Skip to main content

Taking a Break

Much ado about nothing. My intention was to quietly take a break from performing, but as many of you are aware, today's City Pages printed a nice little write up encouraging people to catch my 'last' couple of shows.

For much of my life, performing music has been part of who I am. I've been fortunate enough to perform original songs as well as the cover songs that mean something to me, fully understanding that this path would be more difficult than becoming a 'human jukebox'. Surprisingly, despite conventional wisdom, this approach proved to be successful. Performing has been a tremendous experience. I've played locally, and ventured both out of state and internationally with my music. Not too bad for a singer songwriter from Wausau, Wisconsin.

So, naturally, with the news of my "break," people are asking me why I'm taking time off. In the four years since "Out of Fashion" was released, my performance schedule intensified. When I set out on this journey, I was fully aware that certain sacrifices would have to be made in order for my music to be successful. Performing music requires late nights and weekends, times when non-performers are with their families or out with friends. Often the schedule is set months in advance and as a direct result, performers miss out on the events in life that appear once the schedules are filled.

Someone once said, "Music is the celebration of life." That being said, I'm going to go out and live life for awhile without the restraints of a 'regular' performance schedule. By no means am I retiring. I will still play the occasional show and open mic, make guest appearances, and continue writing and recording.

I am fully committed to completing my second CD, "Further Out". At this point there is no timetable, but I am looking forward to spending time recording without juggling a performance schedule. Once the CD is complete, undoubtedly, you'll see me return to live performances with a renewed energy.

Thanks for your continued support,
Jim

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Texting While Driving

Recently, Wisconsin passed a text message ban while driving . There has been a lot of discussion on the dangers of texting while driving. On the flip side, CNN recently reported that cell phone driving bans don't work . As discussed in the first article above, Wisconsin already has a law that outlaws distracted driving, or “being so engaged or occupied as to interfere with the safe driving of that vehicle.”. A couple of months ago, a friend traveling from Minneapolis said something that made me think. He said that he'd never think of texting while navigating the streets of the Twin Cities, but while driving to Wausau he felt comfortable placing an occasional text. I agree. I've been on the road quite a lot lately. When I'm circling the state Capitol in downtown Madison, I would not think of texting, changing a CD, playing with my iPod or even answering my phone. There is just too much going on. Add snow, bad visibility and rush hour, it is clear: Pay attention and...
5 comments
Read more

Change

I seem to have been in flux for some time now. In November 2006, I decided to take a break from regular performances . Although I have returned to performing, I have not even approached the volume of gigs I left behind in 2006. Best yet, I don't care. I like performing, and it is fun again. I simply don't allow my performance schedule to control my life. July 2007, I downsized from a 2000 square foot town house to an almost 800 square foot former suite in an old hotel. I sorted through my life, and walked away from two thirds of my worldly possessions. It is amazing how much of our lives is spent collecting things that are really unessential and unimportant. It is also noteworthy that we spend a lot of time maintaining things we don't need. July 2008, I left my job of 18 years. Think about that for a second. My generation is noted for job hopping and lack of company loyalty. 18 years is a long time in today's era. I didn't leave because I was bitter (sure, there wer...
3 comments
Read more