Never even picked up a bass till about 2 years ago. Did play a little guitar in various bands throughout the years which was a lot of fun but amounted to little success. Then I retired from my day job, bought a 2nd hand bass, made a phone cal to a Keyboard playing friend, placed an ad in Craig's list and now, 2 years later, after a boat load of practice, I'm doing what I wish I could have been doing all my life. What's more, the band I started is beginning to gain traction and, now, We are getting cold calls for our availability. Not sure how long I will be able to ride this out but it sure is fun, exciting and I can't even describe the satisfaction of building a successful gigging band from the ground up during my retirement. We live in Maryland and several members of the band have even been recognized on the street as band members. No autograph seekers just yet but they said it did made them feel proud to be in the band.. What's more we have done this without help from any agency. We just approached enough owners that we finally convinced a few to give us a try and when they did we made sure as many friends and family showed up as possible. It's so much easier once you get your feet in the door and we now have more opportunities than we can handle. We are raising our minimum gigging price in 2015 because of supply and demand and we're finding the more gigging we do, the less rehearsals we need and, when we do rehearse, the songs come together more quickly. This is my dream retirement and I'm even beginning to earn some pocket $$$. Just thought I'd share this with my bass playing partners out there who are thinking they are too old to play. Don't believe it. Take care of yourself, work on your health as best you can and play on. It keeps you relevant and firmly footed in the game of life.
(I keed of course)
Enjoy it and don't sweat the late start. Keep looking forward and hang in there man, Lee......
