I’m Retiring

[BASSDROID]

Dig.

Congratulations on your retirement and relocation! NC is truly a wonderful place. I just spent a beautiful spring weekend in Asheville last month with family and it was magnificent in every way.

Like many responding to this thread I really came to appreciate playing after I decided that making a living at playing wasn't for me. Finding a day job that suits me was also a big piece of the puzzle.

At 57, I am still fairly active but doing the kinds of playing that doesn't feel like work and exclusively with people that I enjoy being around.

I imagine I will continue to do that until things change, which they inevitably will. I've always said I don't want to be that guy back there struggling who should have retired 5 years ago. I guess I won't know what that means until I get there.

Doing a little bit of teaching has been rewarding too. I live in a medium small city where there are not a lot of double bass players or doublers, which incidentally makes it tough to find a sub when one is needed. But, I've had a few kids come along In the last decade or two who have shown more than passing interest in the double bass which has been nice to see.

 

[GretschWretch]

'I love playing music, but I hate everything else involved.'

I know that feeling exactly.

When I got to the point where the idea of getting dressed, loading up, and going to stand in a dark room full of party-hardies with mostly clueless musicians on stage was just something I really, really dreaded, it was time for JW to hang up his guns. So I did.

I still play around the house when the notion strikes me, but I discovered so much I'd missed sleeping with a damn bass for all those years, the total preoccupation with it all. There's a whole world full of everything out there that doesn't care one bit about basses, amps, gigs, and staying current, and I missed out on so much.

Not any more. I've developed or rediscovered many things, and broadened myself. All Bass All the Time made JW a very dull boy in many ways.

And honestly, the musical ecosystem I came up, those styles of music and performance are as dead as propellor airliners and steam locomotives. I work around much younger people with their music playing, and it dawns on me why they think it's 'yacht rock', their music is so different, and frankly not for me. Time and taste have moved on as they should and always will. It's now someone else's musical time.

I always enjoyed your obviously paid-yer-dues advice and experience and wish you All the Best in your new life, you EARNED it.

JW

Is the dullness the reason you wear a mask?

 

[Tim Skaggs]

Surely you can still hang out here on TB and tell old gig stories, and I’m sure you have plenty.

I’m looking at pulling the cord out of the amp in the not too distant future. It is becoming more a chore and less an enjoyment, but setup & teardown is my exercise regimen so I’ll have to replace that.

I finish the last year of a decade & start a new one in October. The new one starts with an odd number & I can’t see finishing it still gigging, although the drummer in my current band is a full half decade ahead of me and still pounding away, however, he couldn’t hear a freight train run over him…

Best of luck and life to you and let us know here on TB if you are gonna sell one of the JB lamps…

 

[bassbrad]

@JimmyM more power to you and hopefully you can find some worthy local talent to continue your journey as a musucian. I totally get where you're coming from as I had pretty much resigned myself to personal musical pursuits for reasons of a similar frustration and health concerns. Last year I got a call to cover a gig that a previous bass player had abandoned a week before I knew the tunes so agreed. It was a blast, nice people and they really appreciated what I laid down at the gig so we are still playing regularly, not for much money but the musican rewards make it worthwhile.

 

[jerry]

I had to retire after 50 years of gigging in 2023 because of advanced old-man-itis, It was very hard for me,.still is. I wasn't done, I just ran out of road. I thought I would never retire too, but pain blows.
I was blessed though, never without a gig and for the most part, always played with cats better than me.

 

[Gopherbassist]

Rocky and the Rollers. Horrible name

How dare you, sir!

 

[DWBass]

I love playing music, but I hate everything else involved. The driving, the flying, and especially dictator bandleaders with hair trigger tempers who pretend to have your best interests at heart, like the leader of the oldies band I was with for 20 years, Rocky and the Rollers. Horrible name, very angry person.

Two years ago I moved from Orlando to a small town in NC, and I have been threatening to get back out. But if I did, the drives for finding quality work would always be at least an hour, and mostly more. And no matter how quality the work is, it ends up being minimum wage with the driving. And I have no desire to fly at all anymore because the math works out to way less than minimum wage. Working at Piggly Wiggly a mile away pays better in the long run…not that I’m doing that

But the main reason is because sitting at home doing my own thing and relearning the drums is a lot more rewarding than being bossed around by cranky old farts. And let’s face it…music is a young person’s game unless you’re an old rock star.

So I’m retiring unless I get a great offer from the nicest people on earth and get paid much better than I did before. That means I’m retiring.

