iconic Posted April 16, 2023 Share Posted April 16, 2023 (edited) Because it seems the bass players I interact with, be it on here, doing a bit of business with, see playing live, chat with seem to be 'of an age' 😊with not a lot of new blood coming along. Not to say there isn't/aren't any fresh faces, but, well you know. Or maybe more a statement about live music? Was going thru the "How Was Your Gig" thread and some of us aren't getting any younger in a few of the pics. The audiences at open mic nights, jams, sessions etc also seem to be getting more wrinkley too. Could be, probably is, down to me and just my sphere of influence? Any thoughts? Mr V Meldrew. Edited April 16, 2023 by iconic 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzz Posted April 16, 2023 Share Posted April 16, 2023 (edited) I co-host a weekly jam night, and there's many more younger bassists than older ones; in fact there's only two of us gimmers there regularly, everyone else is under 30... I also go and see a decent amount of small bands (I'd soooo much rather see a band I've never heard of in a small club for a tenner than fork out fifty quid or (much) more go to a horrible-sounding enormodome to watch some bigger names), and the vast majority of bassists there are kids*... * i.e. half my age...which is getting easier and easier to be these days... Edited April 16, 2023 by Muzz 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lidl e Posted April 16, 2023 Share Posted April 16, 2023 I think it's more down to the demographics of this place. Also, pub cover bands would tend to be older people and thats what most bands on BC would be i think. I play in an originals band and we are definitely oldies in the scene. Youngins thriving on the original scene here. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iconic Posted April 16, 2023 Author Share Posted April 16, 2023 Just now, Muzz said: I co-host a weekly jam night, and there's many more younger bassists than older ones; in fact there's only two of us gimmers there regularly, everyone else is under 30... I also go and see a decent amount of small bands (I'd soooo much rather see a band I've never heard of in a small club for a tenner than go to a horrible-sounding enormodome to watch some bigger names), and the vast majority of bassists there are kids*... That's great news Muzz😎 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iconic Posted April 16, 2023 Author Share Posted April 16, 2023 1 minute ago, lidl e said: I think it's more down to the demographics of this place. Also, pub cover bands would tend to be older people and thats what most bands on BC would be i think. I play in an originals band and we are definitely oldies in the scene. Youngins thriving on the original scene here. Again, good to hear😎...especially as I'll be thinning the heard again 😉 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Dare Posted April 16, 2023 Share Posted April 16, 2023 I'm already a dinosaur. It's not so bad. Young people even offer me a seat on crowded trains. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marky L Posted April 17, 2023 Share Posted April 17, 2023 It's this sort of nastiness that doesn't help encourage them.. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saul Panzer Posted April 17, 2023 Share Posted April 17, 2023 Doesn't seem to be shortage of young bassists online, I'm voting on sphere thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat Burrito Posted April 17, 2023 Share Posted April 17, 2023 Working with young people, music is as popular as ever. They use the internet differently to us and I think it's safe to assume they don't want to spend their free time talking to a bunch of so called boomers! I'm okay with that, we get the last laugh - they'll all wind up like us! 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
borntohang Posted April 17, 2023 Share Posted April 17, 2023 Young 'uns don't use forums is the long and short of it. There's a shift in how they perform music too - being in a band unfortunately means having time, space, and resources (plus generous parents if you're too young to drive) whereas putting your recordings up online is basically free once you've got a guitar and an interface. Playing for thirty people down the Dog and Duck jam session might not seem quite as appealing in comparison to putting up a video and potentially getting thousands of hits. I can confirm that once they're out of the teens then being in a rubbish student-indie band is just as popular as it ever was though. You might put that down as either a pro or a con depending on how you feel. 🙂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crusoe Posted April 17, 2023 Share Posted April 17, 2023 The younger ones all moved on from internet fora a long time ago. They moved to Facebook, then when their grannies and aunts started to follow them there, they moved to Instagram, then to Snapchat and Tik Tok. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacDaddy Posted April 17, 2023 Share Posted April 17, 2023 When the punks were calling the 'older' bands dinosaurs, and the older bands were in their 20's and 30's 😆 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waddo Soqable Posted April 17, 2023 Share Posted April 17, 2023 8 minutes ago, MacDaddy said: When the punks were calling the 'older' bands dinosaurs, and the older bands were in their 20's and 30's 😆 Totally.. When we used to go and see bands at that time, if they looked like they were anything from about 27 onwards, we'd roll our eyes and say quite seriously.. "oh for fks sake, another old fart band" 😁 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nilorius Posted April 17, 2023 Share Posted April 17, 2023 (edited) I think, allready for now, a lot of years past, there is a lot more interest in young musicians into electric/solo/acoustic guitar, than bass. Not even meantion - upright or fretless bass. Edited April 17, 2023 by nilorius Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted April 17, 2023 Share Posted April 17, 2023 There are a lot of younger bass players in our local scene and most are very good, damn it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorks5stringer Posted April 17, 2023 Share Posted April 17, 2023 I'm a Dinosaur Junior.