Back when I was very young, I was guitar player and singer. I mostly strummed the chords and sang country songs in smoke filled bars. I had lots of guitars, a couple solid body, a 6-string Ibanez, a 12-string Yamaha,they all sounded great, and essentially, I was just another have guitar will travel entertainer. I later formed a 5-piece country band, we worked weekends, the pay per band member dropped like a hot rock, and though I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and playing with other musicians, economically, it just was not feasible. None of us barely made expenses, and some nights, we didn't ever break even.
About 35 years ago, I ran across a duo, one guy playing a guitar and the other an arranger keyboard - a Yamaha PSR-500. The duo, Norm and Carlos, were booked every night of the week, they got top dollar, which back then was $150 for a 4-hour performance, the dance floor was always packed to capacity, they played 50s, 60s and 70s music, about half of it, country/western. One night, Norm came into the restaurant and Carlos was not with him - he had suffered a massive heart attack and was in University of Maryland Hospital's ICU in grave condition. He managed to survive and went back to playing a guitar for a couple years before the big one came and took his life. Norm continued to play the keyboard, and occasionally the guitar with midi files playing on the keyboard - he was still booked solid and made the same, if not more, money.
Now, I was relatively young back then (young being a relative term), still perched on a bar stool in a smoked filled bar and picking my guitars and singing for $50 a night. My regular job, an outdoor columnist for way to many publications, was falling apart as the Internet came into play. Today, none of the major newspapers I wrote for have an outdoor column. Well, I had a family to support, and decided to make a change. As much as I enjoyed playing a guitar, I was just another in a long list of "Have Guitar Will Travel" entertainers out there playing for anything the club and restaurant owners offered. I did some research, came across the PSR-Tutorial and Synthzone forums, and began to ask questions. I learned a lot from Donny, Fran, Uncle Dave, Don Mason, and many others. I took notes, kept them all printed out in a bit loose-leaf binder and one day, put the checkbook in my pocket and went shopping for an arranger keyboard. The very first one I came across was the PSR-500. My wife was furious when I came home and the checkbook was $500 lighter than when I left early that day. I also purchased a Peavey KB 500 amp and a Shure SM60. Didn't need a mixer because the amp had multiple inputs. I promised her that if I couldn't make a go of it with the keyboard, I would go back to work in the field of cardio-pulmonary medicine for my old boss at the University of Maryland Hospital Shock Trauma Unit. (Of course, she didn't believe a word I said)
Now, if you look at the top of the page, this is a
"General Arranger Keyboard Forum", which it has been since I first arrived so many years ago. It's where folks that owned arranger keyboards came go learn about their arranger keyboards - not guitar picking, sax playing, horns...etc - just arranger keyboards.
After a few years, I decided to meet some of the regulars here in person, catch their performances and pick up some first-hand information. My wife and I drove more than 5,000 miles during that trip. I met so very many talented entertainers, most of which who had also played other instruments before climbing on the arranger keyboard bandwagon. Some, such as Randy, still plays a sax, Diki was playing a G-70 in the Florida Panhandle, Ed Shoemaker, was filling dance floors with his PSR3000, Donny had a Korg at the time and so did Uncle Dave, both of which were playing regularly on the Jersey Shore. Fran was playing on the boardwalk and had some gorgeous ladies and a young guy in front of him, and at the time, were all relatively young, in our late 30s.
Well, I managed to make a damned good living for more than 30 years using an arranger keyboard, made enough to buy an ocean going sailing yacht, set up a retirement account and eventually retired. None of the Have Guitar Will Travel Guys I ran across during the 30 year period were remotely successful - not one and I met hundreds of them throughout my travels.
Chas, the kid can really play a guitar very well, but so does my son, and many others out there - they just didn't post it on You Tube to be copied to an Arranger Keyboard Forum.
All the best,
Gary