Much of what appears on
rhumba.com is dedicated to non-musicians curious about the musical life.
But rhumba.com is also read by
musicians, both active and retired. In their emails, the site's
readers usually identify themselves as being a member of one of these
three groups. The non-players have various questions and reminiscences, the
current players may trade a name or two, or compare battle scars. The
retired-musicians relate fond memories of the road, one-nighters,
touring chain hotels for weeks at a time, basking in the echoes of
cheering crowds through the delicious filter of selective memory. Generally, the emails reflect the site's main focus, the musician's
life ON the road. I am no longer on the road but I still play quite a few gigs. When
I get to talking careers with the musicians I work with, their
questions are quite another story. They focus on the day gig. They're
interested in how I got OUT of playing full-time, and what exactly did
I do to establish a new, different career. A few ask about the career change out of more than idle curiousity.
Growing older, they feel a gnawing sense of diminishing opportunity,
and maybe even feel trapped in the unchanging life. They ponder, some
jokingly, some tentatively, and indeed, a few seriously what might
constitute a reasonable alternative to full-time playing, and how the
transition might be accomplished. This is about that and a little bit more. This is how I burned-out,
got off the road, made changes, found a new life and eventually found
my way back to music.