COVID-19 hit in March of 2020 and I was forced to stop my in-person lessons and group classes. Over the next couple of years, I attempted to rekindle interest in lessons and group opportunities, but the damage was done. Since most of my students prior to the pandemic were in their 60s and 70s, they were reticent about meeting in person due to the threat of the coronavirus. The only ones who stuck with me were the more youthful of my students.
Between 2022 and 2023 I made over 150 "how to" videos and uploaded them to my YouTube channel, hoping that I might get some students from them. The reverse happened. People used them to learn techniques on the instruments and didn't register for lessons. I have over 1,150 subscribers to the channel and not a single one of them has signed up for lessons.
In 2024, in desperation of looking for income replacement, I took a part time (20 hrs a week) job as Administrative Assistant for a construction company called Oxbow Design Build in Easthampton. It was in one of the old mills.
The company was interesting. They were still recovering from COVID themselves, and so they didn't really have a place for me. There was no desk, there was no telephone system and there really wasn't a job description. The founder of the company took me on a tour and showed me how to get in, gave me some keys and told me to get the mail every day and check the loading docks for shipments. A few days later, the Administrator met with me online to give me some instructions on entering receipts and bills to Quickbooks Online. That was it.
I have never been more bored in a job than I was the 6 months I worked there. I was let go in June, just weeks before Emily and our son were to leave on an epic trip to South Korea, China and Japan. I had no intention of going with them because of my job and my students. The plan was for me to stay home, take care of the farm and the animals, and work my part time job. What's the word about best-laid-plans, or best intentions? My little family left on their trip, and I stayed home with the animals.
But, unless I can get more people to register for lessons, I'm not feeling how I can contribute to my family. My wife and I have discussed applying for Social Security, but the payments are under $2k a month and just don't seem legitimate replacement of former income levels. I may have to do it regardless, due to the fact that there is no additional income.
In the meantime, the house I own in South Hadley has been rented since 2018. I had a bad tenant in the beginning, who I had to evict. The next tenant was 100% better, but when he moved out, he left the house in shambles with furniture and junk all around it. It cost me the better part of $10,000 to get it in shape for another tenant. We intend to sell the house once the lease is up.
Due to several generations without music in the schools, adults in their 30s and 40s who would have sought bluegrass or traditional Irish lessons grew up undervaluing or not valuing at all the ability to play an instrument. And the economy has not been kind to these people as well. Personally, I think a lot of it has to do with life choices. People are opting to spend money on iPhones and Netflix and not on violin lessons. They have money for $5 coffees at Starbucks 2 or 3 times a day, but none for learning how to play bluegrass mandolin. They have money for Tesla cars and Starlink internet, but nothing to learn how to play Klezmer on their violins.
What is the future for me? In the 63 years I've been on this planet, the world has changed significantly. I don't see a path from here. I don't feel like retiring, but I can't seem to find a job. The 20 year gap in jobs between my last "real" job in 2005 is enough for employers to be leery of even interviewing me. I've sent out hundreds of resumes since June of 2024, without any hits. I did have 1 interview at UMass Amherst for a janitor position. How degrading.
Today I received notice from one of my long-term students. She's been with me since 2014. She told me today that she doesn't have energy to continue with lessons (she's 82) and will take the rest of the summer off to "regroup". I don't expect to see her in the Fall. She's a lovely person and I wish her well.
I refuse to be depressed or to let this sentiment take me down. I pour all of my energy into composing and songwriting:
Composing / Songwriting
Meanwhile, my composition and songwriting has taken off! I've sold 3 albums (at $9 each) and over 35 songs (at $1.50 each). That doesn't sound like a lot, but for someone who is just getting known as a composer, it's a good start!
I'm very happy with my process. Over the years, I composed music according to what was going on around me: whether it was observing the peepers in the spring (Frog Pond Stomp), or my own progression as a musician (Death of a Serious Musician), or a compilation of bluegrass and folk songs about western Massachusetts and the Pioneer valley...all of my musical projects have been quite rewarding.
My process is not complicated. It starts with the germ of an idea. I jot down some ideas while sitting at my desk. Then I turn to Google Docs, where the real work begins. I write down the first words of the song with my handy thesaurus at my side.
The songs I write are formulaic: generally 16 bars repeated for verse and chorus sometimes with a bridge if so inspired, or an outro, often not. I compose in keys that are easy for me to play in. After I have something I like "on paper", I turn to my guitar and lay them down over a 1,4,5 chord progression. I make edits to the words then.
After I have something I like on the guitar, and a general melody, I record the first tracks using a Shure SM50 microphone and Audacity. It might take a few takes, and it might go quickly. After I have the verse/chorus vocal down over a click track, I record everything including the melody and send copies out to my friends and colleagues so they can record tracks for each of the parts I need.
Generally speaking, for bluegrass tunes I work with the same guitar and banjo players, same male and female vocalists. For "celtic" tunes, I work with a harpist and female vocalist from Hartford. I record the mandolin and fiddle parts myself. They send their tracks back to me and I mix everything down with Audacity until I have something that sounds pretty good.
The whole thing can take 2 - 4 weeks depending on whether or not a musician or engineer is available. Some of my songs take years to finish. I let them percolate and cook in my musical mind until I feel they are ready to share. Some get done in less time if so inspired.
Experimental, Electronic Music
Lately I've been experimenting with "electronic" music, using a synth set up I bought off Ebay used with pads and delays. It reminds me of the old ARP 2500, shrunk down into a panel 2 x 3 feet. The world is so strange! Here's an example of some of my electronic music:
My favorite styles or genres to write music for are bluegrass, folk and R&B. These are the genres of my early years in High School and College, and the styles I am most comfortable playing myself. Later genres include Klezmer and "Celtic" or Irish Trad as they are sometimes called. I call it "Atlantic Music" and I have written extensively about what that means. Here's an example of some of the music in these styles: