Little Neo,

I sympathize. It was humbling for me the first time I realized that others wanted to hear things other than what I chose.

I suppose I've ranted about musical prostitution before so I'll skip the tirade. Years ago I compromised and kept a few nuggets on hand for those who want to hear what they know, the rest of the time (all of the time if I can) I play whatever I want. For the life of me I can't understand why the musicians can't call the tune and play requests at their own discretion without others demanding only what's familiar to them. It was a hard lesson for me and I suppose it's the price of playing out. I do draw the line at "play it like so-and-so"...no, I play it like me. All in all I think I can play at least 3/4 of what I want to 1/4 of what they want and get away with it at the worst of times. At the best of times, I play my choices only.

Perhaps trying to force my own agenda (read repertoire)has made me a better player and presenter of my repertoire. In any event, I might have it easier as a guitarist, banjo players might be more type-cast. You think?

Peace. Mooh.