“Who do you play with?” This is the oft asked question when someone discovers another plays music for a living. The question constitutes that the musician plays with a specific act or for an artist performer, I guess. It immediately makes assumption that any musician has one function, and that is to be in one ongoing band permanently, or to be a side person player for one artist long term. The awkward truth is that countless musicians perform “with” numerous bands/musicians/artists. In Nashville, where I grew up, it is tremendously commonplace to be spread around, as a player. You do a gig twice a month with a blues combo, jump on a tour bus with an artist or two on occasion (for little tour runs), include in a couple of rock bands for ”fraternity party” engagements, and play on sessions with whoever hires you. The question is fair, I suppose, if the one asking is prepared for a true answer. That person NEVER IS! In my case, I might start to say “Well, I was Billy Don Burns’ guitar player in ‘83 and ‘84. In ‘90, I was Freddy Fender’s guitarist, while much of the’80s and ‘90s had me fronting my own band, which had more than 100 different players. The members were Warren Haynes, my brother, Steve, Al Lauro on drums, Rick Gerkin on keyboards. The different players are a long list. Also, I was in a duo with my wife, Stacey Earle, for 20 years. But, I did stints as Steve Forbert’s guitarist off and on in the 2000s. For a couple of years ,’95-‘97 or so, Steve Earle employed me as a multi-instrumentalist. I played in a New York rock band, fronted by Shane Stenstrom, a couple of stretches. Moetta, a piano-pounding soul singer, employed me a number of times.” However, I would not get past the first sentence. The person posing the question would tire of my answer before it was off the ground. To make it stranger, I have performed solo for a few thousand dates, as have countless performers. In recent years that has been my primary performance situation. And, that means I play “with” no one, except myself. The answer I might give about that scenario always gets cut off quickly. If I am not playing “with” anyone, then, there is no need to answer. In other words, the question seems to have a motive: to fish out if the musician is a hired “gun” for a FAMOUS person, and if so, can that be elaborated about? If the answer does not bring THAT result it is not an answer that is allowed to be completed. Where does this pattern, one so commonplace, originate? It seems ingrained from an early age. Why is it so strange that a full-time music person could have a wide range of musical engagements, or, could only perform as a solo act? It seems those things are all around us. Does the questioner not see it all? Is it important, maybe, that musicians be compartmentalized? Meaning, a musician is stereotyped as one particular thing? An acquaintance of mine, Danny Flowers, used to be referred to as the “guy who wrote Tulsa Time” all around Nashville. It seemed so simplifying, as he is a fantastic guitarist, and singer, AND he wrote many other songs. But, boxing people in, cornering them into a preconceived description, that seems to be the nature of many.