I'm enjoying thid thread ... there are a lot of thoughtful and honest comments. Over the many years, I've "performed" in just about every kind of venue you can imagine: concerts, nightclubs, coffee houses, store opening, restaurants,weddings, funerals, festivals. I've also produced festivals and I'm still involved in producing a concert series in my hometown.

One thing I've noticed is that all too frequantly, the additin of "money", or Pay", changes everything. Suddenly, as others have pointed out, once you sign a contract, you are bound to sing for those two hours, no matter what, etc. I once was chewed out by a restaurant owner in Pocatello, Idaho, because I took a potty break.

I recently watched as the issue of more "money" broke up a very long time band.

And like some others have also mentioned, I once laid down my guitars for three years because I was burned out from constant paid gigs where I felt more like a prostitute than an artist.

CHEERS, bob (deckman) nelson