Am I "normal"?

[Yvon]

I've been playing bass for about 17 years now, I owned GREAT basses (Sadowsky, F, Tung ect...) I did some studio gig and some live gig, not many... maybe 50. I never had a regular gig where I would play out every week end or on a regular basis.
I've had some regular band but we get together mostly to play music and drink some beer.

The band I am in right now we play together once a month, we go eat in a nice restaurant before the pratice, we play together and we have a great time. But no live gig. We all have a day job and we don't need gig money.

My "problem" is, I don't like to play live, not that I am nervous or anything. I just don't like it. Last time i had a gig was this june, and I wished the guy would call me to cancel it.

I still love to play bass, I play more then before. I just finished learning Bernadette and I am learning Teen town right now. When it's done I will take the time to learn Donna Lee.

Any other TBer don't like to do live gig?
What are the reason?
Lazy (probably me!! ) ?
Family??
Any other reasons?

[msquared]

Live gigging presents a lot of obstacles which have to be overcome. Things like being away from home and family, moving gear, playing for crowds which might be small or unresponsive, staying out later than you might like, playing in smoky rooms, louder volume levels than what is comfortable, stagefright, etc. In order for playing live shows to be worth doing, you have to overcome these particular discomforts. For some people it's easy, but for others it isn't. You're not abnormal.

[superbassman2000]

i like live gigs, more than practices, because other people get to enjoy the music, and not just us. The only thing i hate about live gigs is that there are the non-musical fans who want to see a show...you know, like jump around, do guitar flips and all that stuff. i hate it because i don't move around on stage a lot. not out of fright or whatever, but just because i am not a naturally dynamic person, which fortunatly is the opposite to my guitar player, who can thrash around a lot and put on a good show.

Charlie

[mikemulcahy]

The end result isnt the live performance as long as you had fun. Pure enjoyment of playing doesn't always have to be in front of a crowd.


Mike

[Nick man]

Gigging is my favorite thing to do.

The real world keeps getting in the way though.

[Boplicity]

Yvon, join the club. I gigged for about five years, but it became more and more burdensome for me. Partially it was my fault for playing in heavy metal bands when I was a woman over fifty. Heavy metal shows are as much about the show as the music and it became harder and harder for me to summon the energy, the attitude and, most of all the look to play late night gigs, drive miles to and from the gig, play in dives, etc. I often became ill after concerts.

I had another "delicate" problem, too. My husband was having difficulty dealing with my long trips and late nights. It nearly caused an irreparable rift in our marriage.

I loved the music, but my heart just wasn't in it. Or shall we say, the spirit was willing, but the body was weak. Maybe I needed a kind of musical Viagra. I just couldn't cut it anymore.

So I spent a year developing a blues band, but discovered I loved our rehearsals and jams, but derived little or no pleasure from live gigs. Again, it was about the sideshow of trying to look good, playing in firetraps, the travel, schlepping bass rigs, etc. Rehearsals were so much more relaxed, for me anyway.

Later my husband was transferred and in a new country, I just never summoned the desire to try to gig again. I even had a shot at playing in a blues band, but backed out. (They were miffed, to say the least.)

So, Yvon, you situation may be more common than you realize. It isn't often discussed here, but it has been at least a few times, because I always respond to such threads.

I think music is a very personal thing. You have to find your very own way to enjoy it. Thank goodness there are many musicians who do like to gig and to perform for live audiences. But those who prefer to play in private jam groups or just play along with CDs have their own way of enjoying music. It is just as valid a way to experience music.

That may seem odd to members here who are just dying to get in a band and perform, but for me, after the enormous thrill wore off, I found out the gigs just weren't all I had hoped and dreamed.

[Eric Moesle]

I live for the live gig. I need the spontaneous interaction and back-and-forth interplay with a live drummer. That's where I get my satisfaction. I can't get that at home playing alone, with or without a drum machine or by playing along with records. I get jazzed by the performance. Its exhilirating, and I've been gigging regularly for about 17 years . . .

