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Losing my mojo............

DWBass

DWBass

The Funkfather
Jan 24, 2003
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Newport News, VA via NYC
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#1
Anyone just find themselves getting less interested in being in a band anymore? I've been feeling this way for a while now. I quit a band last summer due to a lot of factors but mostly due to playing with musicians well below my skill level. Since I moved to this area in 2001 (SE Virginia/Hampton Roads), I have been in quite a few bands but ultimately I left them because they just never progressed musically and skill wise. Along with some personality conflicts! I have done a few sub gigs and one offs since then. Always leaving unfullfilled! I have now tentatively joined a band but after a couple gettogethers, I'm feeling less than enthused and unmotivated and may end up bailing. Just tired and becoming less interested in learning a crapload of tunes to end up playing with cats who don't play them properly. I'm tired of being THAT guy who always tells them they are playing it wrong or who complains about playing obscure tunes or tunes I know for sure won't go over well with the demographic we are playing to. I'm just tired. It was cool for 40 years but I've had enough!

Ok, RANT over. Anyone else feel the same way?
 
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#5
I know precisely what you're saying, having experienced similar situations. Obviously being in a band and feeling enthused about it imply several things but the fundamental one, in my view, is musical satisfaction. That's related to the synergy produced by all the cats in the band.

Perhaps the course of action is to communicate your concerns to the other guys in a constructive way. If you have the ability to play and record all the instruments, try doing that and show the guys how it should be done. If they are cool with it, then real progress is possible.

If all fails, you may have to shop around for more accomplished musicians.
 
#7
DWBass said:
Just tired and becoming less interested in learning a crapload of tunes to end up playing with cats who don't play them properly. I'm tired of being THAT guy who always tells them they are playing it wrong or who complains about playing obscure tunes or tunes I know for sure won't go over well with the demographic we are playing to.
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I don't know if you did or not, but these are the types of things that should be discussed before you join a band. You should know exactly what is expected of you and they should know what you expect from them. The first time they don't deliver, all you need to do is say, "We discussed doing ... did something change?" No need for drama or recriminations. If they weren't serious, you can always bail.

My last two bands we had discussions before I joined. First band was a wild, anything goes, almost jam band. In my current band I lock in with the drummer and our goal is to be as tight as possible. Everything was discussed and agreed to before I joined.
 
#11
DWBass said:
...but mostly due to playing with musicians well below my skill level...
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While this is an extremely rare occurrence for me, I tend to see it as an opportunity to repay the music community by giving some green players a chance to hone their skill level by fighting above their weight.
If not for playing with better players most of my life I would never have achieved the modest level of success I've managed to reach with my playing.

Based on the rest of your comments, maybe it's time to give up on being follower and start a project where you are the band leader. This would give you control over players, content, etc.
 
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#13
Yep, take a break. I seem to recall reading an interview with Will Lee back in the late eighties or so in Bass Player in which he said when he feels really stale he just walks away from the bass for a bit. I get there every few years and I always come back refreshed and creative again. Sometimes you just have to put it down for a little bit.

I've been bandless for almost a year now and I'm just beginning to feel the urge again. I've been playing on my own the whole time, but by checking out new music and new local musicians, I've been inspired and renewed creatively. I'm still not sure if I want to put together my own project or what, I'm my head is in it again.
 
#15
I've gone through this a couple of times and I expect to go through it in the future.

I discovered that a minor change can completely reverse the situation for me like an extra chromosome (but in the good way). I joined a '55-'65 pop/rock band as a project, not particularly interested in the music. But the vocalizations and the fun we are allowed to have with the whole thing during gigs makes it a blast. And then suddenly finding myself singing 20 of the songs my country/classic rock band does added another twist.

I also thought about renting out my services as a sound man for bands, but haven't had to go that route yet.
 
#16
I VERY HIGHLY recommend a book called "Practicing". It deals with the burnout, the giving up the instrument for a while, and the return. I've had that happen twice and it's amazing how you attack everything from a different perspective - and your skill level and musical interpretation absolutely explode.
 
#17
I decided I have had enough more than a few times in 43 yrs of being a musician. Breaks are good, but the last time I felt this way I decided to take up the upright bass. Best thing I ever did for my EB playing. That was four years ago, and I enjoy playing gigs again.
 
#18
There are little to no opportunities for me to play what I'm into which is Funk, R&B, Soul, Pop, etc. Top40 Variety. If I do it, I want to do it well with good musicians. It just has not worked out for me since I left NY. I don't like Rock. It's just guitar overload for me and the volume level is not ideal for my ears! My brain is already overloaded with songs and I can't handle learning a whole new catalog of songs outside my comfort zone. I dread the dress requirements. Wear all black this gig, all white this gig! I don't own a pair of white pants and I'm not going to go out and buy a pair! Period! The thought of dragging around my equipment, helping drag a PA around, setting it up, breaking it down and loading it in the trailer........ugh!
 
#19
DWBass said:
Anyone just find themselves getting less interested in being in a band anymore? I've been feeling this way for a while now. I quit a band last summer due to a lot of factors but mostly due to playing with musicians well below my skill level. Since I moved to this area in 2001 (SE Virginia/Hampton Roads), I have been an quite a few bands but ultimately I left them because they just never progressed musically and skill wise. Along with some personality conflicts! I have done a few sub gigs and one offs since then. Always leaving unfullfilled! I have now tentatively joined a band but after a couple gettogethers, I'm feeling less than enthused and unmotivated and may end up bailing. Just tired and becoming less interested in learning a crapload of tunes to end up playing with cats who don't play them properly. I'm tired of being THAT guy who always tells them they are playing it wrong or who complains about playing obscure tunes or tunes I know for sure won't go over well with the demographic we are playing to. I'm just tired. It was cool for 40 years but I've had enough!

Ok, RANT over. Anyone else feel the same way?
Click to expand...
Yeah. Me. I've been doing this for more than 40 years, and I'd say 95% of the bands I've been in during the past twenty years were mediocre at best, with "whatev" attitudes and sloppiness and lack of commitment to the work and/or even to be at gigs that were known about weeks ago. But I knew if I stuck it out, kept looking, kept practicing every day at home, kept adding songs to my portfolio, that something would come around sooner or later, where people were actually serious about their work. Well, it did -- a band in which mistakes aren't tolerated, even at rehearsals. (You mean you actually get fired for making X number of mistakes per unit time? Yep.) And all the players are great in terms of raw technical ability. Just played my first gig with them yesterday. Place went wild. I was totally stoked to be on stage with these pros.

Patience and persistence, that's my advice. And above all, don't compromise when deciding whether or not to join a band, because the best way never to find the band that's right for you is to keep joining the ones that are almost right for you.
 
#20
DWBass said:
Just got off the phone with the BL. I had to bail. It's not so much the level of musicianship but I just lost the desire (for now) to just be in a band ...
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Good for you. Sometimes, you just need to walk away and take a break. It could be a job, a band, playing music, even an online community -- we all get burned out on things from time to time. I have found that stepping away for a while allows me to recharge and perhaps look into some other interests.

If/when you come back to it, it will probably be with fresh eyes, ears, and perspective.

Smart move on your part.
 

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