Re: Finding your

[Joe and Cass Leone <leone@xxxxxxxx>]

On Apr 4, 2004, at 3:11 PM, Chris Michalek wrote:

> I strive to be the box. :-)
>
>>
>>  Aaahaaaa, some one knows EXACTLY what I'm talking about. You win a 
>> cookie. The ultimate ledge is to be "All-Encompassing", and be able 
>> to HOLD or Take-In ALL the input that one can possibly contain. Being 
>> a box of boxes would be sans pariel.

     JoJo
>>
>> ---- Original Message ----
>> From: leone@xxxxxxxx
>> To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
>> Subject: RE: Finding your "Niche"
>> Date: Sun, 4 Apr 2004 13:55:48 -0400
>>
>>>
>>>
>>>  All the talk about the various types/styles/genres of playing
>> music
>>> reminds me of a theory I had many years ago. This having to do with
>>> niches. I had heard from Pete Fountain where "Emulating your super
>> hero
>>> was nice but one should go that extra step and develop your OWN
>> sound.
>>> Don't be a copy". (This was before the use of the word clone.)
>>>
>>> Let's suppose for the moment that we have a wall in our home and it
>> is
>>> covered with bookshelves. The shelves are all 12" deep and same
>>> distance apart, (same length). There are 10 of them and they each
>>> represent a different genre/type playing. The fact that some shelves
>>
>>> are low and some high is insignificant. So, that's NOT to say that
>> the
>>> bottom shelves contain bottom dwellers and the top shelves contain
>>> players who are, well..top shelf. The shelve's position doesn't
>> matter.
>>>
>>>  Now, you have 100 musicians and your job is to place these artists
>> on
>>> the shelves in the position you think they should be. We could even
>>> label the shelves, such as: Levy (& clones), McCoy (& clones),
>> "Toots"
>>> (& clones), Wilson (& clones), etc. I think you get the picture. You
>>
>>> might even place little pieces of paper saying: Country, Gospel,
>> Folk,
>>> Bee-Bop, Hard-Bop, and even "Hey-Bop-a-Ree-Bop". You may wind up
>> with
>>> people on each shelf. Some shelves would contain a LOT of artists.
>> Some
>>> (the avante garde) would not.
>>>
>>>  This is NOT the way I see it in my twisted, bizzarro world. What I
>> see
>>> is a wall covered with boxes. Each one is a different size and
>> shape.
>>> Some are"milk-crate" sized, some would barely hold a "tie-tack".
>> Some
>>> are 4" wide and 11" high, while another might be 8" wide and 7"
>> high.
>>> Some would be long and thin, others narrow and high, while still
>> others
>>> would be cubes.
>>>
>>>  Here's where it gets interesting. There are -50- boxes. NOW try
>> and
>>> place the artists. Not so easy, right? You may find that some of the
>>
>>> boxes are chock full of "so & so (&clones)" while others have only 1
>>
>>> name in them. Still others are totally empty.
>>>
>>>  If a person was to try to make a situation for themselves in the
>>> harmonica/music world, they might choose to join one of the boxes,
>> or
>>> they may try for a box of their own. Given that  neither size of the
>>
>>> box NOR the number of names the box contains has anything to do with
>>
>>> Marketability but merely indicates the number of people engaged in
>> that
>>> particular genre/style, one has to decide where they want to be.
>>>
>>>  If you choose a marketable genre/style, you may make a living at
>> it
>>> and would also (probably) be in good company as there are others
>> like
>>> you. If you choose a genre/style solely on how you personally feel
>> and
>>> what you want to play (at all costs, and "Hang" the outcome), you
>> may
>>> wish to find your OWN box.
>>>
>>>  In any case, I have found (just ME) that once one gets past the
>> "waft"
>>> of recreational and hobby players, the people that stand out (&/or
>>> attract attention), are either VERY different and in their own
>> niche,
>>> and therefore hard to substitute, OR are trying to fit a "standard"
>> and
>>> sitting in one of the marketable boxes. The choice is yours.
>>>
>>> Many of the "Greats" were in a niche of their own,( where some make
>> it
>>> and some don't). The more "standard" musicians (who conformed to the
>>
>>> norm) tended not to make it as BIG, but didn't starve either.
>>>
>>>  If you're wondering where 'I' fit?, I'm just the guy who delivers
>> the
>>> boxes. :
>>>
>>> smokey-joe
>>>
>>> --
>>> Harp-l is sponsored by SPAH, http://www.spah.org
>>> Hosted by ValuePricehosting.com, http://www.valuepricehosting.com
>>>
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