and a few other things I may have forgotten. I also struggle, daily, with the skills of a musician as I try, with limited success, to learn to play the Mandolin and Banjo (5 string) in a socially acceptable manner.
We don’t need no stinkin’ rules.
Well, yeah, we do, but lets keep it simple. Here’s the deal, I will write for this project in a manner that for the most part will be rated “G” and in a few cases, might be “PG”, but not much more. If you are looking for over the top rants, keep looking, nothing to see here. I maintain that one should be able to express oneself without resorting to the obscene or profane. I ask, that any comments you would care to leave are kept within these simple guidelines. Seem fair?
I do not, at this writing, anticipate anything negative being posted here. I don’t see the point in spending my time writing that sort of thing, there is nothing served except my own ego, and that’s not within my purpose. You may, occasionally see some non-positive writings here, but they should be very few and have a clearly stated purpose, such as raising awareness. I will try to keep them short and to the point.
Why should I read this tripe?
Good question. I don’t know. In the past some folks have expressed enjoyment at some of the pieces I have written, some have reprinted my ‘stuff’ in other publications, and some have asked me to write specifically for their publications. So I am guessing it doesn’t all suck. In addition, I have been very blessed to make the acquaintance of some very neat folks, and I intend to tell you something about them, something a little more intimate than what might show up in a Face Book post. On occasion, it might appear that I am doing the old ‘name dropping thing’, however, it is pretty hard to tell a story without the names. I live in an area that is over ripe with well know folks. I run into them at events, clubs, other friends homes, in the local supermarket, and at the gas station. Leaving out the names is leaving out part of the fun. I assure you, I am not throwing names out there to raise my own importance. Everybody around here knows it is a fairly routine occurrence to run into what most would call ‘a celebrity’. Also, it should be noted that everybody has a different definition of that term, and what might be a celebrity to one person, is an unknown to another. We have many such folks of both ilk’s in my neck of the woods, and it’s all relative.
Content, tell us about the content!
OK, so here is the crux of it. I go to a lot of musical type events, even help get one or two going myself. Here in our little slice of the world there is always something happening, quite often, many things happening. As I said I have made some very nice acquaintances and I very much enjoy seeing them perform. Quite often, I miss these events because I didn’t know about them until too late or after the fact. I have, likewise, tried to inform my friends about events only to find out later that they were upset to have missed it because they got the word too late. One of my hopes is that I can maintain yet another listing for local and semi local folks to learn about these events and possibly make more of them. So if you know of something, please pass it on to me and I’ll get it up here in some form. I will, of course, be focused on things and people of interest to me, but if you send it along, than it is of interest to you and I will share it. You can also expect that I will be directing you to some internet resources that I find of interest and value because a lot of folks ask me how I know things and where I found it, or they ask me about certain musicians or bands, so I figure that might be useful to more than a few folks. There is a world of information and learning opportunities out there, I hope to help collect some of that for you.
Anything else we should know?
Well yes, thanks for asking. First, the types of music I focus on tends to be a little broad so you might have to skip a post or two if I can’t on a jag that is not your cup of tea. I like Bluegrass, Folk, Old time, Country, Swing, Blues, Jazz, Indie and some that transcend simple descriptions. I also like classical, Chamber, Rock, Rap, and even a little Metal here and there. I like what sounds good to me and I don’t get hung up on names. If I am exposed to it in a meaningful way, such as a live opportunity, I can decide if it works for me or not.
Second, I write this ‘thingy’ for fun. I don’t make any money from it, nor does any of my income derive from the music or entertainment business. More bluntly, all of this stuff I write of here is listed on the debit side of my balance sheet. I am considered ‘middle income’ which is the same as ‘working poor’ these days and the costs of following the folks I write about comes out of our nearly non-existent ‘household fund’ meaning I skip a lot of lunches to save up for a ticket to a good show or some CD’s. I told you that so I can tell you this. I would not be averse to someone sending me a CD to review or putting my name on the guest list at a local gig. I would make a lot more gigs if I could afford them. But to be honest, those $15 - $25 gigs add up pretty quick and I just can’t do many of them, as much as I would like to be there. I am a firm believer in ‘paying your way’ and have turned down offers of a freebie when it was within my means to buy a ticket. But sometimes getting ‘comped in’ can be a real big help, and of course I'll be sharing my experiences here, so it's a win-win.
That’s it, I hope you enjoy some of the offerings you will find here. Let me know what you think, or what you would like to read about.
Keep the Beat,
Tom
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