Notes_Norton

I remember Bart Starr. But the last football game I ever watched, Bob Griese was the quarterback. In fact, I haven't watched any TV at all since about 1990. I'm too busy doing other things that are more fun for me.

That's why I have umbrellas. They look like beach umbrellas, but they have tripod bases. I thought about one of those portable canopy covers, but we don't go in the direct sun that often. 3 days a week we are on a covered deck near the ocean, and 2 days a month on another deck at a huge RV resort. Every now and then we get a pool party at a condo or retirement community. I tell them I need shelter, and they usually provide a canopy. But for the occasions when none is available, out come the trusty umbrellas. Not living in AC makes all the difference in the world for my comfort at outdoor gigs. I cool my home the way my parents did when I was a child. Nobody had AC back then. I have a white roof, and I planted shade trees (Live Oak) around the perimeter of the house, but not over the roof. The heat is reflected up by the white roof, and the cooler air from under the trees comes in to replace it. So I get seasonal acclimation, and don't 'die' in the summer outdoor gigs like the AC musicians do. Notes ♫

I work outdoors in the hot Florida sun all year. Most of the place we play have a cover, and if not, there is a clause to move indoors or cancel with pay if it rains. First things first. If you are going to this often, do not live in air conditioning. Seasonal adaptation is a slow process, and you will never adapt to the summer heat if you live in a refrigerated environment. BONUS: Air conditioners are one of the biggest contributors to global warming, so you will be doing your part to slow the demise. If you are going to be in the sun a lot, get one of those portable canopies, or at least some big sun umbrellas. Fans, you already know that. I prefer the squirrel cage type of fan, as the rotating blades of the conventional fan make my sax sound like it's in a high speed wah-wah. Tarp. Bring a tarp if you are outdoors. We played in a botanical garden one day with a 4% chance of rain. You guessed it. One tiny little shower came overhead and got us. The tarp saved us. If using guitars or wind instruments, open them up first, so they can adapt to the new temperature and stay in tune. Back on the OT topic. Highs in the low 80s, lows in the 60, Southeast breezes (Trade Winds) 10-15 mph coming in off the ocean. Notes ♫ PS, I have the opposite problem. Here in FL we get occasional cold snaps in the winter, where the temperature suddenly drops 20 degrees or more for a day or two and then warms up again. Because it's sporadic, we dont get seasonal acclimation to the cold. So if the temperature gets under 60, outdoor gigs are very uncomfortable.

Direct long distance telephone dialing put operators out of work. Phone answer bots put receptionists out of work Chatbots put technicians out of work. Assembly line welding machines put welders out of work. Self-checkout lanes put cash register operators out of work. Turbo-tax put accountants out of work. License plate readers put toll-takers on the highway out of work. AI is putting photographic models out of work. 'Smart' electric meters put the meter readers out of work. DJs already put thousands of musicians out of work. (When I was young, every singles bar had at least a 4-piece band — playing recordings didn't draw a single customer.) AI will put songwriters out of work. And the beat goes on (cue Carol Kaye's bass line here). Right now, it seems that corporate industry is trying to minimize the number of employees they have to pay. After all, less labor costs means more profit for the shareholders. But that raises the question, “When workers are all replaced, who is going to have the money to buy the products they produce?” In the 1800s, the Luddites destroyed the looms when the punch-cards put the weavers out of work. They protested against manufacturers who used machines in “a fraudulent and deceitful manner” to replace the skilled labor of workers and drive down wages by producing inferior goods *. But the automatic looms are still here and there aren't many weavers employed. * Wikipedia Can we stop AI from taking the jobs of songwriters? I doubt it. It didn't work for the Luddites or anyone I know of since. There still will be songwriters, but the number of them who can make a living at that craft will be a fraction of what it is today. I don't want to sound all doom-and-gloom, but history does repeat itself, and it looks like this time it's going to affect our industry again. Survival of the fittest is survival of the adaptable. We all need to constantly be on the lookout for how to survive the ever changing world. Insights and incites by Notes ♫

