Never been a big fan of biting, flying, crawling bugs, either, Chas.

One of the main reasons I joined this forum so many years ago was to learn from other OMB performers/entertainers/musicians/singers, which essentially are one in the same. Sure, there are some that DO NOT sing, but during the time I've been involved in this OMB stuff the ones that tended to make a living, pay the bills, put the kids through school, keep a roof over their heads and even stash a little away for eventual retirement were singers as well as musicians. Some, such as myself, were not very accomplished musicians, but none the less, they got the job done, and with enough flair to be able to book the same venues year after year after year.

From my perspective, paying audiences want to be entertained. So, in that light, those of us who stand upon the stage in front of those audiences are entertainers first and foremost. And, that's even if we never sang a single word. If the audiences were not being entertained, they would not bother to attend the venue and shell out their hard earned cash.

I looked carefully at the subway player. He was incredibly talented to say the least. His fingers flew across the keyboard with uncanny accuracy, never seemed to had a bad note. (Wish I could do that!) However, he apparently did not sing. Consequently, most of the folks in the subway just walked past as if he did not exist. He failed to make any eye contact with the audience, too. Herein the term entertainer comes into play. UD once said that he did his damnedest to reach out and capture his audiences from the very first note he played and sang, then did his best to hold them until the very last second of his performance. I learned a lot from Dave back then. Dave, like many OMB entertainers, provided his audiences with the entire package, great vocals, great song selection, excellent keyboard playing.

Then there are the monetary aspects of being an OMB entertainer. The vast majority of us have, at one time or another, been involved with full bands. We had a lot of fun, enjoyed the camaraderie, and like most bands, played weekends because we had a full time job in some other profession so we could support our families. We would have all rather played music as a full time profession, but at our level this was not remotely possible for the vast majority of us. I tend to think we were pretty damned good at what we did, but none of us were Nashville bound back then, at least with few exceptions. The kid that lived across the street from me went to Nashville, put out a single album, then got into the drug scene, which eventually killed him. So, I guess from a success standpoint, money IS the measure of success. If an OMB entertainer can make a good living, then he or she is successful. When I played with a 5 piece band, I never made enough to cover expenses, but damned we sure had a lot of fun back then. As an OMB entertainer, I can make a living, and I have a wide variety of venues to select from, which is something I didn't anticipate when I first got into the business.

I began my OMB entertainer career sitting on a bar-stool with a six string, pawn shop guitar, a cheap pawn shop amp and mic and 3-ring loose-leaf binders filled with the lyrics of popular country songs. The pay back then was $50 for a four hour performance and you had to put up with dense cigarette smoke and drunks. About once a month, if you were lucky, you managed to pick up a private party that paid about twice the going rate. One night, a local band came into the bar after finishing a wedding, and I was asked if I would be interested in playing in their group, which I was. Back then, when we played a wedding, the band got $250 for the reception, which translated into $50 per man for 4 hours work. Now, these guys were all much better musicians than myself, but I could sing better than anyone in the group, so they kept me for 5 years. I performed with a few other groups after that, but they never really booked many jobs, so it was back to being an OMB at the smoke filled bars.

During that entire time, I visited the jobs where many of my fellow entertainers performed regularly. I tried to learn as much as possible from them, took note on what they did right, and tried to remember what I thought they were doing wrong. (No OMB does everything right all the time.) One night, while my wife and I were at a supper club, I saw a duo, a guy with a pair of stacked keyboards and his vocalist wife. They were superb entertainers, had a lot of stage presence, interacted well with the audience and put on a great show. We later became great friends and shared our expertise. That was about the time I ditched the guitar and took up the keyboard. Life as an OMB entertainer became a lot easier, more exciting and fulfilling, and the bookings skyrocketed. Ironically, my first NH job came from someone who saw me performing at an American Legion Bar. They had a parent in an assisted living facility nearby and booked me to play for her 90th birthday. The party took place in the facility's dining room, all the other residents were in attendance as well, and I pretty much did my usual routine. After the party the AD came to me, asked if I had my calendar, and booked me for every month for the remainder of the year. The pay was $100 for a one hour performance - I LOVED IT! Word got out to some of the other ADs about me, and pretty soon, it was goodbye smoked filled bars and drunks and hello NH circuit.

Now, all of the above OMB entertainers seem to be extremely accomplished musicians. As I stated earlier, they are far superior to me in that respect. And, by carefully watching their performances I managed to learn a few new things, which I why I came to this forum so many years ago. Thanks to a great number of individuals I've met on the Synthzone, I've been able to pursue my career as an OMB entertainer, make a good living, pay the bills, and buy boy toys . For that I am eternally grateful. I especially wish to thank Donny Pesce for this thread, which somewhat portrays the lives of OMB entertainers in other regions. We learn a lot from watching each and every one of these guys perform.

All the best,

Gary