Letters

I am a local merchant on the East End and have been since 1985. I resist commenting on political issues, because my customers are a diverse group. Saying A can always agitate B, so I just keep my views to myself.

However, after following the issue of live music permits, I have to say something.

I was a young musician once and made my own music. Took recordings to school and played them over the intercom during lunch. It was a popular way to get heard, and it worked very well. I was lucky enough to have a portable piano, which was very rare at the time. I played with every band that booked gigs at the local schools. It was a great time.

I was playing an original recording over lunch, and one of the teachers asked who was playing that “garbage.” I respectfully looked up and said, “That’s me and my friend on that recording.” After looking me in the eye, he made another disparaging remark, one that I could not repeat here, and I got up and gave him the beating of his life.

When the principal interviewed us both, he verified the events, and the principal told him he got what he deserved. End of story.

Calling live music “noise” is just as offensive. I’m older now and have hung up my “gloves,” so to speak, but every time I hear it or read it, it infuriates me.

First time I heard a live band was when I was 13 years old. We hitchhiked from camp to a bar in a town called Inlet, upstate New York. We sneaked in the back door, and a four-piece band was playing “Mustang Sally.” It changed my entire life.

I met my wife while playing in a disco band. She has a wonderful voice and sang with the Sweet Adelines for years. My son is a fine guitarist; my daughter is a classically trained vocalist and has performed in many local shows; her son has now caught the theater bug and has performed in seven stage shows before the age of 12.

If the town and village want to make safety standards for our protection then I suggest they do that without tying it to live music.

Next time you watch a stage show or movie, remember this: They can sing, dance and act. … but the music puts all together.

Bob Schepps

East Hampton