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"New York Groove" Mini-Kiss |
I'm really impressed with the writers on this website: Jane, Christy, TRex, Pachacutec, all of them. Some write multi posts a day that are informative, well researched, and entertaining with all kinds of fancy schmancy links and quotes. I don't know how they do it.
This week I was a bit stumped on what to write about. Now, I could go on and on about The Grammy's which I always force myself to watch some of, but I try to keep my posts positive so I couldn't really write about that. It's not the artists per se, it's just that the event/telecast is so god-awful.
I have a friend who is a recording engineer. He won a Grammy a couple of years ago and gave it to his parents who have over the years constantly harassed him to quit his "childhood dream" and "get a real job" (you know, with benefits and security). His parents display his Grammy in their living room but the "get a real job" hassles continue. Harsh yes, but they do have a point. He still can't afford health insurance. You see, most people I know in the music making business have it pretty rough financially. As my mother always said, "feast or famine," and there's a lot more famine than feast.
I always thought it was peculiar that when my band was signed to a major label, selling hundreds of thousands of records and touring the world ten months out of the year, none of us had health insurance. Even the lowliest 19 year old mail room clerk at the label was "covered" and building his 401K. It's a brutal business.
So let's just lighten things up with a little Mini-Kiss!
I called some friends to find out what they were listening to this week for The Spin playlist. I'd love to hear The Spin You're In in the comments section.
The Spin I'm In: A Little Help From My Friends |
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Artist |
iTunes |
Napster |
AMG |
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Tras |
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Da Da Da |
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Technologic |
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Across 110th Street |
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In Shock |
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Nerve Endings |
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She Watch Channel Zero |
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P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing) |
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It Wasn't Me |
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BOO-YAH
I just watched Across 110th Street recently, that’s a great movie.
hey donita!
your friends have excellent taste (not surprising!) i love this playlist!
i’m really glad YOU never got a “real” job.
tgif!
nora
nora @ 3
Thanks Nora
British musicians at least have the National Health Service, Canadian artists too. American musicians suffer from a lack of basic medical care. I know too many musicians in bankruptcy because of medical bills.
FiniFiniTOOBZ! @
2
The song is nice in Jackie Brown too.
Jackie Brown is my favorite Tarantino movie. The song is great in that movie too. I loved De Niro in that film.
The musical spin I’m in? “All we are saying… is give peace a chance”. Of course, John Lennon. I miss this guy.
Hi Donita!
I love checking out your weekly blog! I’ve been jamming to the B-52’s, L7 (Smell the Magic) and Linda Ronstadt all week!! If you don’t mind me asking, I was wondering what kind of pickups you used when you were in L7?
She watch she watch she watch she watch….. Grammys. Great playlist. Battles……………cool band. Thanks for the heads up!
Sid
Donita- You’re right it is a brutal business. Will you be attending the Nissan Open at the Rivera Country Club in Pacific Palisades California this weekend?
I’ve been in retro mode this week – lots of personal favs from my early teen years.
Escape From NY Soundtrack
Art of Noise – Legs
New Order – Blue Monday
Depeche Mode – Music For the Masses CD
Romeo Void – Never Say Never
Psychic TV
Agent Orange – Wipeout
Ministry – Stigmata
Hmm, have had some strange music choices lately, but wonderful…
Tommy Bolin – Lotus, People People, some “new” jams from Whips & Roses
Leonard Bernstein – Rhapsody in Blue
Tool – The Patient
Jade Warrior – Lady of the Lake, Borne on to the Solar Wind
OK, so maybe not the most funky get up and move stuff. For that how about:
A Certain Ratio – Si Firmir O Grido (Bandini Bimba mix)
Ben Folds – One Angry Dwarf and 200 Solemn Faces
James Brown – Hot (I Need to be Loved, Loved, Loved)
Jimi Hendrix – Gloria
For us of the boomer generation, we have never known a restful moment. First it was Korea. Then it was hiding from the A-Bomb under our elementary-school desks, during the ‘cold war’. And after that, it was Vietnam. And now, it’s George Bush. I want accountability, justice, and above all, peace. “You say you want a revolution… we…ll, you know…”
Great one, Donita! Thanks so much!
I’m listening to the Hold Steady’s latest record “Boys and Girls in America” on an almost daily basis. This is an amazing record, their best effort yet. The stories painted in the songs are so vivid and alive.
