keefbaker Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 As to the gigging question. I think I've been a composer first and a player second pretty much always. For me the instrument was a way to get the ideas in my head out. I don't NEED gigging for that, I just need a way to record it. Whether anyone else hears me play is completely not a factor in whether I'll play bass/guitar/doublebass/whatever in the future. I'll play because I can't imagine not doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrammeFriday Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 What's all this? Ah, just another 'ageing troll shakes fist at modern world' thread. Move on, nothing to see here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommyK Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 [quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1453888742' post='2963740'] And yet another thread about how there's no more gigs and that they are mostly crap and that it's all too much effort. There are plenty of great paying gigs available provided that: 1. Your band is entertaining 2. Your band is prepared to put in the effort to go and get them I was going to write a whole load more explaining the above, but TBH if you need it explaining, you are probably never going to get it. [/quote] 100% this ^ I hadn't played any gigs for a couple of years. (2 kids under 2 etc...) Recently thought: yeah i have time to do one band i think. Hooked up with some other people i've played with before on occasion. Got a band together, did some practicing, got some gigs. Simple We are happy to gig in the once a week to once a month frequency range i should add. It doesn't seem to be an issue for us? New band and relatively rural area TBH. People will always like to hear a live band on a night out surely? (I know i would) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mykesbass Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 [quote name='GrammeFriday' timestamp='1453903472' post='2964016'] What's all this? Ah, just another 'ageing troll shakes fist at modern world' thread. Move on, nothing to see here. [/quote] That's not really fair. Blue has his share of being an old curmudgeon but not with this one. He has clearly set this out as a response to many threads that have bemoaned the demise of the gig circuit, and asked some very straight, pertinent questions, which have had some great replies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrammeFriday Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 Looks like a troll thread to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 If I wasn't in a gigging band I'd be writing my own stuff for a solo project - I have ideas I kick around a bit at the moment, but I put a little time into this as the vast majority of my playing time is spent working on songs for the covers band sets or improving my theory.....to be a better bass player. If I were to leave my gigging band it would give me a lot more time to devote to writing on guitar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil.c60 Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 [quote name='Skol303' timestamp='1453899325' post='2963945'] There are plenty of gigging opportunities here in Manchester. Sure, we’ve lost some venues over the years… but this has largely been due to pressure from city centre residential developments, rather than a lack of punters. I think the key consideration in discussions of this type is demographics - especially age. The market for older bands may indeed by drying up. That’s natural selection of sorts. The opportunities for young bands still seem reassuringly healthy where I live. I’m not speaking from personal experience as a young person (I’m 42), but I work with people in their 20s who are frequently attending performances by up-and-coming local bands and more famous names. For them, the live music scene is very much alive and kicking. And their musical tastes are very diverse - far more so than when I was their age. …and that’s not counting less ‘traditional’ performances (electronic/dance music). So in summary, if you want to know the future of gigging then don’t ask a bunch of ageing bass players. Ask someone who’s 21 years old and up for it. They’ll most likely have a very upbeat answer [/quote] Yes to the above - one of my wife's best friends son is a young (21) hip hop artist who is often now on Radio 1. He also gigs a lot, and his current mini tour has sold out in some places. His gigging future seems quite bright! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiamPodmore Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 I went to see a couple of my mates play on monday night (who gigs on a monday?!) and seeing them made me want to start gigging again. It's been way too long since i've played one. Online content, youtube in particular is becoming a bigger part of the industry, especially with the younger generations. They want to be able to see something as well so just popping an album on doesn't work, everything is about the entire package. As well as that quite a few mainstream artists have been discovered through having massive fanbases on youtube, and some of them are pretty good. Liam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mingsta Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 Interesting thread! I was a bedroom player in my youth, then had a big 14 year break before picking it up again in 2012. Nowadays, I have to be performing in some way or another as my motivation for playing. The most obvious and immediate thing is gigging, which I love and is my main focus on the bass. If this dried up, then I'd have to find other ways to perform or else I'd stop playing. I'd probably get in to writing original music with a collective of like minded individuals, but there would have to be some outlet for this i.e. getting music out on to the net. I'm in south london and there's still lots of pubs and venues which are hosting live music. The money isn't great: £200-250 for pub gigs, £280-400 for parties and £800 for weddings is what we typically get depending on requirements, but as we all have day jobs, we can take these gigs. Where I'm at, most of the youngsters seem to be in to live music. People in their late teens and 20s will always be going out & live music goes hand in hand with that, so I can't see that ever disappearing. The market for classic rock type bands (the undisputed backbone of the pub and social scene for the last 4 decades!) might shrink over the years, but if you can keep your set list diverse/current, then you'll still get booked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keefbaker Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 I'm seeing more and more that I'm in the minority here. Music and playing is in my blood and if I didn't do music in at least one form it'd be like not eating. Other people and money really aren't a factor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 It's all well and good, but the real question is this: What Will Take The Place Of Giggling? