Man, oh man!  What a week this has been!!  From getting a reply from a venue to a gig inquiry of, “Not interested.  Thank you.”, to last night finding my left hand from the first finger knuckle all the way around to the thumb pad was purple, this week has been very eye-opening, disheartening, and frankly, possibly life changing. 

Oh!  Hello.  If you don’t know me, I’m Michael Murphy.  I’m an old musician, singer-songwriter, sort of a poet, sort of a cartoonist, sort of a guitar player, sort of.  “from the dog house” is possibly going to be a weekly (if I’m pissed enough – daily) blog, sort of.  Now you’re up-to-date, sort of!! 

Back to the week.  I discussed with a VERY few close friends that “not interested” email response.  One friend replied, “Consider the source.”  Another replied, “LOL!  Don’t contact them again!”  And another replied, “Can’t win’em all.”  While they’re all right, it still hurt and still stings a bit.  Now, full disclosure, I emailed back and asked why?  A less terse reply received was “fully booked” and “not the style” they were looking for.  A bit easier to swallow, but looking at their schedule and type of acts, not fully truthful either. 

It really doesn’t matter how talented one is any more.  What matters is what the venues figure sells their products best!  So, maybe I am just too old for millennial music lovers.  I’ve actually heard that as a reason I wasn’t considered for a popular annual music festival, years ago.  Too old.  

I am old.  I’m 72.  I’m still writing songs.  I am still making records, er, CDs.  I still play as often as I can.  And, when I was a pup, older musicians were my, and other players of my age, heroes!  Sure, the Beatles came along and turned our heads around in more ways than one, as did other younger artists in a variety of genres.  Guthrie, Seeger, Dylan, Joni, Baez, Byrds, Robertson, Stones!  Too many to remember.  But, even while they were burning up the airwaves, we never lost respect for or interest in the trailblazers who inspired all those young artists who were changing the world of music and ideas!  

I’m not trying to change the world.  I’m just an old musician that has paid his dues and who is lucky to not have died from the life I lived, as did so, so many others.  By no means am I going to quit playing because somebody said, “Not interested.”  I’ll continue finding a corner to sit in and sing and play to anyone who will listen, or who is just in the room.  Maybe something I’ve written will help you, or make you laugh, or make you think.  Maybe a song I cover will bring back a memory of some fleeting moment that changed you in some way, bring a tear to your eye, or a smile to your face.  Because that’s what we do, we wordsmiths and songsters and artists.  We connect with you, to the world through the music.  And when we connect with you, we did what we set out to do.  Not to be put on a pedestal, not to be adored.  Just to be a part of the world, the only way we can. 

“Not interested.”  That’s okay.  Someone out there is.  And we will find them.  We always do.