Since a couple of the guys are friends of mine, I also just picked up the new Lifetime record to hear what the new material sounds like after almost 10 years of non-bandness and non-recording as a group. I’ve given it two listens so far from the dinky speaker in my computer and will listen to it through my stereo at home and also my ipod to get a better handle on it. So far I like two songs more than the others, Just a Quiet Evening and All Nite Long.
This is another excellent post by Glenn Greenwald. If you haven’t discovered him yet, it’s not too late. He writes in this post about a topic you are all familiar with…
Glenn Greenwald
Thursday February 15, 2007 11:36 EST
FireDogLake’s Libby reporting forces a reevaluation of blogs
It is virtually impossible to closely follow the Libby trial without relying upon the work of the blogging team assembled by Jane Hamsher and FireDogLake. Hamsher built FDL by becoming (along with her blogging partner, former prosecutor Christy Hardin Smith) literally one of the country’s leading experts on the Plame scandal, long providing some of the most insightful analysis, and even breaking stories, on her blog.
In order to cover the Libby trial, Hamsher rented a house in Washington, and then assembled a reporting team composed of — as Marcy Wheeler, one of the team members, put it — “a prosecutor and a defense lawyer, her own amazing voice, [and] a blogger who has been covering this story from Day One.” And Wheeler herself became such an expert in the Plame story that she published a well-received book on the topic to coincide with the Libby trial — Anatomy of Deceit.
The reporting produced by the FDL team has been, as one would expect, intense, comprehensive and superb. In addition to daily live-blogging of every single witness, which entails almost every question asked and answer given, as well as close-to-verbatim accounts of legal arguments between the Fitzgerald’s team and Libby’s lawyers, the FDL Plame experts have been providing day-by-day analysis of the legal, political and journalistic issues raised by this trial. In short, they have produced coverage of this clearly significant event — one which has provided rare insight into the inner workings of the Beltway political and journalistic elite — that simply never is, and perhaps cannot be, matched by even our largest national media outlets.
READ THE REST AT GREENWALD’S BLOG AT SALON [LINK]
The Entertainment business is ruff for anyone that is NOT direct employee.
Approx 90% of the ESPN shows are staffed by freelance labor. What that means is they have no job security, no medical/dental insurance, workman’s comp insurance, and retirement. And they get paid in one lump sum, a total of their hourly labor and expenses. ESPN treats freelancers as vendors which means they do NOT withdraw or match Federal or state taxes, SSI and Medicare taxes.
Then you add in the fact that freelancers do not have paid vacation, sick days, family leave days, short or long term disability coverage unless purchased privately.
Blog this…
[CHS notes: Whatever issues you may have with John Aravosis, don’t you think you ought to address them to John and not in the FDL comments?]
How about the late Dino Valenti, of Quicksilver Messenger Service and his “Get Together” or “Fresh Air”?
scott @ 9
I honestly have no idea, but they weren’t single coil. I’ve never been into “gear”, I just want it to sound good.
And I am never far from a Neil Young spin.
Everythingseemssoneat @ 11
No, I’ll be attending the Nestle Open at the Thurston Howell the Third Country Club in Cocoa Beach. Wish me luck with my long drive, it’s been acting up lately.
My song this week is Gnarls Barkley – Crazy….
Peter B. Collins plays that everyday as bumper music on his show.
“Love, Peace and Happiness”. The Chambers Brothers. Or Marvin Gaye and his wonderful anti-war tune. Or the late, beyond great, Janis Joplin. Or the Airplane.
Donita- The Nestle was always Lovies favorite stop on the tour. You know Cocoa Beach is where Jeannie lives. I always used to go to the Nissan Open when I lived there. It’s acutally pretty fun. As far as your driving you have to remember to start the downswing by clearing your hips.
Leonard Cohen and Brian Setzer. I am in a spin. Oh dear.
I just like the idea of the name Jane Fonda playing on the radio, making rightards’ ears burn – and it makes me laugh.
Mickey Avalon – “Jane Fonda”
Everythingseemssoneat @ 26
Oh my hips are cleared baby. (sing along) “Our Hips Are Cleared”
And I am well aware where Jeanie is from.
Oklahoma kiddo @ 27
Wow thats a musical rollercoaster right there. I might need some meds to be able to deal with that one.
EPU’d from the ironic thread but totally on topic here, Bilge has just delivered the Ballad of Irving Libby
Morning, love pups!
For Fini
For Donita
Donita – Do you think John Frusciante rates near the top of rock guitarists?
I actually bought this from iTunes for my video iPod.
OT – The House vote is underway…
Yay Donita and Fini..)
