[Dixielandjazz] Sparing Moments From Busy Gig Schedules

[Steve Barbone]

bob rubin <rhr261 at yahoo.com> wrote

> *************
> Steve,
> That brings me to a question I've had for a long
> time.
> I just can't imagine how a 70-something musician
> playing and traveling to 160 gigs a year (more
> recently the figure has been given as 200),  has the
> time and energy to not only post here so prolifically,
> but to search the web, it seems daily, for articles,
> reviews, and websites of interest to the rest of us.
> You must have a gem of a wife who handles all the
> errands and chores and paperwork of daily life. Or
> maybe she is happy to have you spending all your time
> at the computer or at gigs and away from her?
> I have trouble playing twice a week and finding the
> time and energy just to read YOUR many posts.
> 
> Cheers,
> bob

Thanks Bob, my wife Martha of 44 years is indeed a gem. However the answer
to your question revolves around my life style. In addition to what you
describe, I also maintain a horse farm. Cutting pasture, training a horse,
weed whacking fences etc. And I drive my wife on most of the household
errands and shopping. Actually we spend more time together now, then we did
before I "retired".

How? By maintaining good physical condition, (key) ignoring the slight pains
and gripes that go with old age, forgetting the BS about being "too old to
do that", being a quick study, and still curious, wanting to learn.

Total time on the computer is less than 2 hours a day and includes more time
in conversations with interesting people all over the world than it does on
the DJML. One thing I do have is an "alert" system on Jazz, Dixieland,
Music, etc which automatically flags web information and sends it to my
computer. I read them for 20 minutes or so every day. Knowing how to skim
and use the delete key helps conserve time also.

Also, for some reason, I only need 5 or 6 hours of sleep a night and so I am
on the go 18 hours a day.

BTW, gig count last year was 235. Total miles driven (all activities) were
41468. I expect to cut back a bit this year and concentrate on the higher
paying gigs, since I am cutting/building carriage trails through the woods
on my farm. 

Cheers,
Steve Barbone