I actually had a pretty good playing career going while in my 20s. Dad was a jazz trumpeter with an arranging background from hell and it wore off on me pretty naturally. I studied, practiced hard and often, co-wrote 100 or so songs, a few getting some attention and a couple won awards, though nothing ever stuck. During all of this, I wound up being the guy with the 50ft guitar cable (before I discovered wireless) for my bass to go out and listen when I (was forced to) mixed from the stage.
One day I got tired of (A) chasing the dream and missing the mark by nanometers and (B) playing "Brown-Eyed Girl" and "Mustang Sally" with a clenched jaw and grinding teeth. I realized that maybe I'd have a career in audio reinforcement and production. I tried recording work, but I just couldn't sit still long enough to be effective at it (and the guy that does doesn't get NEAR enough respect!).
But moving into live audio was a fairly natural move for me. I had been studying up on the basics and the theory anyway, so I just started doing it. And I gotta say, the Original LAB (OLAB, anyone?) was a big part of my discovering just what was going on in pro audio, as MS isn't exactly a mecca of technology. I give Dave Stevens serious kudos for providing that resource (and Doug, Ken, and Mac for being part of that).
Do I miss playing and writing? Yup, I think about it every day. Just part of it, I guess...
Geri O
