house concerts and 21st century touring

The American Tourist and Mexican Fisherman
Author Unknown

An American tourist was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked.

Inside the small boat were several large yellowfin tuna. The tourist complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.

The Mexican replied, “Only a little while.”

The tourist then asked, “Why didn’t you stay out longer and catch more fish?”

The Mexican said, “With this I have more than enough to support my family’s needs.”

The tourist then asked, “But what do you do with the rest of your time?”

The Mexican fisherman said, “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos, I have a full and busy life.”

The tourist scoffed, ” I can help you. You should spend more time fishing; and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat: With the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats. Eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor; eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You could leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then Los Angeles and eventually New York where you could run your ever-expanding enterprise.”

The Mexican fisherman asked, “But, how long will this all take?”

The tourist replied, “15 to 20 years.”

“But what then?” asked the Mexican.

The tourist laughed and said, “That’s the best part. When the time is right you would sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions.”

“Millions?…Then what?”

The American said, “Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos.”

—

My comment:

This story is not meant to poke fun at ambition. If you want to do great things - do great things. Just don’t let outside forces or opinions define what success is for you.

For artists, it’s very easy (especially when you are young) to believe that you are destined to be a “star”, and that success in music can only be defined by Grammys, platinum albums, and stadium tours. Certainly, rap and hip-hop artists tend to be very blatant about why they do music. Rock-n-roll has also been less than subtle with it’s misogyny - teaching generations that making music was about getting girls. And who doesn’t love rock-n-roll?

These days, however, my suspicion is that most artists (at least those who are doing house concerts) are driven by a desire to express themselves musically, and to connect with audiences in a meaningful and lasting way. If they can do that, pay their bills, and take the occassional vacation - they are thrilled.

In our american culture, this kind of thinking is “against the grain” to say the least. That’s a big reason why Folk Music Conferences and Festivals are such a joy to be around. It’s fantastic to be around people who are genuinely about the music.

So take a moment to decide in your own terms what success is for you. As years go by, we lead exceedingly complex lives and it’s important to decide what’s MOST important. Don’t kick yourself if it’s your family. If that means musical success is limited to a few weekends per month for touring, then so be it. Enjoy the freedom of not having to become a “superstar” to feel your music meant something.

Right now in America there are thousands of artists that you’ve never heard of who are succeeding at music. They are improving as musicians, writing better songs, making better recordings, and touching the lives of listeners on a regular basis. You may never hear the names of most of these artists. They’ll never win a Grammy, they’ll never have a platinum album, and they’ll never play their music in a stadium. But many of these artists have defined success in terms of achievable goals, instead of the musical lottery. They work their plans every day. And they live happy, challenging lives with the knowledge that they will not die with their music still in them.

Write On,

Fran Snyder