Passion

Passion

Passion. What is it? According to Webster, passion is defined as:

pas·sion

 noun \ˈpa-shən\

: a strong feeling of enthusiasm or excitement for something or about doing something

: a strong feeling (such as anger) that causes you to act in a dangerous way

: a strong sexual or romantic feeling for someone

How many can say that they live with passion?  I can.  I live my passion every day. You see, I am a performer in the entertainment business. I am not anyone big. I perform in small venues where it is hardly known whom or even what your entertainment is on any particular evening. But I get to do this often.  I’m actually older than your average stereotypical entertainment archetype.  I rarely think about that, in fact, I look at my age and time in the biz as a badge of honor… I’m a veteran.

That’s just me, but I imagine I’m no different than any Doctor, Lawyer, and Street Sweeper, Woodworker or anyone else who loves what they do. No matter WHAT the vocation. Anyone who eats breathes and sleeps their dream.  Happy that while not the “it “person or well known rock star in their respective field, they are happy none the less, no, scratch that, ECSTATIC that they are a small fish but a small fish in their preferred pond.

Now let’s take a moment of silence for those that live without passion. It’s a very sad, unhealthy state of affairs. I was one for ten years. I had ZERO passion for what I did. It was a paycheck. A very good one by the way, but I was miserable.  Every time I looked in the mirror I hated the person I saw. The reflection was not genuine, a liar. That career started off as a plan “B”. I will never create a plan “B” again. Plan “B’s often take the place of plan “A” because plan “B’s” are safer.

You know all this. So why are you not pursuing plan “A”? Only YOU can answer THAT question. I’m not sayin’ “ok quite your day job and start from scratch” (even though I did) What I’m sayin’ is “life is too short to die with the music still in you”. You’re never too old, it’s never too late, start small but do SOMETHING to chase your passion…Learn how to change the oil yourself, build a simple box out of wood, Hell!, look, I’m writing a friggin’ article!!

Dream it, chase it, live it. Peace.

 Robert Garcia is a performer who sings and plays guitar. A New Yorker through and through, these days Robert performs in the Sarasota FL area during the Winter and then the NJ Shore during Summer season. You can contact him via his website: WWW.RobertGarcia SoloAct.com

Rock n Roll After 50

Rock n Roll After 50

Roger Daltrey, lead singer of the legendary “THE WHO”  sang the anthem “Hope I die before I get old”

At the time of this writing, he is 70. Is that old? Apparently not, cause also at the time of this writing “The Who” are planning a world tour.  Mick Jagger from the band “The Rolling Stones” just came off a hugely successful world tour… He’s 71 Paul McCartney? 72.

The list goes on, and on. For the uninitiated, touring, even at the highest level of Rock n Roll royalty, is hard.  It’s REALLY hard.  Harder than what most of you reading this, do for a living despite what you may think.  For those interested, there is a great article by Christopher Knab outlining a fake but reasonably “typical” one month tour for a “nationally known alternative band” it gets into some day to day detail of what’s expected.  Here is that link: http://www.musicbizacademy.com/knab/articles/tourschedule.htm

For the record, I perform exponentially more times than  what’s listed above, probably ten times more.  Where all of the above mentioned scenarios are doing it with full crew, funding, tour busses and sponsors… I do it all myself in a 2001 PT Cruiser that usually has a busted something or another (Most often it’s the damned A/C) and when they play for an hour and a half, I play for four hours at my gigs.  But this article is not about me, it’s about you.

Why do you figure people do this? You think it’s the money? Mick, Paul and Roger certainly are behind on their bills, I guarantee you that.  That Alternative band, quite possibly made a few scheckles but after paying for the entourage, trust me , they were not going out and buying homes after THAT tour. I can tell you from my level of things it isn’t the money or my A/C would be fixed.  It’s for YOU!

Most musicians do what they do for their audience. That one person who is moved by what they do. At my gigs, I hear both sides of the too old argument. “Oh, we don’t get out much anymore ‘cause we’re too old but we really enjoyed you” and then there’s the “We go out all the time to see live music now that the kids are gone, it feels like life gave us an act two”  As far as I’m concerned, at age 51, forget about “over the hill” I’m gonna push that hill up the road a little further all by myself cause #1 I’m not ready to go “over it”, and #2 simply because thank goodness… I can.

When was the last time you went out to see live music? It’s still out there you know.  Only it’s better now. Better technology, more genres, lot’s of choices.  Remember how it used to feel when you saw a great band or artist perform up close? Remember the chills? Remember the connection?  It’s out there. THIS I know.  I’m very proud to be doing it.  Don’t let your paradigm keep talking you out of it cause you think you’re too old. You’re not. Just ask Paul McCartney. Besides, to quote a wise old rocker (who by the way is still out there touring in his 60’s) “You can come back baby, rock n roll never forgets”

Robert Garcia is a performer who sings and plays guitar. A New Yorker through and through, these days Robert performs in the Sarasota FL area during the Winter and then the NJ Shore during Summer season. You can contact him via his website: WWW.RobertGarcia SoloAct.com

Performing Think it's easy?

