I hope so... Jobs are terribly hard to get right now... and I don't want to do newspaper rounds for the rest of my life, though it's fun work...

No, guess not....As long as you have a skill, then its all good. Even if you dont, good jobs are out there still.....At least you are prepared to work, unlike alot of people, but lets not get too topical here!

I work at an ISP, doing application and web programming and stuff.. I have a masters degree in Information Sciences, so it's actually a bit below my education level, but as a starter on the job market, I guess it's pretty ok.

Sometimes I get a bit annoyed with spending 8+ hours behind the computer though. At least I get lots of time to spend on Zappa.com and PG every day.

Or off-topical... (drum fill) I'd like to be a composer, which is why I'm studying musicology... but then I'd be entirely on the starvation level.

Woudn't you increase your chances by studying composition at a conservatory, then?

Anyway, we're really going off-topic here. I enjoy the Zappa stuff a lot anyway, Village of the Sun rocks.

Probably... but I don't play piano well enough for that...

VOTS is great... I missed it so much when I couldn't play Roxy anymore...

Ah, Grand Wazoo.. one of my faves.

As an ex musician for 15 years, I recommend you do not venture into the industry to make a living, as it is tough! I had fun though, but as far as survival goes, it was great for half a year, then the money wouldnt be as hot for the next half and so on and so forth......Too up and down. Id stick with the computer stuff, or whatever you want to do, and if anything happens with your music its a bonus....

Thanks Goj... good advice. I once encountered this weird man in the bus, he told me he had been a composer, but couldn't live out of it, so he'd become a priest instead.

Well now, theres a career change.......just think it over....

It wasn't exactly the direction in which I tended to end... There's some 800 composers in Holland, which is A Lot. And I don't think my Argh III stands from the crowd...

Its all about dedication and commitment and belief. You get to a point where enough is enough though. I did. I was only it for the touring though, which was amazing....saw alot of the world and did things I wouldnt have done had I not been in bands.....Just keep going for it is the best thing to do really....

That's the crux, I think... I always considered myself devoted to music, but now I study this, I discover I'm not all that hard-core melomaniac-and-loving-it some of my fellow-students are displaying...

It 'll all work out in the end anyway. Most people I know ended up doing something that isn't related to their education at all, might be fun anyway.

I'm a decent musician and can play in various styles and made a couple of records and demos in bands, but compared with virtuoso kids who play Rachmaninov's third piano concert when they're 10 years old, I pretty much suck. That killed off my aspirations as a serious musician early on..

Beefheart! Kick ass.

[Edited on 17-12-2005 by Puptent]

What do you play Pup?

Do what you enjoy and take shit from anyone, thats the bottom line. If success comes, its all good, if not, dont have any regrets at the end of the journey......

Thanks again, Goj...

Yay! Ship!

Think Im gonna fly people! Glad you enjoyed the show, hope you tune in again even if its not a Zappa special! Appreciate you listening. Will no doubt bump into you all soon!

Piano is my main instrument (and various keys related instruments, like Hammond organ, Rhodes piano, Hohner Clavinet), but I'm mostly a jazz and rock player. I do practice some classical music to keep up my technique occasionally, struggling through some of Chopin's piano etudes and stuff...