Obviously, the acts and agents that are coming to you haven't been able to break through to the places that they really want to play.

They may not have a good show, or maybe they just don't know how to promote themselves. Chances are, the acts that are contacting you are going down for the third time, and the comments are just the last, desperate attempt to sell something that nobody wants.

It's a routine that is so old, it was a stock scene in "backstage" movies, sixty years ago. Picture Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland, pleading with a producer, saying something like, "You don't know know what you're missing, you gotta give these kids a chance"--

The producer always says something like, "I'd like to help you, but my hands are tied. My audience wants a certain kind of a show, and if they don't get it, they scream bloody murder. I'm sorry, kid, but your friends just ain't got it."

And you ain't wrong, Sol--and they ain't wrong, either, they're just trying to make it in a cold, hard, world that looks like it's all flower gardens and lilyponds.

Best you can do is wish them luck as you shove them out the door;-)