yes your right of course Jeid but i am more concerned with the fact that nothing is being done to help the music community and although I am sorted for a rehearsal space what about everyone else?
The Gaels are doing our best to try and ensure that once we have layed up our instruments for the last time there will still be a music scene in Caithness. who knows what talent is still to emerge from Caithness but with the sheer lack of interest from the council and the lack of facilities and funding we may see less and less musicians willing to take on the heavy burden that comes with playing in a serious touring band.
some years ago I went proffesional and decided to take advantage of a subsidy that was being offered by HIDB (now known as CASE)to self employed people, I was told that this was not offered to musicians as if there was some difference between being self employed as say a plummer and being self employed as a musician! The reason was that the local powers that be did not consider music as being something that could be considered as a bonified career even though the music industry in Scotland alone contibutes a huge amount of money to the economy and creates thousands of jobs.This is recognised by everywhere else in Britian except Caithness! we have to somehow change this way of thinking by local councils and fund holders.
I have spent a great deal of my life sat in offices trying to convince some old fart that music is a very important part of our community only for my words to fall on deaf ears.
When I first started the band back in "85" we had no PA no decent amplifiers no money and no transport but against all odds and through a LOT of hard work we eventualy got enough gear together to start touring on a shoe string budget, funding was not available or as usual there was funding available but was impossible to get, I aproached the council and went to CASE and tried all sorts of people to try and raise funds to update our gear which was virtualy hanging together but even though we were getting a lot of media coverage on a national level,even though we were raising lots of money for local charities and also attracting big crowds to local venues and there was a huge interest from major festivals the funding was somehow always wasted on some half baked idea like spending thousands of pounds on bringing some classical trios from god knows what country to play to the local snobs and yet the council could only afford to pay us £50 to play at there Gala Week!
To say I was dishearted would be an understatement but we carried on regardless however some would have given up in frustraition and that is what I fear will happen to musicians in the future, there will be those who will be put of by the amount of hard work involved and the lack of help available and will eventualy give up and opt for a more "serious" career.
I love music I think I have proven that by my track record spanning over two decades and but I would hate to think that up and coming musicians will have to face the same hardships that I have had to face.
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