I earn a good dollar at my day job, and I can leave it behind at the end of the day.

Nobody pays my rent for the priveledge of hearing my music, but I still love to play.

I have gear now that I could only dream about when I was playing for pay.

I made my choice when I was 19, and my latest band had broken up. I was good, but probably never going to be great, and I knew so many really good players who were just barely staying alive. Bottom line was that I was not willing to risk starving for my art. No regrets.