Bluewine

Exactly how I feel. Unfortunately if my band folded I could never find a band situation like the one I'm in with Maple Road. The nicer bookings. I'm driven to our gigs My bandmates and band leader are incredible. Very good money. Daryl

Agreed, however the baby boomers here are not giving up on going out.Many still indulging in their old habits. We draw an older crowd. A lot of them,like me in their 70s. They grew up when live music was a huge part of their lives (the Woodstock generation).These folks are still going out and thank God they don't know when to quit. I was talking to an 80 year old guy at our gig last Saturday night. He was talking about the fact that he still drives, lives independently. He said loves the grooves and loves to dance. Daryl

I had to play Spain in University jazz band. Fun but very difficult. Daryl

I've been doing this for a very long time. I'm sure a lot of you " old timers" are just like me. We can spot trouble before it happens. Daryl

So true, I've read that a lot of the Chess recording artists didn't know they were famous until they came to England Daryl

Here's my opinion on the core reasons guys get out of the game. 1. Getting too old to do it. 2. Health issues. 3. Younger guys getting married and starting a family . 4. Guys that have a long history of poor band experiences . 5. Guys that were really never in the game. Daryl

Sounds cool but way over my head. Daryl

Dave , It sounds exactly like Paul McCartney's bass on all those early Beatle albums, thumpy and woody. Daryl

Thanks Dave, That's my made in Germany Hofner Club Bass with Cavern Club era pick up spacing. Daryl

We have an acoustic gig this Saturday. Daryl

2009 was the year I joined Maple Road. I've been gigging almost weekly ever since. Daryl

Another beautiful crowd shot with proper lighting. Daryl

We have a saying too, " We're going to bring it way down so we can bring it way up." Daryl

That's about 90% of what our show is about. We had a dep drummer Saturday night, a real nice guy and I told him; " keep your eyes open and watch for the ques and what we're doing." He had a great night. Daryl

So what I'm hearing is, it's not going to be like the re-runs of Top Of The Pops and The Beat Club. I'm not going to see guys in dark tailored double breasted edwardian suits and attractive ladies in colorful mini skits going to The Marquee Club ? I guess I missed all that by about 50 years. Daryl

I've played those S holes too. And at 71 I love the fact that we mostly play the nicer venues. I'm talking about the upscale Winery's Brewery's and clubs. The larger festivals and fairs. It's cool when you arrive at a gig and someone from management introduces themselves, answers any questions. They understand bands and what we need for a successful evening. As opposed to arriving at a venue and the staff ignores you. And on the other side of the coin I don't like it when a band shows up acting like Prima Donna's thinking the world revolves around them. Daryl

Time moves fast Pete. To me it seems like that British Invasion period happened yesterday. I keep thinking if I ever get to visit London it will still be like the "swinging 60s" you see on those old black & white news reels. Daryl

Being on stage playing in a band is the only time when I feel completely in charge and know exactly what I'm doing. That's excluding " the invisible bear " incident. Daryl

Same for me. My bandmates are fantastic. I'm spoiled . I feel sorry for guys that are stuck playing with " goof balls " Daryl

Seems like 99% of the British Invasion bands 1960- 1965 have origins in the blues even The Moody Blues. I'd say the blues scene in my neck of the woods is a viable, respectable size niche. I think it's because I'm a little over an hour north of Chicago. However, the blues bands don't get the cool high profile big money gigs like the top tier represented cover bands. We're able to slip under the radar because of our Americana stuff. And I think having a female lead guitarist and lead vocalist fronting the band helps too. Daryl

Sounds like our gig at last week. Except add having the van stuck in the mud. We tried everything to move it until we figured out driving it forward instead of reverse was the answer. Daryl

Stay awhile this time. Daryl

A packed room. Those are the best kind of rooms. Lol Daryl

I'm going to start taking pics of my footwear. Daryl

That's what I call a proper gig. Very nice. Daryl