<p>thx. everyone for all the feedback. My son and his band have performed w/some decent bands that are managed and under contract. From that exposure alone, he realizes music performance in particular is a real hit or miss proposition almost regardless of degree of talent, and a hard way to make a living. He is motivated to go to college.</p>
<p>As a parent I view it through obviously rose-colored glasses. He is a self-taught musician who handles lead vocals, and songwriting. And yet i have heard him sit down and play the lead guitar to Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody; his uncle is a Berklee grad. who says my son passed him in ability a while ago. He’ll put on a 4 Tops record and sing along, and it sounds like part of the recording. And neither of those is his genre of music that he performs publicly. So I’m not sure what to make of it. He’s just turned 18. On his own he will go to his room and put on Miles Davis or listen to Joe Pass on guitar on the turntable. There is little doubt the kid both loves and appreciates all types of music. I want him to have the freedom in college to develop and run w/whatever talent is there, while at the same time getting a great liberal arts education. He is a terrific writer. I like the idea of a big university as he is really feeling his way through all of this, and the most important factor I think is access to resources and people, including other musicians and writers. He’s accepted at UM in LSA, and likely will be at NYU’s CAS as well. He’s deferred w/ a shot at UVA. Based in NJ, NYU would allow him to keep the band together–but that may be moot since some other band members may scatter to different universities. He will visit Mich in the next several weeks and hopefully meet w/an Admissions Counselor in Music who can lay out some options for him as an LSA student. I do know he can take courses w/professor’s permission and even get private lessons in the studio there in all likelihood.</p>
<p>While he has played many venues in NJ and NY, I think it might be good for him to explore the area outside of the Tri-State and grow away from us as parents, but NYU probably offers some great opportunities as well even if he is not enrolled at Tisch or Steinhardt. He has open invitations to play at clubs in the area here too, but I’m not sure how that stretches him as an individual. It’s easy to play in front of a small fan base of 50-100 loyal followers he pretty much knows will be at his performances.</p>