Music Before the Money

How do you get two piccolo players to play in perfect unison?
Shoot one.

What’s the difference between a fiddle and a violin ?
Who cares - neither one’s a guitar

How do you know when the stage is level ?
The drummer is drooling out of both sides of his mouth.

Did you hear about the guitarist who was in tune ?
Neither did I

Why are so many guitarist jokes one liners ?
So the rest of the band can understand them

What do you call a guitarist who breaks up with his girlfriend ?
Homeless.

What’s the definition of a minor second?
Two oboists playing in perfect unison.

How do you get a guitar player off of your front porch ?
Pay for the pizza.

How many guitar players does it take to cover a Stevie Ray Vaughn tune ?
Evidently all of them.

What do you do if your bassist is drowning?
Throw him his amp.

By Ravi Vora

http://ravivora.com

1. Your dream is unrealistic. What’s unrealistic is trying to live your life working at a job you don’t love doing something you hate for the rest of your life while regretting trying to live your dream.

2. You’re screwed if it doesn’t work out. No, you’re not. In fact, the worst possible scenario is that you go back to what you would be doing if you hadn’t pursued your dream. That’s the worst possible scenario.

3. You weren’t cut out for that. Who’s to say that? If you don’t fit the stereotype for your dream then you’re the one to break the mold. You will stand out.

4. You can follow your dream someday. Someday will never come. Follow your dream today.

5. Only a few people “make it.” That’s because they lack the drive, determination, and will that you have. You’re one of the few.

6. You should just be safe and get a job. In fact, a job is even more dangerous than pursuing your dream. Not only do you feel terrible doing something you don’t want to do, but with two simple words your livelihood can change. “You’re fired.” When you’re pursuing your dream, you’re the only one that can stop you.

7. That’s impossible. Yes it’s impossible. For them. Not for you though, because you can dream and make it real.

8. You would have to go through so much work to do that. Yeah, but you’re willing to do it. You know what you want and you know what you have to do to get there. To you it’s not work, it’s what you want to do with your life.

9. You don’t need a backup plan. Yes, you do. Even if it’s just for supplemental income, use your talent or perfect your dream by doing something that may not be the exact same, but is related. It’s always better to be good at two things than one.

10. It’s a one in a million chance. No, actually, it’s probably less. But it doesn’t matter to you, because you know you’re going to do it. That’s what really matters.

11. Bad things will happen. Failures are just steps towards success. Any successful entrepreneur will tell you that. If you can’t handle failure, then success is going to be very difficult to achieve.

12. You won’t be able to live off that. If you can do it and find an avenue that will pay you for it, then yes you can live off of your dream. Even people who can fit into a box found an market for their talent that people would pay them to perform.

13. You’re going to be the next “BLANK.” No, you’re not. You’re going to be the next YOU. Don’t follow the mold, be different. Be yourself.

14. That’s a lot of pressure. Of course there is; it’s your life. That doesn’t matter to you though because you’re willing to take it on and make it your own.

15. You have to do this, this, and this, to do that. Wrong. Follow what you believe and find your own way to achieve your dream. Studying those who have succeeded in the same field helps, but copying won’t get you anywhere.

If you can disregard these bits of “advice” people give you, you’re well on your way to succeeding.

Don’t let their jealousy and worry get you down.

Now go own the world.

-Ravi Vora

I spent one year at music school at Capilano College in North Vancouver. It was a very intense course with good instruction and a demanding time schedule. My choice of performance instrument was the classical guitar. I hastily bought one out of the local music store because I had made my choice at the last moment. The brand was Giannini.

Giannini guitars are made by the Tranquilo Giannini S.A. factory, Carlos Weber 124, Sao Paolo, Brazil. They are generally known for being well-made instruments featuring very fancy Brazilian hardwood veneers. Probably the most famous endorser of Giannini guitars was José Feliciano. The model I had was a GN50 Standard and had a yellow spruce top and mahogany neck and body.

It was great sounding instrument but years later I gave it away to a friend of mine who - gulp - put steel strings on it. Then it disappeared after he died. I miss them both.

In 1975 I put my Gibson L-5 away and bought a second-hand Gibson Hummingbird, the second-in-command of the Gibson dreadnought line (the Dove being the flagship). I still have it and it is probably the prettiest guitar on the planet.

Up until the Hummingbird debuted in 1960 all Gibson guitars were round-shouldered. The square design was to copy the Martin dreadnoughts which were the folk standard at the time. The Hummingbird has mahogany back and sides, a decorative pickguard with a hummingbird dipping into a flower and mother-of-pearl fretboard and headstock inlays. The top is spruce (naturally) and the fingerboard is rosewood. The standard finish is cherry sunburst, although some natural finish models were produced.

The Gibson Hummingbird was winner of Acoustic Guitar’s Player’s Choice Award for the Dreadnought Category in 2000, and was described thus: “The Hummingbird has a very wide range of sound, from gutsy and loud, to sweet and soft. Superb for all styles of playing, whether just chording or playing intricate solo’s.”

As for me, it was a great companion on the road and I even took it to Fiji and Australia. Right now it’s hanging on my wall - not as an ornament, because I do play it - because I love looking at it.

“It’s not how far you fall,
But how you rise back up that is the measure of a man/woman.”

There are many versions of this saying but this is may favorite. Believe it or not Anthony Hopkins says this to Jennifer Lopez in Maid in Manhattan and I don’t think there is anyone who can discount what Hopkins has to say about anything!

What is a “Faller?”

As an experienced “faller” I have resorted to many ways to stop sliding when I feel overwhelmed. It’s a feeling of helpless when daily issues suddenly seem insurmountable or meaningless. I think, “What’s the use?” or “I’m doomed to be a perpetual loser.”

Falling to me is not a daily, or even weekly, event but happens more than a half dozen times a year. This is actually a good thing because it used to happen with more frequency and the events used to last days even weeks. Doctors call it many things but depression is the most common label. In my case it’s more complicated and taking pills (I did for a year) just slowed it down for me and made me care less about it instead of finding new ways to deal with the situations.

Climbing Out

Hopkins’ words in the movie stick with me because that’s exactly what I have to realize everytime it happens. Now I warn my family and they give me space instead of wondering what they did wrong to attract such treatment from me. I’m not violent at all, just quiet and moody - which is probably worse. Now, when I know what’s happening I batten down the hatches and look for keywords and thoughts to stop the slide. Then I read some great self-empowerment material to refill my head with information to regain my power.

Clinical response?

Yes, it is a clinical response on one level. But it beats pills. And I have stopped beating myself up for being this way because, whatever causes it, it is a depression that I have dealt with in many ways over the years. I have lost good friends, girlfriends and advancement situations because I have “showed my true side.” Then, just after I realized what I had both done and said to my friends, I would spend up to a month battering myself up for it.

I have read about Vincent van Gogh, Jim Morrison and many other artistic people who “dealt with demons.” Being a musician and writer I know what they went through. Many like them became famous but could not deal with their situations and died young, but after causing pain to many people around them. I may have the same type of malady, but I know that now. I know what it takes to rise up.

Triggers

Just as triggers sent me into the spiral they can get me out:

• Counting blessings: I have hundreds of things for which I am thankful.
• Realizing how far I’ve come: This when I look at the achievements I have made and not the failures.
• Family: I look at how healthy my kids are and how my wife has stuck by me through a lot of downers.
• Future: There is a future. It is brand new and I can shape any way I feel like.
• The Past is the Past: Just like the baboon sage in The Lion King.

Now go make your own triggers.