blue Posted November 7, 2017 Share Posted November 7, 2017 Don't get me wrong. There are a ton of reasons some guys don't gig, won't gig or can't gig. First and foremost, I'll say it again, at the bar/pub/ club level there are not as many places to gig as there use to be. Sorry if I sound like a broken record. If my band folds, I can kiss being in a band and gigging goodbye. There are very few established bands that focus on gigging and making money. Blue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mentalextra Posted November 8, 2017 Share Posted November 8, 2017 [quote name='blue' timestamp='1510089371' post='3403972'] Don't get me wrong. There are a ton of reasons some guys don't gig, won't gig or can't gig. First and foremost, I'll say it again, at the bar/pub/ club level there are not as many places to gig as there use to be. Sorry if I sound like a broken record. If my band folds, I can kiss being in a band and gigging goodbye. There are very few established bands that focus on gigging and making money. Blue [/quote] You'll have to get a 'proper' job Blue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue Posted November 9, 2017 Share Posted November 9, 2017 (edited) [quote name='mentalextra' timestamp='1510159059' post='3404375'] You'll have to get a 'proper' job Blue [/quote] After being out of the "proper" or what I call traditional work force for 2 years I doubt that will happen. I worked for 35 years, never really cared for it. Blue Edited November 9, 2017 by blue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barking Spiders Posted November 9, 2017 Share Posted November 9, 2017 I wish I could be in a decent gigging band again. I'm in my late 40s and three times divorced but it's harder finding that band than it has been finding myself another good woman. And that's no exaggeration, having spent 6 months on dating websites till I met my current partner. I moved to Gloucestershire in early 2000's and in Cheltenham there used to be many good venues but with so many former pubs now Costa Coffee , housing etc and what with more and more people preferring to stay in and stare at screens opportunities for gigs are thin on the ground Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
progben Posted November 9, 2017 Share Posted November 9, 2017 I'm in an active band so naturally we gig a fair amount, although it's probably the thing I enjoy least about being in a band (apart from the organisational hi-jinks) My passion will also be in creating music first and foremost, especially in the studio. I find that the idea of playing live is great, but once I'm up there, it's all autopilot (except for when something goes wrong). The whole thing flashes by in a second. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest oZZma Posted February 6, 2019 Share Posted February 6, 2019 I have never gigged and I doubt I will ever do it. I'm interested in writing and publishing stuff but I don't like the idea to play in front of people and I don't care to do any "promotion" activity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daz39 Posted February 6, 2019 Share Posted February 6, 2019 I’ve never gigged. Was briefly in a band at uni but it turns out to have been an audition as they all made excuses the next week not to meet up with me. Thesedays I have little free time, my wife won’t let me go practice with my friends who are in bands or having lessons (they even have an insulated garage/drum room, and I have far too much anxiety to seriously consider looking for a band. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorks5stringer Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 I seem to average a couple of gigs a month, 2 of the 3 I was doing in January got cancelled due to the weather. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baxlin Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 Not done a paying gig for getting on for 50 years! And I sat behind a kit in those days. (And they were called bookings then, not gigs....). I do regularly play bass in public as part of our church band, is this 'gigging'? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewblack Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 7 hours ago, Baxlin said: I do regularly play bass in public as part of our church band, is this 'gigging'? It's a public performance so I would say yes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delberthot Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 On 09/11/2017 at 13:28, progben said: I'm in an active band so naturally we gig a fair amount, although it's probably the thing I enjoy least about being in a band (apart from the organisational hi-jinks) My passion will also be in creating music first and foremost, especially in the studio. I find that the idea of playing live is great, but once I'm up there, it's all autopilot (except for when something goes wrong). The whole thing flashes by in a second. Gigging is the only reason I am in a band. I get no pleasure from rehearsals or being in the studio but realise that they are both necessary. I couldn't be in a band that didn't gig. I don't even play in the house unless it's to learn a new song before a rehearsal 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobbayne Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 I love to to play with others. Even if its only a rehearsal I still get a kick out of it. If I'm dossing about at home then I get my acoustic guitar and strum on that. unless I really need to work a bass part out I seldom play the bass at home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodinblack Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 (edited) I love gigging. Normally we are doing 2 or 3 gigs a month, but this year is a bit weird, so far done 3 gigs, but don't have anything for 4 weeks, and then nothing for 4 weeks after that - various holidays and new jobs getting in the way. I did join a new band (as well) last year, and we may be doing our first gig in 5 weeks, so that should be good. Shame they weren't ready earlier, could do with something to fill the spaces! Unlike others here, I play the bass at home a lot. Sometimes the keyboard, occasionally the guitar, rarely the flute, but pretty well every day I play the bass. Edited February 7, 2019 by Woodinblack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluewine Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 Started gigging when I was 12. Still gigging at 66. More like once a week than 2-3 times a week. Not a whole lot in life makes sense to me until I'm on stage and well into the first set. It's where I feel at home, confident and in control. I don't get that anywhere else in life. Blue 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanol Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 8 hours ago, Bluewine said: Started gigging when I was 12. Still gigging at 66. More like once a week than 2-3 times a week. Not a whole lot in life makes sense to me until I'm on stage and well into the first set. It's where I feel at home, confident and in control. I don't get that anywhere else in life. Blue You beat me by a year! I started gigging (but as was said by Baxlin they were bookings back then) when I was 13 and did so as guitar player and then guitarist/singer later on. I gigged for 20 years until it became too difficult when we had kids. I finished in 2000. About five years ago I started jamming with a few friends. We are all guitar players and use drum tracks, and very recently I started playing bass with them to fill out the sound. As we all have kids who are growing up now (17 and 21) we have a little more time on our hands and are making noises about getting back out. We are working through Mustang Sally, Sweet Home Alabama, and for the last song of the "more-more bit", Hi-Ho Silver Lining. