Don't bitch if your young and just starting

It's so cool grooving with people, Man.

I'm forty-five, and had put down the bass for over twenty years. I've been playing again for about three years now, have made a couple thousand dollars playing gigs in the last one-year, and love playing more than ever now.

It sure is harder than it used to be tearing-down, loading-up, and driving home at two-thirty in the morning, though!

Joe

 

43 and will be 44 right after the new year...last band was high school...new band for the last 3+
months getting ready to get out and play...i used to do my own music and got nowhere so i play covers classic rock...like ZZ etc and I am lovin it.

 

I'm young, but I find that it's you older guys that do the bitching.

 

maybe you could give the cover bands a try... find some music you like playing - there ought to be some money involved somewhere in there and it should help you get recognised!

finding a decent original band, then one that does your taste is difficult.. no doubt. gluck

 

You talkin to me sonny?

 

I'm 41, and gig regularly in a cover band. I'm also the YOUNGEST guy in the band. I didn't play out from ages 21 to 36, because of work requirements, and I don't know how I survived without it. It ain't no mid life crises. Just go out and have fun!

 

Like CheezeWiz, I'm 41 and the youngest in the band! We only do covers, and it's great to have enough songs to play 2 nights in a row and barely repeat any songs. I haven't done originals in almost 20 years. The other upside to this whole cover thing is that we all know what parts to practice before, and when we get into a room, it's a rehearsal for a show, nothing more. As long as we know the song and can start and stop it relatively easily, we can get away with one or two rehearsals. There are even simple songs where if they get requested, we turn, call out the chords and go. Nothing more.

I'm still loving it!

 

Ive stopped and started playing bass and picked it up again less than a year ago. Maybe starting out with a cover band and branching into something later on (if it becomes not fun) is one way to go about it.

I joined a band when I picked bass back up and got some great experience and exposure in the scene, but later found my musical match in another band and have been happy ever after.

 

I'm 37 and am the youngest guy in the band by 8 years. These guys are the biggest kids I ever met. They are so into performing (lots of lights, smoke machine, big sound) that I wish I found them when I was younger so I could keep up! I'm having the time of my life and making good $ as well. And we just got our first Endorsement!

Nothing wrong with a working cover band.

A not-working cover band is a Soap Opera.

 

I actually like to sub in for other bands. I just recently started to Jam.. and grew to love it..so I have local guys call me up and ask to cover a night or two.. I think it's better than being in one band, you're open to different styles and techniques of playing.

 

I play with about four different age groups at the moment... one composed of guys my age with an older vocalist, all older cats for jazz standards, two guys my age, and a couple of older college students.

I find that allowing yourself to meld into any environment is far more beneficial than to completely say "f--- <age group> here." A lot can be learned from just playing music.

If you really want to do your own thing though, follow up on the idea of home production. I do it just to entertain myself when I'm not playing with others.

 

I come across this so much now (maybe it's just because I'm 46) that I just have to ask, at 40, what you believe you are going to do with originals? I feel that if you haven't "made it" by 30, you aren't ever going to. Now there's nothing wrong with wanting to write and perform your own stuff but, the only thing anyone is going to recognize is that you are a middle aged guy playing music that noone knows and probably, at least from what i've heard from most originals is that it is at best, average stuff. Not saying that your stuff isn't good. That's just what I have encountered. I hate rap music but, that sells right now. Fine. I'm not playin' it and I'm not listenin' to it. Currently music is as much about image as the music. Anybody wanna see a middle aged guy writin' songs about teenage angst or gettin' the girl? Go ahead and play tunes already penned about it because people recognize them. Leave the writing about it for younger kids.

When I visit a club or bar to see whats bein played, it's good, familiar rock and classic covers. Everyone recognizes it and has a good time. Much of it is played by middle aged guys and no one has a problem with it. When the invariable original comes up, people sit down and have a glazed look or talk to their friends.

Now, what could a middle aged guy write about? You could write songs about how your own teenager's angst, or his problems with girls/boys or maybe you can write about divorce or losin' your hair or your Buick sedan. Maybe songs about retirement accounts or your will or the fact that your 36" waist doesn't fit into those 30 inchers anymore.

Hey I'm not tryin' to burst your or anyone else's bubble. If you can "make it" with your stuff, at 40, congrats. But if you want to play and get some modestly paying gigs for the pleasure and satisfaction of playing music on a regular basis, covers is the way to go IMHO.

 

I've never heard anything so defeatist in my life, bottom feeder. To the original poster: Give it a little time, put some ads out in a local magazine that caters to musicians indicating your musical interests and influences, and see what you get. You may be surprised.

 

ajb, feel free to call it defeatist and flame me all you wish. I was commenting on the basis of what I've witnessed. I will be the first to give him kudos if it works out for him. I, for one, would love it if image didn't play such a huge role in marketability. Maybe his stuff is downright fabulous. If it is, will his image/age be appropriate with the material? If so, will that material produce a career or a marketable item? If he wishes to make his own music there is certainly nothing wrong with that. I got the feeling it was rock music rather than jazz or classical which could work out based on its less image conscious nature. Maybe I'm a recluse but, I can't think of any 40 yo current music stars that have just broken on to the scene. Not to say there aren't any. Maybe he can set a new trend. Am I being defeatist or just realistic? What is a particular point that you disagree with?

 

My intention was not to flame you, bottom feeder, just to state my belief that anything is possible, given enough hard work and ambition (a band like "Hootie & the Blowfish" comes to mind for a thirty or forty-something with commerical success in mind). Unlikely, yes. Impossible and not worth pursuing? Absolutely, one hundred percent no (I am only twenty six and you have far more experience than me, so maybe when I am forty I will look back at this and think: "What a child!")

My more specific disagreement is the assumption underlying your post that commercial success is indeed the intended target. There are many, many people carving out a living as musicians/bassists making artistic contributions to original projects (i.e., a session musician). I do not pretend to know what the original poster's goals are in music, but if a career in music is one of them, he has many avenues to explore (not just the commercial route you mentioned).

 

To quote Phil Hartman as Frank Sinatra............" I got chunks of guys like you in my stool!!!"

 

there are a few people that i play with that are 20+ years older than i am. doesn't stop me from playing with them. trying joining the cover bands and adding your own twist to the songs. there is a local band that plays all originals except for one (blur song 2) and they do it death metal style (they are a hard rock band) and everyone loves it

lowsound

 

I didn't play from my mid-30's to my mid-40's. I'm 56 and play in a blues band, both covers (2/3) and originals (1/3). We all collaborate on the originals and have a great time with them. Our originals are well received by audiences and recording originals also saves a bunch of money on royalties.

 

I'm glad that LoNote and LowTone agree.