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CRAZY perspective I got from a long-time DJ last night

#301
Just curious if there's anything wrong with playing for ego? The sheer enjoyment of having people screaming for one more song?

Most of us seem to comment that there's nothing worse than playing to a dead crowd. Doesn't it make sense that for some musicians, the ego bump of a screaming crowd makes playing worth whatever a bar owner is willing to pay?
 
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#302
two fingers said:
And I'm sorry. Those guys hurt the rest of us.

If you are just desperate to do your thing in front of people, that's an ego trip to me. If you are SO desperate that you would continually display your talents for free, owners will take advantage of that.

Then we get back to the old marriage analogy.

"Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?"
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Lol some of us just have fun playing music, dude.
 
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#303
That was what, 50-60 years ago? Rock music has carried the "get rich quick" torch harder than nearly every other genre, and because it kept showing up in bars, it kept going and going and going.

MOST people NEVER got beyond bars within a matter of a few years. Those that did absolutely lost their shirts to record companies and production houses, and some of those guys wished they just stuck with bars and got jobs as engineers, lawyers, and doctors!

It's really unrealistic to say that being a bar band was ever a real gateway to fortunes. It's just not true.

4001 said:
Back then, more bands had the REAL chance of moving beyond the bars within a matter of just a few years and playing REAL gigs and writing music the THEY want to play with a four album deal and tours to support it.
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#305
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#306
MultiScaleMale said:
Maybe you're trying to make a hobby a career. Play in the big name bands, go on tour, there are certainly paths to making money, really good money in music. But you have to be willing to take those steps. If you're trying to do things that others are willing to do as a hobby for fun, maybe it's time for some self-reflection instead of blaming everyone else.
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It is true what you say and it makes perfect sense. But there is no such thing as jumping on the band wagon of a superstar and then say "look at me, earning pretty pennies n' poop". These guys have rigged bands that always play for them and you can't just pop along and do your thing. Even though there are a lot of people who could certainly do it better.

Also, I don't have the fortune to live in the US where there still is a thing called musical freedom up to an extent, where you can actually play something else then just oberkrainer music for the whole life. Even top famous non-oberkrainer bands struggle where I come from financially.

But that's not my point anyways. I simply wish that a band could charge fair money for good quality music and actually being able to pay the damn rent and bills without resorting to shady things, like working 5 jobs and being paid on hands in order to avoid taxes and other similar stuff. The story goes deep and would require me to explain the whole system I live in in order to understand.

Just my 50 cents on the topic and some "fun-facts" for US readers to get a grasp of how things are in Europe.

Also, the recent "indoor generation" boom solved all problems of new incoming public that we could entertain. NOT. I am 27 years old and still almost the youngest in clubs. At the same time, when I was 16, we had a crapload of teenager bands trying to explore stuff and eager to play. All that eagerness went god knows where.
 
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#307
FunkHead said:
Nah, Nothing Judgement at all. :eek::confused:o_O:rollno:
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Those statements are no different from "That amp sounds like garbage" or "Flats sound dead to me" or "Don't wear shorts on stage".

Just opinions.

Now, are you gonna sit there and tell me there's no such thing as a band of "musicians" who know they are horrible but wanna go out and play anyway? They just KNOW they suck. They KNOW they play the three chord version of Brown Eyed Girl because they can't be bothered with a four chord version. They know Bob has no business singing 80s rock but we love Bob so we let him sing his favorites. Really? You don't THINK what I've typed? Seriously?

Are you gonna sit there and tell me that there's no such thing as a band made up of people who look like the landscaping crew and couldn't care less about the optics of their band? Socks and sandles? Crate T-shirts from the 80s?

You've NEVER seen a horrible garage band playing in a club?????


Come on, now. You may think I'm (shall we say) "unkind" due to my choice of verbiage. But don't be intellectually dishonest and try to argue that you have NO IDEA what kinds of bands I'm talking about. Puhleeeeeeez....
:meh:
 
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#309
That's more because of the irony behind the US lack of culture and history. The USA really has no culture when you compare it to ANYWHERE in Europe.

So while yes, it may be very limiting to be stuck playing culturally significant music, many Americans would do well to get a dose of culture beyond the mere 250 years they actually have on the world.



Sparkl said:
Also, I don't have the fortune to live in the US where there still is a thing called musical freedom up to an extent, where you can actually play something else then just oberkrainer music for the whole life. Even top famous non-oberkrainer bands struggle where I come from financially.
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#310
frankie5string said:
It's really unrealistic to say that being a bar band was ever a real gateway to fortunes. It's just not true.
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What major band didn't play the bar circuit ?
The thing is that many of them got out of that rut and moved UP!
Rush played the bars for about six years and then they got a record deal... six years later they were selling out three nighters everywhere and playing music that they wanted to play.. imagine that, they didn't have to keep playing "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Brown Eye Girl" for the rest of their lives pretending to be rockstars in the local pub for their Facebook friends likes. They also gave the record company the middle finger when they said "produce an album with a hit"... and they wrote 2112. So there.
Bar gigs, festival shows, corporate gigs... what else is there?? Concert venues for local bands ?? Nope.
Play the bar set, sell the bar owners beer... wash, rinse, repeat. How does a band go beyond that these days?
I guess you have to have "connections".. and rip off Led Zeppelin to a "T" and call it original.
 
