Just wondering if anyone has had any similar experiences.
Like most of us here, I dreamed of playing bass in a touring band, and making a living as a musician. After about 16 years of gigging out, last summer I was invited to tour with my friends successful band. The deal was I would play two shows with them in Missouri, and if it worked out, I could play more shows with them. The tour all over the US with 5-8 guys on an RV, and have a blast everywhere they go. They have a cool bass player, but he works all over Chicago, and he often needs a sub for gigs in far away lands.
The first gig was at a festival in the Ozarks called Bearcat Festival. The show went well, good times. I ended up sleeping in the reclined seat of a van that we took down there, and hung out with the guys from Cornmeal until 4 am. We were able to shower and rest a little the next day at a friend of the band's place, very nice of them.
The next night we played a gig in St. Louis, it was fun too. It wasn't the hundreds (maybe a thousand) of people from the night before, but we rocked the bar out.
It was a short stint, just two days away from home. The following week I got a call from the bass player saying he needed a sub for a 3 day tour in Detroit and Wisconson.
I turned down the gigs
I am 31 years old now, and the weekend I spent in Missouri made me realize I don't really want to live that kind of life anymore. My friend is constantly on the road for weeks at a time, sleeping in weird places, not getting paid that much, all for the love of the music. Kudos to him, and to those who love that life style, but I am no rambling man.
Anyone else find that they actually prefer playing local gigs, and just being creative with cool musicians in a local setting?
I got an email from my bud the other night, he was really pumped because he got to play with Kruetsman (sp?) from the Dead for 2 hrs. I thought to myself, gosh that would be cool if I was there playing with them, but then I fell asleep in my comfy bed, and didn't regret it.
