Music Before the Money

John Irving, the author of Cider House Rules and The World According to Garp once said that he never goes anywhere without his lined, yellow note pad. This is because he sees subjects and incidences for his books almost every day. Jotting down notes serves to revive his memory when he’s back at his desk.

Notes also work for the semi-conscious. Richard Bach, of Jonathan Livingston Seagull fame and an accomplished pilot, never goes to sleep without a notepad nearby. He believes we only have a few seconds to get down pieces of our dreams before they slip away. Our subconscious is brimming with information, clues to our very being and answers to our prayers.

Another purveyor of this method are musicians and songwriters like Keith Richard who has a tape recorder by his bed to capture important pieces of a song that are lost within a minute of awakening. A great many of the Rolling Stones’ hit tunes either had their start or were embellished by a few seconds of dreamy uttering and musical notes.

Try this out and see what you get at the end of the week.

Investment impresario, Warren Buffett, was once asked by a second-year Harvard Business student how he made hiring decisions. He responded that he looked for three attributes: personal integrity, intelligence, and high energy level. “However,” he added, “if you don’t have the first, the second two don’t matter.”

Big business has taken its share of lumps over the past few years: Enron, Qwest Communications, Bre-X, Adelphia and the list goes on. What the scandals have shown is that the upper management of these companies have sent a message down to the lower echelons that it’s okay to cheat because the end justifies the means. After a while these princes of industry look at themselves as “walking the gray areas” or romantic “corporate raiders.” So no wonder the people below them lose the will to be honest.

One internet sales person admitted having defrauded his customers and defended himself by admitting that, “If you didn’t lie you were fired. It always came down to careful wording and fudging numbers.” The numbers for the customers didn’t add up, but the profits did and he enjoyed a six figure income for two years.

However, his company couldn’t deliver what he had promised (which was at the blessing of the company) and his phone began to light up with irate customers. Renewed sales dropped to zero and he stopped answering his phone because there were a few death threats in amongst the anger. His health deteriorated and his whole body was in constant pain. How he finally realized peace was to quit his job and work at a firm that put integrity first. Now he makes one-third of what he used to make but his customers respect him and life is wonderful.

Employees don’t trust leaders who are without integrity. But graft doesn’t start out that way, with a bang. It’s the little things that they let slide until, one day, corruption is the normal way of doing business and the auditors arrive. Now your respected company is written about in the newspapers as riding on the same plane as an internet money game from Nigeria - just before they put the cuffs on you.

Most, if not all, solo performers - at one time or another - started out in a group, whether a duo, trio or full band. Gordon Lightfoot had a folk trio, Cher once totally relied on Sonny and a pro band for the music and Neil Young had Buffalo Springfield, among others.

As I watch episodes of “American Idol” and other such “star searches” I wonder if the jumpstart they get to their careers is more or less an attempt at leaping over the chasm to success rather than slowly and patiently building a bridge. Because if your cannon is powerful enough and it gets you across, now what?

Okay, so you’ve won or placed second, now comes the recording and the “big tour.” How many of these guys and gals have ever toured before? How many of them have ever traveled, performed, practiced and basically lived with a group of people for an extended length of time?

It takes a lot of the aforementioned plus amateur psychology, financial counseling and substance control policing (Booze was the only hang-up I ever saw and it was only a couple of times) that goes into the community of the band. For a group is a rolling carnival, much like a smaller version of the rides that travel from town to town. Although any bands I’ve met (hundreds) usually had a lot more going for them than the carnie shows. However, when you have a group of guys with hopes and dreams traveling together, usually having one day for travel and six nights to play, you have amazing dynamics that need to be moderated. Along for the ride are all the problems of life only compacted into a bus or large van. Throw in a girl singer and you can triple the “adventure.”

Some of the greatest people I’ve met have been have been on the road. Despite the stereotypes, for the most part, they have to be more together because of the responsibility of putting on a great show every night. They have to pay loans for equipment, book new gigs and pay themselves (usually last) and still survive to make it to the next town. This isn’t an occupation for lightweights.

Any band leaders I know have gone on to be successes in other occupations as well. For they once ran one of the most complicated businesses on the planet and had great success. For the TV variety, look up “idol” in any dictionary. Here is answers.com:

i·dol (īd‘l)
n.

1. 1. An image used as an object of worship.
   2. A false god.
2. One that is adored, often blindly or excessively.
3. Something visible but without substance.

P.S. Why do these “talent shows” of all types have to feature some pissed-off Englishman? Why not a pissed-off Welshman, Irishman or Fijian?