Last night I think I played the best show of my life so far. It has reignited my passion for music.
The concert was at the House of James in Abbotsford. I used to live in Abbotsford and I never thought that it was a great place for gigs, but after experiencing my fair share of dull gigs in the “big city” of Vancouver, I realize that smaller cities and towns are fun to play at because they have less events and places competing for their attention. And I think this affects the way the people respond to hearing some good music. They want to support the artist and really get connected (or so I assume from what I observed).
There were quite a few people who bought my CD, plus people payed cover to see the show. So I made a decent amount of money. It feels so good to make money doing something I love. And it’s not about the money in itself. I’m very content with a simple life and am not in it for fame or fortune. It’s a weird psychological thing that I’m talking about. It feels good to get paid for playing music because it shows that people value my work. They ascribe worth to my music when they pay to listen to it, whether live or on a recording. Payment is a sacrifice. In the old bartering system, people would exchange goods or services for other goods or services. Now we have money as a middleman. So when I get paid for a CD or concert it’s like people are saying, “Good job. Your music is appreciated. I will trade you this for your work.” Hearing the verbal encouragement is nice too, but it doesn’t take much sacrifice on their part and, therefore, falls a little flat. I remember the faces of people who buy my CD. I don’t always remember the people who said, “Good job.” But in the moment I still appreciate it.
I also want to mention a few people who made the night so great:
- Lando, the owner of House of James who let us perform there
- Adam Roper, who organized the event
- Brad and Shannon who drove me (I don’t have a car)
- Barbara Swain and Josh Hyslop who both performed phenominally as well
And last but certainly not least…
- Emily Ewing, who sang with me and did a fantastic job
Thanks also to everyone who came out to listen. We couldn’t do it with out you.
Tags: Abbotsford, Adam Roper, Barbara Swain, Brad Steeves, CD, Concert, Emily Ewing, House of James, Jeff Hawker, Josh Hyslop, Lando, Shannon Fox