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#311
Sparkl said:
Not really. Take a mechanic for example. They know their worth damn well and you will basically never see a mechanic (at least in europe for sure) repairing cars basically for free for everybody just because he loves fiddling with cars. Or at least it is not an obvious case of price dumping as it is in the world of music where you will see plenty of bands doing gigs for two beers.

There is a big difference between a cartel (organised crime) and organised profession, which being a musician should be, at least from todays world perspective. Bills need to be paid you know. I'm not asking for more.
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Your example is terrible. I know many people who work on cars as a hobby. Usually classic or drag racing cars. If I needed help with my car they would absolutely help me with it for free or little cost. The last time I needed a repair that I couldn't do myself I took it to a friend. He wasn't actually able to do it himself and called a friend of his that I didn't know. Cost me $40 for a stranger to fix my car that would have cost $300 at the shop.
 
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#312
frankie5string said:
The USA really has no culture when you compare it to ANYWHERE in Europe.
Click to expand...

tenor.gif
 
#313
frankie5string said:
That's more because of the irony behind the US lack of culture and history. The USA really has no culture when you compare it to ANYWHERE in Europe.

So while yes, it may be very limiting to be stuck playing culturally significant music, many Americans would do well to get a dose of culture beyond the mere 250 years they actually have on the world.
Click to expand...

Well I guess you are right... But!

You can play blues - and people will love you.
You can play funk - people will love you
You can play jazz - people will love you
You can play country - people will love you
You can play hip-hop - people will love you

List goes on and on... And I just can't express myself enough how jealous I am of your situation guys. Your "lack" of culture only made it richer and wider. You have just enough patriotism and love to your country to value your own products and respect them.

You have gospel churches you have nashville you have... oh well. You get my point.
 
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#314
Sparkl said:
It is true what you say and it makes perfect sense. But there is no such thing as jumping on the band wagon of a superstar and then say "look at me, earning pretty pennies n' poop". These guys have rigged bands that always play for them and you can't just pop along and do your thing. Even though there are a lot of people who could certainly do it better.

Also, I don't have the fortune to live in the US where there still is a thing called musical freedom up to an extent, where you can actually play something else then just oberkrainer music for the whole life. Even top famous non-oberkrainer bands struggle where I come from financially.

But that's not my point anyways. I simply wish that a band could charge fair money for good quality music and actually being able to pay the damn rent and bills without resorting to shady things, like working 5 jobs and being paid on hands in order to avoid taxes and other similar stuff. The story goes deep and would require me to explain the whole system I live in in order to understand.

Just my 50 cents on the topic and some "fun-facts" for US readers to get a grasp of how things are in Europe.

Also, the recent "indoor generation" boom solved all problems of new incoming public that we could entertain. NOT. I am 27 years old and still almost the youngest in clubs. At the same time, when I was 16, we had a crapload of teenager bands trying to explore stuff and eager to play. All that eagerness went god knows where.
Click to expand...

I think you’ll find that the music scene is better in Europe than in the US.
 
#316
jnsnj said:
Your example is terrible. I know many people who work on cars as a hobby. Usually classic or drag racing cars. If I needed help with my car they would absolutely help me with it for free or little cost. The last time I needed a repair that I couldn't do myself I took it to a friend. He wasn't actually able to do it himself and called a friend of his that I didn't know. Cost me $40 for a stranger to fix my car that would have cost $300 at the shop.
Click to expand...

Yes, but the backyard mechanic is not a large factor in comparison to the number of cars on the road.
 
#317
frankie5string said:
That's more because of the irony behind the US lack of culture and history. The USA really has no culture when you compare it to ANYWHERE in Europe.

So while yes, it may be very limiting to be stuck playing culturally significant music, many Americans would do well to get a dose of culture beyond the mere 250 years they actually have on the world.
Click to expand...
And then there's Canada....
 
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#318
But that's the thing. That's all changing. The US has an Indoor Generation, too. People aren't going out to bars the same way, and they're definitely not drinking the way they used to.

It's a slower deterioration, but it's happening.

Sparkl said:
Well I guess you are right... But!

You can play blues - and people will love you.
You can play funk - people will love you
You can play jazz - people will love you
You can play country - people will love you
You can play hip-hop - people will love you

List goes on and on... And I just can't express myself enough how jealous I am of your situation guys. Your "lack" of culture only made it richer and wider. You have just enough patriotism and love to your country to value your own products and respect them.

You have gospel churches you have nashville you have... oh well. You get my point.
Click to expand...
 
#319
jnsnj said:
Your example is terrible. I know many people who work on cars as a hobby. Usually classic or drag racing cars. If I needed help with my car they would absolutely help me with it for free or little cost. The last time I needed a repair that I couldn't do myself I took it to a friend. He wasn't actually able to do it himself and called a friend of his that I didn't know. Cost me $40 for a stranger to fix my car that would have cost $300 at the shop.
Click to expand...

Oh you took it to your friend and he asked his friend to do him a favor. Well... we do this in my country all the time... It's called "connections" :)

But this is irrelevant to the problem at hand.

Your friend's friend certainly probably doesn't have a big poster in front of his workshop that he repairs cars for 40 bucks :)

Thing with bands... Once you start playing for low bucks you will almost always play for low bucks. Word gets around quickly.
 

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