"When she started to play, Steinway himself came down
 personally and rubbed his name off the piano."
 - Bob Hope, on comedienne Phyllis Diller

"Fernando, you obviously see the world with both eyes wide open.
 Now, if we can find six million more people just like you, we can
 all start to get to work cleaning up this mess."
 - John B Ipcress

"I will always have faith in artists. That will never flag. The saying goes
 that "Children are the future!" The truth is that artists are the future."
 - John B Ipcress

"The enemy is within"
 - Brian Lee Corber, circa 2003

"No, surely, the value is in the pocket of he who pays."
 - L Feb0608

"A good friend who happens to be a businessman once told me that
 you're better off with having a handshake with an honest person than  
 a contract with an a**hole."
 - Claude  020708

 "Yeah.  Now that you point it out, it is exactly Phrygian.  Apparently I've
had way too much tonic..."
 - Chris Merritt

"The guy had an early kareoke machine, maybe Band In a Box, and couldnt 
 play a note on the keyboard.  He just mashed his hands on the keys like 
 rib eye steaks at a meat packer.  And the keyboard was turned off.  He 
 just clicked "start" and pretended to play."
 - Chris Alpair

"The cost difference between custom score and using cheap library cuts is huge,
 and sadly, these days "music quality" doesn't seem to rank very high on the
 priority list at many production companies, especially when it comes to TV.

"What to do about it? Start your own library and be competitive for shows
 that have chosen that business model for music."
 - Mark Northam

"You are awesome Mark!
 I think I am going to take all your posts and hire an artist to paint 
 them in HUGE LETTERS on the walls of my studio!"
 - Chris

"My OSX drive just crashed this afternoon. Dead, unrecoverable un-supper-dupperable,
 undiskwarriorable and never backed up, with all my personal settings,
 plug-in authorizations and programs. All gone to space, no previous warnning.
 Just wanted to come here and bitch, since I m right in the middle of a project.
 I go to the bathroom and hang myself now ok ?
 Goodbye..."
 - Marinho Nobre

"One good thing Marinho, I got the CD you sent me yesterday - thank you so 
 much! As is only appropriate I will have much more to say about AL QAREM.
 PS: Can't computer techs recover just about anything from a computer 
 nowadays - crashed, dead, or thrown out a 12th story window? I know the 
 geeks working for the FBI can."
 - John Joel Braverman

"The moral of this one is - BACK EVERYTHING UP!  And do your maintenance.
 Computers are not magical. Yes, they have few mechanical parts but they are
 still prone to several types of malfunction.  They don't like heat and they
 don't like massive amounts of processing without routine optimization.
 - Fernando Rivas 020808

"Please correct me if I am wrong."
 - Chris Alpiar 021108

"Never."
 - Les Hurdle

"I do have a point here, and it is this: If they can screw you,
 they will screw you and the rules of the game
 can change from time to time."
 - Mark McKee

"A raid array is very simple to setup (especially for anyone who understands
 why the third in A flat minor is called C flat.)"
 - Chris Merritt

"I sprayed all my gear with RAID trying to kill that pesky C flat,
 and everything stopped.  I'm not buying another can of that stuff!"
 - Vic Flick

"Hey Mark, So what mode is Giant Steps in? Panaflexian?"
 - Fernando Rivas

"I propose the creation of an FmPro wiki where those who know can distill 
 their knowledge."
 - John Joel Braverman

"God I love composers! There's nothing like interacting with people who think!" 
 - Doug Patterson

"Unfortunately all three PROs choose not to make available comparative rates
 publicly, so we're left with anecdotes, stories and legends instead of
 public rate comparisons between the PROs."
 - Mark Northam 021908

"I asked my friend Scott Smalley once, which way would be the easiest
 to get up there, by fighting straight to get feature jobs from the getgo,
 or by using any of the above methods, 
 and his answer couldn't be more perfect:

 "- First of all, there is no easy way to get there. As for which way, you can
 get there with both, only that if you chose the first, in the long run, you will
 get there faster."

"I couldn't agree more."
 - Marinho Nobre

"If you don't think that there is going to be a payoff, don't score it.
 Move on."
 - Michael S Patterson 022008

"...And one thing I have learned about Hollywood is that they do love sticking
 to traditions."
 - Marinho Nobre

"Once "crap on the composer" is ingrained, it's very tough to root out.  Best
 to nip it in the bud."
 - Geoff Koch

"Certainly not "Crap on the composer" - it should be "Bow before the 
 composer." Composers deserve the greatest respect. Especially the good ones."
 - John B Ipcress

"It is a buyer's market right now, like it or not."
 - Bob Safir

"My motto is 'I come with honey in my mouth and sh*t in my back pocket'."
 - Adrian Ellis

"Fair is for baseball and children sharing a sandbox, but the arts are brutal
 in that the only thing that matters is quality. A work of art, or a performance
 of a work, is either fine or inferior."
 - JohnB 030108

"But the music business isn't fair also. It's based on style and  
 the public whim. There's nothing fair about that. Popularity is  
 fleeting except for the few. It's hard to get recognized but harder  
 to stay current. It's much easier to be a cubicle dweller for some  
 company. That's fairness."
 - Ted Peterson 030108

"With my utmost respect for the serious musician, 
 I must say that in my world, I guarantee you that some heads are  
 gonna roll and way before mine does..."
 - Marinho Nobre

"Filmmakers are overfed and beginning to spit us out like a used up orange."
 - Marinho Nobre

"BTW, [Les] you're quite a rock star! Googled you to see what your email addr looks
 like in the archives and came up with some of the guys you've played with...

 Rick Wakeman, Alan Parsons Project, Donna Summer Elton John, Lou Reed,
 The Supremes, Tom Jones, Englebert Humperdink, Pet Clark, Bay City Rollers,
 Sweet [although they deny it ;-)] First Class, Giorgio Moroder, Munich Machine
 More at:
http://www.discogs.com/artist/Les%20Hurdle
 - Mark Northam

"Wow.......... I am???????
 Now if only the AFM would pay me!!"
 - Les Hurdle

"Okay, Les - tell me you played on "Ballroom Blitz" and that's f'n *it*  
 - you go directly to the top of my 'hero' list."
 - Duncan Watt

"This is a bit hypothetical, but would any of you fine folks care to  
 comment on working outside a "major" music center like Los Angeles or  
 NY?  I can move to anywhere with a power generator and a high speed Internet  
 connection."
 - Todd Burns

"Don't move to Colorado, the scene here is so inbred all the recording artists
 have six toes. Just kidding,  good luck in Tampa. 
 - john stone

"we are just widgets... please get it into your heads...
 and PLEASE note, this applies to ASCAP/BMI etc as well."
 - Les Hurdle 030408

Wanted: Heart Surgeon for 1/2 Day Gig - No Pay
Date: 2007-11-26, 11:55AM EST
Hi,
 I need a triple bypass surgery and want to have it done ASAP.
 We don't have any funds at the moment, but I'll have a friend videotape 
 the whole procedure, and you can have a copy of the DV tape. We're also 
 planning to pitch the idea to some honchos at HBO, so you'll be in on 
 the Ground Floor!
   * It shouldn't take more than 6-7 hours.
   * No amateurs - Experienced Heart Surgeons ONLY!
   * Compensation: no pay
 - Les Mizzell



TO BE CONTINUED...