All-instrumental groups

[Pocket Dave]

while you may be correct about your "area," i'm pretty sure this ("instrumental pop tunes") is not a new concept. i appreciate most of the 'blowback' on the idea of "instrumental music" (most folks here don't have that experience, i'm pretty sure) but i'm also pretty sure most of you doubters/nay-sayers haven't actually done it, you're conjecturing. i.e., you're offering an opinion a priori to any protracted gigging experience with the concept. correct?

re: "experience" and its obvious limitations on a TB thread = if you haven't done it yourself = it doesn't exist!

I played all-instrumental pop tunes for almost 20 years - the first "dinner music" set at corporate and wedding events. It served its purpose but was never the main draw.

I played instrumental-leaning music 11-15 years ago with an emphasis on improvisation. Over that time it went from high to low appeal, seemingly falling out of favor by 2016/17.

Now I sneak it in between verses,

 

[40Hz]

i was trying to be fun(ny), but now you present a value-judgement binary where one 'valence' is "vanity" and the other is your POV. you're conjecturing with an opinion measured by a binary, either/or, zero sum thinking. i'm trying to inform the OP with actual experience. i'm sure you can see the difference.

Sorry. It’s been a long day for me. Apologies for being a little grouchy and not catching the joke.

Regarding the word “vanity” - I was using it in the publishing sense of the word, as in a project done mainly for personal reasons although with some faint hope of it finding a broader audience. It wasn’t meant to be judgmental or a knock on anybody. It probably would have been better if I said “personal project” rather than “vanity project.” Wordz iz hard sometimes.

I get you’re offering the OP your experience. I was trying to offer the same with my own having played my share of background music gigs over the years for functions, restaurants, society gatherings, receptions, parties, and so on. Those were actually decent gigs I didn’t mind doing. The people in attendance were almost always well behaved, it paid well, and half the time dinner was included. Sometimes you even wound up with a phone number or two by the end of the evening. Pretty sweet!

These days I mostly confine myself to my own vanity/personal projects and what me and my music cronies refer to as “chamber rock” sessions.

 

[DWBass]

while you may be correct about your "area," i'm pretty sure this ("instrumental pop tunes") is not a new concept. i appreciate most of the 'blowback' on the idea of "instrumental music" (most folks here don't have that experience, i'm pretty sure) but i'm also pretty sure most of you doubters/nay-sayers haven't actually done it, you're conjecturing. i.e., you're offering an opinion a priori to any protracted gigging experience with the concept. correct?

re: "experience" and its obvious limitations on a TB thread = if you haven't done it yourself = it doesn't exist!

I did say 'in my area', not that it doesn't exist (maybe others said so). To the OP, have at it and I hope it works out.

 

[matthewbrown]

Sorry. It’s been a long day for me. Apologies for being a little grouchy and not catching the joke.

Regarding the word “vanity” - I was using it in the publishing sense of the word, as in a project done mainly for personal reasons although with some faint hope of it finding a broader audience. It wasn’t meant to be judgmental or a knock on anybody. It probably would have been better if I said “personal project” rather than “vanity project.” Wordz iz hard sometimes.

I get you’re offering the OP your experience. I was trying to offer the same with my own having played my share of background music gigs over the years for functions, restaurants, society gatherings, receptions, parties, and so on. Those were actually decent gigs I didn’t mind doing. The people in attendance were almost always well behaved, it paid well, and half the time dinner was included. Sometimes you even wound up with a phone number or two by the end of the evening. Pretty sweet!

These days I mostly confine myself to my own vanity/personal projects and what me and my music cronies refer to as “chamber rock” sessions.

I feel the same way about background music gigs, but they seem to be getting rarer these days. My main gig ran out of gas during Covid and never came back. "Too expensive" I was told. But that gig was what allowed me to work regularly as a freelance jazz player doing other people's gigs, since I had gigs to pass around, which I did, freely. Now it seems my only calls are for last-minute gigs; the best ones seem to be for very busy players (who catch Covid, sometimes repeatedly). Thus my plan to develop something new and perhaps more marketable.