How It Goes

“I didn’t know you played the drums.”
“I used to but not anymore.”
“What kind of music do you play?”
“I played mostly jazz and experimental stuff.”
“Wow, jazz drumming is really hard, isn’t it?”
“I don’t know how to make sense of that question. It’s like anything else- whether it’s easy or difficult depends on how deep you go into it, I guess.”
“So why did you quit?”
“I got tired of starving to death a found a real job.”
“Well I play guitar in a blues band with some friends, and we perform at a bar downtown on open mic night about once a month or so. We’re actually looking for a drummer right now. We would love to have you play with us!”
“No, thanks.”
“Are you sure? We’re not very good but it’s a lot of fun!”
“I spent around eight hours a day for something like ten years practicing and hauling my drums around to do something that nobody will pay you for because everyone thinks it’s fun. In my experience if you’re having fun, it’s because you don’t know that you don’t know what you’re doing.”
“Oh, well we just practice on Sundays.”
“Anyway, I haven’t played in like three or four years now.”
“Oh wow, why not?”
“There’s no reason for me to play. I can just listen to Milford Graves or Jo Jones or Alla Rakha, et cetera.”
“But don’t you miss playing?”
“No.”
“Well, I hope you get back into it someday.”