Tony, I know a lot of great musicians that no longer play, but in the scheme of things, they were never entertainers, and that's where the big difference lies. You can be the greatest musician in the world, but if you're not an entertainer, you will not last very long in this business unless you are with a band that has at least one great entertainer. Outside the band, the individual musician(s) usually can't land a OMB job. The only reason there are so many have guitar will travel guys throughout the country is that those same individuals can usually sing (though not all sing very well) and provide an entertaining show for the audiences.

Tony, you can sing - I've heard you, and you're one Hell of a good player to boot, so there's no reason that you cannot book those high-end restaurant jobs, other than you're an old fart with a shiny head. Until six months ago, I dyed my hair to medium brown. It made me look 10 years younger, or at least that's what Carol said. My loving sister said she likes it better now that I've allowed it to go back to snow white. She says it makes me look distinguished - I tell her it makes me look extinguished!

Appearance and perception are two very integral components of getting those cushy restaurant jobs - this I know for a fact. I tried to get a job at a local country club back when my hair was white and I was just 55 years old. The club manager said my CD sounded great, and he thought I was much younger judging by my vocals. He said he would be in touch - it never happened, and he never returned any of my followup telephone calls. Three years later, on the way home from a job, I stopped in to see him. By that time, I was dying my hair medium brown and did my mustache the same color. I handed him my card, gave him a CD, he listened to one song, and asked if I could start Friday night. I later found out that he didn't recognize me from three years earlier. I played that job for a couple years afterward, then the club changed managers, they got a DJ, and in a matter of six months, the attendance at the bar had dropped to just a few individuals at best on Friday nights, instead of the 100 or so I had when I played there. I was asked to come back a few years ago, but declined because they only paid $150 for four hours and I was making nearly that much per hour in the NH circuit.

Tony, if you appeared young, slim and had a full head of hair, you would be working there this weekend. Unfortunately, neither of us have those attributes at age 75.

Good luck old friend,

Gary