Working Musicians : Defining Moments from the Road, the Studio, and the Stage

Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: A must read!! Goes deep into the heart of the working musicians, as told by the entertainers in there own words. Enjoyed every readable momemt of this book.

Rating:
Summary: Resource, Pleasure Reading, Literature
Review: In short, "Working Musicians" is a lot like sitting down at a dinner party with Paul Simon, James Hetfield, Jerry Garcia, and Bruce Springsteen, plus a hundred or so other career musicians, and listening to them shop-talk with each other. Since an invitation to that dinner party has not yet been extended to me, I enjoyed the heck out of this book. It's a wonderful resource both for aspiring musicians and for those who simply seek to understand how the professionals think. The anecdotes and stories from the road are pure pleasure to read. I've named a few of the rock icons whose interviews appear, but Pollock has managed to gather within these pages a very diverse, cross-genre crowd: jazz, country, rap, folk, broadway, you name it. The overall effect: it's a gem.

Rating:
Summary: Useful for the Most Part
Review: Most people, even if they've been living in Siberia, have heard of Bruce Springsteen, Jerry Garcia and Peter Tork - all famous and respected musicians. However, there are just as many unknowns profiled in this book, which makes identifying with their careers and music more difficult. (Just where does one find recordings by Julia Darling?) Other than that gripe, Bruce Pollock has broken his work into logical chapters - the first album, gigging, etc. If one is serious about making a living as a 'working musician,' then I could see how this book would be valuable.