Look, who are we kidding? The minute that ANYTHING you are doing is not actually you live, you have made the compromise. Even if you make your own styles or SMF's from scratch, you are still doing something on stage that involves a machine. Big deal.

We've been sequencing and using arrangers since the 80's. Hardly anything new. Time to stop wringing our hands and wailing 'Woe is me!'

Does it really MATTER?

What matters is what YOU play. The more, the better. The tastier, the better.

Otherwise, go out, get yourself a stage piano, and either go out and get gigs as a straight up pianist, or a B3 and some pedals, and do straight ahead organ (but no rhythm boxes, please!). Or play at home using unaccompanied piano or organ.

Now, don't get me wrong, nothing wrong with either of these forms of music playing. But don't kid yourself. To pull this off takes formidable chops. So, what are you going to do if you are NOT the next Oscar, or Jimmy? You use what is available. If some kind of backing, whether it is a real band, or a sequencer or an arranger helps you get away with more limited skills, and music is what you want to play, I say go for it!

No offense, but their have been solo entertainers as long as there has ever been live music. Not every tribe had a full set of log drum players! Not every mud village had a full mummers consort. Not every theater had a pit orchestra. Finance and availability has always determined that sometimes, the full schmeer can't be used. All kinds of instruments were invented to expand the range that one person could play. Even guitars were developed from instruments of one string, or two. But then, lo and behold, add a few more and now you can chord, bass and solo! The accordion started out as a simple single reed device. But then the left hand side started sprouting bass and chord buttons. Voila! Full band!

Now we have sequencers and arrangers, and even MP3 backings. All these are is the inevitable conclusion of a path created LONG ago. At every stage of this path, the previous generation has gone 'This is cheating', the current generation has gone 'IS this cheating?' and the next generation has gone 'This is how it's done'.

Big deal!

The crux of the matter is, unless you have SOME talent, no amount of any of this is going to make you sound good (except to your mother, and she HAS to like you!). And, whether the backing is a live band, or an SMF, or an arranger, if you suck, you suck! The machine isn't going to cover it up. Unless you don't play a single note. In which case, you HAD better sing pretty good, and dance like Fred Astaire!

Just get over yourselves, quit hand-wringing, and get on with it... However you WANT to make music, make it! Let the audience decide, not you, not your 'colleagues', and not some luddites bent on smashing all machines. Cream rises no matter what you do or don't use, and the grinds sink to the bottom of the cup.

No matter WHAT they use.