Here is a letter we recently received from a disappointed concert attendee:
“The popular songs that your group performed were done very well however half of the songs were unknown to most and while I’m sure they were performed well, that is not what I paid to see/hear. I can appreciate that you know so much trivia about John Denver but the show was not advertised as a documentary. We see two or three shows there each summer and drive over an hour to get there. I, as well as the others in my group left the (venue) disappointed for the first time ever.”
I probably don’t have to tell you, THAT kind of letter really grabs our attention! As entertainers, we are essentially people-pleasers, and when we became entertainers we opened ourselves up to praise AND criticism. Praise is easy (we ALL want that!) – but with the praise, sometimes there is criticism – and in these days of social platforms, both are given freely whether asked for or not.
The first thing we do is check back at the set list, There were 4 unknown songs in the entire 2 hour playlist of hit songs.….one because it was specifically written about the very place we were standing. We explained that during the show. We thought it was cool, but apparently the complainer thought of this as part of our “documentary.”
The next thing we do is reply to the complainer. This is hard. We want to defend ourselves, we want to prove them wrong, make them feel bad for criticizing and we want them to understand the agony we go through trying to decide what everyone wants to hear out of a very large repertoire of excellent music. We want to send them copies of all the letters we received from people that LOVED the show – but in the end, all we could say to this person was “We are sorry you were disappointed” and in spite of all the praise we received from OTHER people who went to the exact same concert, this person’s comments will be a nagging reminder that, hard as we try, we can’t please everyone.
In 1971, singer/songwriter Ricky Nelson performed at Madison Square Garden in what should have been the highlight of his career. Instead, he was nearly booo’d off the stage by an audience that preferred to hear Ricky’s hit songs instead of the new songs he and his band wanted to present. Ricky was unnerved and cut his set short. From this bad experience, Ricky wrote the song “Garden Party” which became his first US top 10 hit since 1963.
Remember…. in this day and age, criticism is easy and it is encouraged by greedy retailers who’ve convinced us that the customer is always right. It is also encouraged by social platforms that allow everyone to share their opinions freely (PS they also make a lot of money doing this). Moving forward, we will always read, listen and reply to every comment we receive, and we will do our best to reply in a professional manner. In the end though, for our own sanity, we remember these helpful quotes:
“You can please some of the people all of the time, you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time” – John Lydgate
“The only taste of success some people will get is when they have a bite of you.” – Zig Ziglar
“Care about what other people think and you will always be their prisoner.” — Lao Tzu
“You can’t please everyone, so you gotta please yourself.” – Ricky Nelson
**Warning: Anne is going to talk about gardening again, you have our permission to skip this Blog, LOL.
Spring is the obvious time for most of us to be outside doing yardwork. If you can’t tell by looking outside, you can tell by all the television advertisements for yard maintenance stuff. The weeds already have a head start, and it seems by the time you notice one, there are millions of them everywhere! For now, I’m ignoring the milkweed and letting them grow. Milkweed is supposed to be good for butterflies and bees, but what I’m actually seeing on the milkweed is lots of ladybugs, and I want them to stick around to help me in the garden. I’ve started tomatoes and cucumbers, the lettuce and strawberries are going strong and I have lots of seeds and seedlings waiting for me to put them in the ground!
Most importantly, this is my 4th and (hopefully) final year in my plan to eliminate the Bermuda grass from my back yard. Oh you may laugh, ho ho, and say, “Anne, it’s impossible to eliminate Bermuda grass!” and you would be right. I will never totally eliminate the Bermuda, but now I think I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!
We have lived in this house for about 38 years. The Bermuda grass was there before we moved in. Someone probably planted it on purpose, Bermuda is a popular choice for a tough, heat loving, drought tolerant lawn. Over the years, any effort on my part to plant a garden or flowerbed has been thwarted by Bermuda grass running into it and choking out everything else. Bermuda is a survivor….it has 3 ways of spreading, and it spreads fast!
1) Seeds that blow in from other areas or carried by birds or other animals
2) Spreads across the ground surface
3) Spread by tough, thick stems that go deep underground.
I’ve tried many organic (and non-organic) methods of eradicating Bermuda. After so many years of trying, I got tired of waiting for my dream-garden-food-forest so I decided to start digging! I had to eliminate all of the stems that were underground because any piece of a stem left in the dirt can grow roots and start a new patch of Bermuda. The new seeds that sprout from the top are easily pulled out annually with the rest of the spring weeds, but what happens underground becomes a big problem!
Every year for the past 4 years, I’ve spent my “home time” (the very brief amount of time we actually are at home between concert tours) planting, harvesting and pushing back the Bermuda. I sit under my trusty umbrella (5 square feet of life-saving shade!) I push the Bermuda back, and I plant garden rows in its place, with a generous mulched area in-between so I can watch for new patches of Bermuda that might appear from below.
