For those of us that perform for a living, backups are an essential part of life. In most instances, we have some way of backing up our overall systems so that if one component fails, there's a work-around at your fingertips that keeps the music flowing and the dancefloors packed.

Unfortunately, there isn't a backup for the most important component--YOU! What do you do when you break down? And, when this happens the day before New Year's Eve, and the breakdown is fairly severe, you could really be in trouble.

The evening prior to NYE was just a 2-hour job, a NYE party before NYE. It was at an assisted living center where I perform monthly. That morning my throat felt a bit scratchy, and by the time I left for the job I was down to a whisper. I was able to perform the first 90 minutes by occasionally nibbling on dill pickles, which softly anesthetize the vocal chords and cut the mucus. The final 30 minutes, however, was all done with instrumentals. Everyone was happy, I was paid well, and drove home wondering if I would even have a voice the next day. I didn't!

In the past I had Jimsax and Bob Lee to lean on when something like this happened. Unfortunately, they've both passed away. I called Joe Ayala and hoped he could cover at least one of the six jobs I had scheduled from December 29 and January 3, but he too was booked solid.

Fortunately, I was able to reach Ken King, who at this point is still a fledgling OMB entertainer, but is a fine musician and plays frequently in a trio. He was open for NYE and able to cover three of the jobs. The others were rescheduled without much difficulty.

Ken was happy to do the jobs, he made lots of money, and I'm slowly but surely recovering. It will be interesting to read how other forum members would handle this type of situation.

Happy New Year,

Gary