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I am skipping class at the moment, though I am still in the building. I came downstairs to the “fishbowl” (computer lab) to kill time while the class does busy work.

On the 22nd of this month (next Thursday) I am playing what will be, for the time being, my last gig with the Jay Rakes Band. I say “for the time being” because I have agreed to do fill-ins in the future but my status as a full member of the band has reached it’s terminus.

Basically, I have had to make a choice to focus on school, work, and my new chosen career in the IT field. I have mixed feelings about this decision, but for the most part I am optimistic that I am doing the right thing. JRB requires too much of my time, and too much of my concentration at the moment for me to feel like I would be doing Jay and Tripp any justice to continue playing with them. Juggling school, a job, bass students, and preparation for technical certifications (which is like going to a second school) while rehearsing and playing with a band for six hours a week is too much for me to juggle.

I am disheartened by the fact that I am quitting a musical situation so that I can do non-music drudgery. I do feel a bit like I am selling my soul, but I am trying to remind myself that I have taken time away from the bass before and returned more enthusiastic and passionate as ever– and this will not be a total break from the instrument. I am looking forward to putting in a dedicated effort on beefing up my practice routine and shedding hard on some new things. I want to get more serious about posting some more online lessons and I want take a breather and remember how excited I used to be about music before Berklee. Sometimes those things are easier to do when you aren’t worried about stepping up to a band situation.

I wish Jay and Tripp the best. I have gained so much as a player and as a person from playing with them. The challenges I have had to overcome– just to hang with these guys– have been extraordinary. I am glad that I was able to take part in playing with them for the last 2 1/2 years, and I will leave them now as a transformed musician. They are world class musicians and deserve the very best.