If you're in it for the exposure—up onstage trying to look and act cool for the audience—then prepare yourself for many unsatisfactory nights of playing crap songs for fickle crowds. A lot of us have reached an age where a fine bass, some good buds, and solid headphones with a Tascam Bass Trainer are all we require. To hell with the crowds, the hideous song-lists, and...let's be brutally frank...the less than stellar crop of musicians you are forced to put up with! Music is its own reward.
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Age Discrimination
- Thread starter Biggbass
- Start date
And what's wrong with looking like Santa? (Completely white now.)Kind of funny, I have a first gig with a new band on Friday and I'm thinking about shaving the beard off and maybe dyeing the gray/white. I'm about ten years older than the rest of the band - hard rock power trio doing an opening set. One of my grandkids is old enough to make me a great granddad. Right now I have to wear a hat to not look like freakin Santa LOL
We play in a venue that has music several nights a week, all year. We're all way north of 60. Young people look at us like we're in a museum...until we start playing. I love to watch how long it takes for them to "get us." We play mostly older blues (pre-Beatle era) and roots rock, etc, with just a few bar chestnuts. We know what we're doing, have played together long enough to know each other like ourselves, and are tight...plus we have a great time, which is infectious.
The venue owner says we're the only band that makes him any money.
The venue owner says we're the only band that makes him any money.
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That's a sad reality, but my band's gotten enthusiastic responses at all the gigs/clubs/bars we played. The others; we can afford to leave them at the curb! I'm 67 & have been getting compliments on our band's high energy from people literally half our ages! Make your niche into a notch & tear that notion to shreds whenever you can! I take that attitude as a challenge!
At age 68, I agree with much of this. The crowd that follows older bands is liable to drink less and leave earlier. However, if the band is good, I've found that younger people will show up, so that balances out the effect a bit.
Most kids (not all)don't show up to the club until midnight and they are usually preloaded
(drunk already or high ) so all they are really spending is the cover charge .
Adults notice I didn't say old people pay cover and buy drinks in the club and they don't show up for cheap draft night They want to be entertained .
They drink real booze and myself I prefer it out of a real glass not some stupid plastic cup like in a bar that doesn't give a sh-t .
I play all kinds of venues and young or old if the band is good and sounds good people will dig it .
Also while I'm ranting a lot (not all ) of the younger crowd just want to hear a DJ playing crap with no real instruments in the same groove all night .
To each there own but club owners need to figure out you can't please everybody live music canned music no music pick one and stick with it .
That way the kids will go there way .
Adults will go there way .
The reason adults don't go to clubs I have found is that they can't find anyplace they want to go .
1The music never stops so you can't talk .
2You get served your drink In a stupid plastic cup .
3low grade booze at premium prices .
4 kids show up at midnight gooned out of there skulls bouncing off the walls
wanting to hear mindless dance music .
There are places you can go you just gotta find them and support them .
One more thing
COVER CHARGE
PAY IT
You'll pay $10.00 for popcorn at a Movie after paying whatever for a ticket .
$6.00 for a cup of fancy coffee .
But you'll bitch and moan about paying a cover charge to see live band .
ok I'm done now
(drunk already or high ) so all they are really spending is the cover charge .
Adults notice I didn't say old people pay cover and buy drinks in the club and they don't show up for cheap draft night They want to be entertained .
They drink real booze and myself I prefer it out of a real glass not some stupid plastic cup like in a bar that doesn't give a sh-t .
I play all kinds of venues and young or old if the band is good and sounds good people will dig it .
Also while I'm ranting a lot (not all ) of the younger crowd just want to hear a DJ playing crap with no real instruments in the same groove all night .
To each there own but club owners need to figure out you can't please everybody live music canned music no music pick one and stick with it .
That way the kids will go there way .
Adults will go there way .
The reason adults don't go to clubs I have found is that they can't find anyplace they want to go .
1The music never stops so you can't talk .
2You get served your drink In a stupid plastic cup .
3low grade booze at premium prices .
4 kids show up at midnight gooned out of there skulls bouncing off the walls
wanting to hear mindless dance music .
There are places you can go you just gotta find them and support them .
One more thing
COVER CHARGE
PAY IT
You'll pay $10.00 for popcorn at a Movie after paying whatever for a ticket .
$6.00 for a cup of fancy coffee .
But you'll bitch and moan about paying a cover charge to see live band .
ok I'm done now
FWIW, I think the cover charge, for a lot if us, is nostalgia for when we were young and cool and reg'lars and there was status in getting comp'd.
Yep, pay the cover, or tip the serving staff extra-heavy. (What I always did, ex-bartender here.)
Yep, pay the cover, or tip the serving staff extra-heavy. (What I always did, ex-bartender here.)
I don’t mind paying a cover charge - if I know the band is good. $50 for lawn tickets to see Foo Fighters with an awesome lights show, $10 to see nobody’s with no real show? Nah. Basically, cover charge means you’re going to be noticeably better than a cover band where no cover charge is charged. Sometimes that’s the case , most of the time it’s not.
If your being entertained (even if it's by nobody's and I resent that term I hope YOU are somebody )
then you should pay .
There was probably a time when nobody would pay to see the Foo's either .
I think I saw somewhere on the tube where Dave said they played to some pretty empty venues at the start.
I could be wrong maybe it was that other little band he was in Nirvana
As for cover being nostalgia some clubs pay there bands with the door .
When I go to see friends play I pay the cover even when I know I could be comp'd .
You need to support live music all live music
I knew I shouldn't have got off topic and started ranting .
Now I'm really done
then you should pay .
There was probably a time when nobody would pay to see the Foo's either .
I think I saw somewhere on the tube where Dave said they played to some pretty empty venues at the start.
I could be wrong maybe it was that other little band he was in Nirvana
As for cover being nostalgia some clubs pay there bands with the door .
When I go to see friends play I pay the cover even when I know I could be comp'd .
You need to support live music all live music
I knew I shouldn't have got off topic and started ranting .
Now I'm really done
lol...
this is the only venue we've played that's done this so far...time will tell if their strategy pays off.
this is the only venue we've played that's done this so far...time will tell if their strategy pays off.
A place we play regularly here has changed after we discussed it with them. It used to be 9-1. The older crowd that likes our music (60's-70's) would be gone before we even started set 3. We now play 8-11 (2 longish sets). That lets the older faction in the crowd go home early enough and catch most of our music, and turns the place over to the college kids and the jukebox for the later stuff. It's actually working quite well and we're booked at more than one of their locations now.
