United States

Fresno, California is the worst. It's a clique town to the bone. Back in the 1980's, I left for my original home town, L.A., man the difference, L.A.'s "What you know, leads to who to know " culture was far better than Fresno "Who you know, how well you blow" mindset. I got some steady gigs and got to travel the U.S. and Canada. But by the very late 1980's, the " pay to play" virus spread down the Sunset Strip ..... next thing you know, it killed the music scene.
Years later , I was starting to play with this one guy in Fresno, he said he wanted to have a 80's Metal, Queens Ryche / some Pantera type Metal mixed. I was like ... cool. Come to find out before playing with me, he was playing with real young musicians with limited musical experience, playing technique and that he could easily manipulate with his musical experience / musicality.
I play Blues, Shred Guitar, Neo- Classical Metal ( Bach n Roll) Classical Guitar with no ego and like to roll with the creative groove of who I'm playing with.
Next thing I know, he unleashes an ego the size of Jupiter and I'm like , Wow !!!! .... this guy was projecting him self to be like the fifth Beatle or something. Me, I'm just one of those "Shut up and Play Your Guitar Types" .... I just back out, not wanting to deal with M.R. Ego ....

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Think of Erie as a learning experience, Loco! Not a good learning experience, but ....
You're only an hour from Buffalo, ever try there?

Think of Erie as a learning experience, Loco! Not a good learning experience, but ....
You're only an hour from Buffalo, ever try there?

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sorry to hear of your frustration and troubles hooking up w like minded musicians. i think you're always gonna have a harder time finding the "right" players in smaller more rural areas vs. a big urban scene. i lived in nyc my first 22 yrs then moved to fayetteville ar. so i know how it can be finding good players who are also good folks who are into anything beyond the mainstream same ol, same ol. and since then i've been here and there and my experience is that as far as people go....people are really the same wherever you go. i've never bought into the premise that geography has anything to do w it.

there's good, bad....boring, interesting....open minded, close minded wherever ya go. at least that's been MY exp. anyway, keep fighting the good fight.

i've never bought into the premise that geography has anything to do w it

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Hey, hey, don't be dissing the whole northeast now! Erie is almost midwest!

i've never bought into the premise that geography has anything to do w it

with respect, i beg to differ, the attitude/mindset is certainly different in the SF Bay Area(my home) than in the north east Us, in every way...not just music. To each his own, but if you're progressive, outgoing, positive, friendly, etc, the north east US is not your(my) place. Of course i don't mean every person, but enough for me to generalize. Like what you like, but when you get negativity for the positives you bring to a foreign place, it's not a good feeling. Another way to explain this is that around here i could beat someone at a sport, i get black-balled, back home, i get more challenges, it's surreal...i can't explain it.
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Its been my experience that NE was at one time, replete with people with "Great Ideas" and no chops to back them. People got sick of the posers. Then, of the non-posers, they got entertainers who had chops for everything but what the audience actually wanted... This adds to the apparent 'hostile or indifferent' energy that we can sense in that region.
Bottom line, meet the actual demand ...or catch the next bus out...That's the attitude you spoke of.

Busking is cool but it's not something you look for on a playbill posted at the best bars in town... Adapt your talents bro... Join their club, learn their rules, get embraced , move up , change their rules...That's how it works (For me anyway)

Adapt your talents bro... Join their club, learn their rules, get embraced , move up , change their rules...That's how it works (For me anyway)

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Don't sweat it if people don't get you. Some artists/musicians have a gift for adapting to a crowd and thriving. Others stay true to their vision, unappreciated in solitude. It is what it is, and we do what we do.

Van Gogh never sold a painting in his lifetime but left an amazing legacy. He cut his ear off out of loneliness and desperation. He walked that fine line between genius and madness every day. The street artists in Paris know how to wow a group of tourists with a sketch but it is unlikely any will ever produce a masterpiece. I am probably more like the street artists. I can usually size up a crowd quickly and adapt my style to suit their fancy. Need a musical masterpiece? Sorry, I'm fresh out. We do what we do.

Don't sweat it if people don't get you. Some artists/musicians have a gift for adapting to a crowd and thriving

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I think busking and hitting open mics is healthy. I do it occasionally just to see if I can draw a crowd and then move them emotionally. Sometimes on the street I'll play my version of clown theme music and kids flock like I was the pied piper. Then give them a familiar Beatles tune and they sing along. To create some tension I'll launch into an acoustic theme from Larks Tongues pt 2 and watch the smiles drain from their faces for a moment, only to resolve it with Yellow Submarine. It is interesting to see how music moves people when you make a connection.

If your style is more neo-classical, work up Flight of the Bumble Bee and watch em come around. Mozart and Bach have pretty accessible classics while Chopin is often over the heads of most street audiences. Go out and play with them a bit and have some fun with it.

I think busking and hitting open mics is healthy. I do it occasionally just to see if I can draw a crowd and then move them emotionally. Sometimes on the street I'll play my version of clown theme music and kids flock like I was the pied piper. Then give them a familiar Beatles tune and they sing along. To create some tension I'll launch into an acoustic theme from Larks Tongues pt 2 and watch the smiles drain from their faces for a moment, only to resolve it with Yellow Submarine. It is interesting to see how music moves people when you make a connection.

If your style is more neo-classical, work up Flight of the Bumble Bee and watch em come around. Mozart and Bach have pretty accessible classics while Chopin is often over the heads of most street audiences. Go out and play with them a bit and have some fun with it.

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