Image by SOCIALisBETTER via FlickrSharing The Life
There was a time before cell phones and the interweb when musicians lived in the inner city, stayed in touch with each other by drinking in the same bars, taking coffee in the same cafes. Networking was a way of life, not a button to click. Like minds would meet through friends of friends, through reputation, by taking the time to talk to each other.
When I was starting out the Galleon Cafe in the Melbourne bayside suburb of St. Kilda was the musician's cafe. The waitresses were sexy and cool, the food cheap and good, the cork board on the wall covered with hand written ads for flatmates wanted and band members needed. Over the conversation hum you'd often hear an over excited young rocker talking a little too loudly about recording a new DEMO in the STUDIO, desperate to be overheard. These guys never lasted long.
One of the golden moments of my early career was entering the Galleon and feeling the hush, recognition, the whispers about the flute player. The flute player was me, I'd made it, on the St. Kilda scene I was someone. In the overall scheme it didn't mean much, but my heart sang, these were my peers, my musical family, I'd graduated to relatively well known status.
Looking back that moment means a lot to me. The inner city scene is a thing of the past, in Australia anyway, but for a couple of years there I was living the dream, a working musician with a name, a place, a community. Who better to be recognized by? Some crave approval from family and friends, but they have to love you no matter how crap you are. Others court the general public. The general public has taste up it's arse, just look at the records they buy. They buy shit. They buy what the television tells them to buy, and now what the internet tells them to buy. Britney Spears? Really? So fellow musicians who share one's way of life, live next door, frequent the same venues, play in the same bands, recognition from them means everything.
Today young musicians strive for web presence, site hits, media recognition. I know why they do it, I'm in the same game, but it ain't the same. They'll never feel the warmth of the Galleon in winter, chicken and leek pie, a table full of fellow players coming and going, sharing the life.
Parkstreet.
http://www.kentparkstreetblog.com/
Solo, improvised flute track, Warm Up, available for download at iTunes, all the other sites.
When I was starting out the Galleon Cafe in the Melbourne bayside suburb of St. Kilda was the musician's cafe. The waitresses were sexy and cool, the food cheap and good, the cork board on the wall covered with hand written ads for flatmates wanted and band members needed. Over the conversation hum you'd often hear an over excited young rocker talking a little too loudly about recording a new DEMO in the STUDIO, desperate to be overheard. These guys never lasted long.
One of the golden moments of my early career was entering the Galleon and feeling the hush, recognition, the whispers about the flute player. The flute player was me, I'd made it, on the St. Kilda scene I was someone. In the overall scheme it didn't mean much, but my heart sang, these were my peers, my musical family, I'd graduated to relatively well known status.
Looking back that moment means a lot to me. The inner city scene is a thing of the past, in Australia anyway, but for a couple of years there I was living the dream, a working musician with a name, a place, a community. Who better to be recognized by? Some crave approval from family and friends, but they have to love you no matter how crap you are. Others court the general public. The general public has taste up it's arse, just look at the records they buy. They buy shit. They buy what the television tells them to buy, and now what the internet tells them to buy. Britney Spears? Really? So fellow musicians who share one's way of life, live next door, frequent the same venues, play in the same bands, recognition from them means everything.
Today young musicians strive for web presence, site hits, media recognition. I know why they do it, I'm in the same game, but it ain't the same. They'll never feel the warmth of the Galleon in winter, chicken and leek pie, a table full of fellow players coming and going, sharing the life.
Parkstreet.
http://www.kentparkstreetblog.com/
Solo, improvised flute track, Warm Up, available for download at iTunes, all the other sites.
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