Swore I’d never retire, but I haven’t played in 2 years and don’t miss it. What I do love, however, is my new role as the town crazy cat lady. I have a lot of competition here, but a half grown kitten dropped 5 babies on my front porch last week out of nowhere, and I’m having way more fun than I have in a long time.

Giving up music will never be in the cards for me, but retirement can be pretty badass!

Retirement will be temporary. Been there, done that. Form your own band that plays local.

 

[Deleted member 409896]

You’re right. I should have said that trying to make a living out of music is a young person’s game. It can be done, but you hang by a thread the entire time, young or old, and I’m not willing to do it.

Took me a good 20 years to start really getting into music, but yeah, I'm not giving up my day job.

I'll be happy if I can play the occasional gig around/near town, and at least have gas money and maybe a meal out of it. I won't go on the road; there's not enough money in it.

Was talking this over with the rest of the band the other day. There's not much money in the gigging, but there's some in merchandising.

Either way, I don't expect to make a living off music. That would be nice, but is basically a thing of the past in today's world unless you're already independently wealthy, AFAICT.

Given how broken the US economy is, I'll still never be able to retire, buy a new car, or own a home, despite a relatively "well-paying" day job. I would be even further in the hole though, if I tried to get paid to play bass full-time.

Anyway, congrats on retirement!

 

[thehindteet]

Your post just happened to show up as the first in the most-recent-posts list, and when I read it I realized it was weird timing since this is something I have been thinking about a lot lately. The thing that has really been weighing on me heavily during the last few years is how many really good artists I have worked and traveled all over the place with who are struggling and its gotten to be painful to see them getting worn down. The sparks that used to make them want to write new material or arrangements don't seem to come anymore, and over time the sets lose their energy. Combine that with a lot of our old favorite venues closing or going in a different direction, and the expression I used to find myself using that it feels too much like work doesn't even work. It feels kind of like visiting somebody at the hospital.

I started to notice that the only time I really feel the old joy in playing (aside from the studio, which I still love) are those random opportunities where people drop by my house or me theirs and we play some random stuff someone wrote or standards etc. I definitely feel lucky to have had great audiences but it's not the feeling that I crave, which is the joy of just making music spontaneously with good personal interaction. I also find myself wanting to go see other people's groups much less but I enjoy the really special shows as much as I ever did, so I keep thinking there's a better way for people to be performing. Maybe I'll figure out what that is, but in the meanwhile it's been kind of a huge relief to do what you did, take a hiatus and work on something new for a while.

I've been in and out of language lessons since I was a kid, and was thinking about the series of columns Jeff Berlin wrote ages ago about deciding to learn spanish as an adult, and discovered that a lot of what I learned about practicing challenging music in my 30s and 40s turns out to be exactly what I was missing and what Jeff was hinting at in his articles. So that's been the big silver lining for getting fed up with gigging, and I know I can go back any time if things change.

Anyway best of luck with your retirement and I hope the new space in your time winds up bringing you joy in some new form!

 

[Just go for it]

Bye and good luck!

 

[Jessefar84]

I love playing music, but I hate everything else involved. The driving, the flying, and especially dictator bandleaders with hair trigger tempers who pretend to have your best interests at heart, like the leader of the oldies band I was with for 20 years, Rocky and the Rollers. Horrible name, very angry person.

Two years ago I moved from Orlando to a small town in NC, and I have been threatening to get back out. But if I did, the drives for finding quality work would always be at least an hour, and mostly more. And no matter how quality the work is, it ends up being minimum wage with the driving. And I have no desire to fly at all anymore because the math works out to way less than minimum wage. Working at Piggly Wiggly a mile away pays better in the long run…not that I’m doing that

But the main reason is because sitting at home doing my own thing and relearning the drums is a lot more rewarding than being bossed around by cranky old farts. And let’s face it…music is a young person’s game unless you’re an old rock star.

So I’m retiring unless I get a great offer from the nicest people on earth and get paid much better than I did before. That means I’m retiring.

Swore I’d never retire, but I haven’t played in 2 years and don’t miss it. What I do love, however, is my new role as the town crazy cat lady. I have a lot of competition here, but a half grown kitten dropped 5 babies on my front porch last week out of nowhere, and I’m having way more fun than I have in a long time.

Giving up music will never be in the cards for me, but retirement can be pretty badass!

your doing total opposite of my situation I've stepped away for 20 years and getting back into it my band is pretty chill but sometimes i forget how much work is involved playing in a band ( it was so much easier when I was 18 ) but honestly been best therapy I could get playing live music again. I do get your situation I could not handle someone with a ego trip acting like they are going for a record deal with a cover band. anyways best of luck in your retirement.

