mid life crisis and playing music?

Icey101 · #1 07-15-2011, 05:01 PM

any experiances with this you like to share?

For me personaly, when i hit 40 i was sick of strumming an acoustic at my kids birthdays and concentrated on bass playing as i had this sudden urge to perform live in front of a crowd. I also had an urgency to start to get things done and make lots of friends. Went back to the gym, bought a motorbike, a couple of mountain bikes and a road bike, i spent a heap in new business outfits and good clothes and the wife really had no idea what was going on with me. Not sure i did either but i survived it just

bunnykeeper · #2 07-15-2011, 05:10 PM

I just hit 42, and I'm not sure whether I'm looking at a crisis or just an opportunity. I've been an American expat in Japan for over ten years, and I gave up music about nine years ago. I was doing OK just going to karaoke a few times a month, but recently met a drummer from the UK with similar musical tastes, and I decided to dust off my bass and guitar. I even ran out to buy an SX jazz, followed by two more cheap basses. Having fun with it.

Mike M. · #3 07-15-2011, 05:59 PM

I'm 58 and mid-life crisis hit me HARD at 55. Not afraid to admit it was bad. A few things happened that made me realize how fast life had gone by. Thank God I didn't indulge in any stupid behavior's or spending spree's...but talk about a moment of pause.

Long story short....I would love to have more time to play, write and to jam with people before it's too late. Not under any illusions of any kind either. Just want to have some fun before it's over.

hrodbert696 · #4 07-16-2011, 05:08 AM

I'm 40 and started playing a couple of years ago. Maybe it's a kind of a "soft" mid-life crisis. I think I just got sick of imagining playing bass and decided to get to it. I could see learning the instrument at 38-40 and playing in a band till I'm into my sixties or whenever I get tired of it, but I couldn't visualize starting at 60 (though I know people do).

tekdiver500ft · #5 07-16-2011, 05:24 AM

Well, Bunny, except that I've been riding motorcycles for nearly 30 years, my story is much like yours. Just turned 43, and decided that it was time to get my music back, get back into shape (running a marathon this year), and enjoy my life while I'm still able to.

theduke1 · #6 07-16-2011, 05:51 AM

I will be 59 a week from Sunday. I been playing since 1966, steady since 1979. I thought i was done with music 5 different times, sold everything 4 times. today I'm am married to me very best friend for 23 years. Through it all she has supported me everytime I wanted to play again. the lst time all she told me was if you sell it all this time we are not doing it again.
I do praise team, I do theater, but there is nothing like a band. Working on putting a trio together next week. Whatever I have, I don't think its going away any time soon!
A musician is what i am till they write my name in stone!

theduke1 · #7 07-16-2011, 05:55 AM

BTW I've ridden MC since 1965, I have a dj business(shutting down at the end of this year) I've been at my job 40 years, in 1999 I wnt to collage and completed 3 degrees in 5 years. so whatever I got going on in my head has been here a long time!

Jim Nazium · #8 07-16-2011, 06:39 AM

I don't think I had a crisis associated with it, but I picked up the bass again at age 43 after about 15 years of not playing at all (I'm now 46). I think it's pretty common. People play in high school, college, maybe a bit into their 20s, then they get busy with a career and / or a family. Things settle down a bit when we reach our 40s, and next thing you know we're playing again. I just got back from a week at Jamey Aebersold's Summer Jazz Workshop, and it seemed like everyone there was under 20 or over 40.

The good news about being a middle aged musician: I can afford that sweet all-tube amplifier I always wanted. The bad news: I can't lift it.

I'm having lots of fun though, and really glad to be back playing.

