The Power Of A Public Pledge

Many years ago at a Joe Jackson concert, a good friend commented how extraordinary she found it that people would pay to sit quietly, listen to someone's original music and then applaud as each song concluded. Until last weekend, I wasn't sure why her remark had remained with me so long.

With a few notable exceptions, I've played music to largely indifferent audiences for over half a century. And my own compositions have barely registered in live settings where no friends or family were present. So when a NYC room of seventy five strangers listened intently and then enthusiastically cheered as my daughter and her friend finished singing a song of mine, I was dumbstruck. Leaving the stage with a stupid grin, my friend's long ago observation returned to me. It was extraordinary.

Why a blog post? In December 2011 I made a pledge here to begin recording my original songs using my daughter as the vocalist. Had I not been public with that pledge, the song we just performed would likely have continued to languish in a folder entitled "original material". It was written in 1991 and always had potential but the project to record my best tunes inspired me to dress it up; the enhanced version is worthy of that audience reaction. Starting this blog and going public with my pledges are two of the smartest things I've done in my post full time work life. Thanks to every reader who has asked about any of those pledges.