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Does anyone ever worry about getting too old....
- Thread starter scorpionldr
- Start date
+1
there seems to be a growing interest in virtual bands on youtube and finding like minded guys should be no problem there........im not sure of how the nuts and bolts of it work but check out some guys there doing virtual covers of deep purple as Virtual Purple...
...it plays as a five way split screen and maybe these types of efforts are downloadable for posterity....the bass player's u tube name is munkybarz .....there was another virtual band featured on cable ..talk tv a while ago with an american girl on bass and a brit on drums or guitar etc....
There's the little stuff that you don't pay attention to that "makes" it. Even if it's not "big" in the grand scheme of things- you have to enjoy what you get. Sometimes it doesn't hit you until YEARS later.
Fifteen or so years ago I was in a regionally popular indie rock band. We weren't rock stars, we weren't famous. We put out a few records and it was fun, and I really thought it was going places- I wasn't jaded enough to know otherwise at the time. Stuff like getting invited to SXSW by SXSW- which I guess doesn't happen- you apply to play. Getting a record on the CMJ charts- it wasn't Billboard so I didn't pay much attention to it... having some guy in an airport clear across the country, 10 years later ask you if you played with your old band... talking to some guy on the intArwebs and having him ask "did you guys put out the 45 with the little girl holding the dead turkey..." having people say they saw your band when they were kids, and it made them want to play music...
That kind of stuff is awesome.
46 this year; been gigging 30 years.
I'm enjoying playing even more now than I did 10 and 20 years ago, but am also being very selective about the gigs and musicians I dedicate my time to.
Still loving the art of music.
I'm enjoying playing even more now than I did 10 and 20 years ago, but am also being very selective about the gigs and musicians I dedicate my time to.
Still loving the art of music.
I started lessons in reading music and playing drums when I was ten. Started giggin' when I was fourteen. Picked up the banjo and the bass along the way. I'll be 60 next month and, like Geoff, I have some problems: 4 screws and a plate in my left wrist, 10 screws, 2 rods and a plate from L1-L5 in my back, etc. I play drums iin one band (Steely Dan, Van Morrison, Stevie Wonder), EUB in a bluegrass/country foursome and EUB/BG in an original music trio (think James Taylor/Dan Fogelburg). If it was suppose to stop I missed the exit ramp...
I'll be 44 tomorrow, and I didn't even pick up an instrument of any kind until I was 40. I have a daily job with a 200 mile round trip commute, and 10 year-old boy to take care of. I still have time to be in a gigging band.
You're a role model for all of us. Keep it up!
"Old age and treachery can overcome youth and skill" -- Ancient Greek proverb
- Mar 24, 2005
- 1,625
- 44
- 81
- Disclosures
- Seymour Duncan/Basslines SMB-5A Endorsing Artist
At 63, I'm too busy (both in the studio AND on stage) to worry about "getting too old to play music" . . . some of you may know about some of my credits from the late 60's thru the 80's as a musician and audio engineer in Los Angeles . . . but it's only been relatively recently, here in Mexico, that I've really "matured" as both musician and recording engineer . . .
Although I DO agree with you that a music "career" is best seen as an on-going journey (and that your music "will be the better for it.") and I AM proud of the fact that I play for "the love of playing" . . . I DO earn money, meet "friendly" youngish women and HAVE gained a bit of fame* with my group "El Haragan y Compania", but that's not the REASON that I play with them . . . I play with the group (since 1993!) because I like the variety of musical styles that we're able to play for our fans . . . the lyrics are VERY honest, reflecting the day-to-day realities of life in the barrio . . . and I like the guys . . .
I recieved my 1st Grammy nomination in 1970 as a member of the Don Ellis Orchestra . . . and many more over the years, both as a musician and as a recording engineer. Finally, in 2003, I won the 1st of my Grammys (and Latin Grammys) for work I did as an engineer . . . in 2006 my work (as engineer and as bassist) won both again . . . as of today, my work has won 3 Grammys and 5 Latin Grammys . . .
I guess what I'm trying to say is that, like many of the "old" jazz musicians (and B.B. King, too!), I want to continue playing music and making award-winning recordings until, literaly, I die . . .
*like has happened several times in Mexico City's Metro (subway system) . . . being recognized (in a city of more than 20 million people) and being asked where we're playing next . . .
At 63, I'm too busy (both in the studio AND on stage) to worry about "getting too old to play music" . . . some of you may know about some of my credits from the late 60's thru the 80's as a musician and audio engineer in Los Angeles . . . but it's only been relatively recently, here in Mexico, that I've really "matured" as both musician and recording engineer . . .
Although I DO agree with you that a music "career" is best seen as an on-going journey (and that your music "will be the better for it.") and I AM proud of the fact that I play for "the love of playing" . . . I DO earn money, meet "friendly" youngish women and HAVE gained a bit of fame* with my group "El Haragan y Compania", but that's not the REASON that I play with them . . . I play with the group (since 1993!) because I like the variety of musical styles that we're able to play for our fans . . . the lyrics are VERY honest, reflecting the day-to-day realities of life in the barrio . . . and I like the guys . . .
