I may be burning out...

[tZer]

[EDIT - too much chatter, not enough meat...]

I have been bustin' my hump for our project band and am losing my drive/motivation - any thoughts on how to get that good juju back?

Thanks!
--tz

[tZer]

OK - [bump] I admit it [bump]... the original post was worthless - but I am really wanting my mojo back. I am uninspired lately and I need to get back into the groove with my project band. Any tips/tricks to help me bring back that lovin' feeling?

Oh yeah... [bump]

[MadMark5]

1) I put on old recordings that I was always happy with, some recorded, some live

or

2) I listen to jamerson

works for me.....

[casualmadness]

Don't know if you're familiar with Adrian Legg (he plays guitar)...Anyhow, I talked with him after a clinic that he did while I was attending Musician's Institute. We talked about burnout and Adrian, in my opinion is one of the best guitar players ever. He said that he got so burned out once that he completely stopped playing. He said that he put all of his guitars away and went to the mountains and spent the next six months doing nothing but fishing everyday. He said that during that time, he never touched a guitar or even thought of music. He said that it was the best thing he ever did because by the time he returned to playing, he had so many fresh ideas and he was very relaxed. He said that his technique was shot to hell but that came back. He said that it was exactly what he needed.
I realize the situation is different but the moral of the story is, try something outside of the box. Most musicians would never dream of walking away from their instrument for six months; especially when it is their livelihood. But it turned out to be the best thing he ever did. So I guess basically, my advice to you is don't rule out the extremes. Sometimes, extreme is what it takes.

[tZer]

Thanks!

Casualmadness:
Yes, getting away from it all seems like a very good solution. But I am sort of the center of this project, so I don't think I can do that at this time. But a complete break from the grind would almost definitely work.

Madmark5:
Listening to old recordings that I like (and Jamerson) are also great suggestions. As a matter of fact when I leave work today I will pop in one of our recent sessions that is particularly enjoyable and see how that goes.

I am a little intrigued by the fact that my first 2 responders are both named 'mad' in some way... hmmmm...

Thanks again for your input. I am definitely in a funk and looking forward to getting out of it. I may just have to live through it until it lifts naturally (as it always seems to do). But because of this project, I was hoping there may be some sort of quick-funk-fix that would not interrupt the project's momentum.

[agreatheight]

It's tough.

I am in the middle of working on a CD for myself and I was dangerously close to being out of gas. It's very disturbing. I am recording all of the instruments myself on the 5 tracks and I am just struggling to keep the momentum going. My problems are as follows:

• I have high standards.
• I am not patient enough allow for my high standards.
• I am not good enough to support my high standards, hahaha.
• I am just one person.

Admitting my problems has been helping to release me from them.

• I have moved back my mental release date.
• No more benchmarking against Tool records, lol - now it's good sounding local records and maybe Hum and early Coheed and Coheed and Cambria.
• I am looking for better fitting, lower-fi tones.
• I have made a pact with myself that I am going to forgive myself if the recording isn't absolutely perfect.

I am now making more progress, and I am enjoying each success to a greater measure.

Admit your problems and then try to work through them!

Good luck!

[Bass Mule]

+1 to Casualmadness' post. Whenever I feel like I need a break, I take one. After a week (or sometimes a month--or even, god forbid, longer than a month) of not playing bass, I want to play real bad.

[jwl]

Originally Posted by tZer

[EDIT - too much chatter, not enough meat...]

I have been bustin' my hump for our project band and am losing my drive/motivation - any thoughts on how to get that good juju back?

Thanks!
--tz

if you can, take a break from it and remember why you play music in the first place. i play guitar also and that makes for a nice break from bass. feeling burned out on something is normal as is never feeling burned out.

peace, jeff

[jomahu]

how much time you putting in? any time for other stuff?

sometimes, when i feel burned, something as mundane as watching a movie or taking a bus ride can help.

[ElectrAcoustic]

Originally Posted by jomahu

how much time you putting in? any time for other stuff?

sometimes, when i feel burned, something as mundane as watching a movie or taking a bus ride can help.

It happens, we work hard to get a project off the ground and sooner or later that's all we're doing with our free time.. my advice, if whomever is booking your band doesn't give you a break, schedule it yourself.. tell everyone you need a weekend with your significant other or a weekend away and do it..

[IanStephenson]

Unless you're earning money from it, you don't have to do it. If you're doing it for fun, and it's not fun, then walk away. Find something that is fun - if thats playing bass on a different project, then great. If it's going to a ball game thats great too.

ian

[Dave Martin]

Is this band playing live? if you're just sitting in front of a computer, no wonder you're burned out. Go play something! If you're playing live with this project and still getting burned out, you might want to re-consider whether the overall direction is one that you want to follow....

[lpdeluxe]

The band I'm in is made of old guys (our youngest is only 54) and, in talking amongst ourselves, I have learned that each of us has taken long periods (say, 5-6 years) off to do other necessary things such as develop a career, raise children, and so on.

I think it makes us better.

I clearly remember times when I came back to playing and how fresh and new and exciting everything was.

Remember: we're PLAYING music, not WORKING it.

[casualmadness]

Originally Posted by IanStephenson

Unless you're earning money from it, you don't have to do it. If you're doing it for fun, and it's not fun, then walk away. Find something that is fun - if thats playing bass on a different project, then great. If it's going to a ball game thats great too.

ian

Great advice. I remember reading an article with Les Claypool years ago when Primus first got started. He said: "For me, music is fun. Sure it's a job. But it's a fun job. That's why I got into music. Before I became a musician, I worked in an auto-shop. That was fun but then it got to be mundane. As long as music is fun, I will keep doing it. If it ever gets boring, mundane, or just plain no fun, I'll move on to something else."

