Wanderlost

So currently I am sitting in the "computer lab" of the St. John's Lutheran Ministries Retirement Community in Billings, Montana. Josh is playing here tonight, on their huge lawn out front- part of a weekly music series they host in the Summer. We've spent two days as guests here, eating in the dining hall with the residents (dinner starts at 4:30) and enjoying the luxury of having our own room (the "guest suite") for a bit. We've really come to cherish these rare opportunities for privacy. . . but not really for the reasons you'd think. When we have time off, a quiet space and wi-fi you'll find us doing exactly what we're doing now- working. Josh is upstairs playing guitar, and I'm here on my computer emailing (literally) hundreds of venues in Europe, trying to finish booking our last month there.
A couple hours ago Josh got an email from the venue he was supposed to play at on Saturday- that's 2 days away. They said they had to cancel the gig. Did I mention that they gave us TWO days notice?! And there was a relatively large sum of money guaranteed. So this has a pretty big impact on us. . . Not having a show on any Saturday sucks, but especially when it comes at the last minute. And you know what, this kind of thing happens all the time. I know we lead a charmed life and I don't want to complain, but I just think musicians get a short stick sometimes. People seem to think that they all party hard, show up late to gigs, tour because they think it's fun. . . and it is most of the time, but it's not a vacation- it's a job. And it's 24/7, especially when you do all the booking, promotion, social networking, travel planning, etc. yourself. . . and, of course, then you have to find the time to practice your craft and write new songs. It just drives me crazy when a venue cancels, or they don't do anything to promote a show (how hard is it to post on FB once or twice?!), or Josh plays to a full house and gets paid $12 because the sound guy, door guy and venue owners have to get paid (that actually happened recently. . .).  And then there's the shocking lack of general support for live music in this country. It's sad, but sometimes I think that most Americans would rather stay home and watch "American Idol" than go see a live show. We all need to stop and think what this world would be like without real musicians, writing songs and playing instruments.
Again, I don't want to sound ungrateful for the amazing freedom we have, but sometimes you just need to vent. Geez, and I meant for this post to be about the last month in Washington. . . which was amazing, by the way. But I didn't find time to write because we were so busy catching up with friends & family, "networking", and booking for this Fall. . . but here are some lovely pictures of mountains and beaches.

Mount Rainier

Vashon Island


take care and SUPPORT LOCAL & LIVE MUSIC!
XO,

Jess