Jacqrat @ 32
Awww, thanks! I heart Kristy McNichol, awesome.
my wife just went to europe for the next five months (OUCH) to dance. Artists can actually WORK over there, see. So, I’ve been making a “first thing in the morning in your apartment in Germany” mixtape…
Inner Flight (the flute outro) – Eric Dolphy
You Gave me Love – Bob & Gene
Sparkle City – Shuggie Otis
You and your sister – Chris Bell
Turn me on – Rotary Connection
Mbewe – James Mason
Woman’s got to have it – Bobby Womack (nobody’s got a better rapp than Bobby)
Daylight – RAMP
Here comes the sun – Nina Simone
Dawn – Ananda Shankar
anybody who has suggestions (think “anti-gravity music”)… holler out!
Jacqrat @ 32
That was outrageous. I won’t stand for these Christy McNichol comparison/ fantasies. I smoked Newports.
messieurs et mesdames, je vous presente les Balayeurs du Desert.
Royal de Luxe public performance art, in this case a giant marionette walking through the streets.
(Not the best example of their music, but still intriguing).
Cleanup in aisle #174, TRex thread! Flying monkey alert!
I’m in a Pink mode – I love to crank this up on my iTunes near an open window for the Republican who lives across the street…
I’m glad you kept at it, Donita…It sets another good example for women in an industry that has always tended toward commoditization to simplify profit objective paths.
I’m also glad you didn’t write about the Grammys.
;>)
punaise @ 39
Wow. Very strange
Eureka Springs, AR @
35
MSNBC breaking news: House passes Iraq war resolution critical of Bush plan
OT – Iraq War Resolution Final Vote passes in U.S. House 246-182 (2 dems voting nay, 17 reps voting yea)
np: Miles Davis- Bitches brew.
I rediscovered Rod Stewart, someone who I used to listen to a lot back in the day. For the most part his older music has held up. One night I saw him the Mann Music Center in Philly He put on a great show. I even got knocked in the head with a soccer ball kicked into the crowd.
I think whatever creative profession you choose there’s the real job vs. pursuing your passion argument that you have to endure. For now I’m pusuing my passion.
Folks that are happy with their jobs use less sick time, visit doctors less and have shorter recovery times from any illnesses or injuries that they suffer. Every musician I know laments the lack of health care coverage, but is quick to say they love their job and wouldn’t do anything different.
punaise @ 39
O.K. I am beating my brains trying to figure out how I could possibly match some of the very special selections of Donita and Punaise. Unkle.
FYI everyone: Senator Feingold will appear on ABC’s Good Morning America at 7:05 am ET tomorrow as well as C-SPAN’s Washington Journal at 8:00 am ET to talk about the Iraq debate. (Just got this in e-mail and thought folks might be interested.)
Thanks to an odd set of circumstances, I’ve never had to experience the “brutality” of the “business.” My performance schedule is pertty much set by my caregiving routine, which keeps me within the guidelines of medical coverage.
I don’t have to worry much about touring because I really can’t be away from home for more than 4 or 5 hours at a time. Thankfully my performance spaces come with their own audiences.
No mail room clerk, no manager, no contract, no roadies. Prior to 9/11 I was routinely performing in front of a million people a year.
Though I often thought in my prime that it would have been fun to open for a really good band.
mui @ 51
I’m beating my brains out trying to find other samplings of their music, which tends to be much more rhythmic world music. nothing on youtube, etc.
Stephen Parrish, CPA @
44
246-182…The Democrats got enough Republicans to eclipse the 60 vote barrier the Republicans needed to limit the Resolution.
Now on to the Senate!
In my last stint as a corporate whore I took a lot mental health days.
Christy Hardin Smith @ 52
TO THE TIVO I GO!
I was watching the House debate yesterday when I saw that Patrick Murphy clip in the previous thread delivered live. I had chills listening to him speak. I am so glad he is in Congress and can speak from experience on behalf of the men and women in uniform.
Bobby Womack teams with Los Lobos to do a version of “110th Street” on the Los Lobos album “The Ride’. It’s great. The film is great, too, by the way.
Favorite blaxploitation: “Truck Turner”
FiniFiniTOOBZ! @
7
Ditto. It’s filmed in all these places where my family lives and hangs out in the South Bay.
cinnamonape @
53
House OKs measure opposing troop surge
as katymine mentioned, a lot of people in the entertainment business work as freelancers/self-employed contractors, or work for contractors and are self-employed.
