Bluewine

Most of you know, I'm an old retired bass guitarist from the 60s and 70s. I get the whole " this is my hobby, I'm not in this for the money" thing. I hear it from several of my friends that are my age (70). One of them always says "I don't care if I get paid, I just want to play" I'm quite different I have worked hard over the years studying bass, practicing and gigging. I love the fact that I have a skill I've invested in that I'm financially compensated for. I actually take great pride in it. I always have fun gigging. Getting paid to have fun is awesome in my opinion. Am I off base ? Daryl

In my scenario it would have been an hour one way to rehearsals probably more for gigs. They were right, I lived too far away. Daryl

I lost an audition years ago because I lived too far away from the other members. And I get that. Daryl

Does the band have what your looking for in a band ? Daryl

Rule of thumb. Only audition if you completely own the audition material. If you don't cancel your audition . Be polite to everyone nail the material, keep your mouth shut, pack up and go home. Daryl

Exactly, I drove all over the place for rehearsals and gigs when I was a young guy. At 70, I'm driven to all gigs by the band leader and her husband. Most commutes to gigs are less than 45 mins. Our gig at The Bend Theatre last Friday was 5 minutes from my Condo. Daryl

We scale back to fit the venue. We're not going to bring our full arsenal of lighting into a small space gig. Daryl

Maple Road 3/8 The Bend Theatre Great Theatre gig. We played 9 songs opening for Ivy Ford. We we're clicking on all 6 cylinders from the first couple of notes. Stage sound was outstanding. Daryl

Just to name a few, I have a cool, Gibson Gold Top Bass, a 1991 Gibson Thunderbird,and two 2005 MIJ Fender P 1951 reissues. The only bass I gig is my 1993 made in America G&L ASAT bass (active pre amp). It's really the ultra narrow neck (maple with tons of Birdseye). The active pre amp is really nice. Maybe the big coil pick ups. The slab Tele body style. Daryl

Our van is silver. Lol Daryl

Thanks for sharing that story Solo. Seriously guys, it's something to at least be aware of if your auditioning. Don't be afraid to ask if a band is auditioning friends or relatives. Daryl

I just had a buddy go through the exact same thing. Only it was the bass player. There must have been some red flags the drummer was going to leave? Daryl

Don't my purple Vans count for anything ? Lol Daryl

Dave , We have three offerings. 1. Maple Road ( full four piece blues/rock band) 2. "She's Right I'm Left" ( acoustic) 3. Production sound & lighting. Agreed, sound is the most lucrative. Daryl

Here's a good one in reverse. I auditioned for a classic rock cover band. This was years ago. They double booked my audition with another guy. I was able to watch his audition. A young guy, he didn't know any of the songs I nailed all three. They went with the other guy. He was a friend of the guitarist. He didn't last long. Turns out the guy had no transportation to get to gigs. They called me back and offered me the job You can imagine where I told them to shove their offer . The lesson, never audition for bands auditioning friends or relatives. Daryl

At my age, 70 not more than 10 minutes one way. Daryl

I had an acoustic gig today. 2-5 at The Twisted Pear in Beachwood. Respectable size crowd and it was a nice place. Somebody spent allot of $$$ renovating. We were ok, my playing was pretty decent, I got paid and I was home by 6. Daryl

I've got to start gigging my 1991 Gibson Thunderbird. Daryl

Selling 175 tickets is huge ! Daryl

That's kind of my point. Correct me if I'm wrong but it seems like many of these break ups are caused by how people react and interact with each other . Daryl

I think of them as " good people ". And keep in mind we're friendly towards each other but not friends. Daryl

This is more why we haven't broken up. Still going strong since 2007. The right members, the right gigs, the right money and the right attitudes. Very rare. I think we remain intact because we're not friends. Very little if any communication . We have a husband and wife team that do all the booking and make all of the major band decisions. Daryl

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Digging the hat Daryl