Be professional at all times.

I'm up late tonight. Why? And is this unusual? Lots on my mind I suppose and . . . no, not really, it's not unusual. (hear Tom Jones in your head?)

You see, I have come to the end of another friendship, or what I perceived as a friendship as friendships go. They don't last for me and they never have. I can count the best friends I have on one hand and have a couple fingers left over.

Don't get me wrong, I have lots of friendly acquaintances, and some really good friends too. But very few have ever stuck around for most of my adult life. I suppose it is that loner in me that makes me this way.

Friendships are weird because you can't always be yourself like you want to be and I find that it usually is because of the fear of showing yourself to the public, aka fear of rejection.

Musicians go through this everytime they get on stage. We love our craft and we want to please our fans and audiences. When we encounter a tough group of people, it can be unnerving to only the most hardened of musical souls.

I try to have fun every time I get up there, even if I feel blue over a loss of friendship or whatever reason. I do that because I really do have fun, and because the fans didn't pay to see me or the band feel crappy or internal fighting that becomes external or any othe excuse. They are there to see the band perform. And baby that's what it is all about.

A pro isn't about being just the greatest at your instrument, or showing up on time at every gig. A pro is someone that no matter how they feel about anything, they will not allow it to screw up the music or the performance. The show must go on as they say.

It reminds me of a story. I went to a concert many long years ago, and Sly and the Family Stone was to come up next. I was in Winterland, and for those who don't know, Winterland was the place in San Francisco where all the best concerts where held . . . The Dead, Airplane, Santana, Vanilla Fudge, which by the way I have some great stories from my friend and vocal coach, Tim Bogert, bass man for the Fudge, but that's another story.

Anyway, we're all pumped up because the last band, Ten Years After was so good onstage, their performance just rocked the house man. Everyone is pumped and waiting, and waiting. . . and still waiting for Sly to get up on stage.

Well, thirty minutes go by, and then another 15 go by, and as stoned as everyone was, there some agitation going on in the ranks. Well Sly finally gets up on stage to the sound of a few boos and he is so f*$%#* up on coke and booze that he just gives a half-assed performance and we know it is. To top it off and after all that, he leaves like 30 minutes before he should have.

We all feel jipped and the crowd lets him know about it. I mean, this is Sly Stone and we all paid money to see him, and them to perform and although he did, it was not to the par that he is known for.

Hey, I don't care how bad your life is going but if you're a musician, spoken word artist, magician, any kind of artist that gets up in front of an audience, the show must always go on. That's just the way it is.

I didn't feel too good last night but my performance, and the performance of the band was top notch. We played at the Lakeshore Inn in Lakehead and it was a blast, for us and for the audience. They all danced and cheered us on. That's why we do what we do and that is to please you audience, always.

Now at home I can pout and moan and mourn another loss all I want, but never in front of your audience. The show must always go on. When you can do that, you'll know you have arrived.

Play on!!