Both my spouse and I have been self-employed in the entertainment industry for years, and there are many things about “being your own boss” that are great. We basically work with who we want to, when we want to, and do what we want… but it’s taken decades to build to this point. It’s rare when we’re not working, networking, and making contingency plans to handle when income doesn’t come in due to things out of our control (our illness, client illness, weather issues that cancel events, bookings that fall through in non-contract situations, to name a few possibilities). Health insurance, disability, and retirement are contstant issues that eat at your soul. It’s hard to weather all of the storms and save for the future when you’re constantly re-investing in your business and handling the ups & downs that hit your pocketbook directly.
More and more of the regular work force is also moving to self-employment. In large part, it’s due to layoffs/downsizing and company bankruptcies… and also, a growing number of companies that encourage employees to quit their salaried job w/benefits for a higher rate as a contractor. Of course, many people who take this bait don’t realize the tax liability, the requirement to file quarterly taxes, liability insurance, the costs of health insurance as an individual (or even as part of a group like NASE), and the fact that they’re putting themselves at risk for their job to be discontinued at the drop of a hat, with no COBRA or other continuation of benefits available.
A lot of my friends who work for traditional 9-5 jobs often romanticize the notion of being self-employed. Yeah, there are benefits… but an awful lot of risks. If I had kids, this absoultely would not be an option. I’ll be honest – there is a lot of stress in life when you have no idea how much money you’ll make next month.
I worry that the business community will continue to push the notion that self-employment is “freedom” – simply to reduce their payrolls, their health insurance and pension burdens. If health insurance isn’t addressed as a national issue, we will continue to lose jobs to non-Americans, and see more and more of our fellow citizens declaring bankruptcy and furhter burdening the government through emergency health services.
P.S. I prefer the Grammy award show to the Oscars show… but I never sit through much of either one. At least there is a lot more real entertainment in the Grammy show than in the Oscar broadcast, which is full of self-indulgent actors/actresses droning on!
Donita Sparks @
38
You know me too well. It is always so much fun to play in “The Spin” on Fridays. Thanks to Donita and Fini for the laughs. You RAWK.
Like any artist, if you’re truly in it to change the world, then you’re willing to give up anything to achieve your final goal- thats my current attitude(currently im working on a… projects…well leave it at that)- granted im 23 so i can afford to have that, and I know what im working on will “add to my resume”- but I doubt that my attitude will ever change, if youre doing something you love, then nothing else matters; theres very few of us left NOT working for the man(even most artists are), and thats always nice to know
that being said, artists also need to negotiate- i know theres an amazing program in NYC at some hospital where you can trade your art for health care but you need to basically be a teacher(or facilitator, whatever); I dont know what major labels are like, but just like with manufacturing, if youre not getting a contract you want- dont do the work for them
as to the ESPN comment, thats INSANE, but you can still organize abunch of freelancers who have the same employee, and if you cant get a union in you can still act collectively
and ya, ive been listening to alot of Dragonforce while cutting up this footage this week
Biggus Diggus @ 59
I’m listening to that on Napster right now, what a cool version of this! If anyone else wants to hear this check it out: http://www.napster.com/player/tracks/13793295
Truck Turner is a great movie too. I think my favorite from that era though is Melvin Van Peebles’ Watermelon Man. The movie is very controversial though, but was a bold statement on Van Peebles’ part.
Kristin Hersh lives in Portland now. She’s doing a show next week.
Think I’ll go…
Biggus Diggus @
57
Wow thanks! Just iTunes that bad puppy.
On the anti-surge vote: I’m listening to Randi Rhodes right now. She says 2 Democrats crossed over and voted against the resolution. Don’t know who they are.
Randi’s also making fun of the fact that the Senate is gonna work on Saturday. She says the Senate will be debating & likely voting on the anti-surge resolution around 1:30ish ET tomorrow. She encourages us to watch/listen to what happens.
LandOfTheFree @ 68
I really wish I could be as excited about this as everyone else, but its a meaningless gesture even if it passes. No teeth in it. Its just Congress saying to the Cheney Administration “We don’t like the surge” officially. Until they defund the war I remain unimpressed.
The democrats who voted against it are from Mississippi and Georgia
http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2007/roll099.xml
i was pretty pissed a republican from Pennsylvania voted for it, not surprised, but angry- he’s not mine, but I think most of the pennsylvanians, even those from the T, are pretty loud about disapproval
but ya, unimpressed by this resolution, IMO it was just done for the DEBATE- it forced people to go on the record FROM BOTH SIDES- now theyre locked in for ‘08
Biggus Diggus @ 57
I remember when I went through a stage where I rented every Pam Grier movie I could find at Kim’s video, while my b-friend rented every HK martial arts classic. If you ask me to describe plots rented during these rentathons I could only be able to give a bare general outline, except for Dragon Inn, that was agood one.
