do you feel "cool" at work because you play in a band?

Icey101 · #1 09-09-2011, 01:38 AM

i generally keep my band business to myself at work, but theres a couple of guys i get along with, they are the floors young studs as you would say, once they came to one of my gigs and since then they now invite me out for coffee and share all their secrets with me....and all the old guys wonder why the young guys like hanging out with me

yeh i'm cool

Waterpilot · #2 09-09-2011, 01:52 AM

Actually, no one at my work knows I'm in a band.

phatbass · #3 09-09-2011, 02:17 AM

I always kept pretty quiet about it when I had a day job.

Epitaph04 · #4 09-09-2011, 02:22 AM

Whenever my employers bring it up I try to change the subject since...well I'm not even in an actual band anymore.

djaydjay · #5 09-09-2011, 02:59 AM

Rather than "cool", I feel "good" about beeing in a band. It really gives kind of a sense of accomplishment to have managed to play in a band that "works" (we don't sound bad), even if we are by no means good. it's just enough so that when I'll be 70, I won't have to think "daaaamn, why didn't I play in a band when I was younger".

Now about beeing cool, that's only relevant to how much the people around you value beeing in a band. Since the one around me pretty much don't give a damn (or at least, don't express anything), I don't feel "cool" because I'm in a band. I only get the feeling of beeing "cool" around teenagers (my brothers and their friends), but that's not really relevant ;-)

T-Bird · #6 09-09-2011, 03:09 AM

Hi.

Me?

Cool?

Hell no.

What's cool about being 40, still pretending to be a (part time) rock-star.
Playing the easiest instrument there is in a rock band no less.

It's fun though, "born to be wild, except at home" I guess.

Regards
Sam

Nev375 · #7 09-09-2011, 03:27 AM

Thinking about whether ones self is "cool" or not is inherently uncool.

Just be yourself, and let others think about what adjectives apply to you.

mellohawk · #8 09-09-2011, 03:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nev375

Thinking about whether ones self is "cool" or not is inherently uncool.

Just be yourself, and let others think about what adjectives apply to you.

^^ This.

Phalex · #9 09-09-2011, 06:26 AM

I do machinery repair kinda work. Seems like the guys what fix stuff in the field are predisposed to playing rhythm instruments. I know a several bass players, a really phenomenal drummy, and a guitard or 2 in different states that are field techs.

My boss usually sticks a microphone in my hand and insists I sing karaoke at the company Christmas party, and he and his wife have been known to come out and see the band, but that's about as special as I am.

HeadyVan Halen · #10 09-09-2011, 06:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Waterpilot

Actually, no one at my work knows I'm in a band.

^This.
I'm a school teacher.
Never, ever, ever let your students know what happens after 2:55....ever

robd · #11 09-09-2011, 06:54 AM

What I feel at work, the day after a gig...is tired

pklima · #12 09-09-2011, 06:56 AM

Yeah, definitely. It also makes me seem more friendly and less ornery. One of my bands played at the company Christmas dinner last year, that went over very well. FWIW I work in IT.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nev375

Thinking about whether ones self is "cool" or not is inherently uncool.

Just be yourself, and let others think about what adjectives apply to you.

Don't know about you but I have an awesome sense of my own awesomeness. I think about how awesome I am all the time, especially when looking into mirrors.

E.J. T.N.T. · #13 09-09-2011, 07:47 AM

Cool? Not necessarily. But at least I know that there is an environment where I can really be myself and have no need of adjectives. I think what I find interesting is that I use this illusion of ''coolness'' to relax myself. E.g. I jam a couple of tunes before a hard day at work or before interview and strangely enough lately before dates.(I live in a foreign country now, so as you can guess flirting in different language can be very,very stressful)

Some guys at work know I play but the info is really vague. Only my close colleagues know more details. But I actually taught one of my bosses how to play the uke which I guess you could say it was cool. Actually what was cool was the thing I mentioned above. I got to see her in a situation that she was really being herself. This was very interesting.

However there is a colleague in my office that he almost ''made it big''. When I found out, he instantly became like 10 times cooler to me. When I talked about it with him, seeing how bitter he is, I feel really sorry for him.

turbo chicken · #14 09-09-2011, 07:52 AM

Im cool... but just cause I am ... ...

that being said... only my boss knows im in a band .... okay maybe one or two other people. mostly cause i've said "oh crap i gotta leave im going to be late for band practice"

superbassman2000 · #15 09-09-2011, 08:06 AM

no. I rarely feel cool

teleharmonium · #16 09-09-2011, 08:17 AM

Over the years I've tried both approaches, being open with co workers about my music, and keeping it under my hat. Now I lean toward the latter although there are a few people that know.

People have a lot of negative stereotypes about musicians, and work can be a subtly political thing. If someone wants to undermine you strategically at a certain time - say, when a position has opened up and you and also them or their friend or family member would like to have the job - they can simply bring up things that they know about you (in this case, that you're in a band) in such a way as to suggest that you're not as reliable, drug free, dedicated, middle-class-all-American-family-man, or mature as someone else, without actually saying that (and therefore being accountable) and without needing to demonstrate any grain of truth to that innuendo. It's subtle enough that they can easily pretend they brought it up innocently (which they could have, but timing is everything).

The last straw for me was years ago when I went to visit another office with a couple of people I worked with for a big meeting. So I'm standing with one of my co workers and was just introduced to someone in person that I had talked to on the phone many times, but never met. So, feeling the need for some small talk and in the apparent absence of anything to say about his own life, this guy from my office looks at me and says to the guy I just met, "hey, did you know he's in a band ?"

brianrost · #17 09-09-2011, 08:28 AM

My boss and close coworkers know but don't care. But none of them are young studs

MysticMichael · #18 09-09-2011, 08:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by phatbass

I always kept pretty quiet about it when I had a day job.

Same here. IME, while management might give lip service approval to the idea of employees being "well rounded" and having "diverse outside interests", when it comes down to it, they usually feel threatened by any employee who clearly has any priorities other than The Company.

For that reason, I never liked to mix my personal life with my job life. The less they know, the better.

Or maybe I've just been in New York for too long...

MM

mongo2 · #19 09-09-2011, 09:10 AM

I've worked in the same place for 24 years and have been gigging for over 40. Nobody at work even knew I played until a couple of years ago when one of my co-workers stumbled upon one of our gigs.

Nev375 · #20 09-09-2011, 10:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pklima

Don't know about you but I have an awesome sense of my own awesomeness. I think about how awesome I am all the time, especially when looking into mirrors.

To quote a few well known guys who never seemed to give a damn as to how cool they actually were:

All puffed up with vanity
We see what we want to see
To the beautiful and the wise
The mirror always lies