Looking at the picture on the left, Jim (blue shirt- working on irrigation) is standing by the tan-colored barn. The little red house on the left is a utility/laundry room. Bermuda eradication started at the barn, and now the only Bermuda that remains is the small patch in the foreground with the milkweed. The picture on the right shows how deep I have to dig to get the stems out from underground. So far I’m lucky, I haven’t found many stems going deeper than 1 foot (but google says it can go underground up to 3 feet! Yikes!).
I am happy to see the end of this chore. I would like to focus all of my time and attention on growing food and truthfully, at my age and into the future I won’t have the strength to be pushing around so much dirt! It’s good though, to set a goal and see it through. Even though it took a very long time to figure out HOW to do it, there is a lot of satisfaction in getting it done.
Are you working on a project that you’ve been dreaming about? Let me know about it in the comments!
One Eye on Jim, The Other on Conductor Lee Holdridge
This past month, we were honored to perform our John Denver tribute show with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. This is the 2nd time we’ve been asked to perform with the BPO – and it was just as amazing as the first time (several years ago). Performing with a Symphony Orchestra has GOT to be the highlight of most musicians’ careers. It certainly has been for me. Anyone who has mastered their instrument to the level that they are in a Symphony Orchestra is someone that has worked hard, practiced long hours and sacrificed much to become a true professional at the top of their field. To be perfectly clear, we are performing WITH the Symphony, not IN the symphony…symphony musicians are on another level far and above what we do and we are lucky to have the opportunity to do a show with them.
It’s thrilling and intimidating! When I stand on the stage with the orchestra, I am a jumbled bag of emotions, it feels as if parts of my personality are trying to break out and take over, while I struggle to hold it together and ‘BE’ a professional. There’s no time for me to geek out and no room for fear or high emotions.
Here’s what’s happening with my personalities:
TheMusic Nerd: I’m actually on stage with an orchestra! I love to hear the music swell all around me and feel it in my feet. In fact, I’d love to lay down on the stage and feel it through my whole body….is that weird?
TheJohn Denver Nerd: Hearing the orchestra play the exact notes that Lee Holdridge wrote for John Denver, brings such a strong sense of nostalgia as a John Denver fan. Knowing John himself loved singing with an orchestra makes me feel so happy and sad and wistful and joyful… I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.
The Hospitality Nerd: I know there must be other John Denver Nerds out in the audience enjoying John Denver’s Music with a Symphony Orchestra. It gives my ‘hostess’ side great satisfaction. I enjoying watching the audience enjoying the music!
The Spiritual Nerd: This is magical, it’s surreal. I can’t believe I’m here!
The Mandolin Nerd: Oh God, this is the most pressure I’ve ever had to keep my mandolin in tune!
Through it all, I must keep calm and be a professional. The job cannot be done properly if I let the ‘nerds’ take control. Don’t be scared, don’t be intimidated…deliver the BEST music with the BEST musicians to the BEST audience and everything will be okay. Oh, and don’t lay down on the stage….not cool.
I’m sorry that we are not allowed to take pictures of the symphony (a big union no no) or video (even bigger no no). We did get a surprise after the show when a group of young men approached us at the meet-and-greet and asked for pictures and autographs. We don’t see many youngsters at our concerts so we were very happy they stayed around to introduce themselves. They are a group of friends and pilots (some are pilots and some studying to become pilots). Some from Buffalo and some out of State. They took the opportunity to get together at our concert and hear music they love written by a pilot they admire…..
Jim Curry With a Group of Young Pilots and John Denver Fans!
My friend Ann posted last month on the blog page that I’ll be in my usual cheerful mode when I get back on the road again, and of course she is 100% correct! All this month we have been doing concerts and making new friends. It’s like the song:
The more we get together, together, together,
The more we get together the happier we’ll be.
‘Cause my friends are your friends and your friends are my friends,
So the more we get together the happier we’ll be!
All I have to do is scroll through my facebook pictures for a few seconds to be reminded of how many smiling faces we have met, and how many fun adventures we have had. So many!
Sorry if I missed anybody, this was just a few seconds of scrolling and a small sample of the fun that we’ve had over the years!
Sharing music and making friends is an important part of living the human experience and something we all need to try to do to be healthy and happy.
"It was an amazing evening. We have had many different performers at our conferences; The Beach Boys, Tony Bennett, Three Dog Night, America. Jim Curry ranks among these acts. I would book Jim and his band again in a heartbeat."
Daniel Young Corporate Function, Keystone, CO
"I have to tell you I don't know when we've enjoyed a show as much as we enjoyed yours. It just swept us away and we did not want it to end! You are all so gifted. And the music of John Denver speaks for itself. It touches the heart."