I recieved my 1st Grammy nomination in 1970 as a member of the Don Ellis Orchestra . . . and many more over the years, both as a musician and as a recording engineer. Finally, in 2003, I won the 1st of my Grammys (and Latin Grammys) for work I did as an engineer . . . in 2006 my work (as engineer and as bassist) won both again . . . as of today, my work has won 3 Grammys and 5 Latin Grammys . . .
I guess what I'm trying to say is that, like many of the "old" jazz musicians (and B.B. King, too!), I want to continue playing music and making award-winning recordings until, literaly, I die . . .
*like has happened several times in Mexico City's Metro (subway system) . . . being recognized (in a city of more than 20 million people) and being asked where we're playing next . . .
There's no 'Thumbs Up' emoticon here!!!
Anyway, more power to your elbow, Man.
G.
I remember freaking out a little when I was almost 30. I just turned 50, and have no intentions of slowing down. I have all the gear I wished I had in my 20's, and tons more expirience than I ever imagined I would. The only limitations on any of us, are the ones we put on ourselves. Everthing else is just a matter of what you want it to be.
I'm actually surprised to see so many older guys on here still going strong. Always reassuring. I've felt perpetually like an old man since I was a teenager for some reason, so I always feel like time is slipping away. You can bass it up until you stop breathing though, so enjoy. Beats the hell out of golf.
Older musicians are more in demand now than they've been in 50 years. Rock and roll fooled people into thinking that old people were irrelevant. But now that these early rockers are getting old and still want to play, they're changing their tune. And they still draw crowds because people are finally realizing that there's a depth to them that you can't get in young performers. I'm 47 and making more money and getting more work than I ever have. I'd rather be doing what Deaf Pea is doing, but I'm not too bad off.
"hope I die before I get old" - how long ago did they change their minds on that one? 
I hear you on the ticking clock of time. Have you heard They Might Be Giants song Older? Their usual mocking take on serious subjects.
My favorite quote on getting older is from an elderly gentleman from church: "not older, just closer."
I was in a rock band where the between song chat was about RV's and parents in nursing homes, if that's any comfort.
I hear you on the ticking clock of time. Have you heard They Might Be Giants song Older? Their usual mocking take on serious subjects.
My favorite quote on getting older is from an elderly gentleman from church: "not older, just closer."
I was in a rock band where the between song chat was about RV's and parents in nursing homes, if that's any comfort.
Ted Nugent is 60, and he still tears it up.
Turning 30 was hard for me. I always thought that after 30 was too late to be taken seriously as a rock musician. I've played more goth/metal/industrial gigs, in front of more people, in the last 4 years than I ever did in all the years before that I turned 30.
40, on the other hand, is the end of life for a musician.
Turning 30 was hard for me. I always thought that after 30 was too late to be taken seriously as a rock musician. I've played more goth/metal/industrial gigs, in front of more people, in the last 4 years than I ever did in all the years before that I turned 30.
40, on the other hand, is the end of life for a musician.
Well, I am old ... certainly older than most here at TB, for sure, although there are some that have me beat by a few years or so. Started playing for pay when I was 12, now almost 58, so that's 46 years of gigging. Almost 30 of those years were as a full-time musician, now I'm an active part-time/semi-pro/whatever-you-want-to-call-it musician.
Nope, I don't worry about getting older, although I can't imagine being in my late '70's and still gigging like I do now. But who knows, maybe that'll happen .... actually, who really knows what the music entertainment industry will be like in 20 years? The best I can do is try to stay current with what's going on and see where I fit into that scene ...
I've had very good success and I've had massive failure. I made some great decisions and I've also made some of the biggest mistakes in my life, but truthfully I don't regret any of it. If I had to do it all over again, there are some things I would change, but in general I'm happy with how things have turned out so far.
One thing I know for sure: When I was 29 years old I had no idea that 29 years later I'd be playing 7 & 8 string basses in a classic rock band So who knows what I'll be doing 29 years from now (assuming I'm not taking the dirt nap ) .....
Nope, I don't worry about getting older, although I can't imagine being in my late '70's and still gigging like I do now. But who knows, maybe that'll happen .... actually, who really knows what the music entertainment industry will be like in 20 years? The best I can do is try to stay current with what's going on and see where I fit into that scene ...
I've had very good success and I've had massive failure. I made some great decisions and I've also made some of the biggest mistakes in my life, but truthfully I don't regret any of it. If I had to do it all over again, there are some things I would change, but in general I'm happy with how things have turned out so far.
One thing I know for sure: When I was 29 years old I had no idea that 29 years later I'd be playing 7 & 8 string basses in a classic rock band
So who knows what I'll be doing 29 years from now (assuming I'm not taking the dirt nap ) ..... 