This tune with Richard Thompson that Los Lobos did on The Ride called “The Wreck of the Carlos Rey” is fantastic! Scottish guitar dude sitting in with Tejano band and it blends smoothly. Good stuff, I’m downloading the whole album now.
encephalopath @ 64
Her new record is really good.
Brett @ 62
Very good points, but I highly encourage you to start carefully planning for your future now. When I was 23, I did not expect to be self-employed decades later. Granted, there are jobs I could have taken that would have provided more security, but lower pay and a far less sense of artistic excellence. A “final artistic goal” that sounds great at 23 may morph over time as you learn more and grow as a person.
The entertainment industry and the business world are changing drastically.
On your second point – that’s all well & good when you can get contracts. Often, you build your business by taking jobs without solid contracts, and if you complain when the job falls through, you don’t work anymore.
Sorry to sound like a buzzkill… just saying it like it is. While I may make more money and experience more artistic freedom as a self-employed person than I would in the normal salaried world, the risk in my life is far greater than others. As I get older, the notion of having a less-risky future becomes a bit more attractive… especially as the affordability of health insurance has skyrocketed. Just imagine what it’ll be like 10, 20, 30 years from now if a major change in the healthcare industry isn’t realized.
The best thing the US can do to encourage creative people, foster artistic development and enrich our culture is to ensure health insurance is available and affordable. (Of course, affordable & available insurance will help virtually everybody in this country… I’m just pointing out how much it would help the “creative class” in our society).
Glen Greenwald audio is up at C&L from the Alan Colmes’ radio show last night
http://www.crooksandliars.com/…..k-gaffney/
Glen is debating the idiot who wrote the fake Lincoln quote that Rep Young refuses to retract.
Glen does a great job and holds his own. Very surprised about the backbone shown by Colmes too.
http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2007/roll099.xml
It looks good. I hope the senate will not let us down.
FiniFiniTOOBZ! @ 67
Not really meaningless, IMO. It puts congresspeople on record, Fini. It is a baby step, but an important one, in building consensus and further isolating the President from the vast majority of the nation and the Congress. If this passes the Senate, then the next step is resolutions with more teeth.
Brett – thanks for the vote tally.
About the best example I know of a band that always played for the sheer love of playing even though they never earned anything resembling the acclaim they deserved is NRBQ. They were, and are, a band I would drop whatever else I was doing to hear play again.
At Yankee Stadium is their best record from beginning to end, but NRBQ has always been a band that you had to see live to really appreciate. Here’s a youtube clip of a performance on Nightmusic, check out Terry’s piano style, a combination of Thelonius Monk, Johnny Johnson, and the theatrics of Chico Marx, while Big Al rips off a typically crazed guitar solo. Great stuff.
Ah I’ve been flitting between albums lately.
In the car: Shiro no Juumon–Doa (japanese guitar rock, acousitc and electric)
Spitz (random mix of songs)
At home: I Choose Noise–Hybrid
Morning Sci-Fi–Hybrid
Hallucinations–David Usher
That’s the only thing about the music/sound business that i’m leery about. The lack of healthcare. Becuase i’ve got the two conditions to deal with. Meanwhile as worker inside the healthcare business as i am? I don’t have any problems with insurance, even if my work hours are sometimes very shoddy depending on our volume. I can only depend on getting about 20 hrs a week during low volume days. Since i’m so low in seniority, there’s not much i can do about it. But at times like this? i’ve been averaging 30 to 40. It also helps that i go to different stores to work.
Yet the music still calls me. *sighs* Despite how much daily pain interferes with school.
One of my favorite songs right now, they change with the mood-Rage against the Machine-Fuck The Police.
Not because I hate the police, I don’t, it is a statement of the mentality of our government in its present form, and in its repeated efforts to quash any dissent and this goes way back to the murder of Fred Hampton and all the other Black Panthers who gave their lives in a fight for their rights as human beings, it goes to all who have stood for humanity and not avarice.
Jimi Hendrix-Star Spangled Banner-gets me
Fugees-Killing Me Softly
Sonny Sharrock-Ask the Ag
Hawksley Workman-I’m Jealous of Your Cigarette
Phish-First Tube
Frank Zappa-Trance Fusion-Chungas Revenge
Sarah Vaughn-Midnight Sun
and on and on, music is the best-fz, thanks Donita
New thread upstairs
CD Baby’s latest indie artist tout:
Current Numbers:
* 168,706 artists sell their CD at CD Baby.
