Remember, you're never too old to gig...

[Drredplate]

So what's up with the plywood under the SVT?

View attachment 4977993

to de couple it from the stage floor or the floor was on the piss and wanted it level?
It would need be to be tone plywood obviously to sound any good

 

[logdrum]

So what's up with the plywood under the SVT?

View attachment 4977993

I thought they were absorbent pads for spilled beer. The drum riser has one too. Must be some uneven floor but they could have made those shims more discrete. And the messy cabling. But it's the Moody Blues' John Lodge...

 

[ThinCrappyTone2]

Never too old. Punky Meadows is 150 and still going strong.

 

[brianrost]

Top this, they had to pry the bow from her fingers…

From Wikipedia:

"According to Guinness World Records, Little holds the world record for longest tenure with a single orchestra.[8] She set the record during a performance on February 1, 2016. The previous record holder was Frances Darger, who played violin for the Utah Symphony for 70 years, until her retirement in 2012.[9]

Little collapsed on stage while performing on May 15, 2016, as the orchestra played an arrangement of "There's No Business Like Show Business"; she died later that day."

 

[StereoPlayer]

Probably most of those aged performers didn’t work a physical job during the day like it did. Sometimes I worked on up to 40 doors per day. Probably, 80-100 lbs each….
You pay for it in the end.
In other words, their lives were probably a little easier…

 

[ebo]

Neil Young and Steven Stills will be performing in L.A. in a few months. Both 77. I imagine the 100 date tours are behind most of the older guys, but getting out now and again isn’t so hard. If it’s all you’ve ever done it must be hard to hang it up. Go play with your trains Neil, you’ve earned it.

 

[MotorCityMinion]

PBS RULES ! Donate now.

 

[reverendboom]

Thanks for this post.
After reading this thread I went and looked up more on Mr Lodge and discovered something that I have been thinking about.
The article I found only touched on this and I would like to understand his concept better.
John mentions about playing his bass often in what he called the “cello part of it”.
Have any of you heard of this before?
Have you seen this idea in other articles or a video I could find?

please let me know.

Thanks in advance
Clayton

He's talking about playing up around the 7th fret to get the same voicing as a cello.

here's a bass cover of Story in your Eyes as an example (not me)...

 

[Doug P]

My body is a wreck from surgeries, a career in tennis was hard on my body. At 68 this year my mind is trying to follow my body and say slow down but……
Yea, all the pics and stuff of those still touring is encouraging but I don’t have a tech full time with me or a crew doing the lifting. That’s ok, the long day ( and night ) seems to wear me down more each year, again my mind is telling me things I don’t want to hear.
Anyway, without a good bunch of guys to share the stage with and hang with, I’d be done. No way I’d be out there putting up with ego’s, leader issues, eating Chinese food in Texas with a BBQ or….near by because a member decided it’s what he wanted and then another took all the shrimp, and……….. well you get the picture. Some shows pay well but in average, mostly sucks.
But I’m still doing it, see ya Sat night !

 

[DJ Bebop]

Never too old. Punky Meadows is 150 and still going strong. View attachment 4978000

 

[roccobass]

I bet it was a great concert. He’s really taken care of himself too. He looks great at 77. Thanks for sharing this.

 

[Marko 1]

I'm not sure anyone would feel “too old” to gig unless there are physical issues.

If in our latter years life brings other priorities, then that's not a “too old to gig” thing, either.

As eluded to above, in many situations (NOT ALL), gigging in a band might require the endurance of lots of nonsense that a more mature-minded person might find unacceptable in their latter years.

I'm still good to gig, and the physical issues will likely get me first...

hopefully if I just drop to the floor it'll be on load out rather than load in.

 

[DJ Bebop]

Never too old. Punky Meadows is 150 and still going strong. View attachment 4978000

"I drink the blood of small children to look this good at 150!"

You need to stop then!

 

[CosmicRay]

So what's up with the plywood under the SVT?

View attachment 4977993

I thought it looked like some sort of dolly....something like this? Maybe custom made for the cab...?
Still unsightly, though.
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
NEW EDIT - I noticed the same block of wood, with a caster, under the kit riser. Has to be for transport. Now even more unsightly. IMHO.

PS -re: original topic -
I'll be 69 in April and have gigs booked well into the fall of 2023. So, I ain't stopping!

 

[walksupright]

There’s a documentary film titled “Sidemen.” It accounts the careers Hubert Sumlin, Pinetop Perkins and Wille Smith, all of whom played with either Howln’ Wolf Or Muddy Waters. It’s fantastic and a must watch for this thread.

 

[bobyoung53]

Every so often, I see threads talking about getting too old to play (I'm not talking about physical injuries here, just about the mindset that one gets too old to have a place out there gigging). Last night I saw John Lodge (Moody Blues' bassist) perform at quite a high level, and he's 77!

View attachment 4977026

Yes, 77, and yes, those are leather pants. His playing was sharp - a combination of growly and smooth (hard to explain), and I didn't notice any missteps on some great classics (the first half of the show comprised of random songs, the second half they played the entirety of their Days of Future Passed album).

View attachment 4977035

Here are guitarist and Lodge's set-ups (guess who had a multitude of pedals, and who had none?).

View attachment 4977037

Played a jazz the entire night, and you can see his Ampeg behind him here. Guess at that age you can leave your drinks on top.

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One of my friends (a non-musician) asked me before the show why John Lodge was still out playing. It was obvious through the night that he really enjoys playing for people, and so what if he doesn't work those pants like a younger person. It was encouraging to see someone older than me (and I'm getting up there) moving around the fretboard with ease. He had fun, and so did the packed crowd.

You can leave drinks on top of SVT's no matter how loud you play, they don't vibrate enough, they're made very well. I'll be 70 in a few weeks and I'm not stopping either.