I have come to some conclusions about my life in general...

1. If I want to change my situation, I have to do something about it. I can't whine and cry when things don't happen the way I want them to happen. I have to work and be patient.

2. I believe a change in my musical situation is needed. I will leave it at that...you want more details, email me.

3. I want to spend more time with the family...we need to stick together. Otherwise we'll grow apart.


That's it for now...Starting in February, I will blog 3-4 times a week, so that people will be up to date...later

It is here...the end of the semester. Grades are in (GPC) and I finished my 1st semester at UGA. It was rough...I hardly saw my wife and kids over the last two weeks because so much was going on, from school concerts to writing papers to grading. I'm just glad that its all over (until Jan. 9th 2012)

As I reflect over the year, there were some high and low moments. I do believe that 2011 was a good year and 2012 looks to be a better year. A few things that I will do.

1. Hunt for more gigs....can't wait for people to call me.

2. schedule a couple of short promo tours of my CD,release in March 2012

3. Look for more ways to bring the money in....I can't AND WON'T work 2 teaching jobs for too long. Jody will start Pre-K in the fall and hopefully there's a pre-k age 3 program for Joni.

4. Get myself together physically, mentally and spiritually

5. Blog more....everyday!!!

6. I see the Jason Passmore Big Band in my future...and a sax quartet.

Basically, I'm tired of waiting for things to happen. If I don't do the work, nothing happens. If I don't ask, I don't receive. Bottom Line. Life is too short to waste time. The older I get, the more I realize that. One thing that we all have in common is that we will all leave this earth. Everything that lives, dies. I want to spend my life reaching for the impossible, not settling for the mediocre.

That's about it...Merry Christmas and have a happy new year.

It's the day before my 37th birthday and the 3rd day of my Thanksgiving break. I should be enjoying the time with my family and kids. Instead. I'm getting stressed about how I going to get this school work done. My professors are saying that I should enjoy the process of getting a degree. Right now, it's turning into a chore and a drag.

In the last entry, I had said that I realize that I'm doing too much. I still feel that way. My professor also said to me that I shouldn't be gigging and trying to get another degree. It worked for my 1st two degrees. Also, she doesn't know the entire financial situation. The gigs help pay off debt and the bills. The way I feel now is that if I can't leave my job to pursue this degree, I just need to stop. I know I need to do something quickly when a colleague looks at me and says that I looked stressed and all of the happiness is gone.

What I will not do is give up playing my instrument to get a degree. I'd rather not have the degree than give up playing. I thought after not teaching privately would help and it has helped; not as much as I thought it would. In many ways, I miss it; it kept me connected to the band world.

What I want to do is perform, teach and write music, within a balanced schedule. Not 95% teaching, 4% playing and 1% writing. For what I want to do, I really DONT need the Ph.D.

When I look back on my decision, I was motivated by money. I figured if I'm going to be in the public school system, make all of the money. Now, I'm not sure if I really want to do that. I have other interest and goals. I have a family that I want to spend time with. This is the reason I'm working so much: I want to pay off debt so that I can have more choices in my profession.

Right now I feel stuck in a job; I REALLY HATE this feeling. I want to be able to leave if I want to. I don't see myself there for 20 more years.

That's it for now...gotta go. TTYL

It has been 3 months since I've blogged...way too long. Here is an update of what's up

1. The 1st Odyssey Music Project CD is complete and Available through CD Baby, iTunes and many other distribution areas.

2. As of 2 weeks ago, the recording for the Jazz CD is complete. I think the title track will either be "Exodus" (To represent the journey from sideman to leader on a project) or "Beautiful Day". Now to schedule the photo sessions, pick a cover, liner notes,etc..

3.I have started my doctorate in music at UGA...it's definitely kicking my butt, but I will be better for it in the end.

4. I have come to the realization that I am doing too much...I knew it the whole time. I've been working a lot to get rid of some debt. What I don't want to do is miss my children growing up right in front of me. Therefore; some things will be eliminated from my schedule. I am grateful that I have a wife and family who support me in my endeavors. My wife just wants me to be happy..as long as bills are paid, she does not care what I do for income, as long as it's legal.

5. School (public school) is going well...definitely a lot better than last year. I still feel that I need to be there at least 4-5 years before I see the fruits of my labor. There are still remnants of the two previous music teachers. I don't feel that I've made my mark on the school yet.

6. I have been gigging 10-12 times a month for the last 3 months. I hope the gigs continue to come and maybe one of the many jobs I have I can leave.

