JPF Home Page Forums General Messages General Message Forum Earning a Living with Music

DRS, I am now working with the man who helped make The Boss what he became. LUCKY is NOT one of the traits that applies to Bruce, and I guess many others. It;s called hard work, learning along the way, and getting what one needs in terms of instruments, amps, a van, a recorder for demos, etc. NO company, whether an individual or a big company gains much if not much is put into it, in many ways. (Money, Time, Learning, Trying, DOING everything possible). You are only assuming things, starting with the money issue, for anyone who has made anything of themselves HAS spent money on their craft in many ways, and sacrificed MUCH to be in a position to be taken seriously. Take Mike Caro, who has not had his teeth fixed, or got new sneaks more than once every FEW years because of his money going right back into his music in many ways.

The Boss being Lucky?! HA! You couldn't be further from the truth. He did not have any decent place to live because of his gig money funding more music related things to continue on a PROGRESSIVE path. And, it is NOT lucky to be told by Mike Appel to "come back when you have better songs" which took another year to have Bruce come back to Appel's management office to TRY again?! That is not LUCK! That is someone with a hard work ethic who spent everything he had on music, rather than vacations, dinners out, nice clothes, dates, movies, TV's, etc., to GET BETTER at everything he did! Better guitar, better PA speakers for the gigs in Jersey.

If you want to learn what you assume, try to talk with the man who helped make Bruce be a superstar, and who knows of Bruce's beginnings as well as himself. Take LUCK out of your reply, for that is just giving others a wrong conclusion as to what it takes to advance in any business. MONEY spent on other things than what your craft is, could take longer to realize good results. That is a simple 1 plus 1 equals 2 thing. Cause and Effect. NOT to say we all just need to invest in our craft, and presto,,,GREAT RESULTS! NO, of course not! Much learning, hard work and a productive, great progressive never say die attitude, and working WELL with others is also needed. Learning and adjusting, probably being the most important assets.

To claim spending money on your class experience says everything about spending money in one's craft is misleading as well. It is what one does with any knowledge gained that measures the worth of any knowledge/class that took money to do.

I spent money to sell knifes after a class. I didn't do the work needed to be successful, so I failed at it. I DO NOT blame the class, the money spent, or the quality of the knives for MY failure. I FAILED, for my efforts after the class were not what others did that did well. The others you talked to, of course might have done the same things as you, (I don't actually know). Then, you all blame the teachers for just taking your money. Well, if they taught you all anything in that field, you all had more knowledge after the classes then before! Right? Unless you didn't study hard and were not focused on becoming great in that field, which takes HARD WORK by YOU,,,NOT Them! What was done with that knowledge you and other were given? What never-say-die efforts went into your trade for you? If you chart the hours of the days after the classes and really look at all you did outside of the trade's knowledge, you might find good reason as to why not much happened after the classes. To put the blame on others is not teaching you or others anything but you are not in control of YOUR actions with any knowledge you paid for.

WE are to blame for knowledge not applied to it's fullest. NOT the amount of money spent on anything to do with our craft. NOT the ones who taught us the trade's details.

If one wants to be a great cook, it might help to get a great oven and pans, to start with. Oh,,,,but that costs money!,,,Yeah, no duh! Funny how that works! Money buys stuff! It's supposed to! That's why we have money in the first place! Not to just have it to sit and look at. Money is NO good until SPENT, or in action of some type of investment. Depending what one spends on, of course. Then, the rest is HARD, PRODUCTIVE WORK, and then more of everything,,,including investing in one's time and craft! Yeah,,,Spending Money HELPS! Not NEWS! How did your computer come on today? Through spending MONEY to have that happen!

One Jersey boy to another,
Johnny