My only fear is what I will do to satisfy this urge when I get old and bald . . .

[Boplicity]

Originally Posted by Eric Moesle

My only fear is what I will do to satisfy this urge when I get old and bald . . .

Being bald and old should be no impediment at all as long as you have the desire to play and still have the thrill you describe. There are many old, bald jazz players, blues players and country players. In fact, those traits give you a certain credibility and authenticity for those musical styles.

I think as long as the thrill of gigs is still there, you can play even up to and including in the nursing home...where you'll be greatly appreciated, I might add.

In my case I lost the thrill for whatever reasons. But if you still have it, more power to you. Keep on playing those gigs. It is a wonderful thing to watch musicians play who really love what they are doing.

[Timbo]

Regarding donna lee.. It's not that difficult. Just very time consuming while building up muscle memory.. And if you need a gp4 of it gimme a PM, I got my bass teacher to do it for me before..

[embellisher]

I love to play in front of people.

I can't imagine ever being happy just playing at rehearsal or in my bedroom.

But we are all different, Yvon.

As much as I love playing live, I walked away from a semi successful oldies band because I got tired of schlepping my gear and doing a great job, only to hear the singer whine about the music not being 'good' enough, when it was his wife(female vocalist) that was the reason the band didn't become more successful.

But I play three times a week at church, and play once a month with my originals band.

And I love every minute of it.

[FenderBender]

I guess it crosses the Fun /Work line. For you live gigging is to much like work and it takes the fun out of it. I hereya man.

For Me it was Scuba diving. Dove years before I became a certified "Divemaster". Friend of mine who owened a dive shop had me "Divemaster"a few trips. I hated it, didn't even want to dive for a while after, it crossed the fun/workline.

Just have fun

[The Golden Boy]

I've thought about this a lot, especially last year. I don't want to be a rockstar anymore. I know the guitarist and the drummer in my band would like to be rockstars. It's not a bad thing, they have really wanted to make a go out of music. I would have been all into it 10 years ago or so, I would have dropped everything to go on tour again, but now I'm actually just happy with my job, my girl, our family, our life. If something does happen with the band, It'll be a hard decision, but I've got 15+ years in a Federal job, I'm not going to toss that away for a few months of living out of a van, playing to crowds who don't care EVERY night of the week, getting dropped by the label, then trying to find a decent job in THIS job market.

Playing out once every few weeks is great for me. Still get to enjoy it, but it doesn't make it too hectic.

[the ombudsman]

Just call me if you need a sub for a gig, Yvon!

[Yvon]

Thank you all for your answers.
I'm happy with my bass playing life right now, and you all found the reasons I don't like to play live. I was just wondering if I was alone since we usualy start playing an instrument because we want to play live!

I will keep jammin with my band and play alone for a while and we'll where it goes.

[Marley's Ghost]

Many of us go through phases in our musical lives. I remeber my first real band, I was so excited when we started to gig. It was a blast. After about 2 years, it got really old. The drugs, fights, bad blood, abusive crowds, etc wore me down. I got so burned out, I quit and just jammed with friends for the next few years. Then I quit playing altogether for almost 20 years. Now I really regret quitting, I should have just found another band. I am so excited about my band's first gig (hopefully in December), I feel like I am 18 again! When I first got back into playing, I thought I would be content to just jam. But the bug bit me and I am jonesing to get back on stage!

[lump]

I can sooo relate. I love playing, but playing in front of other people doesn't motivate me in any way. I enjoy being part of the music--whether or not someone witnesses the act is irrelevant to me. I am a very inner-directed person, and can also spend hours practicing without getting bored. And at work I'm "famous" enough (kinda hard to explain) that the whole "look at me" thing ain't a factor. I am not afraid of it--lately I've been doing a lot of solo singing in front of hundreds of people at church, and I don't even break a sweat. It's just that playing in front of others doesn't add anything to the experience for me. They might as well not even be there.

I get the "How come you're not in a band?" question all the time. I people that I don't have the time, but truth is that I just don't want to. Maybe someday.