It's incredible to believe I have played guitar for almost 25 years now! Many people don't realize the endurance it takes to play classical/fingerstyle guitar for extended periods of time. The increase in gigs I have been hired for over the years, as well as lessons I teach means I spend more time practicing and performing than ever before. A number of musicians in town have suffered fairly serious long term injuries to their hands, and I have done my best to avoid the same fate. The closest encounter I had to a bad injury was a few years ago, when I played so many gigs in a month (many were 3 hour long) that my left hand became very sensitive to touch the fretboard of the guitar. Needless to say, I took a week and a half off to get my hands back up to par. I encourage any newer guitarists, or professionals to go to a physical therapist, and learn some hand exercises, and get some deep arm massages to make sure their money makers can continue without injury.
Seeing as it's halfway through 2019, I really can't believe the summer is at the "all downhill from here point" considering it's Independence day. Usually the remainder of the summer flies by and it's time to hunker down for the winter. Minnesota weather is really some of the cruelest in the nation. The shortness of the "beautiful season" makes me appreciate the spring/summer/fall period as much as possible. Given there are such a limited amount of weekends in the year, I am most surely booked for a majority of them for one gig or another. I spend the bulk of my time entertaining with music on said weekends (as do all professional musicians), sacrificing socializing with friends/family. This makes it important to make time on other days I'm not teaching or performing, so as to not let the year slip by. Every year gets shorter, and the gigs become more plentiful which makes it even more challenging to keep up appearances at friends' events. My wife and I haven't been on vacation in two years! It's hard to just leave town when you get booked for weekend gigs.To be honest with you, I would rather have too much work than not enough, but lately it feels like I never have enough time. With that said, I'm truly grateful for everyone who hires me, or has worked with me. I just wish I had a few free weekends here or there.
I will try to blog more, hope you can check back soon!
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