So I'm a 27 yr old professional, working, no day job, bass player living in Vermont. People seem to like what I do and I get asked constantly for gigs in the miniscule city I live in. It works, I get to play everything. Literally, anything under the sun. Authentic west African music to tight butthole rock, theater stuff, solo classical upright that I get to improvise my way through, noise gigs once in a while. It's awesome. But Vermont is empty and there's no culture. I can feel my non-white friends being stripped of their sense of identity because no one understands where they are coming from. The "jazz" scene is totally bunk and uninspired. I can feel the conspiracy theorist, never change his socks or vaccinate his kids, guys having more of an influence the longer I stay here. I'm from a pretty urban area not far from NYC and I'm no stranger to city life. I miss language and people and food and shaging playing with people who practice. Been supporting myself solely off of music for a little over a year now. Clocked 175+ gigs in that year, and I'm ready to move. It breaks my heart because there is such a solid group of really nice musicians here that have their hearts in the right place but are dead in the water because the standards are so low. I'm not sure where to go. Turned down some solid $$ gigs here with Arielle Zevon and this corporate van Morrison tribute band because my heart wasn't in it.... Was that a dumb ass move? Saying no to connections and some job security? Thinking about couch surfing with some good friends and players in NYC and LA for about a month each. Also, super into somesof the stuff coming out of London this past few years. Those seem like the right move? People are so optimistic and this town I'm in now is so full of dreamers who definitely don't suck, but I feel I won't be able to 'make' this the scene I want. Would that be the better option? Keep in mind, I'm fine being broke. This is only about the quality of the art and dedication of the artists.