So like Ian said; if it's no fun, move on. Some people like to exercise for fun. Some people like to paint. Me? I like the sauce. But that's neither here nor there. Life's too short to not have fun. Just my $.02

[Lazylion]

Go to a couple of concerts starring stellar musicians. That always helps me!

[mambo4]

I dig Eno's oblique strategy cards for giving me a new perspective...

Google it, there's an online version somewhere out there.

[plastik-bass[?]]

I listen to my favorite bassists and get re-inspired

then i take a break from current project and i just play my mind on my bass...just like my fingers flow...who cares if it sounds bad...


actually ive dont that before and i come up with really good bass lines and stuff but forget them cause its not like im trying to come up with 1 atm...i need to recored myself when i do that...

[tZer]

Very helpful!

I did not receive any email notifications, so I didn't realize so much was happening here - but everyone's suggestions are very helpful.

agreatheight: Your comments hit particularly in the center of my issues. This project is similar to yours in that we are working on our own material (written primarily by our guitar player who I have been writing and playing with for over 10 years) - so I am very close, personally, to the songs.

I have high expectations of our self-produced project in spite of the fact that I know pro-studio results don't just fall from trees and that I am an absolute beginner when it comes to the art of studio engineering and production. Because I am the only person who is taking on the roles of engineer, producer and project manager, I am facing stress from steep learning curves (how to integrate our new Delta 1010, a host of small mixers, preamps, mics, headphone amps, etc...) into what used to be a simple "show up, plug in, play" situation. HUGE DIFFERENCES to say the least.

Everyone else - (and I don't mean to lump you all into one group) - taking a break is sort of an option and lucky for me, I am working with really great guys who are also really great friends. Jim called last night when I let him know I was slipping into a funk and immediately took over logistical coordination - making phone calls, coordinating sessions, etc. Just having him call and tell me that he took care of all that made me feel like a huge weight was lifted.

I was also loaned the Rush R30 DVD's by one of our drummer/percussionists and I started watching it. I could feel the juju coming back almost instantaneously! I used to be a Rush fan back in the days of Hemispheres (the first rock and roll album I ever owned as a kid) Exit Stage Left, Permanent Waves, Fly by Night, etc... and watching the opening sequences of the concert instantly warmed my heart.

One of the biggest problems I face with my situation is that I agreed to be my 5 year old boy's soccer coach due to the fact that he would not have been on a team if I didn't since they had enough boys to make a team but no coach.

The problem is that I have little love for sports in general and have even less experience with soccer in particular. Don't ever let anyone tell you that coaching a U6 boys team is a cakewalk - it is very challenging if you take it even half way seriously and taking on this part-time job has maxed out my extra time potential. Where I used to have enough post-work, non-family time to focus on my project, I now have close to zero and I think that is where my 'overload' limit was met.

Again - everyone's suggestions and insights are very helpful to me and I thank all you bass junkies for your comments and support!

[anderbass]

Originally Posted by Dave Martin

Is this band playing live? if you're just sitting in front of a computer, no wonder you're burned out. Go play something!

+1...

Get out there and book some shows, gigging is the fun and rewarding part of being in a band. It also helps sort out the songs, so your studio recordings will benefit as well.

Originally Posted by IanStephenson

playing bass on a different project

+1...

If you could somehow come up with more free time, (as in: skip some of your current recording sessions) I'd think joining a second band would really help your situation also. I'm usually active in two or three different projects at the same time; it really helps me avoid the dreaded band burnout syndrome that I usually suffer with when only playing in one band.

Long tedious recording projects and never playing outside of the studio have been the death of many good bands.

[tZer]

On the topics of "playing in front of people" and "playing different stuff" - I have actually been playing live in two other pick-up bands; one for charity doing songs that range from Steely Dan to Etta James and one that plays each year at an end of summer neighborhood party playing stuff from the Voilent Femmes, the Cure, Elvis Costello, R.E.M. and so on - so as for getting out and playing different stuff, that angle has been exploited. But I do appreciate the suggestion.

I believe my malaise is a result of being overwhelmed by the technological aspects of my project band's needs. Up to this point I have only had to deal with a simple live recording setup which is very user-friendly that consists of a pair of stealth mics and a preamp into my laptop. Since I want us to move into the multitracking world and have purchased a Delta 1010 AD/DA converter, I now have to deal with all the intricacies of a 'pseudo-studio' and as any real studio engineer knows, an amateur thinking they can just sashay in and start 'studio-izing' a band is foolish.

Well, I am no fool and I knew going in that this would not be easy. I just didn't anticipate the energy I had up to this point getting completely sucked out by having to deal with all these details - but it has. I was warned about this by a friend who went through the same thing a few years ago - that trying to wear 2 hats; studio engineer and bass player (hell, 3 hats including project manager) could possibly cause an energy drain. He was right. But I am the driver behind this project that has been rolling nicely for about a year now and I cannot afford to lose steam.

I underestimated my band-mates. They definitely appreciate the effort I have been pouring into this thing up to this point and none of them feel that if the momentum slows that they will lose interest. They also have no problem helping me look at the big picture to see where they can pick up the slack.

I am lucky - this forum and the good people here are so supportive and intelligent and so are my band-mates, so I am in good hands all around.