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Am I odd for not wanting to gig?
- Thread starter Kaa
- Start date
OP - I'm on the opposite end of the spectrum. I ONLY like to play with other people and have to really push myself to practice or learn new material by myself. Every once in a great while, I'll jam along with CDs for an hour or so, but them I'm done. Since I have a day job and no aspiration to "make it" musically, I'm happy doing a practice\jam every couple of weeks and a gig or two each month. We play music we really love and my bandmates have become pretty good friends. We only take good gigs, but don't make much money doing it. It's a blast.
Guitar on the other hand? I'm okay dinking around on my own. Bass is just a different deal...
Guitar on the other hand? I'm okay dinking around on my own. Bass is just a different deal...
No. If you enjoy that, then do that. If doing more than that is currently or has become a pain in the keyster, then there's nobody whose permission you have to ask to stop. And there's no reason why if you feel in X months you'd want to dip your toe in the water again, that you shouldn't do it.
ALLOW YOURSELF TO CHANGE.
Truthfully, I have heard people playing out whom I wished had just stayed in the basement.
I hear you on that. But then again, it helps remind me, and appreciate once again where I've come from and where I am now. And that's not a bad thing.
Respect the love...
I don't think that's the same thing at all - as both of those bands were getting their music "out there" to an audience - that's the important thing.
So there have been session musicians who practically lived in the studio and may have played very few live gigs - but their music is getting out to an audience in very large numbers!
I`m a basement player. Within the last year, I`ve wanted to get a band together. Not to play out, just get together and jam, do a little recording, and whatnot. Work on material at home, and just meet up maybe twice a month. But whenever I post or respond this on CL, people act like I am some kind of freak. I got burned out hanging out in bars about 10 years ago, and have no desire to return. But people act like they have absolutely no concept of that. Dealing with a bunch of drunks for 7 hours and getting home @ 3 am is NOT worth $50. In fact, it isn`t worth any amount of money to me. But when I say "I just want to play for fun", people either think : being in the bar IS the fun, or music is about making money; it`s not about having fun. So, I am perpetually bandless and continue to pluck away in my basement. 
Good point.
It sounded to me like OP has an aversion to getting his music out via live performance. I was merely trying to illustrate that he's not alone, even the big boys sometimes don't want to market their product via live gigs.
I didn't hear him say he was averse to getting a product out via other avenues i.e. studio work.
Well - I think you have to have some reason - something you are working towards, that hones your playing and gives a purpose to get better and keep making progress..?
You've presented a mathematical impossibility. I don't understand what you are trying to say.
Interesting; I thought ≠ was standard. Ya learn something new every day...
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If you don't like big stages like that, and if the thrill of hitting that musical zone where you quit thinking about playing and just let the music become an expression of your soul for the world to hear/see, then not really. Music is a very very personal thing and if you can enjoy it more with the comfort of yourself... then go to town man! Jam away and record some tracks every once in a while, just cause you may inspire someone else.
I really get off on having 500 people yelling and groovin' to my tunes. There's an energy that is provided by the crowd at a live show that allows musical ecstacy to become a reality. It's a feeling you just can't create by yourself. But that's the beauty of music, to each his own.
If you don't like big stages like that, and if the thrill of hitting that musical zone where you quit thinking about playing and just let the music become an expression of your soul for the world to hear/see, then not really. Music is a very very personal thing and if you can enjoy it more with the comfort of yourself... then go to town man! Jam away and record some tracks every once in a while, just cause you may inspire someone else.
I really get off on having 500 people yelling and groovin' to my tunes. There's an energy that is provided by the crowd at a live show that allows musical ecstacy to become a reality. It's a feeling you just can't create by yourself. But that's the beauty of music, to each his own.
Yup - whereas the < and > keys are pretty universal, so <> is very easy to find on the keyboard!
I agree with every word you say, but I bet you didn't go from playing in your basement to big stages and crowds of 500 people in a few months. If you did then you were extremely lucky. You must have been in the right place at the right time, with the right material and the right band members.
It normally takes years to achieve anything approaching that, and even then you will still have nights when you wonder why you even packed your car and left the house. Not every gig is a big stage with an enthusiastic audience, there are always the dingy bars with a few drunks to bring you back down to earth. But when you do get a good gig it is better than any banned substance.
Well - people talk about luck, but generally I think the more you put into music, the more you get out and vice versa.
Effort is required to get anywhere and I think that shows like X Factor/American Idol etc are very dangerous in that they seem to sell a dream of minimum effort for stardom - whereas for the majority of musical situations, it is more a case of a putting in the hard work and building a career.
