Generous

Above are the wonderful group Red Molly, who performed a lovely bluegrassy show at the Narrows Friday night. I took this photo "backstage." If you missed them this time, be sure to keep an eye on the Narrows schedule, because no doubt they'll be returning in 2011.

Many groups sell CDs at their performances, usually at around $15 apiece. Red Molly, however, let people decide how much they wanted to pay. As they joked on-stage, the more people who have their music, the more likely they'll be invited on "Oprah." They're probably right. Anyway, knowing the generosity of Narrows patrons, chances are at least some paid more than the standard $15.

Red Molly's kindness to their fans got me thinking.

By coincidence, I'm reading You Are Not A Gadget, a book by Jaron Lanier, one of Time magazine's 100 people in 2010 who most affect the world. He's a guy who knows computers, the Internet etc. He describes himself as a "digital technologist." He is also a musician who is worried about what the Internet is doing to the earning potential of people paying the bills based on "mental activity," such as musicians, filmmakers and writers.

Over the course of my 9 years at the Narrows, I have spoken to musicians--some well known across the country and beyond--who are barely getting by as they create the soundtracks of our lives. They make us tap our feet and laugh. They comfort us in bad times, and help us enjoy good times. They encourage us to think, to love, to live life. They help us survive jobs we may not enjoy, and, even worse, unemployment. They hold our hands when a loved one passes, and provide the songs we sing with our children. They enrich us with their life's work.

So, in this light I respectfully suggest that those of us who partake of "free" downloads might reconsider such actions. Am I wrong?