Russ, unfortunately, this is not at all uncommon. I have a good friend that frequented this forum in the past, he played at a couple American Legions and animal clubs, but without the dots he was totally lost. Very talented reader. If someone requested a song, he had to go through 8 huge loseleaf binders to find the sheets, which often took up to 5 minutes to accomplish. He no longer plays at these locations, and for that very reason.

The only time I performed in your backyard was several years ago at the University of Kentucky in Lexington for my sister in law's 50th wedding anniversary. It was a large room, jammed to capacity, probably about 250 people (I didn't count them), and I had the dance floor packed for the three hours it lasted. Several people came up to me and asked where I performed regularly in the area. I guess arranger keyboard players who also sing are a rare breed in that part of the world. I know you're not a big fan of arranger keyboards, and would rather play the B3 or guitar, but you must admit, a talented entertainer that can play a mean arranger keyboard could do very well in your neighborhood.

All the best,

Gary