That's what I always thought. The purest, most real form of music.
Then I got my electronic music toys to play with. And my opinions mellowed.
Writing - the crap I spew our with way too much regularity here - is studio work. I splatter words on the page then squish them into a recognisable image. A lonely struggle between me and my ungrateful child words.
Lecturing. That's the writer's live show. When you're not holed up behind your PC, but (metaphorically) with your kecks off in front of a crowd. I love it.
The unscripted, powerpointless shows I love the best. The sheer terror of standing up, looking an audience in the eye without a single sentence prepared in your head. The sheer joy when the words tumble from your mouth without prompting. An avalanche or words that never stops. At least so far.
If you'd asked 12-year-old skinny me, what fat, old Ronald would be doing in the 21st century, standing in front of a crowd talking wouldn't have been his first guess. Or twentieth.
I never imagined being where I am now.
Ronald Pattinson, renowned beer historian, is available to talk on a variety of topics. Pretty much anything. As long as there's some money in it.
Doctor Feelgood.
Trouble with wanting money for it is your blog's free.
ReplyDeleteThis is the problem all you beer communicators face.
The only way to monetise it is not via a paying public, who are accustomed to free content, but rather from those producing and marketing the beer.
All they'll ask you to do is shape the content.
Now in your case this is rather difficult as you write, mainly, about defunct breweries and beer history. Something current breweries and their PR minions don't care much about, apart from when misrepresenting it to suit their own current needs. And you seem to have this awkward habit of going to primary sources to debunk convenient myths.
You need to write more about craft. And you must STAY POSITIVE.
You're doing it wrong, Ron. We love you for it. But we won't pay you for it.