This past weekend, I played at a dueling club in New England. I had played there one night in December, and was finally invited back in March. The entertainment director arranged to put me onstage first as he wanted my first and last sets to be easy and then only the one set in the middle would be critical. I wasn't happy to hear that. After the night was over, he confessed to me that he had been a bit nervous about having me onstage because he really didn't remember exactly how my performance had been in December. That's really frustrating as I work so damn hard to do what I do well, and yet it's seems to take forever to foment my reputation. And I remember that I had completely rearranged my schedule and taken a pay cut to work that first night in December so that he WOULD know exactly what I was capable of and book me for more work. He did go on to say that as soon as he heard me do my first song he knew that he had nothing to worry about with me. He then promised to book me for more work, and did give me a single date in April.
Oy...this process is so excruciatingly slow!
On my return to New York I arranged to stop at Yale University for a campus tour. Of course Yale is the very definition of
privilege, recognized by many as one of the top 3 colleges in the US. I just had to see. The main library was designed by an architect who believed that every great architect should build one cathedral in their career. As Yale had no desire to build a cathedral, he convinced them to let him design the library as a cathedral to
knowledge. It was as grand a cathedral as you would expect from a place like Yale. In the naves were card catalogues and computers, and up front where the alter would be, was the front desk. It would be a great place to study.
The girl that gave the tour was a chatty freshman who had apparently met the Prime Minister of China at one of their monthly fireside chats they hold for the various colleges in Yale. The entire experience made me think of Harry Potter's Hogwarts, except that this was real life. Sort of.
On my return to New York I arranged to stop at Yale University for a campus tour. Of course Yale is the very definition of privilege, recognized by many as one of the top 3 colleges in the US. I just had to see. The main library was designed by an architect who believed that every great architect should build one cathedral in their career. As Yale had no desire to build a cathedral, he convinced them to let him design the library as a cathedral to
knowledge. It was as grand a cathedral as you would expect from a place like Yale. In the naves were card catalogues and computers, and up front where the alter would be, was the front desk. It would be a great place to study.
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