Age gap - great fun

[Bruce Lindfield]

The younger brother of an ex-student of my drumming buddy has just booked me for a gig with a load of 19 year olds next Saturday. For some reason I find this hilarious. I'm nearly 30 years older than they are!

Here's the set list he sent me. I've never listened to half of this stuff before, so it looks like I have few tunes to learn in the next 9 days. Should be a really fun gig, though, I'm looking forward to it.

Superstition - Stevie Wonder
Signed sealed delivered - Stevie
I wish - Stevie
Déjà vu _ Beyonce
Naughty girl - Beyonce
American boy - Estelle
Falling - Alicia Keys
You've got the love - Florence and the machine
9 to 5 - Dolly ******* Parton!!
Valerie - Amy Winehouse
Mercy - Duffy
September - EWF
Sunday Morning - Maroon 5
Shackles - Mary Mary
Boogie 2nite - Tweet
New York (empire state of mind) - Jay Z
Bootylicious - Destiny's Child
Independent woman - DC
Maria maria - Santana, with some rapping doods who aren't very clever
Show me what you got - Jay Z
Virtual insanity - Jamiroquai
Ain't nobody - Chaka Khan

I'm an old "fogie" but have heard all of those songs and like most of them - tried playing a few!

I thought Valerie was written by the Zutons - I have heard the album with this on - but I know Amy Winehouse sang it on Version by Mark Ronson - which was an album of cover versions! So - technically it is a Zutons song!

Aint Nobody has a wicked groove that is quite hard to get right!! !!

 

[edmidlifecrisis]

My 15 year old son and his friends get together and jam regularly. Besides the usual AC/DC and death metal some of them like, they play Hendrix, Cream, Allman Brothers, Who, Zeppelin, Van Halen, Ozzy, and all sorts of 60's and 70's music with some blues mixed in. Pretty cool. Sometimes I jam with them. That makes a 41 year age gap!

 

[BassyBill]

I'm an old "fogie" but have heard all of those songs and like most of them - tried playing a few!

I thought Valerie was written by the Zutons - I have heard the album with this on - but I know Amy Winehouse sang it on Version by Mark Ronson - which was an album of cover versions! So - technically it is a Zutons song!

Aint Nobody has a wicked groove that is quite hard to get right!! !!

Correct on all counts.

The version of "Valerie" will be more Winehouse than Zutons, though, I'm afraid.

 

[billjr]

Well, it's good to see the "kids" like some good tunes from before their time. I've found that an amazing number of young adults (20s) really like and respond to 60s-80s classic music. I think that one of the more surprising deals happened when my band played "Hang On Sloopy" followed by "Free Bird." A bit of an age difference in the audience but actually more of the younger ones responded to "Hang On Sloopy" than "Free Bird." That surprised me a bit, but put a smile on my face too.

My daughter is 18, and she loves the classic stuff my band does, as do all of her friends. After a Clemson game last year, a cover band of older guys like me played a Neil Diamond song (can't remember which one) and all of the students sang along as if it were a top ten hit right then. It was really cool.

 

[standupright]

Haha, I'll probably need it. I'm transcribing some parts of it as this a really good way to learn for me.

Zender is a monster. I've found the 80/20 rule to be best when it comes to playing his stuff. If you get the core 80% right, you're golden. There is just so much going on in his playing, it's well....insanity!

 

[kesslari]

Sounds like a fun gig, and a good opportunity to learn a bit of new stuff.

 

[BassyBill]

Well, the gig was last night, and it was great fun. The whole band played pretty well, I thought, considering it was just thrown together with no rehearsal. Pretty tight for most of the time, and no real major disasters. The crowd went ape! And we got some really positive comments in between sets and at the end, including a couple of youngsters who came up and said some very nice things about my bass playing.

I'd made some notes on each song that I didn't know that well in the run-up to the gig, and for a few of them I scored a bar or two of the main groove out just as an aide memoire in case I forgot how to get into each one. I hate that feeling when you're into the count-in for a tune and thinking "How does this one go?" These clues proved very useful in some places (file linked below so that you can see what I'm talking about here).

Link Removed

I'll be quite surprised if I don't get asked back. It seems that these youngsters in the band and the audience don't mind the fact that I've got 30 years or so on them, as long as I can nail the tunes!

 

[Oren Hudson]

Now we need pics of the action!

