Joe:
> Which leads me to another thought which I will toss out- many of the
> successful people I have come across in the music business, no matter
> how sweet they could be, also had a very hard aspect to them. Jimmy Day
> was an example of a guy who could be alternately very sweet and very
> demanding, to the point of alienating some people for years. I won't
> name names, but I know others who are big giant names who can be either
> very charming or utter bastards, sometimes in the same ten minute period.
> I wonder if this is true of other fields like politics or big
business, etc.
Dunno, but I'm feeling reflective and will throw in my two bits:
I suspect it is indeed characteristic of people who survive and have
successful careers in high-pressure, highly-public fields, whether
that be entertainment, politics, or business. I mean, don't you
need a "hard side" just to survive and flourish in music? I don't
know of any bandleaders or people who've attained any degree of
"celebrity" who have "wallflower" personalities. Music, or
Politics, or Business on a high level just don't seem made for
people who don't have a lot of drive and the will to expose
themselves to criticism and risk they way leaders and performers /
artists do all the time. To constantly high performance demands and
high levels of stress / anxiety, etc.
I mean, to put it another way: it ain't a pretty world out there,
and if you want to play in the big leagues you'll need to give as
good as you get, or something like that. You see what I mean. Some
people manage all this stress by taking drugs, etc., some manage it
by being assholes? And a few are actually good folks.
And no, I never would want to have lunch with Jerry Lee Lewis <g>.
--junior (junior B!, since there are two juniors on the list now...)
