No, I'm not talking about me, but I can definitely understand how you could easily assume this is the case. My status as a local celebrity stretches from that wall I see over there to that wall behind me that I can only see if I turn around. Local is all relative.
The local celebrities that I have in mind today are the popular and omnipresent bar cover band The Killer Flamingos. If you live in southeast Michigan and you've ever been to a bar, there is an amazingly good chance you've heard of the band. I believe they have written some original music, but the odds of hearing that while out on the town are in the 0% range. I am fascinated by this group of individuals who seem to really, really love playing music at bars.
What interests me the most about them is when do you decide/accept that you've reached the apex of your fame? I think that they're actually quite a talented group of individuals and they do an admirable job of getting the crowd up and moving, with each member of the band representing a different stylistic stereotype from the 1990s. They've been playing music at bars as long as my legal memory goes back, and they're still playing those same bars today. Do the Killer Flamingos anticipate one day breaking into the more national scene, or are they fully content with adding a $5 cover to the local bar and continuing to play out their cover rock and roll hearts until they come to find that playing at the bar 6 nights a week is quite the commitment?
I don't want to come across as insulting because I admire people who put themselves out there for my entertainment, but this question (which is on my mind because of a night at the bar last night starring a particular band named after homicidal birds) is something with which I regularly struggle - specifically, when should you be satisfied with the success that you do have, and when is trying for more success counterproductive? It's not easy to pick the right level, and once you try, you constantly second guess whether or not you made the right decision. Which is why tonight I announce a casting call for my brand new bar cover band, the Flamingos of Killerville, featuring Ken.
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Not to bring down the mirth in most of your posts, but this is a question most of us will ask ourselves throughout our lives. What is it that will satisfy us? Does it require recognition? Is this goal (whatever it is) really that important?
I hope these murderous avians enjoy their music for its own sake.
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