AI is after a lot of jobs in a lot of industries. I doubt it can be stopped. I agree with KuruPrionz, support live music. One thing AI cannot replace (yet) is a musician or group of musicians, in the flesh, playing music and reacting with to entertain an audience. There is something about the human to human connection between the entertainer(s) and the entertained. A good entertainer not only plays music, but reacts with the audience to have a dialog with them. The good entertainer knows when to play a particular song, what to follow it with, and the next, by reading the crowd. He/she knows when to talk on the mic, and what to say, whether it's serious or a lame joke. He/she knows when to crank the volume up, and/or when to keep it mellow. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. Entertaining takes intuition, experience, and the ability to react to changing conditions of the gig, and the differences that come with each and every gig. When AI takes over songwriting and videos, it'll be our last foothold. Some day, probably sooner than I'd like, I'll be playing AI songs recorded by an AI 'artist' to an audience of live people who won't even know the difference. If I do the job correctly, they will have a great time and come out to see us again. I'm glad I chose to hone my performance and entertainment chops instead of songwriting chops. The mortgage is paid, I have zero debt, and I'm living a happy life doing what I love to do. "The supreme accomplishment is to blur the line between work and play." Arnold J. Toynbee, historian (14 Apr 1889-1975) We had a gig this morning through lunch, and then went out and supported the musicians at the local jazz/blues society. It was a very good day. Insights and incites by Notes ♫

You are exactly correct. It happens to me on stage, and in the recording studio, too. I'm a very good player, a good improviser, a decent arranger, but not a good composer. I've never written anything that I liked, especially lyrics. When I write, the chord progressions sound so standard, not bad, but not great either. Melody sometimes comes out good, sometimes not, and that's expected. But the words sound too corny. Probably because when listening to music, the words are the least important thing for me to hear. But I haven't really put enough time, effort, and dedication to writing songs. I did close to 25 gigs last month, I'm learning new songs requested by customers, and I do my own tracks. I'm having a great time doing all this, and it's my passion. If AI writes decent songs, I'll be happy to play them. But since my love for song writers goes back to the Gershwins, Tin Pan Alley, Brill Building and others, I'd really rather support live people. Notes ♫

Unless it was in the very early days, when they still had marching bands performing at halftime. And as far as I'm concerned, they should still have marching bands at halftime, the super-star-super-show at halftime to me is totally inappropriate. But they aren't marketing their wares to me, in the last football game I watched, Bob Griese was the quarterback. Notes ♫

In my case it's, “do you want to pay the mortgage by doing music, or getting a day, wage-slave job.” When playing music for a living, there are certain compromises the musician(s) must make. But to me, the ultimate compromise is working a day-joy so I can play 'art music' on a Monday or Tuesday night when the club isn't busy. So for my own integrity, I make my own backing tracks. It's the best I can do to keep working without relying on someone else's music. And Mrs. Notes and I have been doing this since 1985, and the only time we were out of work was during the COVID lockdown. The 5-piece band we were in before we decided to go duo, was out of work 3 months in the last year we were together, due to personnel problems. And that wasn't the first band that I had difficulties with. Sure, I want to hear 100% live music, but I'm a musician. I don't care if the musicians are putting on a theatrical show, but I'm a musician. I prefer to hear high-fidelity recorded music instead of 45s, cassettes, or mp3s, but I'm a musician. But I'm also a businessman. I have to be if I want to make my living doing music and nothing but music. So what's probably even more important that what I want? What the audience wants. So for me there is that point that is a compromise between me and the audience, and that's the sweet spot I aim for. I'm gigging, life is good, and I'm happy. Insights and incites by Notes ♫

It's really sad. With all the warnings that have been broadcast, people just don't believe them. Or think the cautions don't apply to them. They learned a lesson they cannot undo. Well, hopefully, they learned a lesson, some never learn.

To each their own. I've been supporting myself by playing music for most of my life. When I on 'stage' and put an instrument in my hand and/or the mic in front of my mouth, I'm transported into that place where there is no space or time. It's where there is no “me”, the music seems to flow through me, instead of from me, and the energy from the audience feeds me. I am past retirement age, but I don't know what I'd do if I wasn't playing music live. Playing for myself is OK, but it pales in comparison to playing for a listener. To me, the music is incomplete if my ears are the only ones that appreciate it. Being a musician is not what I do, it's what I am. Playing music in front of an appreciative audience is the most fun I can have with my clothes on. I've known other musicians who got tired of it. And I have known others who played or will play until the very end. I guess there is no “one size fits all”. If AI writes songs that sound like the others, it won't make much difference to me, after all, humans have been doing that for all of my life. As long as people want to hear them, and as long as I like them, too, I'll play them. When we were being groomed for Motown, Berry told us what he told everybody else, “Don't try to write anything different, write songs like those that are already hits.” Sounds pretty much like AI. Now AI may never write something like a Shostakovitch symphony in my lifetime, and when I go to a concert, it's usually a symphony. It may never improvise like Stan Getz, so I won't go to an AI jazz jam anytime soon, either. But until I have to play something as boring to me as rap, I'm going to be up there playing it. Not to dis rap, it's an art form, but I'm not a word person and I need melody. Notes ♫

I drove to Iowa to see the last one, years ago. Thought about driving this year, but cloud cover was predicted, and we gig on Wednesday, so it wasn't practical. But I broke out the glasses and saw it at 50% from my house.

