Addendum:

Remembering the cameraderie and the sense of acceptance and belonging that the earlier coffee houses often provided, I accept that it was part of the growth process; tied to my youth and my dreams of the time, 1956-65. It was a very amateur-driven thing. There is no way to recreate that time and place, though I wish it were more available to young people now. The commercialization that occurred during that time brought a lot of young people in, but also drove a lot of them out, leaving some really embittered.

The music "business" can be a very cold, ugly and unsympathetic one. The late Jim Croce's widow, Ingrid, once told me that people in that world were the worst she had ever dealt with. And, HE was one of the successful ones. We should all enjoy the music for its own sake, and not for the ego-gratification, money and status so many lust after. If you have the true passion, follow it. But, for God's sake, don't cut off your ear for it. I'm just glad music is still in my life, at any level.