On your honor, your Honor.

If Elvis were alive and happened to be walking down the street of your house and knocked on your door, you would certainly give him a moment of respect just for his overall accomplishment.

If CEO, Bill Gates happened to be walking down the street of your house and knocked on your door, you would certainly give him a moment of respect just for his overall accomplishment.

If the drummer of band XbarX happened to be walking down the street of your house and knocked on your door you would probably wonder if you had ordered a pizza.

Is that true? Is this how we treat each other? Have we gotten so lax on our appreciation of what each of us has accomplished that it would be easier to spit on our fellow musicians than to give them the respect for making something of themselves?

Remember, no one band stands alone. Do you think it was just coincidence that Eric Clapton asked Steve Winwood to go on tour with him? They have history together in the band Blind Faith. They have supported each other for decades. They are friends. Young bands have a long way to go. Making friends of other musicians and finding a mentor for your band will lead you to a future with possibilities. My first bands had other older musicians chime in to help us excel at our light-weight level of experience. And it poised us to join them in the heavy-rocking division! How cool is that? A local rock star as a mentor? My band signed up for that right away!

Most of us are already being treated like second class citizens by Jill and Joe AverageMusicFan. Why are we treating each other this way? At one of my jam nights about two months ago a guitar player came up on to my stage with another player that I had just met. They said his name was Gil. We played...WE ROCKED!!!! I had no idea who this guy was. He was older like me but played guitar like a decorated veteran. I was in awe, and I had every right to be, the guy was Gil Pini of the Boyzz from Illinoizz. This man has history. This man MADE history! He IS a local ROCK STAR. And now, he is my friend. Even though he doesn't LOOK like a rock star, he doesn't carry his six-string shooter with him wherever he goes, he still deserves the respect of accomplishment. I was humbled by his talent and the music he made. AND, those in the know are also. Those who don't know, generally get left out.

Know your local history. Makes friends with other musicians.

RESPECT each other.