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Is This Too Much Nothing?

MrBassman17

MrBassman17

Dec 30, 2011
781
581
74
Brewster, NY
#1
So, here's my situation. I am a member is several bands/combos. There is a four piece acoustic/electric group; we gig about once a month, rehearse weekly. Then there is another trio, we gig very seldomly, and recently haven't rehearsed at all. Another project is like a pick-up band. Three piece power blues oriented; we gig irregularly and rehearse sporadically. A good friend of mine who is a professional musician (drummer) has me backing up his wife & sister-in-law, with the intention of getting some paying gigs. As if this wasn't enough, I'm meeting with this guy who is a very talented guitarist/song writer, who I think want's me as an 'on call' bassist. He has a band, but the players are undependable, I think.

So, the question I've been asking myself, is : is this too much?

You should know that I'm retired, have all the time I need to get things done, and play as much as I want.
 
#5
As long as you want to do it and can meet all the obligations involved, why not?
I was doing 3 projects simultaneously, but it got to be exhausting. Now I'm down to one, but we gig about 3 out of 4 weekends. We only practice when we want to add new material or need to work in a sub drummer.
 
#8
MrBassman17 said:
So, the question I've been asking myself, is : is this too much?
You should know that I'm retired, have all the time I need to get things done, and play as much as I want.
Click to expand...

i'm in agreement with buldog5151bass 's point. maybe none of these endeavors are giving you enough real satisfaction.

i'm also retired: i depend on music for some income, but mostly for personal satisfaction/fulfillment. music is in my bones --- so i have to do it. but i'm getting older, so i really want it to count... for me!
:thumbsup:
 
#9
I have a regular band for the past 5 years that I love being a member of. We play 1-2 times a month except in the summer. The front man and his wife have a long time duo act they take on the road in the summer using backing tracks. I was looking for something to fill that gap and landed a couple of pretty regular subbing gigs with a huge setlist......learning those tunes was great for me and was fun. Sometimes I have to turn down one of the sub gigs down but I try to fit it in. What that translates to is sometimes it feels like to much and sometimes it's not enough. Your situation sounds kind of similar. I say jump in, just for the sake of expanding your repertoire and to make new contacts. It's never a bad idea to build relationships before you need them.
 
Last edited:
#12
MrBassman17 said:
So, the question I've been asking myself, is : is this too much?

You should know that I'm retired, have all the time I need to get things done, and play as much as I want.
Click to expand...

Only you can decide what too much is. I would argue that if you have the time to succeed in all those projects, and still keep your personal life in good order, you are in good shape.

I am in 3 projects now. Likely could not take on another, but i work a day job 40 hours a week. If i didn't work then i could take on a few more.
 
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#14
Yay professionalism! Take the jobs (if there are too many, insist on compensation - that'll clear the schedule quickly ;) ) then share your availability, and be happy that there's some work.

I keep a google calendar for quick access from my phone and give everybody a link to check availability. Also have a go-to sub, at least for a little longer. I'm on the list for 3 bands right now, but just jammed with a cat who I hope will be #4 and got a call for #5 audition this morning.

That having been said, have only done 2 gigs in the last month, and only 1 paid, so obviously YMMV. :bassist:
 
#15
Play as much as you can! Keep in mind, if you're not making money it must be fun. (See my sig.) You should be mindful of whether you are enjoying or getting some sort of satisfaction from a given project. If it stops being fun, and you see no hope of that changing, politely bow out.

If you're considering getting into a new project, it could be because one or more of your old projects is unsatisfactory.

I like 4 projects as an arbitrary "rule of thumb" upper limit.
 
#17
No such thing as too much, as long as you can do it. The problem will occur when all your sparadic gigging bands/projects gig on the same night. That's when you become villan #1 and those bands will have to get a replacement. Hopefully that will never happen to you.
 
#19
MrBassman17 said:
So, here's my situation. I am a member is several bands/combos. There is a four piece acoustic/electric group; we gig about once a month, rehearse weekly. Then there is another trio, we gig very seldomly, and recently haven't rehearsed at all. Another project is like a pick-up band. Three piece power blues oriented; we gig irregularly and rehearse sporadically. A good friend of mine who is a professional musician (drummer) has me backing up his wife & sister-in-law, with the intention of getting some paying gigs. As if this wasn't enough, I'm meeting with this guy who is a very talented guitarist/song writer, who I think want's me as an 'on call' bassist. He has a band, but the players are undependable, I think.

So, the question I've been asking myself, is : is this too much?

You should know that I'm retired, have all the time I need to get things done, and play as much as I want.
Click to expand...
When i was a professional player, i was in up to 9 bands at once, gigging 5-9 times per week and loving it. now that i have a day job, i only run w/ 3 bands and some pickup gigs here and there.
Obviously, if it's too much to handle, then it's too much. In that case pick the ones that suit you best and be as friendly as possible when you leave the rest behind, you never ever want bad blood.
 

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