I've been making backing tracks for my duo since the 1980s. Listening to one I made way back then, and comparing them to the ones I make now, I see the world of difference practice makes. And I expect to make better ones in the future. I constantly work on my singing, and playing sax, wind synth, flute, drums, bass, keyboards, and my newest instrument with the most yet to learn, the guitar. I'll never be a Jeff Beck on the guitar, I started too late, but next year I'll be a better Bob Norton than I am today. And as long as I can pull a crowd, and get gigs, I have no plans to retire. It's just too much fun. Insights and incites by Notes ♫

We find it best not only to be friendly with our competitors, but to never-ever say anything bad about them, even the ones we would avoid listening to. If someone in conversation mentions them, I will mention how I like the thing(s) they do well, even the ones we avoid listening to. Everybody does something right. When I was 19 or 20 and playing for Motown, Junior Walker told me he liked something I did on the sax. Another musician told me that Walker said I was a good sax man. WOW! The great sax player, the one who I learned licks from by copying his solos, said I was good. That's when I decided to be the kind of musician that says nice things about others. I don't need to elevate myself by putting others down. When I hear others, I applaud, and if they do something nice, afterward I'll tell them, “I really like the way you did ________.” Being nice has its own rewords. Club owners tell me everybody likes us. That makes it easier to get booked. Insights and incites by Notes ♫

No, we don't count our competitors gigs and keep score. We're not upset if our most successful competitor gets more gigs than we do this month (they are also good friends and fine musicians). But we want to make as much money as we can, doing the thing we love. We want to make enough to pay off the mortgage, pay the rest of the bills, put food in the fridge, keep the vehicles running, take an annual vacation, and so on. Our mortgage is paid off, so are the cars, and we have zero debt. We've taken vacations to all 50 US states, Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, St. Croix & St John (USVI), all but 3 Canadian provinces, 7 Mexican states, Bahama Islands, Bermuda Islands, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Saint-Martin/Sint Maarten, Jamaica, Cayman Islands, England, Scotland, Wales, Gibraltar, The Netherlands, Hungary, Spain, Italy, Morocco, Czech Republic, Austria, Australia, and China (From the Great Wall down to Hong Kong). We couldn't have done that if we weren't better than most of our competition. If you are in business, you are in competition. All businesses compete with each other. McDonalds competes with Burger King, Wendy's and the others. - Grocery stores compete with each other. Here in Florida, Publix competes with Winn Dixie, Aldis, Walmart, and a few others. - My favorite local restaurants compete with each other for customers by making the best food in the best atmosphere that they can. - My local auto mechanic competes with others for business. He keeps mine by doing good work at a fair price. - Apple vs. Microsoft. - Ford vs. General Motors and the others. - Fender, Gibson, PRS, Ibanez, Music Man, Charvel, Danelectro, Peavey, Eastwood, and so many others compete with each other for customers. That's what we compete for, customers, not scores, not statistics, not trophies, but money. We need money to survive. If I didn't need money to survive, I'd still do what I'm doing, but I'd probably be more into 'art music' than commercial music. But not being independently wealthy, I need to make a living doing what I love to do. And to make a living, I have to be better than at least most of my competitors. Insights and incites by Notes ♫

If you are referring to me, I'm an under 180 pound musician, who does not play any sports. I have fingers to protect, and I don't do anything for recreation that will endanger them. I'm definitely not pure muscle but I gig up to 25 gigs per month, the speakers are just under 40 pounds each, the synth module rack is probably heavier but I roll it in and don't have to lift it to put on the top of speaker stands. Plus I schlep 2 guitars, one tenor sax, one tactile synthesizer, two wind MIDI controllers, microphones, stands, and two rolling suitcases full of cables, pedals, and various small items. It keeps me in shape without having to join a gym. Actually, it's the only work I do. Between getting the gear from my house to the gig, and back, I spend 3 or 4 hours, with my best friend/lover/wife/band-mate, doing our second favorite thing, playing music. It's usually pure bliss, and the time goes by way too quickly. In fact, we are having so much fun, we rarely take our allotted breaks. We're in demand, and are simply better than most of our competitors, which is why we and a couple of others get the best gigs. Notes ♫