It is Sunday morning. We played a little coffeehouse just south of downtown Spokane last night. We had a few friends in the audience, some of the regulars, and some dropins from the publicity we gave the gig.
We could be anywhere in the western U.S., maybe anyplace at all in the United States. We could be in a motel room in our hometown. For all practical purposes it wouldn't matter much. The businesses are the same. I went to a convenience store downtown just a short time ago. It was like any convenience store in any downtown in any American city. I think the time of day may have made it more interesting than if it had been later. Also Sundays are different (i.e. "Sunday Morning Coming Down" ala Kris Kristofferson). There is the usual presence of dire poverty in most American downtown areas these days. Nothing new about that. I think most people my age would confirm that.
On Sundays the streets are very sparse downtown for vehicles and pedestrians alike as most of the major businesses are closed on Sundays. That's partly a remnant of blue laws, and probably mainly the fact that most people like to take a day off, and with business slow - Sunday is the day although most of the monopoly businesses are open on Sundays. They mostly employ low to medium skill workers who don't generally have much say in what days or hours they work.
We have been getting our feet back in the water of being touring musicians - touring on the lowest rungs of the ladder. I think it would be good if we gave more thought to what we are doing. We would be smart to do more publicity, and have more confidence in our abilities. We have worked long and hard to be doing what we do, and almost universally we are recognized to be good at what we do when we play. Now if I would only recognize that. At this point I always want to point out to myself that the world is full of people with our skills. That isn't exactly true, and there is not an act that would really be like us as we bring the world that we have experienced with us in our performance. We give people a glimpse into that world, and that world is well traveled and divcrse compared to most people. That's why I named our latest CD project "Windows".
I have given some thought lately to my progress through life. One might think that I would have been done with that some time ago, and indeed I had abandoned that kind of "where am I in life" meditations some time ago. It isn't just an introspective perception that I am experiencing. It is a result of the experiences of others as well. We have a few friends who are couples who were reunited after being adolescent lovers. Kristi and I have attended a couple of gatherings of my high school class and I only can think that I was pretty much a hollow vessel in those days.
I don't know if I'm going to write anything else about this. I try to keep this kind of public writing out of the realm of confessional, or too introspective. Not just because I think it isn't really all that interesting, but, well . . . for other reasons as well. Now I know I have set up an air of mystery. Don't stare at the man behind the curtain folks. He isn't really there. Just turn away now and go about your business. Until next time. Steve Nebel
We could be anywhere in the western U.S., maybe anyplace at all in the United States. We could be in a motel room in our hometown. For all practical purposes it wouldn't matter much. The businesses are the same. I went to a convenience store downtown just a short time ago. It was like any convenience store in any downtown in any American city. I think the time of day may have made it more interesting than if it had been later. Also Sundays are different (i.e. "Sunday Morning Coming Down" ala Kris Kristofferson). There is the usual presence of dire poverty in most American downtown areas these days. Nothing new about that. I think most people my age would confirm that.
On Sundays the streets are very sparse downtown for vehicles and pedestrians alike as most of the major businesses are closed on Sundays. That's partly a remnant of blue laws, and probably mainly the fact that most people like to take a day off, and with business slow - Sunday is the day although most of the monopoly businesses are open on Sundays. They mostly employ low to medium skill workers who don't generally have much say in what days or hours they work.
We have been getting our feet back in the water of being touring musicians - touring on the lowest rungs of the ladder. I think it would be good if we gave more thought to what we are doing. We would be smart to do more publicity, and have more confidence in our abilities. We have worked long and hard to be doing what we do, and almost universally we are recognized to be good at what we do when we play. Now if I would only recognize that. At this point I always want to point out to myself that the world is full of people with our skills. That isn't exactly true, and there is not an act that would really be like us as we bring the world that we have experienced with us in our performance. We give people a glimpse into that world, and that world is well traveled and divcrse compared to most people. That's why I named our latest CD project "Windows".
I have given some thought lately to my progress through life. One might think that I would have been done with that some time ago, and indeed I had abandoned that kind of "where am I in life" meditations some time ago. It isn't just an introspective perception that I am experiencing. It is a result of the experiences of others as well. We have a few friends who are couples who were reunited after being adolescent lovers. Kristi and I have attended a couple of gatherings of my high school class and I only can think that I was pretty much a hollow vessel in those days.
I don't know if I'm going to write anything else about this. I try to keep this kind of public writing out of the realm of confessional, or too introspective. Not just because I think it isn't really all that interesting, but, well . . . for other reasons as well. Now I know I have set up an air of mystery. Don't stare at the man behind the curtain folks. He isn't really there. Just turn away now and go about your business. Until next time. Steve Nebel
