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Am I too old and fat?

#42
Man, I never thought of 40 as being old. I'm going to be 31 here pretty soon. I don't really feel much different than I did at 21. I definitely play alot better. I play every week with a guy who's in his late 70's. He is strong as an ox and continues to improve as a musician. It is all mental I believe.
 
#47
But I'm almost 40 now.

well:

Flea: 46
Marcus Miller: 49
Victor Wooten: 44
Steve Harris: 51
Les Claypool 45

And the list goes on

to play and create music there are not age boundaries , try to see the pro and not the cons to be 40 ( more experience, more relaxed, and maybe with more $$ resources etc) if your body is not at 100%, wake up early, do your workout, change your diet, do that not to get a place in a teenager's band but for yourself.

Im 36 and ready to rock and yeah I have not plans to paint my hair on blue:bassist:
 
#49
Well Muddslide I'm 51, admittedly fat these days; but a lot
of it it has to do with a heart med I'm on, and I'm still gigging.
I've always managed to keep gigging even at the semipro level and
I've been married to the same woman for 25 years
and I have also kept a steady day job as well. So yeah there
are older musical veterans who are still gigging as we never
did give it up entirely.

I say welcome back! Now with that said I play in a pretty
kicking blues based band that can also cover a lot of other
styles. We don't wear fedoras or play the schtick. We can rock
the house with the best of them and hopefully we can figure out this whole
Myspace page thing someday. My 13 year old nephew plans to become our
internet media coordinator.

Now as far as stereotypes go, you can make fun of the way Eric Clapton has
been dressing as of late with his hawaiian shirts and middle aged duffer
Docker pants or shorts,but I'd be damned thrilled to be seen on stage with him!;)

I say give it another go and try to have fun with it and quit
worrying about the image crap that absorbs the young. I
get to gig even more than I'd ever expected to imagine at
this stage of my life. So welcome back to playing and being
40 means your'e just a punk kid really. I wish you the best.
 
#51
I'm 32, but I've gained 130+ pounds over the last 4 years due to a lot of medications I was put on when I was about 26. Back then it was all about the look and the show-- my bass playing was all licks and tricks, and if I listen to it now, I cringe. I was nothing more than a proficient wanker. Since my focus was forced to move on, I've concentrated on my playing-- especially my groove, learned to sing lead and play complex and not-so-complex basslines, analyzed my reason for playing the bass, and generally improved as a musician. I'm peaking in my powers, and sometimes I can barely move onstage. Yes I plan to drop some of the weight, but I'm not going to get caught up in the superficial image thing ever again. I just want to be able to dance around a little bit when I get the feelin'. I'm actually looking forward to my 40's-- I'll be another 10 years better than I am now. That's a very promising future. And I'll feel the same way about my 50's God willing.
 
#55
Muddslide said:
You know, I haven't played a show in 10 years. Before that it was sporadic for a couple of years.

This is after over 10 years of gigging regularly and doing some recording.

I got out of it when I got married and became a father. No pressure from my wife (she's also a musician and is very supportive of any of my musical endeavors) but just due to time and money. In fact, I sold off all my electric gear and just a couple of days ago scored my first bass in 10 years.

I gotta say, I still got some chops, but I've been playing acoustic guitar and mandolin and stuff in the interim, so it's not like I haven't touched a fretboard in all that time.

Anyway, I really wanna get a rig together and play out again...or find some people to jam with.

But I'm almost 40 now. Chubbier. Not quite as energetic...

I don't really have an interest in being in some hipster band full of 20 year olds (not to knock that or people who do that scene), but I'm afraid I'll end up being relegated to some Eagles cover band full of other tubby older dudes wearing hawaiian shirts and man shorts.

Shoot me.

I still like a wide assortment of music, a lot of hard and heavy and experimental stuff. Not so much the lame white-boy blues in fedoras or Jimmy Buffet stuff guys of my age and girth seem to purvey.

I dunno...just griping I guess.

Also, I may soon be moving to a very small town in the middle of nowhere. It may be that I end up playing for nobody but myself. That seems a drag, but hell, I'm up for it.

Anyone got similar concerns?
Click to expand...

Hi Mudslide,

Join a church! You'll be playing bass to a captive audience every week before you can say "low B". Every church needs another bass player - fact. I did this about 15yrs ago to keep my wife company and as a chance to play. But beware, I resisted God's call for 3 years before I gave in - and that really turned my life around. Now Sunday morning is my regular gig to around 350 souls and I just have a ball!

Russell
 
#56
I'm not sure about Church, but I had a long gap without playing and felt "out of place" coming back to rock/pop music in my 40s - it does seem to be a lot about image and attitude....:hmm:

So I started to get interested in Jazz and it has taken over all my other interests and changed my CD collection!! :p

The best Jazz players around are in their 70s now and going strong - Wayne Shorter is one of the biggest international draws in Jazz and playing better than he ever has - born in 1933!! :eek:

Sonny Rollins - more famous and still gigging - born in 1930!!

You're never too old!
 
#57
One thing I have been noticing (and that is rather troubling to me) is that I can't seem to play terribly long without getting some mild pain in my hands and slight cramping in my forearms.

After years of playing acoustic guitar and mandolin I guess I just need to get used to it again, but it is bothersome. I used to be able to hold down a groove indefinitely. In fact, one person I played with said I could go from being rock-solid as a boulder to an avalanche in .05 seconds.

I hope I can get back to it close to what I used to be capable of.
 
#58
Hell man, just the fact that you DON'T want to get stuck in a crappy eagles cover band shows that you've got the right modivation to get out there and play! Good for you! I hope I have a similar outlook when I'm 40 (I'm 21 now)!
 
#59
I'm 34, not exactly a hipster, not an old fart either. I play with a bunch of old farts though. They're all in their 50's (one just turned 60 *gasp*). I live in a VERY rural community outside a small po-dunk town.

There's a college nearby and lots of young hipsters making music.

For me, what's most important is the people I play with. Ultimately it's even more important than the music we play (although that runs a close second). I'd be miserable playing with a bunch of college kids. I like the guys I play with now. They're more mature, more responsible, we have similar interests, they show up for practice, and they're better musicians/song writers.

My advice... don't worry about your age, don't worry about the music you end up playing either. Find people you like to hang out with and have fun. Maybe you'll learn something new in the process.

I used to play progressive/alternative rock, even some metal (hey, we all experiment in college). Now it's acoustic folk rock. I've developed a whole new appreciation for a new kind of music and my instrument.
 
#60
Rattman said:
You'll have to accept the fact that time stands still for no man.. make the appropriate adjustments, lose the idea (snobbery actually) about the image of 'tubby adults' in Hawaiin shirts and "man shorts", and ask yourself what the real priorities are? Playing & honing your craft, or pretending that you aren't aging? I'm past 50 already... I play all the time... I've also stopped drinking ANY kind of soda, cut way back on bread, only have salad as a 'side' with meals, and do some consistant walking. You'll WIN on all fronts that way.. You'll be playing, you'll lose some tummy, gain back alot of energy, gain self-confidence about your appearance/age... and secretly please your spouse!
Click to expand...

+1
I went back to playing guitar at 38, started writing songs at 39, and started playing bass at 42. Today I'm 44 and just getting warmed up. (By the way, I play with a 30 year old and a 67 year old. Who cares?)
 

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