It has happened more than once. I am hired to be a composer but just before I start, the people in charge tell me to consider making it like this or that, radiohead or led zeppelin, etc. They don’t realize they just killed the open mind I would have otherwise started with. For my parents 40th wedding anniversary we bought them a portrait of themselves, a sitting with Mendelson Joe. I became friends with Joe and ran the idea by my three brothers. We sorted out the cost and it was going to be a unique present. Just before they started, my mother told Joe don’t make me look old. The result looks like my father and younger version of my mother. I never liked it. Joe did what he was asked. I think I know how he felt. I felt bad for my dad, the result made him seem much older. But now, I think it’s more interesting. Now it is about the forces of vanity, employment, truth, pride. Now it’s about the story behind the story.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"