In it for the Art

If you are interested in just how much a musician makes on the road, or selling those cd's, this article will certainly enlighten you.

Johanna Schlegel, Editor-in-Chief of Salary.com, interviews Mike Errico, a former temp, about the struggle to make it as a working musician.

Winter Wonderland: The Final Chapter

...I left off as I was waiting to meet M. by the playground on 43rd St. By now the magical falling snow had turned into freezing rain! I ditched the "meet me on the corner" plan, and I ran into Bread Factory, to buy a giant muffin and to get warm. M. quickly followed suit.

We finally made it over to the Mike Errico performance, after ducking out of the freezing rain into a cozy upscale-diner style joint for dinner. Anyone who is not familiar with Mike Errico's music needs to give it a listen. Of his latest cd, All In, Lisa Heffernan* writes, "With a voice akin to Dave Matthews and a style not unlike (Pink Floyd guitarist) David Gilmour’s, Errico has created an acclaimed 12-song disc that has already graced numerous radio playlists."

My friend Adam LeBow took me to see Mike play, oh, about 10 years ago, at the Bitter End. The place was packed, the energy was festive and friendly, and the performance was great. Just Mike and his guitar, singing about love; disappointment; and TEMPING! I immediately connected.

I took my friend M. with me to a show, and we soon made a tradition out of going to his Christmas Omen show every year. So I was very happy to be going this year--M. is going to India soon for 2 years, and I am going to miss her very much.

The Zipper is a great place, intimate and with good acoustics. Mike played some new stuff, some old, tuned a lot, and, as always, told some very funny stories. He can play big sound, and then takes it down to a very quiet place that just pulls everyone into his space. And then, it was time for the Christmas Omens! Apparently throughout the year Mike collects items that speak to him, and through him they are distributed to the one soul in the universe for whom they will have a fortune about the year to come. This year I pulled out BLING, what can it mean??? I had my own idea about that, until I noticed the chunky Versace-esque head hanging from the gaudy gold beads: I felt immediately the spirit of Bacchus emanating, and my suspicion was confirmed when M. noticed the letters between the beads, spelling out his name (yes, sometimes fortunes have to be spelled out for you!). So obviously the gods are telling me to party a LOT more next year! We examined M.'s omen, a bag of Senora Suerte's incense. Well, obviously the incense ties in to her move to India, and I know the bag does not lie: in India M. will find Amore, Sante, Succes y Abundancia!

I hope that your new year brings the same.

*lipulse.com