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Get off my LAWN! "Grumpy Old Farts"

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#5,541
Money? You mean you can get paid for playing???
I just do it now cuz it's cheaper than counseling or therapy. I've gotten too antisocial to play in a band any more. Don't like crowds or drunks and bars are pretty much the only gigs around here.
Regarding age and hearing, I've had tinnitus for years and discovered that besides the usual age related high end roll off, I've got a gap in my hearing centered around 3800Hz. I've also noticed that it's really hard to make out individual conversations in a crowded room now too, but I think that's tied to the high end loss.
 
#5,542
Sorry to hear about your hearing brotha ric. I got the high end loss and had it since I was in my 20's. Too many hours standing by turned up jet engines. I've been very careful to keep what's left and have very little additional loss. I'm more likely to wear hearing protection than safety glasses. I like loud music, but I keep the HF turned down and go for it in short spurts.
 
#5,544
Ken Morgan said:
OK... so I've been thinking: why are we still doing this music thing if we are making the same (or less) money that we did 30 yrs ago?
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I've had a few jobs (over the years) that made me a thousand dollars. 3 Times in 50 years. By and large, most local bands that I play in make EXACTLY the same that we did in the 70s. Bars always seems to be the worst. The closest I ever came to beating the hell out of a bar owner was once, in 1971 - when the owner offered us "20% of the door". We had around 500 folks come in that night and at the end he gave us $100. It was a $10 cover at the door.....Never made that mistake again.

On occasion, I have played corporate gigs that paid the band really well, but (in the words of the band leader) was "re-invested in the "band" for advertising, T-Shirts and what not. I never really lasted that long with them. I don't like playing for $11,000 and each band member getting $300 (5 Piece).....never seems "above board".

I guess that in all reality, the "public" in general, looks at local bands like they are a hobby and never taken too seriously...But seriously, when you open for Jethro Tull and make $500 - well.....there you go. Once, we volunteered to play a "first ever" concert for "Toys for Tots" back in like 71-72. It was a great gig in an arena - some 18,000 folks and we had the time of our lives! Didn't make a dime and I would do it again today, if I could.

Ah!! youth!!
 
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#5,545
Ken Morgan said:
I'm not really dead end complaining, just observing...music scene is really dead in west Texas, but there are those of us trying to keep the life support plugged in. Just not sustainable at the moment it seems.

Studio work ... I owned and operated a mid level facility with near 3/4 million bux worth of gear in it, until my lease got higher than the studio's monthly intake (boom town), so I closed it...went to work for a millionaire's vanity studio, that just didn't work out, so...

Life goes on, age happens, what's left of workable hearing range disappears, etc etc etc...and here we are - still picking, which is a dean sight better off than a plurality of peers, many of whom are just stupidly talented.

It is ---- what it is, and shall continue to be that
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Indeed. It is what it is. I have since retired from the "corporate world" with a nice pension to the mountains of Colorado. I play when I want to and don't worry about the cash. However, I will state this: I don't cart a ton of gear any longer....my Wife is a retired Nurse and she won't allow it....so the Markbass 121P with the NY extension usually get a workout. I LOVE going through the FOH!!!
 
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#5,546
BadExample said:
I sure would hate to try and earn a living here as a musician. Really, self employment is not good for me. If something happened to my current job, I'd probably do it, and make more hourly money, but I hate selling myself. You know, drumming up business. Then the time it takes to get it rolling and head above water.

I was going to open a whore house, then I found out you have to start out running it by hand.
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When you did that interview.. you were selling your self then! I know.. it is hard to lie a tad to impress that PM, but somethings just have to be done.

agedhorse said:
Horse business is not much differen than the music business ;)
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A horse is a horse of course, but people are strange! I am out of the hobby myself.. not horses of course! But on the other hand i bought a new to me toy.. It needs a tab bit of sprucing up.. but i might even make a penny with it if i play my cards right.

20170429_190318.jpg
 
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#5,547
Nice!
99Z3 said:
When you did that interview.. you were selling your self then! I know.. it is hard to lie a tad to impress that PM, but somethings just have to be done.
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Other than pretty myself up, I just go in and be myself and tell the truth. But yah, everyone has to sell themselves to some degree.
99Z3 said:
A horse is a horse of course, but people are strange!
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Especially when you are a stranger.

So, I take it you milled the rest of that beer off after taking the pic :D
 
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#5,548
agedhorse said:
Horse business is not much differen than the music business ;)
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My cousin in S. IL did $100K of horse biz at least one year. Her older brother told me, but he didn't say how much she kept. So he told me to ask her how many she had and that she'd have to count. So I did, and she counted them up, just under 20. Can't be very high dollar horses down there, so that's a lot of horse trading. She follows up and if they aren't taking care of them, she takes them back.
 
#5,551
I imagine that was about the peak in her horse trading. Her husband passed away and both of her boys have moved out, one to collage, the other to the army. She's one tough little girl. She had already lost her mom and only sister to cancer. I don't know how she keeps it together.
 
#5,555
sharkbait130 said:
Haven't posted in here for a while. Just nothing to be grumpy about lately , until now. Motorcycle accident yesterday , two broken bones in the left hand and probably in a cast for 4 to 6 weeks. Aww heck , it'll heal so I can't even get too grumpy about his. Carry on.Invalid Link Removed
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You tore your pants as well! All the best with the recovery.

I drove a motor bike for years, was trained in high school by a stunt driver. If you can perform detailed figures driving on narrow boards and avoiding obstacles, you can safely drive on the road. Would never go back though. Too many close calls on big highways with idiots what can't see a bike on the road.
 
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