• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Age gap amusement - again

#41
i was funk jamming with my son at an informal party gig, him (17) keys & samples, me (48) bass. A lot of his school friends are there, this one young dude asked us to "throw down some beats so he could spit some sh*t" or something like that. The energy of the young and the experience of the .....experienced....... can be a really powerful.
"Dude, your mom shreds." The girls all come up and swoon over him and wonder if I'm going to get all protective or whatever.... Nahhhhhhh.... I went and got a beer. He's got to learn how to handle the fans on his own.:D
 
#42
trkelley said:
i was funk jamming with my son at an informal party gig, him (17) keys & samples, me (48) bass. A lot of his school friends are there, this one young dude asked us to "throw down some beats so he could spit some sh*t" or something like that. The energy of the young and the experience of the .....experienced....... can be a really powerful.
Click to expand...
I might need a translator for that. Was he saying he wanted to rap?
trkelley said:
"Dude, your mom shreds." The girls all come up and swoon over him and wonder if I'm going to get all protective or whatever.... Nahhhhhhh.... I went and got a beer. He's got to learn how to handle the fans on his own.:D
Click to expand...
With a condom, hopefully.
 
#43
Good for you OP.

I have a bit of an age gap horror story. I went in to jam with this band looking for a bass player. I was 17 at the time. 18 and 19 year old guitarists, a 21 year old drummer, and...

A sad looking burned out 38 year old vocalists who still aspires to rock stardom.

Yeah I played for an hour and got out of there.
 
#44
There are music scenes where age differences are of more critical importance. often the same places and scenes where coolness and brands of gear and shoes matter and you better not be unattractive in any way to your dominant culture, because THIS is the pool of fresh young talent which might actually get discovered or whatever and "make it". Seeing 30+ people still trying to get their first break into this sort of scene is kind of sad, like that 38-yr old vocalist mentioned previously. It just ain't gonna happen, dude or dudette. You don't have to give up music ever, but the hard reality is that once you are of a certain age, in some scenes and genres, you are just not going to be wanted in some bands no matter how proficient you are at the MUSICAL style in question, your SOCIAL style is past pull date. :eek:.
There is always recording! I would not tour with my son's project. But i would lay some tracks on their stack of wax so they can spit that sh8t or whatever the slang was. I can slap, they can rap.
if the shoe fits, get someone else to dance in it first. Your cat left you a present. Groovy, man.:cool:
 
#45
We had a sub drummer who was in his young 20s sit in with us. We do strictly 60's oldies, and he knew every one of our set list except Just A Little (Beau Brummels). The rest of us are all at least 50. We all dug each other. Very cool.
 
#46
Here's an odd variation on the theme:
Our band has a female drummer, and her and I were standing outside after Saturday night's gig. A woman in her mid 40's approached us, started chatting and during the conversation asked the drummer -- in all seriousness -- if I was her Dad.

I'm 47.

The drummer's two years older than me.
 
#47
mpacey said:
Here's an odd variation on the theme:
Our band has a female drummer, and her and I were standing outside after Saturday night's gig. A woman in her mid 40's approached us, started chatting and during the conversation asked the drummer -- in all seriousness -- if I was her Dad.

I'm 47.

The drummer's two years older than me.
Click to expand...

I bet that made her feel good, and you feel old.
 
#48
trkelley said:
I went and got a beer. He's got to learn how to handle the fans on his own.:D
Click to expand...

Nice... I wish you were my mommy... Except I'm almost old enough to date you.

I'm a good 20 years younger then the rest of the other guys (and lady) in one of my bands. They're in their late 50s/early 60s. They're awesome players and great people, and they have TONS of knowledge that they constantly let me in on.
 
#49
mpacey said:
Here's an odd variation on the theme:
Our band has a female drummer, and her and I were standing outside after Saturday night's gig. A woman in her mid 40's approached us, started chatting and during the conversation asked the drummer -- in all seriousness -- if I was her Dad.

I'm 47.

The drummer's two years older than me.
Click to expand...

You could have played on that compliment and gotten both your drummer and the mid 40s chick in bed. Together.
 
#50
I'm the oldest in my band but I can easily pass for the youngest. I don't drink as often as they do and haven't for a long time. (he says as he pours a glass of Kentucky Bourbon) Everyone else in my band drinks pretty much every day, I haven't drank more than once every couple months in many years. My hair is also colored since its all gray, but my face doesn't look nearly as "relic'd" as theirs.

PS: good bourbon! :D
 
#52
Oh, and I also play with a children's choir. About 50 kids ages 5-14 or so, the violinists and accordion player are in their early teens. - you can see me around a minute into it when the camera pans over to the musicians.
 
#53
I'm an old guy that just started playing a couple years ago. So there's a lot of stuff I don't know, like whole songs for example :(

Problem is, young guys think that because I'm old I know a lot of stuff.
And the old guys think that because I'm their age I know a lot of stuff %(

The good thing is I learn stuff from all these guys who think I already know stuff.
 
#54
sonic assassin said:
eh, my 50something year old neighbor taught me bass, and i had no issue telling my friends i was going to hang out with him instead of people my age. his 2 year older than me son would answer the door and immediately call for his dad. we went to high school together.
Click to expand...


+1
My dad's friend started teaching me some cool tricks on guitar about 7 years ago. I was 14 and he was 50ish at the time. Worked out well for me because he grew up with all the blues/psychedelic stuff I wanted to learn:D
Ol' Joe is still one of my favorite jamming buddies although he can't do it very often anymore because of pains in his back and shoulder... which is very sad; he's a great guitarist. If he's having a good day and wants to jam, I'll ditch pretty much any plans to do so.

On a side note, I'd love to jam with these old guys:
 
#55
I'm 50, and my son has gotten to be a good drummer. I got the call to put together an all-star band of old friends for a college reunion, and our old drummer was away. My son says "I want to do it", and we say -- "this is not a gimme -- you've got to be able to play al green and commodores and the clash and tom petty..."

so he does his homework, and is great. the most fun bit was that one of our guest vocalists didn't show, who was going to sing "whip it". None of the rest of us really had it going, but we had a guest drummer, so he took the kit, and my son jumped out front and killed with "whip it". Great fun.

Getting to be a rhythm section with your son is a huge gift, especially since he has good time!
 
#58
trkelley said:
There are music scenes where age differences are of more critical importance. often the same places and scenes where coolness and brands of gear and shoes matter and you better not be unattractive in any way to your dominant culture, because THIS is the pool of fresh young talent which might actually get discovered or whatever and "make it". Seeing 30+ people still trying to get their first break into this sort of scene is kind of sad, like that 38-yr old vocalist mentioned previously. It just ain't gonna happen, dude or dudette. You don't have to give up music ever, but the hard reality is that once you are of a certain age, in some scenes and genres, you are just not going to be wanted in some bands no matter how proficient you are at the MUSICAL style in question, your SOCIAL style is past pull date. :eek:.
There is always recording! I would not tour with my son's project. But i would lay some tracks on their stack of wax so they can spit that sh8t or whatever the slang was. I can slap, they can rap.
if the shoe fits, get someone else to dance in it first. Your cat left you a present. Groovy, man.:cool:
Click to expand...

I'm 39, and every musician I know could care less about "scenes" than about producing and playing something awesome. I may get flamed for this, but in my experience "good" bands with younger members get their musical direction/chops from older, more experienced musicians and producers.

Just my dos centavos.

Also, the talk about shoes and cats and grooviness made me want to go get a drink. So I did.

It didn't help. :hmm:
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back