As a musician who has been playing for many years now, I can answer that truthfully: your genuine smile, your appreciation, and your heartfelt comments. Forget the tip, forget the money altogether because all that does is take care of the living on Earth problem. My dream here is to not fill a massive stadium and make a lot of dough, but to fill a small to medium sized room, and as Don McLean sang, "make those people dance" (and maybe they’d be happy for a while).
That’s why I wonder about the musicians who are only in it for the money. To be exact, I wonder about anyone who thinks that whoever dies with the most cash, wins. Root, hog, or die. They stockpile and stockpile, grubbing cash as if the only way they could ever be satisfied is if they had all the money. But then, what would fill their empty souls? Popularity in excess is extremely dangerous. Witness Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson as the two most glaring examples. To be sure, as I’ve said, money helps a lot with the “Living on Earth Problem” (and all that entails), but! How much baby do you really need? (thank you, Michael Nesmith). I also wonder what some one as popular as Taylor Swift does when she wants to go outside in privacy; for her, a brisk morning walk is dangerous and she must have bodyguards whenever she ventures out and about. Almost everyone she meets tries to exploit her in some way, no doubt. Other hyper-famous musicians, and screen actors, have said as much, and I suppose politicians experience the same thing as well. But Taylor Swift has achieved the pinnacle of musical success-she fills gigantic stadiums everywhere she goes-and most of the world knows who she is. Fame, and fortune! It's alluring and hard to resist, but the evidence suggests that it takes it's toll. John Lennon was shot and killed outside of his apartment by a deranged fan.
Playing music is a form of self-expression, but when people listen to what I play and like it, it becomes something much more.