7. I've stopped private teaching for this semester...I will probably pick it back up for 1 day a week. I wasn't sure If I could handle everything with going back to school.


That's all for now...TTYL

I know what you're thinking...here we go again. My problem is the fiances. I want to go back to school, I don't want to take out student loans. I'm not 100% positive that our finances can handle it. The Passmore Family has a sizable amount of debt and I don't want to do anything to hurt anyone. Anything I do should be bringing money into the family, not costing the family money. That's the situation. Maybe I should wait some more and work on reducing our debt. That's what I'm thinking. I don't know, but I will continue to pray and meditate.

At the beginning of July, the gig prospects were not good...now it looks pretty good. It's like that sometimes as a musician. It's all about being a "business owner". You have projected earnings, but nothing is guaranteed (I was reminded of that again in June of this year).

I have to be patient and hustle...not everyone will like what I have to offer, AND I can get upset when they reject me. I have to keep this in mind : SWSWSWN (Some will, some won't, so what, next).

The title of this blog is a question that has been on my mind for while. Currently I am in the studio recording original jazz music for a live CD. There have been times during the process that I've asked myself "Do I put out what I like or what sells?"

I really shouldn't struggle with this....In my mind, a musician should write and arrange music that he likes. But what if it doesn't sell? Is it a waste of time and effort. I don't think so.

Here's another question: If an artist releases a CD of "watered-down" music, is the artist "selling out"? Kenny G, in some peoples minds, was a sellout, but his CDs have made him millions. I believe he was only doing what Arista Records told him to do. After a while, he got tired of doing the "let's remake a pop standard and have some artist sing and have Kenny G play solos behind him/her" thing and Arista eventually dropped him.

I like some of his stuff...I have had to play alot of it for weddings, private parties, etc.. Does that make me a sellout?

Here's what I'm saying: Make whatever music CD you want. If you do what the people want, it will sell. If you make a CD to impress your favorite musicians, you'll lose in the long run. I think the "trick" is to find the middle ground where people will like what you do and making music that's creative and artistic. I struggle with this everyday. Don't be afraid to comment. TTYL

It can be very frustrating to be a musician..Here's something I want you to think about.

One of the things I like to do is to check out artist that are unknown to me, especially saxophonist. It can be very frustrating when I hear someone who puts out a CD with ok to good tracks and the performance of the lead instrument is not of the best quality. Disclaimer: I am not saying that I can play circles around any saxophonist on the planet...I still have TONS to work on. However, It's obvious that there's something missing.

I hear this a lot in the smooth jazz genre. I hear it in others as well. Some artist, instead of playing their own music, will play the same smooth jazz/R&B material and people go nuts. Maybe it's because the audience knows the material, I don't know.

I guess it's the same in the traditional jazz arena. I get tired of playing the same stuff on a regular basis..that's one of the reasons I like freelancing. It's something different all of the time.

At the same time...sometimes we have to do things we don't want to do to get to places we want to be.

I'll go figure it out now...TTYl

A few days ago, I posted about starting at Lesley University. Well... I spoke to the people in the graduate office at UGA and the music department. They are allowing me to move my acceptance for the fall 2011 semester. I honestly didn't think they would do that. In my mind, i was just going on faith.

I realize that I really want to start back. Also, my career goals make getting a terminal degree almost a necessity. The one advantage that I wi have is that I have experience in k-12 and post-secondary experience. I want to move to a university position full time. That may happen before I finish. I just dont know how long I will keep the full time gig in public school. My wife doesn't care where money comes from as long as bills are paid. We will see. I am hoping for some form of assistantship for 2012-2013. That and gigs and teaching should work out. We just got to get the debt down. I got to set up for a gig


TTYL

I was talking to my wife yesterday and I realized thT I just want to play and write music. That is what's best for me and that's what Im great at doing. As far as a career, I feel that everything else would be a waste of time (I don't think I feel that way about teaching). Going back to school for anything else may be a wasteful adventure....I at the plot where I can waste time doing frivolous and non-fruitful stuff.

The reality is that the music business is a tough business and a person had to have thick skin in order to succeed, plus some people skills and drive ( notice I didn't say talent...that's for another posting). Right now gigs and music sales are not paying the bills. Hopefully in the next few years it could. As much as I enjoy teaching my k-5 students, that's not an area I want to stay in education. I enjoy private teaching because of the schedule. Whatever God has for me I don't know but I dont want to waste anymore time or money.

TTYL