Time well spent

How was the gig?

We, um, it was...I'm sure glad I liked the people I played with. It was an in-the-round with three other songwriters, all of them my friends and all of them write songs and perform really well, and I really respect -- and like -- all of them. So that part was great.

Other than that, which is some pretty good stuff that I'm very thankful for, it was pretty much a bust.

If you don't mind me asking, was the money good? Much gravy?

No gravy. I made 15 bucks. I paid six bucks for parking, after I drove around for 45 minutes and couldn't find a parking place. My Mastercard was fuckin' declined, so I used, like, the drenches of my Visa. We didn't even get free coffee, and we had to supply our own mikes and stands and cords. The people we played to were great, of course; there just weren't very many. Didn't sell a single CD. There's this great song written by Susanna Clark and Richard Leigh called "Come From the Heart", which I learned from a Guy Clark record.

You gotta sing

Like you don't need the money

Love like you'll never get hurt

You got to dance

Like there's nobody watching

It's got to come from the heart

If you want it to work

That's really good writing.

It;s fuckin' brilliant. I hope to write a song that's half that good.

Some might say that you have.

It's just a great song. I mean, when fuckin' Guy Clark records a song by somebody else, you pay attention. Even though he and Susanna are married, I mean...That just means he heard it sooner than other people. Maybe, I don't know. I do know it's an amazing song.

I played fine. Coulda sang better, but I didn't embarrass myself.

It is nice that you spent an evening playing music with friends.

Yeah. Plus any time spent playing guitar is time well spent, you know?

So it's back to worrying about money?

Hey, I spent around eight bucks on groceries tonight. At least I got that. I didn't even have that before.

I'm going to have to figure out ways to make some money as a musician. I'm gonna need all the confidence I can muster in the future. (pause) I'm gonna need your help, man.

Anything I can do, you got it.

Thanks, man. I'm gonna need it.