* 3,011,376 CDs sold online to customers.
* $40,901,127 paid to artists.
_____
Equivalently, averaging $242.44 per artist, 18 units per artist.
(I’d like to see the actual distribution, though; I’d bet the median is even lower.)
_
Been switching between Amy Winehouse’s new album and Muse’s Black Holes and Revelations – Winehouse is fairly gravelly soul music, Muse go through thirty years of alternative pop in 45 minutes. It’s fun.
LandOfTheFree @
72
Actually im not self employed, im working in the nonprofit sector, thus the not “working for the man comment”- as it stands i dont have anything steady, but if by the time im 25 I dont ill start sweating it- Im not the healthiest person, but im healthy enough not to get a random sickness unless its from work(which theyd cover then)
And its fine, im all about killing peoples buzz;)
The Central Scrutinizer is alive and well, still enforcing the laws that haven’t been written..yet
Thanks for the great run Frank
Great post, Donita!
I’ve spent over 30 years as a professional ‘working joe’ musician (since I was 16), and my mother asked me the same thing – ‘why don’t you get a job with security and benefits’? Now, she has seen that ‘job security’ and benefits are a thing of the past. Here’s my answer when people ask me “Why don’t you get a real job?”
If you are a musician, you have heard these words a million times. They are spoken sometimes in anger, sometimes in pity, sometimes in frustration. Why anyone with a brain in their head would choose to fritter their life away honestly puzzles many people.
Musicians are widely regarded as lazy, immature, and either aimless or unrealistically over-ambitious. (”What do you call a guitar player without a girlfriend?” “Homeless”) They are constantly reminded by well-meaning folks how small the chances are of ‘making it’ (i.e. becoming rich and famous) and how difficult it is to make a living as a full-time musician. Some of that may even be true. ‘Lazy’, however, I believe I would have to disagree with. When you go out to a bar, for instance, have a few drinks and dance to your local live band, they sure look like they’re having fun – as much or perhaps even more than you (depending on how your day has gone). It’s hard to believe they’re getting money for doing almost the same thing that you’re paying to do – dancing, singing, partying. How much money do you think they’re getting? Whatever your guess is, I’ll bet that it’s not low enough. The waitress makes more – lots more. The bartender makes more – lots more. The busboy, the bouncer, the valet-parking guy…now you’re getting warm, Sherlock!
here’s the rest…
You guys who are working musicians are what makes me feel good, what would we be without music. I started learning to play guitar at 60 and am now 65, it is one of the hardest things I have ever tried to do. If I had it to do all over again, I would be a musician or an artist, things I am pursuing now have so much more weight in my life than all the jobs I have done as an excavator. There are seven whole notes in the world and magic happens with abcdefg. Listen to John Coltrane play Stardust-that’s god talking, and by the way the reason things are so fucked up down here is that Thelonious is teaching god to play piano, I know god knows everything and can do everything, except play piano like the Monk.
I’m self-employed, too, and thankfully so far seem to be blessed with good health. However, I spend a lot of time on a bicycle in San Francisco and one day I expect my number to come up and to get in an accident.
I really don’t think employers should be responsible for paying for healthcare in this country. It drives the prices up way high. The prices would come down if everyone had to pay out of pocket or if the government gave everyone some kind of catastrophic insurance.
Best thing you can do is just eat right, exercise, and take care of yourself. Yoga is good, too.
FYI, the whole Los Lobos “The Ride” album is great. You could do worse than to own it.
Alicia @
84
I read “the rest” and thanks for the link. I’ve written and home-recorded lots of tunes but I’d hesitate to call any of them “art” and what you refer to as the “have to” is, for me, more like an itch that needs to be scratched. I’ve began to wonder if what I’m doing actually is degrading what real musicians/artists do in the way velvet paintings and mass produced seascapes seemingly degrade what real visual artists do. When I retire from my full time job with benefits I’m gonna live my rock and roll fantasy. I”m already growing a pony tail LOL.
Donita,
After years of being a student without a “proper” job (no benefits)…I bought myself health insurance. For me it was a cost ~$200-300 range per month. Yes, no doubt, our health care system is messed up, but you gotta get it. It’s cheese – like going to the mall to pick up your health insurance, but it’s important.
When are you going to do a show in San Francisco?