 

[BassyBill]

^^^ Yeah, I should really have got my phone out to snap some pics for the "Chicks at Shows" thread - there were some really stunning girls in the club. A group came in dressed in really wicked skimpy short nurse and French maid outfits. I think it was some sort of hen party. The way they were dancing to "Bootylicious" was SOOOOO hot, it nearly made me miss a cue from the guitarist.

Yeah, I know - no pics, no stunning looking maids and nurses.

 

[Sizlack]

I got told by a bunch of 18-19 year olds that I was to old to do vocals for them...I'm only 29. I promptly asked them to get off my lawn.

 

[BassyBill]

I got told by a bunch of 18-19 year olds that I was to old to do vocals for them...I'm only 29. I promptly asked them to get off my lawn.

I can sort of understand young 'uns being like that to some extent, but they're missing out, imo. When I was a kid, I learned tons from playing with people who had a lot more experience than I did and I'm still grateful for that today.

The two guys (guitar/drums) and the chick (keys) that I played with last night were way cooler about this than the kids you mention, imo. The fun part for me was seeing the looks on their faces as they totally got into the music. They clearly could not give a flying crap about my age as long as the music rocked. They were also really easy to get along with and a pleasure to work with - good musicians (considering their age, very, very good), professional but with a relaxed and confident approach. It just goes to show that there's still a lot of good kids around.

 

[EdHunter]

Superstition - Stevie Wonder
Signed sealed delivered - Stevie
I wish - Stevie
Déjà vu _ Beyonce
Naughty girl - Beyonce
American boy - Estelle
Falling - Alicia Keys
You've got the love - Florence and the machine
9 to 5 - Dolly ******* Parton!!
Valerie - Amy Winehouse
Mercy - Duffy
September - EWF
Sunday Morning - Maroon 5
Shackles - Mary Mary
Boogie 2nite - Tweet
New York (empire state of mind) - Jay Z
Bootylicious - Destiny's Child
Independent woman - DC
Maria maria - Santana, with some rapping doods who aren't very clever
Show me what you got - Jay Z
Virtual insanity - Jamiroquai
Ain't nobody - Chaka Khan

If I were you, I'd leave after Superstition...

 

[Richland123]

I am 53 years old and have been a well known local musician for 40 years now. I always encourage and support young musicians as well as teach them the business side of music. As a result, I have become friends with many of them and some of them come to see my band to see how some old dudes perform.

About a year and a half ago, our drummer fractured his shoulder and could not play but could still sing. I asked a drummer in his mid 20s with minimal experience to play with us since he admires our drummer's playing. This drummer was thrilled to perform with us since we are a high profile regional band and he said he learned so much muscially and business wise from us in a couple months.

Six months later, his 3 piece band needed a last minute (1-1/2 hour notice) bass player to fill in for a gig and they called me. I was honored and happy to perform with them and save their gig. They played all classic tunes for the gig and I did not need to learn anything but it was a pleasure and they had a blast.

 

[darkfinger]

Sounds like a blast, and I like how you set up your "cheat sheet". Way more organized than how I do mine.

 

[Gopherbassist]

I was expecting a bunch of garbage on that list, I am pleasantly surprised.

 

[duderasta]

Most of my life I have been the oldest guy in any band I was in, I usually had more fun and enjoyed the music more... All the guys my age either have unrealistic expectations for original projects, or want to play all the same gawdawful covers every other band is playing..

 

[rosanne]

Impressive notes! You are waaay more organized than me.

 

[BassyBill]

I can sort of understand young 'uns being like that to some extent, but they're missing out, imo. When I was a kid, I learned tons from playing with people who had a lot more experience than I did and I'm still grateful for that today.

The two guys (guitar/drums) and the chick (keys) that I played with last night were way cooler about this than the kids you mention, imo. The fun part for me was seeing the looks on their faces as they totally got into the music. They clearly could not give a flying crap about my age as long as the music rocked. They were also really easy to get along with and a pleasure to work with - good musicians (considering their age, very, very good), professional but with a relaxed and confident approach. It just goes to show that there's still a lot of good kids around.

Well, I guess I did okay on the gig last weekend - the youngsters have just booked me for another gig next Friday at the same venue.

 

[rosanne]

Well, I guess I did okay on the gig last weekend - the youngsters have just booked me for another gig next Friday at the same venue.

Congrats!

 

[MatticusMania]

I'm the youngest guy in my band at 25. The only other original member is 32. Our drummer and keys player are around 35, and the other synth player is, I think 37. And we all work really well together.