Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
How "catty" is your local scene?
- Thread starter glocke1
- Start date
I don’t think anyone in the history of music ever got better at playing jazz by wishing for it.
You know what to do.
You know what to do.
working on it, been hitting ensemble workshops the past 6 months and now lessons on double bass are starting up...it's a slow process though. Years of not working on the material has taken a toll.
The music scene as a whole is doing an excellent job ignoring everything anyone else does where I'm from.
No one goes out to support.
But no one gives anyone doodoo either.
No one goes out to support.
But no one gives anyone doodoo either.
What I suspected, from reading some of your other posts.
As you know, a unique scene. It's countercultural of course, and that extends to musical ability. It's usually wonderful, in that free loving, all inclusive way. But it, like any culture, has its downside. The Music, and spontaneous creation, and nurturing the loose vibe, takes precedence. Some folks and some bands are really good players and can hang in any genre. Others not so much but it doesn't matter. I started my first Dead related band in 1986, well before anyone used the term "jam band," which I can't stand. But I had always also played other styles too, and have done so in the ensuing years.
Now that scene is so huge and while I still love the MUSIC, and the loving, inclusive vibe, there's things that go with it that I can't stand, just like the scene was back when Jerry was alive and I went to a lot of shows. Too many really delusional, lost young people, AND old ones too, and an unhealthy tolerance of substance abuse. But what really gets me, like it did in the old days, is the Pavlovian exuberance toward performances that frankly suck. Of course, I KNOW it's about the songs, the music, but the Dead's thing was they were always on the edge, "without a net," because they were good enough to still hit those magic moments. Few of the bands I've seen now mimicking that actually pull it off. So it's kinda like classical music in a way, it's a museum presentation. (Then there's the vocals...oh boy...)
Of course none of my rambling pertains to your situation, except maybe yes, definitely broaden your horizons, listen to and play other styles.
Edit. I recently moved to my town, and there's A HUGE and thriving GD scene, maybe 6,7,8 bands and combinations. I don't really know how catty it is since I'm not really in it, I don't really know them yet. From the outside it appears all lovey-dovey... but who knows?
Music scene in my area is nonexistent. Places that have music for the most part have “singer / songwriter” acts that play for tips.
Dunno, still sounds like mostly just the people involved, rather than the whole scene. A bit of 'familiarity breeds contempt'. You're seeing the worst of the bunch you've been around the longest, while this new group is still showing their shiny, new best selves.
Pretty supportive here. About the only cattiness I see is 'hobbyist vs 'real' musician' stuff.
Pretty supportive here. About the only cattiness I see is 'hobbyist vs 'real' musician' stuff.
Seems like he budget for live music is $600 with two players or fifteen. You can make more with play to pay and a good following. Most of the better paying events are booked by out of town booking agents looking to fill in holes in their roster of band’s schedules, and don’t give a rip about local bands.
I’ve worked with two bands in town, a 6 piece British Invasion for a while that had consistent work in the pub circuit clearing $50-$60 bucks a night and currently, work with an 8 piece corporate event/wedding band with seasoned professional level players, a great commercial song list that can cover gigs requiring music from the last 80 years. We booked exactly 2 shows this year that paid triple digits. The other gigs, we gross somewhere around $50-$60 a person.
Its the opposite here. Everybody cheers each other on, sits in, invites folks up from the crowd for a tune or two, etc. There are very few sour competitive types - they just don't last. Its a good scene, very communal.
i'm with Paulabass --- it's age-related.
talking smack/"catty" consistently is something young idiots do (i was young once!). cats in their 40's behaving that way doesn't surprise me: 40 = the new 20 for many, especially musicians, especially older musicians stuck in their delusions (the kind who don't practice enough!).
at my old age: these issues are hilarious.
talking smack/"catty" consistently is something young idiots do (i was young once!). cats in their 40's behaving that way doesn't surprise me: 40 = the new 20 for many, especially musicians, especially older musicians stuck in their delusions (the kind who don't practice enough!).
at my old age: these issues are hilarious.
i'm with Paulabass --- it's age-related.
talking smack/"catty" consistently is something young idiots do (i was young once!). cats in their 40's behaving that way doesn't surprise me: 40 = the new 20 for many, especially musicians, especially older musicians stuck in their delusions (the kind who don't practice enough!).
at my old age: these issues are hilarious.
My experience has been the opposite...it's the crusty old timers who were often too lazy to ever get any good who think they are entitled to all the jobs simply because they've been around since the dawn of time.
I'm in Richmond too although a new guy, less than two years. Lucky enough to land in an established long time soul band in town. We usually get $100+ but when we do the occasional bar it's $80, never less.
Now, I know when I branch out and start my own "fun" project, the scene is such that it'll likely truly be for fun and beer money.
