Donny, I'm going to respond (sincerely) although it will probably raise a storm of protest (or maybe just plain hatred).

It will NEVER end as long as one waits for SOMEONE ELSE'S creativity to provide the satisfaction they're looking for. What you're describing is classic boredom; boredom with the styles that just don't seem to spark the same excitement and enthusiasm that they used to. It's going to sound hugely annoying for me to say "that's why I play organ", still, I'm not bored, I'm not sitting around waiting for the next great set of sounds and styles to delude me into thinking that I'm putting out a better product on stage. I get the same kick out of sitting down to my organ now as I did 30-40 years ago. I love just having to learn the changes and then playing the tune exactly as I want to hear it. I have fun recording BS in my 'studio' and playing with all the incredible new electronics that have developed since I first sat down at a B3 so many years ago (before that, I drove my parents crazy with banging away for hours on the beautiful Chickering grand in our living room) but for me it was always the playing and I always enjoyed playing for and by myself as much as for other people. Bored? Really bored? Learn a couple of new tunes but learn them first on an acoustic piano (or synth in manual piano mode) and work out the arrangement on the piano and in your head before you ever crank up the old arranger. At least at some point in the process, the tune, the arrangement, the performance, was all yours. Plus, it allows you into the 'guts' of the song.

Now I'm not saying "sell your arranger and go back to actually playing". That would not be economically feasible for a lot of the working pro's here. I'm just saying, make it more about the music than about sitting around waiting on the next new (or rehashed) batch of technology to get your (musical) juices flowing again. JMO.

chas

PS: Pleas don't post an angry reply. As I said, it's JUST MY OPINION.


[This message has been edited by cgiles (edited 04-07-2010).]