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diskwave Posted April 17, 2023 Share Posted April 17, 2023 Thought about this a lot recently. I think as with classical or jazz, each genre has its day. Totaly original rock/pop/dance has had its day and those days were mid 60's to mid 80's. What I'm seeing now is quite frankly difficult to describe. Am I right in thinking there's some festival on somewhere at the mo......From what Im seeing, its just a load of programmed Stubblefield beats, barely any backline or anything really... and everything sounding like hip hop but it actually isn't. Pop/dance and rock is finished and with it guitar, drums, and especially bass (I got there eventually). So yes bass has very sadly had its day...its over. Thank goodness I grew up in the 70's when it was cooking and guitar pub bands,- seasonal cabaret bands, club bands and the like were the thing in spades. Im just thankful I was there and had a lot of musical fun doing it, it was amazing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cato Posted April 17, 2023 Share Posted April 17, 2023 It looks like all human musicoans may be at risk. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-65298834 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonard Smalls Posted April 17, 2023 Share Posted April 17, 2023 2 minutes ago, greavesbass said: Totaly original rock/pop/dance has had its day and those days were mid 60's to mid 80's. It's still going strong! We took part in a Battle of the Bands recently, and there were 27 bands in it, we were the oldest by far... And they were all from a small area of the Welsh Borders, and all were relatively traditional in that they had bass, drums, guitars and vox; musical styles were very varied too. People have been saying "music's not like when I were a youth" since before the days of Methuselah! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nilorius Posted April 17, 2023 Share Posted April 17, 2023 Music is getting very electronic - very fast. Today a productive band can be made with one studio room with a good pianist/singer and good brains. No need for guitars and drums. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
upside downer Posted April 17, 2023 Share Posted April 17, 2023 (edited) 15 minutes ago, Cato said: It looks like all human musicoans may be at risk. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-65298834 From that BBC report - It opens with a repetitive piano figure that transitions into a booming bass beat, as the AI Drake raps: "I came in with my ex like Selena to flex/ Bumpin' Justin Bieber the fever ain't left." Yep, we're done for, it has got our penchant for gibberish lyrics down to a tee! Edited April 17, 2023 by upside downer 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diskwave Posted April 17, 2023 Share Posted April 17, 2023 4 minutes ago, Leonard Smalls said: People have been saying "music's not like when I were a youth" since before the days of Methuselah! Sounds like u had fun...cool. But the age old, my stuffs better than urs? When Elvis Presley hit the stage with his jazzed up blues grooves, he started a juggernaut that for the next 40 yrs killed just about everything that had gone before. My point is. That Tsunami has run out of steam...The originality that he started has ended... and everything we hear now is just pastiche...Ha, even young kids now will acknowledge flippin ABBA or walk around wearing a Ramones T. TV ads aimed at 'young people' etc are full of old tunes. Who knows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waddo Soqable Posted April 17, 2023 Share Posted April 17, 2023 I'd suggest that the preponderance of "retro" and "rehash" everywhere is down to the total lack of any real proper "new ideas" that work and go somewhere.. particularly in music, but also TV, film, whatever.. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzz Posted April 17, 2023 Share Posted April 17, 2023 I go to a lot of small gigs (I've mentioned elsewhere my preference for a band I've never heard of rather than a stadium of well-knowns...and not just for the money reasons), and there's lots and lots of kids out there making music with guitars and basses and real drums. The internet might lend itself to the more electronic ways of making music, but there's still a very vibrant live scene...if you're prepared to go out and attend it...I also know and play with a lot of kids who are doing music degrees, and the majority of them want to get onto a stage and do it live...and they do. And yes, most of them are very, very good players; three or four years in music college will do that...it's very annoying... 🙂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skidder652003 Posted April 17, 2023 Share Posted April 17, 2023 (edited) 7 hours ago, Marky L said: It's this sort of nastiness that doesn't help encourage them.. nicked! Edited April 17, 2023 by skidder652003 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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