No Regrets

After high school, I didn't go to college. I wanted to explore the local music scene and so put my heart and energy in that, at least for a while. All of my life, I've spoken of this with reluctance because of the cliché stigma attached to that lifestyle. Because in the grand scheme of things, it wasn't something to be proud of. Oh, in our own circles we had status and respect, but if you managed to be good enough and made it to the stage in the Jersey Shore Circuit, well then you had pretty much everyone's respect 'cause you made it. The Circuit included the NYC metro area as well as Connecticut and down the eastern seaboard, despite it's name. So when I say "made it", one could make a comfortable living if they worked hard enough.

I spent my days learning material from the likes of Yes, Emerson Lake and Palmer... Kansas, Styx, Genesis, The Who, Jethro Tull and more. These were musicians – some of the greatest musicians in rock history. All of these guys could play their instruments – and they all strived to be masters of their craft. And in so doing, the local talent that was covering this material really accomplished something worth while – a self taught talent that could hook them up with other talented musicians and from there a pretty lucrative path set before them if they chose to follow it. Of course, this would only be so if they worked hard and concentrated on their craft.

During my early years, family and social influences prevented me from immersing myself completely in my craft, rather having me conform to more conventional means of making a living. Whenever I talk to young people about what it might be that they would like to do for a career, I always tell them to follow their heart. Whatever it is that you are passionate about – that's what you should be doing. If you do that, you'll never work a day in your life. If I was influenced more in this way, I would have put everything I had into my musical talent and perhaps my life would have turned out very different.

This concept to me is reflected in today's music where all the new artists sound so much alike. Oh, there's some good stuff out there, but it seems the most popular tunes making the charts are lacking any real musicianship, being more in favor of the lead singer and little to no real masterful talent behind him as in my day. The music behind the lyrics is just a blur of sound designed only to emphasize the singer's voice and nothing more.

And what's the cause of this tremendous void in the music world? Could it be that there is an entire generation that spent their time after school playing video games instead of getting out into the real world and socializing? Is if because instead of literally banding together with friends with a goal of getting on a stage and performing live, today's youth would prefer to get their five minute song on YouTube? I call them basement-dwelling mouse musicians. All you need is a computer, a cheap microphone and cool program like Band-in-a-Box and you're off and running. Who needs real musicians?

I can only feel sorry for these kids these days that don't have the benefit of some of the incredible innovation and talent that sprung out of the seventies and early eighties. When all these great musicians are gone, who will it be that can fill their shoes? Intel? Microsoft? Will programmers take the stage at Madison Square Garden? Will their skin burst into flames from being exposed to strong lighting? Who knows. I can only finally say that I'm proud to have accomplished what I did back in my youth knowing how much richer my life has been as a result. And... aside from listening more to my heart, I would't go back and change what I did for anything in the world.