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XMas gig depression.....


martthebass
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I've coped reasonably well through the year so far with lockdown, Tier 3 etc, cancelling about 40 gigs and only meeting up with the band 3 times since March but I'm finding December hard.  As a 70s Glam act we put on a XMas show with lots of cheesy songs and props and I really look forward to the 4 week period each year.  With this being in abeyance this year it's crept up on me and the glumness has hit.  Anyone else finding the lack of XMas giggage hard to take?

Edited by martthebass
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16 hours ago, martthebass said:

I've coped reasonably well through the year so far with lockdown, Tier 3 etc, cancelling about 40 gigs and only meeting up with the band 3 times since March but I'm finding December hard.  As a 70s Glam act we put on a XMas show with lots of cheesy songs and props and I really look forward to the 4 week period each year.  With this being in abeyance this year it's crept up on me and the glumness has hit.  Anyone else finding the lack of XMas giggage hard to take?

I’m feeling exactly the same as you Mart.

My main band don’t usually gig during December - we play mainly theatres and panto season means most venues are taken up with that. However, December for me usually involves doing various festive gigs with either my acoustic duo or a 4 piece band. These include (amongst others)  a great round table annual party, half a dozen gigs at a seaside hotel, and a NYE gig at a local venue. All of these are usually great fun and help make December enjoyable as well as keeping me an income coming in too. After the past 9 months, not doing anything over the festive period has just highlighted for me what a lousy situation we’re in right now. I really hope that next Christmas will be a return to  better times for us all.

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Totally feel you mate. 
ive lost count of how many shows I ve lost over my 3 bands. 
the ‘dark spectre’ has been looming large of late, and I find myself on an emotional reollercoaster, as I know many of my muso mates are also riding. 
I know the end could be if not in sight, at least being signposted, but my head doesn’t seem to agree too often 😢

the main thing I’m holding on to is that 2021 can only get better. 

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Neither band I'm in has rehearsed or gigged since March and like many of you this would be a busy time year for us but over here the live scene is basically dead. Nothing happening in my rural area and in the nearest city(45 miles away, 50,000 population) there is a bit of music in a craft brewery with very limited seating, most band members don't want to play there, it's too risky. Three bandmates, all horn players, play in the pit band for a high school musical that is in rehearsal and will be done on video and then available as a pay per view option. The band rehearses in a room separate from the stage area and on the video show night they will be mic'd and fed to the auditorium as the show goes on. I would not have done that if asked, too risky with high school kids who are very social and the 8 or 9 piece band in a room blowing for hours at a time.

I am not optimistic about much happening soon, perhaps by next summer and I'm hoping the public will still be interested in seeing live music in bars and clubs(the ones that survive) and at various social functions.

At 74 and after playing in bands or on my own for almost 60 years I realize my playing days are numbered now and although I'm still in good shape anything can happen at this age and I sometimes get pretty down wondering if the gig I played at the end of February was the last one I'll ever play. I still practice almost daily(DB) and have done a bit of recording and work with iRealPro but it's not like playing with real bandmates. The drummer, who also plays vibes and marimba, and I have talked about getting together to jam and that might finally be happening soon and that would be fun. At this point no gigs at all in the foreseeable future, too bad because during all this my playing and reading have definitely improved, very frustrating.☹️   

 

 

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This is only the second year in the last 30 or so that I haven't had at least one festive gig over Xmas/New Year. (The other one was when my wrist was nadgered a couple of years ago.) This year has been an utter ***t musically, we've lost festivals and all sorts, and this miserable gig-free xmas is the rancid icing on the mouldy cake.

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2 hours ago, martthebass said:

We’ll get through it Pete, it’s just as I get SAD, the last few years of playing with the Glam band has pretty much staved it off. I think this year I’m not looking forward to Christmas but to Spring. Stay safe mate.

You too Mart. There is a light at the end of the tunnel I think, it's just a matter of keeping strong and patient. All the best.

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1 hour ago, Rich said:

This is only the second year in the last 30 or so that I haven't had at least one festive gig over Xmas/New Year. (The other one was when my wrist was nadgered a couple of years ago.) This year has been an utter ***t musically, we've lost festivals and all sorts, and this miserable gig-free xmas is the rancid icing on the mouldy cake.

I have to resort to The Yorkshire adage - it’ll be reeet. Stay well Rich.

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1 hour ago, Staggering on said:

Neither band I'm in has rehearsed or gigged since March and like many of you this would be a busy time year for us but over here the live scene is basically dead. Nothing happening in my rural area and in the nearest city(45 miles away, 50,000 population) there is a bit of music in a craft brewery with very limited seating, most band members don't want to play there, it's too risky. Three bandmates, all horn players, play in the pit band for a high school musical that is in rehearsal and will be done on video and then available as a pay per view option. The band rehearses in a room separate from the stage area and on the video show night they will be mic'd and fed to the auditorium as the show goes on. I would not have done that if asked, too risky with high school kids who are very social and the 8 or 9 piece band in a room blowing for hours at a time.

I am not optimistic about much happening soon, perhaps by next summer and I'm hoping the public will still be interested in seeing live music in bars and clubs(the ones that survive) and at various social functions.

At 74 and after playing in bands or on my own for almost 60 years I realize my playing days are numbered now and although I'm still in good shape anything can happen at this age and I sometimes get pretty down wondering if the gig I played at the end of February was the last one I'll ever play. I still practice almost daily(DB) and have done a bit of recording and work with iRealPro but it's not like playing with real bandmates. The drummer, who also plays vibes and marimba, and I have talked about getting together to jam and that might finally be happening soon and that would be fun. At this point no gigs at all in the foreseeable future, too bad because during all this my playing and reading have definitely improved, very frustrating.☹️   

 

 

Spent a fair bit of time around Toronto, Hamilton, Mississauga during my Steelmaking technical days, can be gray and grim in winter. Hope things brighten up for you mate.

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Every New Year’s Eve for the past few years we’ve had a big paying (for an originals band) gig that has set us on our way for recording that year’s album. This year the pub has closed, so not only have we lost the gig but the knock on effect in terms of our plans for recording for the year have also been scuppered. Next year is looking bleak before it’s even started. 

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3 hours ago, martthebass said:

Spent a fair bit of time around Toronto, Hamilton, Mississauga during my Steelmaking technical days, can be gray and grim in winter. Hope things brighten up for you mate.

Thank you for the good wishes, I appreciate that.

I lived in that area for many years before I moved about four hours north to a very rural area 40 years ago and built a house and a new life. Up here we have real winters and I snowshoe and ski on my trails on my 100 acres, much better than the dreary slush and rain and crowded life in the south.

Still missing the gigs and playing with other musicians although it's no better in the areas with higher/denser population. Sigh...

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