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old guys playing originals?

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I

Icey101

Jun 22, 2011
492
10
Australia Victoria
#1
To explain, i can understand a young teen or 20's something band doing originals, hoping to get recognised and make it big. Maybe get a following of young kids on their facebook page who will buy their itunes or EP etc

i got asked to come along for a jam with some old guys playing originals. Ok well i'm pretty close to an old guy myself, but to me i dont really see the point of mature aged guys standing around knocking up originals and trying to get gigs where they have to invite all their friends who have to sit through the same old list of originals. I would feel embarased about it. Don't get me wrong i've done originals before but the vox was a younger female that sort of justified it for me.
 
#2
Have you noticed how some famous old guys still write new stuff? Might have something to do with music being a creative outlet for some, not just a job for some people. I don't think age should be a determining factor in your creativity. I sure hope I never get old enough that playing covers sounds like a good idea.
 
#3
Icey101 said:
To explain, i can understand a young teen or 20's something band doing originals, hoping to get recognised and make it big. Maybe get a following of young kids on their facebook page who will buy their itunes or EP etc

i got asked to come along for a jam with some old guys playing originals. Ok well i'm pretty close to an old guy myself, but to me i dont really see the point of mature aged guys standing around knocking up originals and trying to get gigs where they have to invite all their friends who have to sit through the same old list of originals. I would feel embarased about it. Don't get me wrong i've done originals before but the vox was a younger female that sort of justified it for me.
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Yeah.
All old guys should just hang it up, hike up their trousers, and yell at the kids on their lawns. :hiding:
 
#6
I remember (around 1982) telling a woman about being on the road with a reggae band. She thought it was hilarious!

White guys playing reggae?!? You're kidding!! HAHAHAHAHA!!!

I said "yeah... it's about as ridiculous as thinking a woman could be an account, or an attorney..." That went over like a loud fart in church.

My point? If you want to do it, do. Make yourself happy.
 
#7
If you do it for fun or a creative outlet, go for it. If you're doing it to "make it", the odds are even more against you than a younger band. Most older guys usually don't want to tour with a bunch of guys in a van, eating top ramen and making nothing. Younger guys don't mind as much. I'm almost 50 and love to record and play original music. But I have a day job, house, wif & kids. I do it for fun and have no dreams of ever getting more than a cold beer out of it.
 
#9
Any good song has the potential to do something for you. Say your act is over the hill; not to great looking; not something you can see the bigwigs trying to sell. Why couldn't your tune be covered by something with that potential?

Or even better?

Why can't a bunch of old guys be hot and sexy, and sell themselves as the next big deal?

Just because it usually DOESN'T happen doesn't necessarily mean it CAN'T happen!
 
#10
Icey101 said:
To explain, i can understand a young teen or 20's something band doing originals, hoping to get recognised and make it big. Maybe get a following of young kids on their facebook page who will buy their itunes or EP etc

i got asked to come along for a jam with some old guys playing originals. Ok well i'm pretty close to an old guy myself, but to me i dont really see the point of mature aged guys standing around knocking up originals and trying to get gigs where they have to invite all their friends who have to sit through the same old list of originals. I would feel embarased about it. Don't get me wrong i've done originals before but the vox was a younger female that sort of justified it for me.
Click to expand...

Well if a youngster's originals are better, then the old farts take their originals and go home and he has no complaints. If not, what, he's gonna shame himself by bawling his eyes out like a kid who's lost his balloon? Or maybe go home and work on his originals instead, better, right?

Oh yeah . . . and remember old farts have money. They are an audience that counts where it counts--in the wallet. And who's gonna reach that wallet with originals? A kid who's listened to 5 years worth of music? Or one who's listened to and played everything under the sun for 40 or 50 years?

Machts nichts anyway. NBD. We're bass players. Every time we pick up a bass, we create an original.
 
#14
I'm now to the point in life (59) where given the chance, I wouldn't do it any other way. But what I want and what reality is can be a differant matter.

I've always written little bits here and there but never had the time to really go at it like I would have wanted to. Back in January 2009 I got laid off from work and for the next 14 months (other than job search) I did nothing but write songs and I believe I wrote about 25 of them. I am NOT saying my songs were great or even any good. But as time progressed during my layoff I can say that I was becoming a better guitar player, a better bass player and a better writer. I mean, I had all day to do it!! But I didn't kid myself in the fact that I had miles and miles to go.

It was very liberating to get an idea and to take it to the next level. But then I got called back to work in March of 2010 (back to 60 to 70 hours a week) and that took care of my "writing career." Damn.

But I know if I had the time to do it I'd love to find some like-minded players who'd love to have a go at. There'd be no kidding ourselves, no illusions of anything and probably next to no gigs. That's okay because I slugged it out in bars for years and years. Been there, done that and God bless those of you who do still play covers in bars. If that's your thing, if it makes you happy and you're loving it then I tip my hat to you. I'm not knocking your efforts at all because I never know what the future holds. There may be a day where this old guy just might have to try and find a gig!
 
#15
Icey101 said:
To explain, i can understand a young teen or 20's something band doing originals, hoping to get recognised and make it big. Maybe get a following of young kids on their facebook page who will buy their itunes or EP etc.
Click to expand...

Dunno if I'm "old" per se (I'll be 49 in a few months), but I really don't see the point in playing covers. To me, music is generally a creative process as opposed to a regurtitative process. Don't get me wrong; I spent four years in a local symphony orchestra - those are "covers," right? I also spent six years in jazz trios, quartets, quintets and big bands playing standards - those are covers, right? The difference with jazz being the ability to improvise completely.

But at the end of the day, I'd rather create something noone's ever played. But you are correct, getting a draw is a bugger when all your friends are miles away with three kids and they go to bed at 10:30 pm.

So, that's my lot in life.
 
#16
Icey101 said:
i dont really see the point of mature aged guys standing around knocking up originals and trying to get gigs where they have to invite all their friends who have to sit through the same old list of originals.
Click to expand...

Well, someday when you're old and want to write a new song, think back to those days when you were young and wrote stupid things on the internet. Might make for good material.

Now, get off my lawn.

Link Removed
 
#18
Well I'll say this; and it applies for covers as well, but it especially applies for originals.

If you're some 40 or 50 something dude (as I am) and you're playing originals, they better kick a$$ or you will look ridiculous. It's ok for a 22 year old to get up there with a sucky original but not later in life.
 
#19
Something to think about: Garbage got started by a bunch of 40-something guys who recruited a hot singer babe (Shirley Manson) to be the frontman. Nobody notices how old the bassplayer is when there's a hot redhead with a Scottish accent at the front of the stage.
 
#20
Yeah but they get stupid ideas that THEY are what it's all about, like Stevie Nicks did with ol' Mick Fleetwood.

Yeah, Mike M., there's a lot to be said for collaboration. We got to see that with Lennon and McCartney, whose abilities as a team we saw clearly contrasted with their individual abilities. A friend of mine noted that McCartney couldn't write a bridge without Lennon, and I ran through a few tunes in my head and realized he was right.
 
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