I second MMario on this. I once had a lady throw her arms around me and thank me for singing. It was the end of the day and Mister and I had been performing for tour groups at a historic site for several hours. Free. (I think we got food.) We were tired. But that was some of the best pay I ever got.

One night we were hanging out with some friends and we played an original song that made my friend Patrick cry. Well, it's not that I delight in making people cry, you understand, but it touched me that something I created meant that much to him.

My brother sings in a Native American drum group. We were over at my mom's last weekend, and he said, see, both your kids grew up to be performers. But what you don't know is that we'd still do it even if nobody was watching.

And he was right.

That being said, we do take money. If travel is involved, we can't afford to go in the hole just for fun. A little practicality has to enter in somewhere. Locally, we play for food an awful lot, which is fine with me, and usually we can sell tapes so that works out pretty well. If people want to show their appreciation with money, I'm not going to argue.

But I ain't out to make no killin, either.