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HengistPod Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 (edited) We're out around 25 times from now til the end of the year, with most of April, July and August off for holidays and stuff. Some months 5 or 6 gigs, some one or two. I'm expecting maybe another 6-10 gigs to come through the door along the way without actively begging. That suits me fine - enough to get out and play and justify gear ownership to the Mrs, but not too much that I'm too tired to get out and do family things some weekends too. Edited February 8, 2019 by HengistPod Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubit Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 I live for gigging, but unfortunately due to the constraints of my ad hoc work, I am unable to play. My “ music room” became cluttered and I lost interest. Depression set in, but that’s for another thread. I have cleared the room and taken a new interest in playing. I am forced to play alone at the moment but I hope to get a rotational position soon and get a band back together. I just love the rush I get out of creating a noise that goes towards people enjoying their evening. Seeing people rush on to a dance floor is a real buzz! Getting a cheer equally gratifying! I need to get back to playing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monkey Steve Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 I dipped into the thread a while back, but never really answered the OP's question For me, playing music is best when you're in band, and the purpose of being in a band is to play gigs. Maybe it's because I'm from the pre-YouTube generation when the options for playing to yourself in your bedroom were fairly limited, but that was the only point of playing an instrument when I started. That's specifically why I bought a bass at 18 - all my mates played guitars so I spotted the gap in the market and could instantly be in in a band. Worked a treat. While I've had periods not being in a band, when I am the aim is always to write/learn songs and start gigging. I'm relaxed about months of practice with no gigs booked, but actually playing to an audience is always the aim. Doesn't need to be every week, or even every month, but it will be the long term intention of the band, to go out and play. In order of fun from least to most: talking about being in a band playing bass alone playing bass in band rehearsals/jams/songwriting with others playing a gig So it's not that I don't enjoy the first three, it's just that the fourth option is clearly the best. I know plenty of people who have this the other way round, and love telling everybody that they are in a band, talking about their projects, planning what they are going to eventually do, far more than they actually want to play music in front of people. I also have plenty of bad experiences in the whole breadth of "band" context, but actually playing the gig is almost always great fun...or is so terrible that it leaves you with an excellent story about what went wrong (some of which may have appeared on other threads). Last gigs i did were at Christmas, depping to help out a mate's band, and I'm not actively in any other band at the moment. But something'll turn up in due course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebassist Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 (edited) On 06/02/2019 at 19:37, Daz39 said: Thesedays I have little free time, my wife won’t let me go practice with my friends... You saying that your wife won't let you practise - is that said in jest? Edited February 8, 2019 by thebassist Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmccombe7 Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 When i first started i did a few gigs but bands kept having fall-outs with each other so i took a breather and went from learning rock songs to practicing scales and learning more Jazz rock based material starting with Camel and eventually moving on to Brand X and Bruford style. (i'm no Jeff Berlin but i could do a lot of the Percy Jones material back then) I did that for about 2 yrs playing 2-3 hrs every day sometimes more. Was then asked to join an established local Southern Rock originals / covers band and from that point i was gigging fairly regularly thru the mid 80's to mid 90's. At that point bands folded and we made more money from PA hire. Work commitments took over for the next 15 yrs i mucked around at home with my one and only bass (Warwick Thumb NT i bought new in 1989) When i turned 50 i got back into playing in bands again and i've been fairly busy with numerous bands in past 8 yrs ranging from classic rock, tribute, Funk/Blues based rock, club covers, Prog originals, heavy metal and now Glam Rock covers band. I started picking up different basses for different projects but my goto bass and my fav to play for past 7-8 yrs has always been my Geddy signature CIJ Jazz bass. I enjoy everything about being in a good band from learning the songs, the rehearsals and finally gigging. With my current band there's also the issue of stage gear to talk about It's been really good fun sorting it out and ridiculing each others choice of stage wear. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daz39 Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 23 minutes ago, thebassist said: You saying that your wife won't let you practise - is that said in jest? Practice at home is limited by space and young kids. Going out for personal quality time is frowned upon. I could, theoretically, go out to attend lessons or jam with my mate, but is it worth the cold shoulder(s)? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebassist Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 16 minutes ago, Daz39 said: Practice at home is limited by space and young kids. Going out for personal quality time is frowned upon. I could, theoretically, go out to attend lessons or jam with my mate, but is it worth the cold shoulder(s)? Bloody hell, you're a better man than me - I could never put up with that. My wife and I check if the other is doing something on any particular date and if we're not, we notify each other that we're going out that night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubit Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 (edited) 3 minutes ago, thebassist said: Bloody hell, you're a better man than me - I could never put up with that. My wife and I check if the other is doing something on any particular date and if we're not, we notify each other that we're going out that night. My Mrs. Embraces evening I want to do. If I wanted to go out to rehearsal or to play, she would support me. Her brothers wife thinks he plays guitar as an expensive hobby. He is incredible and gets no support. Edited February 8, 2019 by ubit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lownote Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 26 minutes ago, Daz39 said: Going out for personal quality time is frowned upon. I could, theoretically, go out to attend lessons or jam with my mate, but is it worth the cold shoulder(s)? Coo, I get the cold shoulder if I DON'T spend quality time with the boys / gig. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delberthot Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 (edited) My wife sometimes doesn't like me being out every weekend but accepts that it is my hobby, my enjoyment and my release. I don't smoke, drink or take drugs. I don't spend my weekends watching football. We still have plenty of time together and I always book time out of the band diary for holidays as it can become a pain when you book a week off at work only for gigs to appear in the diary and we can't go anywhere. My work-life balance is just as important when it comes to the band as it is when it comes to my day job Edited February 8, 2019 by Delberthot 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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