Back in April, I used this site to announce my retirement. After a year of Covid-induced inactivity I thought I would hang it up permanently and find something else to do. I found I didn’t miss the pressure of always having to be entertaining, but I did miss being entertaining. There is a difference, you know. It goes like this.

When you’re being paid to provide entertainment, your employer expects you to deliver. Guests or patrons at the gig need to be entertained, and that’s what you’re being paid to do. If you’re playing in a bar, the job is to keep people in their seats so that they drink more, increasing the profits for the bar. One of the ways you do this is by playing songs everyone knows.

A lot of guys that get into this business (bands, solo entertainers) choose to do original material and don’t play covers. They don’t last very long. Covers are the lifeblood of a successful act. This goes for all venues, not just bars. Because people already have strong associations with music they know, cover songs are a fast way to elevate their moods. The wider variety of covers an act can deliver, the better chance of bringing everyone along on the journey.

This philosophy has been the secret of my success over the years. The problem with this is that all my covers only speak to people of a certain age. The current generation of bar-goers don’t share the same song-induced memories of someone from my generation. The covers I know don’t resonate with them or take them anywhere. Of course, I could learn new covers that are familiar to the 20-somethings, but I just don’t like the music they grew up with, and I’m way too old to learn how to rap.

In April I thought the solution to this dilemma was just to hang it up, but as I said, I missed entertaining people and wondered if there might be another way.

Yesterday (Sat Sep 18, 2021), I rolled out of bed early, packed my sound equipment and my dog in the car and drove to Ohiopyle, PA, one of my favorite places. I learned to white water kayak there a couple years ago and like to return to just walk around and take in the sights. I have frequently gone there to listen to live music at the Ohiopyle House Café on Grant Street and thought I would ask them to let me play on their outdoor stage at no charge.

I didn’t know the management at all, but just showed up and made the offer. They gave me a look that said “What the hell, if it doesn't cost us anything, what have we got to lose” and gave me the nod.

I ended up playing for four and a half hours without a break. People came. They stayed. They ate and drank. The bar made money. It was awesome. The best part for me was that there was no pressure. I wasn’t getting paid, so if I sucked, no one was going to be disappointed. But I didn’t suck, and people had such a good time they filled my tip bucket. The café management was also delighted and decided to pay me despite my offer to play for free.

I have been processing all that I learned from this experience and think I have it narrowed down to what I said before: I don’t like having to be entertaining, but I do like being entertaining. Yesterday I accomplished that and would love to do it again. Does that mean I’m coming out of retirement? Maybe… If I can do things on my terms. I’m not sure how that’s going to work yet, but I’ll keep you posted.