Performing Think it's easy?

So, I am a performer who sings and plays guitar.  I truly LOVE what I do.  Despite often performing to a room full of indifference (try it sometime, the felling is unrivalled). Despite often times I compete with sports playing on one of many LARGE screen TV’s and if THAT were not bad enough, there’s ALWAYS the well rounded, well heeled, highly intelligent patron that in the middle of the most emotional, tender spot of a song, get’s up after a loud single clap of his hands and yells out “WHOOO HOOO!!! We won!!!!!!”  (actually there is no “we” in the win Einstein,  YOU were in a bar working on your beer belly while actual athletes that trained all their lives for that win, were ACTUALLY the victors)

This brings me to a great point.  Sometime later, that same person in all of his infinite wisdom (obviously an Ivy League MBA or Doctorate no doubt) will walk up to me and say “man, I wish I had YOUR job” insinuating that there’s nothing to it.  I will say this. If in fact, it were THAT easy, EVERYBODY would do it.

Why is it that in our country, at the pedestrian level if you play sports (beer belly in tow or not) it is expected and respected that you have honed your skills over a very long period of time even if you can’t make a dime from  affore mentioned ability.  However if you are a performer, it pretty much accepted as common knowledge that you are some kind of “good time gold brick” that learned how do this yesterday? Even though it’s your full time gig.

Forget the absolute fact that public speaking ranks very high in America’s “fear” list (like, right up there with spiders and sharks) that alone should give Goober pause before those gems ever left his mouth.  Think about the years of practicing, by yourself, with bands, the countless hours of repetition.  Now multiply that by two because guitar and vocals does not come as a package deal.  Not to mention if you’re like me “UN GIFTED” you have to work twice as hard as the gifted folk to get half as far.

Now add the business aspect, networking, accounting, advertisement, promotion, gear research, social media… Wait a minute, am I charging enough for all this shit? No matter, at my level you live at $150 at a time for the average gig. If you’re lucky (fortunate)  you might gig 5 to 7 days per week, most performers aren’t that lucky. By the way…that pay scale really has not changed since the 1980’s. Still wish you had my job there __insert genius name other than Einstein__?

Yeah, go ahead. Try it. I fucking DARE you.

Robert Garcia is a performer who sings and plays guitar. A New Yorker through and through, these days Robert performs in the Sarasota FL area during the Winter and then the NJ Shore during Summer season. You can contact him via his website: WWW.RobertGarciaSoloAct.com

The Importance of Music (So what's wrong with us)

The Importance of Music

Music.  It’s everywhere.  While you’re on hold, waiting for customer service. It’s in the background at Starbucks.  It’s on TV in commercials, the radio, retail stores, blah, blah, blah!!!!!!!!

Far from scarce, and almost intrusive, sometimes downright annoying I am willing to bet when that one song comes on the radio, you know the one,  the one that was playing when you received your fist kiss? You immediately transcend time and space and travel right to that second in time.  Music is powerful.

Music is food for the mind. Some of the greatest minds in the world attribute the fire of creativity to music as the spark that started the process in their imagination.  It’s the universal language.  You could go to a remote corner of the world, where no one speaks  or looks how you speak or look but you could bet your bottom dollar, you both LOVE Led Zep’s “Stairway to Heaven”.

I have never met someone who did not like SOME kind of music. That being said, through our mutual love of music, we come together despite differences.  Religions have used music for eons to do this.  On an emotional basis Heavy Metal brings out angst, Classical soothes the savage beast; smooth Jazz and R&B make me feel romantic.

There’s really nothing quite like it, and we’ve not even scratched the surface.  Music in education increases mathematical skills as well as reading and language skills too. I myself have witnessed the magical powers of music while I was doing a gig in a nursing home.  Patients that were catatonic responded to music. This to me was nothing short of a miracle or magic.

Of course, who here among us does not have a tale to tell about a live show that was so great, it has been etched in their minds and is now the show ALL other shows get measured by.  A live concert, whether it’s a rock show, hip hop, country or you name it, can be life changing.

Yet because it’s everywhere, we have made it such a commodity.  We walk by a world class violinist (Joshua Bell) who simply started busking in a Washington DC subway only to be ignored by countless thousands (both Ritchie Sambora and U2 have done this type of in cognito thing too).  Despite knowing its educational benefits, music is usually the first program to get cut in budgets. I have seen AMAZING musicians, in restaurants, not get ignored, but SHUNNED for a television with a baseball game on it, or an iphone with facebook on its screen.  What the hell is wrong with us? What have we become? What kind of culture are we becoming?

Robert Garcia is a performer who sings and plays guitar. A New Yorker through and through, these days Robert performs in the Sarasota FL area during the Winter and then the NJ Shore during Summer season. You can contact him via his website: WWW.RobertGarcia SoloAct.com