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keefbaker Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 Smirking Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stylon Pilson Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 [quote name='keefbaker' timestamp='1453907678' post='2964074'] Smirking [/quote] Ah, but smirking has been banned in pirbs. S.P. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keefbaker Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 [quote name='Stylon Pilson' timestamp='1453907802' post='2964075'] Ah, but smirking has been banned in pirbs. [/quote] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CamdenRob Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 Giggling hasn't been fashionable for ages... everyone knows the titter is the coolest way to express mild amusement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost_Bass Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 [quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1453902698' post='2964002'] DJs and discos have been supposedly killing live music since at least the mid 70s. They can't be doing a very good job. [/quote] I see your point but in the last months/years there are a lot of pubs that stopped having live music and now only have DJ's and Karaoke. Their excuse is that is more profitable for them (i can't judge them for doing that). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 [quote name='Ghost_Bass' timestamp='1453910321' post='2964124'] I see your point but in the last months/years there are a lot of pubs that stopped having live music and now only have DJ's and Karaoke. Their excuse is that is more profitable for them (i can't judge them for doing that). [/quote] And I'm sure that if you look you'll also find places putting on live music that weren't before. Things change. That's how it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odysseus Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 (edited) [quote name='blue' timestamp='1453855113' post='2963579'] Agreed, but I sense over all the enthusiasm for gigging musicians once had is also down. Blue [/quote] That may be related to your point 4 about decreasing opportunities to gig. Where I am, that's not so much of a problem, though I sense it may continue to get worse due to venue's having to abandon live music - in recent years, around here, there has been a spate of occasions where someone has bought a house right next door to a pub that has live music and advertises this in big letters on the outside of the pub, yet the new resident has complained to the council about the noise, and the council has sided with the resident, leading to the pub having to give up on live music. I think people (here, anyway) still have the enthusiasm for gigging (circumstances allowing) but maybe will have to lower their expectations with regard to frequency. Writing music has always been my prime motivation for playing, so I guess if gigs dried up entirely then writing and recording would have to suffice. Edited January 27, 2016 by odysseus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odysseus Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 [quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1453910827' post='2964132'] And I'm sure that if you look you'll also find places putting on live music that weren't before. Things change. That's how it is. [/quote] True. Also, if things get so bad, maybe get together with a couple of other bands, hire a hall/marquee/barn, advertise on the local media and see who's up for a night of rawk. Carpe diem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 [quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1453902698' post='2964002'] DJs and discos have been supposedly killing live music since at least the mid 70s. They can't be doing a very good job. [/quote] They said the same thing about wax cylinders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue Posted January 27, 2016 Author Share Posted January 27, 2016 [quote name='probablypike' timestamp='1453877769' post='2963627'] I'm surprised how downbeat some people are sounding about live music on this thread. I've heard that for the first time since recorded music was widely available, artists are making comparatively more money through live gigs than ever before. I'm guessing how popular dance and electronic music is atm must've had an impact on the amount of opportunities for traditional live musicians, but there's definitely plenty of healthy new music scenes around. On a side note, there are plenty of people making a career out of music without leaving their bedroom now. (See youtube/bandcamp/soundcloud.) I also don't think this is having a negative effect on people's interest in live music either. If anything, the opposite. As a 23 year old, I can 100% tell you that young people are interested in live music. With all due respect, if you're not seeing them at shows, it's not because they're not going to shows, it's because they're not going to the same ones as you. [/quote] I'll have to disagree. And remember I'm talking about local level bar bands playing rock. Sure lots of young people are going out to see Passion Pit and Interpole. But that's not local level and it's not bar rock as a matter it's not even rock. Maybe I should have said, younger people as a rule have little interest in rock and roll at the local bar/pub level. Blue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue Posted January 27, 2016 Author Share Posted January 27, 2016 [quote name='keefbaker' timestamp='1453907065' post='2964063'] I'm seeing more and more that I'm in the minority here. Music and playing is in my blood and if I didn't do music in at least one form it'd be like not eating. Other people and money really aren't a factor. [/quote] Music always involves money and other people. Unless your strictly a bedroom player. Blue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peteb Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 [quote name='blue' timestamp='1453927415' post='2964396'] I'll have to disagree. And remember I'm talking about local level bar bands playing rock. Sure lots of young people are going out to see Passion Pit and Interpole. But that's not local level and it's not bar rock as a matter it's not even rock. Maybe I should have said, younger people as a rule have little interest in rock and roll at the local bar/pub level. Blue [/quote] That is not necessarily true in the UK. Sure, they do not have the same attachment to rock music that kids did when I was young, but there are still 20 somethings regularly turning up to pub (rock) gigs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 [quote name='blue' timestamp='1453927415' post='2964396'] ... younger people as a rule have little interest in rock and roll at the local bar/pub level. [/quote] That's a wise move on their part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 [quote name='blue' timestamp='1453927725' post='2964400'] Music [b]always[/b] involves money and other people. [b]Unless[/b] your strictly a bedroom player. Blue [/quote] So, not always, just sometimes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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