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Ever feel like selling up and quitting?


Nibody

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I just heard tonight that my last remaining band (I was playing in 4 at one point) have just found another singer/bad player after I told them I will basically be unavailable while we have our second child.

Frankly I am relieved that I will have a gap from the various types of pressure that I have from gigging rehearsing. My Aguilar rig will be going and I may switch bass as well but we shall see.

For a while I will have no musical outlet unless I create one for myself, I may well do some courses online but who knows.

Gigging is not as enjoyable as it used to be and I frankly get fed up playing the same old crap (mustang sally/sex on fire/hard to handle/insert overplayed song of your choice here). 
 

i may well get the urge further down the line to get back in a band if the right people and music comes up, but I’m good for now. 20 years of gigging has left me feeling like my musical life was like a musical equivalent of Phoenix nights, the office and Alan partridge.

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38 minutes ago, NJE said:

sex on fire

I've had to learn this - only a few minutes ago I had the realisation I've played it enough that I now enjoy it (like broccoli).

And (like broccoli) I'm equally sure there's a point where it gets all to much!

Ho hum, Use Somebody next...

 

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Have not picked up a bass in 18 months after 40 years of gigging. Had a residency for over 10 years that ticked alot of boxes and paid well, but once that finished, it felt like the right time to quit. Tried playing some other venues but the hunger was gone and the fact that these venues paid less than I was getting 25 years ago sealed the deal.

Thought I would miss gigging, as it had been part of my life for 40 years, but not a bit. Weekends free and a good lady to spend them with has been fantastic. The bass has remained firmly in its case and cannot see myself going back. Have developed other interests, However for what ever reason I stiil have held on to my gear. 

Edited by leroydiamond
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I hit this point previously about 20 years ago and sold up. The only bass I kept was my XS-4. Sold a 76 p bass for peanuts and also an early 90's TE combo. We are quite techncal (one third of the band is a very talented synth guy who also handles the drums side) so I am using a Royal Blood type rig and have been pouring in cash I dont really have to perfect it. This is/was my last "hoorah" but with band issues and life issues (have a disabled kid that I am main carer for so lets say I am not exactly Rockafella when it comes to cash) I have found myself thinking "What the F**K do you think you are doing" whilst simultaneously the current band situation is not exactly providing a positive answer to that question.

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At the end of '95 I was in an originals band that were pretty proficient, we just played locally but always went down well, and had a good, professional demo and distinctive songs.

I changed top a much more demanding job, met my future wife and moved further away over the first few months of '96, and decided I had to put the band to one side, helped by a disastrous last practice where my amp sounded crap.

Over a decade later I fixed the amp (just a broken joint on a smoothing capacitor!), but  there were years when the only thing I played was an hour bashing on my acoustic.

Life brings changes, and I started playing a bit more, and my duaghter started drum lessons, which meant regular sessions sitting in a music shop diddling with the guitars and deciding I ought to get an Epiphone electric.

Then one day a courier arrived at the door. Inside the huge package was a guitar case and inside that was an immaculate but nicely worn Tokai SG - my brother had let me know he was sending em something, but not what!

From there, my enthusiasm for playing grew slowly and steadily again and with encouragement I started to learn some stuff rather than just diddling the same riffs and runs. I started trying to play along to every song that came on Planet Rock. To my surprise I reliased my bass playing hadn't got worse, if anything my ear had got better and now there were tab sites to help me get the difficult bits.

I realised I wanted to be in a band again, did a 'weekend warrior' event aimed at folks just like me. Had the good fortune to be matched with an excellent guitarist and drummer (in four bands, I've been blessed with four good drummers!) and behold it's happening again.

And it's great 🙂

My one regret is that I now realise that I was actually a half-decent bass player back in the day, I'd always considered myself 'competent' and assumed people were being polite, what would my playing be like now if I had kept it up?

So don't be afraid to take a break, but my advice is that 23 years is a bit too long.

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Sometimes I want to burn all my music equipment and live in a cave.

Then I come up with an awesome tune at 3am (which is always gone by daylight).

Some gigs are crap, some have women flashing their boobs (ok, just the once) and you feel like you own that moment, like you created the best feeling in the world and shared it with everyone in the room.

The tide comes in and out, too.

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On 15/10/2019 at 19:18, NJE said:

...just found another singer/bad player...

Freudian slip!! 

I never feel like selling up. Certainly not because of lack of gigs or band. I haven’t played in a gigging band for years but don’t miss that. I don’t often do studio playing but still do sometimes. In between my basses give me immense pleasure for playing along with music at home, looking after, setting up and generally fiddling with. 

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2 minutes ago, FinnDave said:

Give it another 40 years….

I'd love to, but if I manage to last another 15 with my bands, I'll be a happy camper. How long you been at the game so far and managed to keep a smile on your face? What would you say the secret to keeping it fresh and fun is? ... Oooh, now that would be material for a whole 'nother thread :)

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13 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

I'd love to, but if I manage to last another 15 with my bands, I'll be a happy camper. How long you been at the game so far and managed to keep a smile on your face? What would you say the secret to keeping it fresh and fun is? ... Oooh, now that would be material for a whole 'nother thread :)

It's all about variety - longest I've been in one band so far is five years, though I suspect my current band is my last one. I've always  needed to keep looking for something new, but the current band is by far the most rewarding and challenging I've ever been in. 

I'm knocking on 62 now, and started when I was 15. I've had some time out, but bass playing has always been central to my identity.

Quite honestly, the best gig I've played was probably the most recent one - and so it should be! Fiddler's Elbow last Saturday - good crowd, a great evening, but the best part was the encore - we'd discussed it at the last rehearsal and thought the audience might join in at the end, but they all started singing after the first two chords! Hardly a dry eye in the house. The sort of thing that makes us remember why we do this.

Edited by FinnDave
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I started playing when I was 14 or 15. Got to a reasonable level by ear, and could improvise completely at jams on a good day.

Attending a sub-standard music school nearly killed my enthusiasm for music though!

Started work, that kept Bass playing at bay for a good while.

At 30 I joined my current number 1 band and have enjoyed 10 years of sweet soul music playing mostly to inebriated wedding attendees.   I love the food!

I still get those dark moments where I want to get shot of all that stuff clogging up what is supposed to be a dining room.  Trying to build a little studio in my garden is really making me question it all (bloody hell thats headwork!)  But then I can’t see me being able to permanently shelve that part of me.

So in answer to your question - yes!

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