 

[kesslari]

Jimmy, I wish you satisfaction with whatever you do next. I know you'll do it well.

 

[Gopherbassist]

I'm in the exact opposite boat. I'm looking at middle age rushing up on me. My life kinda sucks. I have hated literally every job I've ever had. I'm looking at music and thinking "why haven't I ever made a go of this?"

If I venture out and don't make it, so what? That puts me in the same boat as 99.9% of everyone who has ever tried to have a job in entertainment.

If I get in to the grind and it turns out I hate it, well that leaves me right where I am now. What would I lose doing that?

And there's that teeny, tiny chance I could make a decent living and enjoy the work. It's more likely than winning the lottery, isn't it?

 

[Carl Hillman]

Mazel Tov, Jimmy!

Enjoy your new life of not having to work for The Man.

 

[jimmydean]

As soon as you hang it up , a band will pop up and you are back in the game........good luck either way .

 

[Deleted member 409896]

I'm looking at music and thinking "why haven't I ever made a go of this?"

on a similar vibe, I have been loosely following a woman in the UK who's made the abrupt transition from psychiatrist to professional bass player over the last year or two. She goes by the YT moniker "Duchess of Westcliff."

I don't watch every episode, but some of them have been really fun. Example, listening to her describe how she figured out how to play walking bass lines.

She doesn't get into such details, but I wonder how much of her new career is enabled by socking away cash from her former one. Personally, if I were dumb enough to think I could make a living playing bass, I'd be homeless in a year or so, tops. Cost of living in the UK is supposedly even more ridiculous than where I live, so I do wonder how she makes it work.

 

[JazznFunk]

Respect, Jimmy. I've always appreciated your posts and insight on all things on these boards. I share a lot of the same views (and aversions) you have toward the 'live performance as my day job' paradigm. I did the road, I did the 4-bands-at-a-time thing, I put gigs that paid peanuts above quality time with my wife and family on some occasions just to 'be seen on the scene', and more. I have a lot of good memories, but I also got burned by thinking that we were 'more than a band - we're family' on a few occasions. I hated the road, hated coming back with less money than we left with, and if we broke even it still didn't feel like a 'win.' The music was the best part of it all, always. It was the downtime and the drama in between that was untenable. I had things I wanted to do in my life that being in a full-time band that wasn't really making livable money after taxes was not going to allow me to do. I knew the only way I was going to be truly happy in music was to control my own destiny by being a band/project leader and booking only the gigs I want to play, for the right money (the power of 'NO' for lowball pay is powerful), doing music I write, or songs others wrote that fit my vision of what I want my band/project to be, and working a day gig in a music-adjacent field. Thankfully, that shift happened. I've been a much happier, much more fulfilled MUSICIAN and composer ever since. There are plenty of people (even on these boards) who think that if you aren't gigging 200+ days a year that you aren't as 'valid' of a player and musician, and I call bee ess on that. Our paths are our paths.

I don't think any of us ever truly 'retire' from music in the degree that we stop playing and never pick up an instrument again.... but I think we can certainly 'retire' one version/vision of what it means to be a 'musician'. We all go through seasons in our artistic and personal lives. May whatever 'season' you enter next be great!

 

[Deleted member 409896]

working a day gig in a music-adjacent field.

this is reality IMO.

The BL of my current band-shaped situation has been in a number of active, gigging bands, but he pays the bills primarily by providing music instruction.

Being part of a two-income household helps also, a trick I never managed to pull off.

 

[logdrum]

Cat Lady?

 

[JazznFunk]

Being part of a two-income household helps also, a trick I never managed to pull off.

Yep. I've always been part of a 2-income household, and I've always had at least one (sometimes 2 ) day gig(s) throughout my entire career.... but there were times around 2008 where I was unemployed/under-employed after the financial crisis, and my wife shouldered a lot of the burden. I hated that feeling. Gigs actually sustained me decently through that time, to a point. I was grateful for music, my band(s), and bandmates in those difficult times.

And yes - what you pointed out is a dirty little secret that a lot of 'full time musicians' aren't as transparent about, or won't admit to in order to 'keep up appearances': most of the people I know who *are* full time freelance musicians, marketing themselves as such, taking every gig under the sun (even ones they hate), often are still in 2 income households.... and the gig money after taxes is still peanuts when it comes down to it. The truly single-earner full timers I know do not make enough off of gigs alone to thrive. It honestly depends on a lot of factors, including cost of living and what gigs pay where you're gigging primarily.