Icey101 · #9 07-16-2011, 06:40 AM

seems to be a pattern ......its a good pattern too

tekdiver500ft · #10 07-16-2011, 06:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Icey101

seems to be a pattern ......its a good pattern too

Absolutely! I am all about spreading music, so anyone playing more is cool by me.

ggunn · #11 07-16-2011, 10:01 AM

Me, too. I have been playing guitar since I was 14, and I started playing bass at 53. I still do both.

geoff_in_nc · #12 07-16-2011, 10:21 AM

Played guitar since age 13 off and on... mostly off after getting married. We (she) started a divorce process several years ago, and I decided I _needed_ to play again, but picked up the bass (around age 44 I guess) as I felt the need to groove rather than just go meedlee meedlee meedlee way up high. Been playing in a band now for a couple years, trying to slowly get myself back into some sort of decent physical shape, and trying to enjoy life. I've also taken up cooking as a hobby of sorts. Not saying I'm great, but I'm really enjoying it, and nobody's getting food poisoning...

Not sure if any of this truly qualifies as mid-life crisis, but I'm doing what I want now, and enjoying everything much more.

avvie · #13 07-16-2011, 05:26 PM

I played in my 20's and got so sick of the adolescent politics- even in pro bands- that i quit playing any instrument altogether for over 5 years. At age 39 I dumped everything and moved 6000 miles away to Hawaii. After a couple of years, the bug bit again and I'm now doing all I can to play with anyone I can because I just plain friggin love to play. I'm 45 now, and a better and more talented musician than some of my peers, which can be irritating; I'm also not nearly as good of a musician as others of my peers, which forces me to try harder. I don't know if I can call this a "mid-life crisis" or not, because I'm generally happy with my life; I think what happened is that I suddenly realized that I love to play LIVE and with other people.... recording alone at home just was not doing it for me. I do know that it's keeping me younger at heart.... it's awesome to see kids less than half my age cheering while I slap the hell outta some Chili Peppers riff.

Munjibunga · #14 07-16-2011, 06:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Icey101

any experiances with this you like to share?

For me personaly, when i hit 40 i was sick of strumming an acoustic at my kids birthdays and concentrated on bass playing as i had this sudden urge to perform live in front of a crowd. I also had an urgency to start to get things done and make lots of friends. Went back to the gym, bought a motorbike, a couple of mountain bikes and a road bike, i spent a heap in new business outfits and good clothes and the wife really had no idea what was going on with me. Not sure i did either but i survived it just

All that and no Fodera?

Muddslide · #15 07-16-2011, 11:39 PM

I'm 42 but don't feel like I'm in crisis mode.

I did give up playing in bands around 1999 when I became a dad. Just got so busy and was working so hard. Even sold almost all of my instruments and gear.

Got back into playing about 4-5 years ago, but I really miss jamming with others and playing live. From about 1980 to the end of the 90s I played in tons of bands and countless shows. Sometimes 3-5 times a week. I really miss that.

Trouble for me is, it's hard to meet people with similar tastes to mine. Seems like when I see a CL ad or something, they are either bands in their 20s who wear eyeliner and want to "get signed and make the bigtime" (which is fine if that's your thing and you can fit in with it) OR they are guys in my general age group who want to play tired classic rock.

Nothing wrong with that either. I love a lot of classic rock. But I have NO interest in being in one of those bands with a bunch of 40-50 year old guys wearing fedoras and man shorts playing Clapton and Eagles covers. I mean, it's great for the people who are into that, and more power to them. I have no problem playing covers, just rather do something that's more fun for me and hasn't been done to death by 15 local bands in every pissant town for the past 30 years.

I dunno. I sound bitter. I've moved around a lot and am in a place that's fairly new to me (under 2 years) and while there's an incredible music scene here, I just don't know/haven't met the right people. And my job is very time consuming and stressful. I would love to have people to play with just to have fun and blow off steam and maybe gig once or twice a month.

I have massively wide-ranging tastes in music, but I really want to play something I consider fun and fresh, even if it is covers.

I am beginning to wonder if it's all over for me ir if I might still hook up with the right group of people.

I actually have a date to jam with some folks next month. Not sure about how it might go, but wish me luck!

fish552 · #16 07-16-2011, 11:56 PM

After being away from the bass 25+ years, I bought one a few years ago (and owned several more since...), I truely missed it. I am content now to play with my guitar playing bud in his living room on a weekend night. The days are moving quicker and I like filling them with doing what I like. I don't look at it as a mid-life thing though.