gamalan

["Liebig, Steuart A." <LiebigSA@Maritz.com>]

        I can't
        say I know anything about their culture, but I'd bet that those who
        master the art of Gamalan are regarded very highly in their 
society,
and
        compensated for it in some way.  I bet they don't even have to pay
to
        use the PA when they play out. ;-)  (sorry, I just can't help being
a
        sarcastic bastard)  I'd love for our culture to be like that, but
guess
        what?  It's not.  We're capitalists and unless we can find ways to
fund
        what we do, we're probably not doing it. 

        An interesting (I hope) story  . . . a friend of mine was gigging 
in
(Bali I think). He said that there were two local guys he was playing with
that were doing mostly western music - -  pop, rock, r&b, jazz stuff - -
because that's where the money was. These guys were, in comparison to most
of the populace, pretty well-heeled . . . good gear, nice clothes, jewelry,
cars; in other words, the usual materials goods that many get when they are
affluent . . . 

        My friend was at a hotel and saw a small Gamalan orchestra
performing for a wedding. Apparently these people were playing for 
something
like 6 hours (or more?) for very little in comparison to what my friend and
his folks were making for 3-hour club dates. 

        I don't know how masterful these people were at their traditional
music, but I'm not sure how "valued" they are . . . more signs of
encroaching western cultural imperialism?


         I agree that things are pretty
        sad at the moment.  I hope that the free exchange of thoughts via
the
        internet will free us from the shackles of BIG BUSINESS IN THE ART
WORLD
        by allowing us to distribute our stuff by ourselves.  Maybe then 
the
        myth of the superstar will die and we can be regarded as people who
do a
        specific job in our society, a highly valued job.

        I concur . . . 

        stig