Age Discrimination

[kartiste]

View attachment 3067626

pretty much right

I'm deluded. They look exactly the same to me.

 

[equill]

Could somebody explain the hate for shorts on stage?

There's nothing ideological about it; they just look awful. It's a rare person that can actually carry them off with panache; everybody else looks like they didn't care enough, or were too disorganised, to dress properly for the stage.

 

[RoadRanger]

Maybe I should start a new topic about cool clothing (temperature not looks). I've honestly never owned a pair of long pants that weren't winter warm . I'm not sure they sell such hereabouts...

The venue was actually air-conditioned so I could have changed after load-in - we just had our amps and drums anyways. But I do have an outdoor set this Saturday and a pool party in a couple weeks - both are probably OK with shorts .

 

[vvvmmm]

But I do have an outdoor set this Saturday and a pool party in a couple weeks - both are probably OK with shorts .

Uh-oh. Are now gonna be discussing on-stage Speedos?

 

[Korladis]

I just always wear jeans.

 

[Ceora]

I caught a "gray-haired old guy band" last week - Tower of Power on their 50th anniversary tour. Sold out the club on a Monday night (after selling it out the night before).

 

[hatchards]

The older you get, the harder it gets to find a band that will accept the gray.

 

[Raulplaysbass]

I'm not going to get my soapbox completely out..... but I will say this.

It's not your hair.

If you guys DRESSED the part, ACTED the part, and put on a show, they wouldn't give a crap what color your hair is.

The real problem is that most gray haired misicians are LAZY. Don't worry. I'm almost 47 and most forty-somethings are just as lazy.

You can NOT show up in shorts and Fender Tshirts to a gig..... ANY gig. You can NOT show up in white New Balance sneakers... to ANY gig. You can NOT show up with zero lights in a bar. Unless you are in a Buffett tribite band, you can NOT wear a Hawaiian camouflage shirt amd a straw hat to ANY gig.

No, great musicianship is NOT enough. You have to LOOK the part and ACT the part.

If you had the look, put on a show, AND kept a crowd until closing time, you would have more work than you wanted.

Nobody, and I mean NOBODY, (other than other musicians) wants to see a bunch of dumpy old guys who look like they just got off the riding mower playing CCR and Atlanta Rhythm Section all night. Nobody.

I've said it before and will say it again. Try a little harder. Don't be lazy.

TRUTH!

Maybe takin a night to see what the younger generation is playing and appearing like in your area would be a good idea. IF you want to compete.

Admittedly there’s been several times I’ve been asked to play a certain song or artist and I’ve had no idea who they were talking about. That’s a wake up call to turn the dial and study the newer generation of music. IF being a “working musician” full or part time is the goal.

It WAS for me but not so much anymore. I’ve slowed down and don’t like coming home at 3:30-4:00am. So, classic rock “Deep Cuts” and “Blues” are okay for me now!! Less rehearsal and prep!!

Been thinking about putting a Motown Band together next. That should be fun and I won’t have to worry about the newer music!

 

[toprekoms]

I hope that you were kidding about shaving your beard and dying your hair, or are you planning on going to Vegas to play until you die like Wayne Newton, etc.? That's who you are isn't it?

 

[TJL]

I'm not going to get my soapbox completely out..... but I will say this.

It's not your hair.

If you guys DRESSED the part, ACTED the part, and put on a show, they wouldn't give a crap what color your hair is.


So true! You have to present a polished product. The music has to be great, but in order to keep the audience enthused, you have to put on a show. I work on average 3-5 nights per week with one band that consists of four old and grey guys, but who are superb musicians, and who not only only dress to impress, but also interact with the audience to personalize every performance for them. You have to have a player that doubles as an M.C. to communicate well , and it never hurts to have a couple of players who will leave the stage and take their solos out in the audience. Our guitar player buzzes around the audience stopping at most tables or groups like a honey bee does to flowers. The sax player dresses to the 9's and that top hat he wears has become a band icon. Our drummer and vocalist always connects with the audience and never misses the opportunity to give a shout out for birthdays. I, as the bassist, am definitely the least flashy, but I do my best to dress well and move my old bones around some. Thank God I can usually remove some audience skull caps with my solos, and that allows me some respect.
I know it is hard to have the energy to go the extra mile for a club that only pays you $75.00 for a 3 hour gig, but once you get in the habit to turning out a true "show" on the job, it becomes your default setting.
Lastly, anyone who believes Millennials are the answer to bringing in a younger crowd, they are dead wrong. Our average age audience is under 35, and it is a wide range of ages from teens to a guy who gets out on the dance floor at 104. There is no doubt that choosing the right music is critical to the energy level of the show, and I refuse to play anything that does not groove hard. Great tunes are the foundation it is all built upon, but making the extra effort to look impressive and turn your performance into a show is what will keep you in demand, and the club owners off your back.

