It shot across my bow like a giant cannonball. James Conlan happened to mention it in passing, but it electrified me: "My wife & I went to this really nice French restaurant on the far west side of Houston last week, and the whole time we were there the sound system played the same Lyle Lovett song, over & over!" It's one of those moments where you feel a half-dozen emotions at the same time... It was hilarious---all those people having dinner, and no one notices that they're listening to the same five-minute song for an hour or more? Sacre bleu! It's like something out of a Seinfeld episode... It was shocking---wouldn't someone...anyone...pick up on the fact that the CD player was stuck? Surely a busboy, a patron, somebody? (Jim let it go because he was invited by friends to eat there...didn't want to make a stink) From a musician's perspective, it was unthinkable. I personally am unable to shut ambient music off. If I'm in an elevator, and there's music, I'm analyzing it ("ok, they just went to the IV chord...now it's minor iv...back to the I...") On the third time through "make it a cheeeeseburger" or whatever tune it was, I'd be out of my chair and in the manager's office! Apparently, I'm in the minority here. And, perhaps most importantly, it was a giant slab of perspective. We as musicians take enormous pride in being able to present music of many colors. Some band leaders take great pains to present a canvas of sound choices that will be pleasant and offer sufficient variety to the listener to keep them actively involved in the process. Or, we could just play the same song for four hours straight! I'm reaching an interesting point in my career. When I first started playing music, and got a taste of playing in public, I figured those concerts I played at school were the shape of things to come. Big audiences, big applause. I envisioned myself playing to larger & larger crowds, drinking in the adulation I so richly deserved. I musta made a wrong turn at Albuquerque! Don't get me wrong, I'm not talking sour grapes. I happen to love what I do, in whatever capacity I'm called on to play....it's just that some gigs are more equal than others. One week ago, I was standing on stage in Palm Springs, California, in front of a sold-out audience of over 1100 people, who all paid large quantities of cash to see vocalist Steve Tyrell. I was performing with trumpeter Warren Leuning, who just happened to play his 18th Academy Awards show tonight. I was up there with Tom Brechtlein, an impeccable drummer who's toured and recorded with guys like Chick Corea & Robben Ford. It was a dream gig! 48 hours later, I was playing the opening of a bank in Spring Branch with John Calderon. He had just returned from a tour in Japan, and we both commented on how crazy our lives had become. We also played some great music together. The client came up at the end and said we were "perfect." We were paid well for our services. Mission accomplished. I don't think I could've handled this roller coaster properly when I was in my twenties. Now I know that moments like Palm Springs are rare and special, and I drink in every nanosecond of it when I'm in it. No one appreciates a good deli tray and dressing room more than me! I also know that the bank could've simply set up a jam box with a broken Lyle Lovett CD, and possibly no one would've known the difference. It means the world to me when the client does.