Carl - keep the faith, and keep asking yourself if you're happy - the moment
you answer a truthful "no," move on.  Consider those of us who are too
afraid/conservative to give our dreams a go.  I'd love to be a musician, but
realistically, it wasn't going to happen.  Neither was my dream of being a
doctor.  I'm deliriously happy being a husband, father and power-pop fan.
My day-job doesn't suck either, but it wasn't my dream, and it's certainly
not what I live for.

>to get back on point, carl, invite me to your l.a.
>gig(s).  or better yet, let me host you (room, board,
>frozen pizzas and vodka lemonades are the standard
>menu) to a barely-attended open mike or even (deep
>intake of breath) "scheduled" gig at a local venue
>here in sacramento.  it is my life's mission (having
>discovered nothing else relevant) to expose local,
>regional and national musicians to a
>generally-accepting local scene and to entertain them
>to the fullest extent of my abilites (btw, this
>applies to any other l.a. or socal or national artists
>braving our "chilly" northern central valley scene).

Jen - could you provide any details on your forays into musical promotion?
As a house-concert promoter, I'm interested in finding out more about the
shows you do and your approach to them.  I've often tried to rally others on
the list to run house concerts, or approach music more actively than just
buying CDs, so your life's mission intrigues me.

>I apologize for my uber-bitchy tone.

Wendie - I love the thread that your email spawned, but for the moment I'll
confine my comments to the following:  As a fan, I'm still hoping that you
make it east one of these years; as a house concert promoter, I'm hoping to
host a gig for you; as a lover of sarcasm, I'm hoping you title your next
cod "Umber-bitchy Tone."

Ira

PS - IKE and Cliff Hillis were amazing on Sunday - as were those individuals
who donated blood (thanks for bringing both arms Lauree) - Clever Hans,
local boys from New Brunswick will be joining us on 8/24 - help support
local music, join us.