 

[TJL]

So true! You have to present a polished product. The music has to be great, but in order to keep the audience enthused, you have to put on a show. I work on average 3-5 nights per week with one band that consists of four old and grey guys, but who are superb musicians, and who not only only dress to impress, but also interact with the audience to personalize every performance for them. You have to have a player that doubles as an M.C. to communicate well , and it never hurts to have a couple of players who will leave the stage and take their solos out in the audience. Our guitar player buzzes around the audience stopping at most tables or groups like a honey bee does to flowers. The sax player dresses to the 9's and that top hat he wears has become a band icon. Our drummer and vocalist always connects with the audience and never misses the opportunity to give a shout out for birthdays. I, as the bassist, am definitely the least flashy, but I do my best to dress well and move my old bones around some. Thank God I can usually remove some audience skull caps with my solos, and that allows me some respect.
I know it is hard to have the energy to go the extra mile for a club that only pays you $75.00 for a 3 hour gig, but once you get in the habit to turning out a true "show" on the job, it becomes your default setting.
Lastly, anyone who believes Millennials are the answer to bringing in a younger crowd, they are dead wrong. Our average age audience is under 35, and it is a wide range of ages from teens to a guy who gets out on the dance floor at 104. There is no doubt that choosing the right music is critical to the energy level of the show, and I refuse to play anything that does not groove hard. Great tunes are the foundation it is all built upon, but making the extra effort to look impressive and turn your performance into a show is what will keep you in demand, and the club owners off your back.

 

[RoadRanger]

The older you get, the harder it gets to find a band that will accept the gray.

My latest band I "auditioned" as Santa Clause but shocked them a bit when I "younged up" a bit for the gig LOL. Good thing about the dollar store hair dye is it barely worked so not that obvious - maybe tilted things more towards grey than the starting point white . I trimmed my ZZ-Top-esque beard down to short so that hid the color change a bit too . I had a bit of theater experience when I was younger so not so freaked out about changing appearance for the betterment of the show .

 

[Salmon1]

Age is all you have to worry about? Try being an old Puerto Rican lesbian trapped in the body of a white male redneck.

 

[NZBassman]

some years ago my band used to play at this upmarket bar once a month on a Thursday / Friday / Saturday - it was always packed and by packed 11pm there were queues out the door.... then the new bar manager cut us down to only Friday / Saturday, then just Saturday once every 6-8 weeks, then we got told we were 'no longer required'.... Turned out that Thursdays they had open mic night, Fridays they got a DJ in and on Saturday they got 'younger' bands in.....
A friend went there one Saturday night and said the place was half dead

 

[SCOTT_GROVE]

If THOSE are the type of gigs you want to be playing, then play the game. Dye your hair etc. Or simply shave your head, wear a doo rag and a couple of sleeves of fake tattoos. It will get you by until your skin starts folding in on itself. Then, you can always play country and get paid more and work until you die. There's always a solution. As sad as it is, if you want to work, you play THEIR game until you are in the nursing home.....or switch genres and play to the folks that grew up with Hendrix etc. but their bodies are simply worn out. Mortality is a bitch.

 

[JIO]

I'm the oldest member of my quartet, then 2 that are 10 yrs younger, and one who is another 20 years younger than them. It confirms my idealistic believe that music is ageless if everyone is open and serious about working together to create something and enjoys doing so. The music we play is all across the board stylistically and maybe that helps too - something from many genre's which focuses more on the music than how we all appear on stage. It took a while to get such an ideal to happen - but it is worth the time it took.

 

[EastCoastThump]

The older you get, the harder it gets to find a band that will accept the gray.

It's partly a feature of genre. If you started gigging in your teens or early twenties, how much older were your oldest bandmates—any in their 40s, 50s, 60s? How many of the bands you then looked up to as role models featured older players alongside their young turks?

In age-segregated genres, the musical culture has always been warning you what it had in store.

edit: Speaking in the generic "you" here. Not targeting hatchards; just riffing on what he said.

 

[Korladis]

Luckily I play mainly in a genre where grey hair seems not to matter much, if at all.

Though if you do play doom metal and have grey hair, you may face peer pressure to grow a big wizard beard.

 

[RoadRanger]

Don't know if I mentioned it on this thread before but a friend of mine who had been the BL of an agency band back in the day playing 9 show a week did a one-off 60's show a couple years ago that packed them in. I encouraged him to make it a regular act and they are doing well with it now - hippie garb and a "short bus" painted up hippie style to haul their gear and put out front at shows - even playing the Casinos but that's another story . I'm about 5 years younger so maybe should be looking at a 70's guitar hero thing? Dunno if I could get the guitarist to wear shoes though LOL.

 

[JIO]

Luckily I play mainly in a genre where grey hair seems not to matter much, if at all.

Though if you do play doom metal and have grey hair, you may face peer pressure to grow a big wizard beard.