Mark-no longer anonymous!

I am someone who was in the business longer than he wanted to be. I am somewhat "retired" but I will still help out my friends. Allow me to elaborate; occasionally, I will book a band but I have a few rules : (1)I'll do it for free if you are nice (2)since it is free, you have no complaints (3)if you start complaining, I start charging, and it won't be cheap.(On certain occasions, I charge out of necessity!I don't have to tell any of you how hard times are.)I'm actually pretty easy to get along with. :)Let me expand: a lot if people question my motivations and have asked me-what do you want in return? I usually laugh and ask: "What are you offering?" I won't lie to you; I will gladly accept money (or a check, which I will quickly cash in case it bounces), but all seriousness aside, I seldom ask for anything in return. Hell, I was young once. All that mattered to me was my music. You were either loyal to the band or you weren't! (Sounds a bit Fascist, doesn't it? LOL) But honestly, when a young person tells me that music is their whole life, I feel this need to takefledlings under my wing, so to speak and help them out. If they make it, and remember me, that's great. ! If they don't recall my name, so what? Karma will have its way in either case. I'm not trying to preach, but hey: just don't forget who your friends are and love your family-whether you're young or not so young!