So, what were you doing 30 years ago?

[rtslinger]

I was getting back into the real 9-5 world after many years of touring and didn't have the rug pulled out from under by grunge like many others playing hard rock metal original music thankfully.

 

[scott cuppello]

I was working as a sound engineer, my work was mainly unplugged sessions and live concerts for commercial radio, only the BBC generally had decent studio's so the record companies and radio stations were really keen on our facility as we also had a bar and Thai restaurant for invited audiences.

 

[Johnny Znuff]

Celebrating the last birthday of my 20’s (29), chin-deep in a new marriage, fatherhood, and a mortgage, and working several jobs to pay it. Playing bass was sadly the last thing on my mind then. But I would eventually get back to it, and today I’m having more fun playing than ever!

 

[MonetBass]

Quitting the MBA program and preparing to start a bachelor's degree in Music! The best decision I could make, at least for me, at that time.

 

[Redtalon71]

I just flashed on this, and looked it up...maybe they didn’t matter to you, maybe they meant everything to you, maybe you hated them because they ‘ruined everything’ (whatever everything might have been for you), maybe you weren’t even born yet; as for me, I was a little beyond the intended demographic, but I liked them. They didn’t exactly catch me by surprise as I had heard plenty of similar, forerunner stuff in the previous few years, but was amazed that something so raw was on mainstream rock radio. My only gripe was the over-saturation.
What am I going on about? 30 years ago this month, Nirvana entered a studio with Butch Vig to start recording Nevermind, and while there wasn’t exactly one pivotal moment like 2/9/64, the following October was definitely a before/after period. I don’t think anything like that would happen again.

Wow! Had to strain the grey-matter to recollect what I was doing back then musically. I was doing design-drafting at Sandia National Labs in Albuquerque, NM, was 40 years old, married with 2 sons and joining any jam sessions I could find until I found a group to join. Albuquerque is a sort of nexus between the two coasts when it comes to being exposed to any new forms of music or film, so Nirvana was above the radar of the local AOR FM radio stations' playlists. We were still being influenced by groups like Alice In Chains, Aerosmith, ZZ Top, BTO, Doobie Bros, Yes, along with most of the heavier 70s & 80s groups. So Nirvana didn't really 'spoil' anything for us until it was 'old news' to you guys on the coast states. We [NM Musicians] embrace, enjoy & play all types of music here, so our tastes cross many lines of cultural and historical selections.
Remember back then, too, many of the nightclubs stopped hiring live musicians after those idiots in that Massachusetts club set fire to the club with pyrotechnics [DUMB!], and the insurance industry responded by making live-music clubs pay premiums 350% higher than if they just hired a DJ. Thus the "DJ Revolution" was born! The challenge recently has been the lack of venues in which to play due to the pandemic. Still trying to find musicians that are more than hobbyists and wish to treat their avocation in music seriously. Ever forward!

 

[Mpcorb]

Could this be the defining moment to precede the Beatles one?

'Presley's first RCA single, "Heartbreak Hotel", was released in January 1956 and became a number-one hit in the United States. With a series of successful network television appearances and chart-topping records, he became the leading figure of the newly popular sound of rock and roll.'


Couldn't May 1977 also be included as one of the major events/moments?
It was just on the cusp of a hot summer when Sex Pistols released God Save the Queen, their first single.
Whether one likes them or merits them, didn't they have a similar cultural impact of being the figurehead for wiping away what went before?

Sex Pistols - Wikipedia
'Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they are regarded as one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music.'

Are there 4 or 5 key moments perhaps when things shift dramatically?

 

[Mpcorb]

I was playing with Miles Davis. 1991 Montreux Jazz Festival.

Beg pardon? Is that you in the white shirt on the DB?

 

[Biggbass]

my kids were in high school and I was playing in a smooth jazz trio.

 

[Gottaplaybass]

Separated from the Air Force after 10 years.
Applied to Delta Air Lines from which I have since retired.

 

[Michedelic]

Here we go. Nirvana and other pop acts from the 80s on have ruined popular music. Ever since I started playing guitar and bass and picked up music theory, the only rock bands I can take seriously are rush, yes, and king crimson. I wish people would educate themselves more and have the pride to turn garbage like that off. Real musicians are missing out on opportunities because the uneducated masses are more interested in sex objects and songs with 3 chords and a simple 4/4 rhythm. I'm glad he killed himself before the record company could pop out any more albums. Those are my 2 cents.

Funny, that’s what the big band/jazz people said about Elvis(and to a lesser extent, The Beatles). Oh, and the record company did pop out a few more albums. Sex, three chords, simple rhythms? Sounds like the Stones to me(and Elvis, and Chuck Berry, and...). KC? I have a video for you(he flubbed a chord, I wish these people would learn how to play before they get on YT)...

 

[grimjim]

You had loftier goals than I did.lol

The business went south after a few years. Still married. Two out of three ain't bad.

 

[rufus.K]

I was 15. Playing guitar and in high school. Basement shows, punk and metal.
In a lovely area known as The Berkshires. Truly excellent country right there!

 

[Kevin Colt]

touring with the Amboy Dukes.

 

[mcclurer16]

I was a ex-high school band clarinet player, in my 3rd year of medical school in Seattle. I listened to Robert Cray, completely unaware of the grunge rock movement (even though Nirvana was playing all over town).

 

[sokolasty]

In a middle of grammar school, enjoing "Smells like teen spirit" and loving Sandman, hating music teacher since I had to learn flute, which is by no means sexy

 

[DuluthBassist]

A little off topic...ever go to Proctor Speedway?

No, I haven't - but I do have friend who goes regularly

 

[Outbush]

30 years ago I didn’t have much music on & I was waning as I got more into sailing & mountainbiking. And Nirvana looked (with extra layers I guess) like half of Newtown Sydney did for the preceding decade and there were bands that I suppose were surf-punk bands that sounded in the same paddock too. Teen spirit was a great song though and with a sound I’d long loved. Great album Nevermind too.

 

[mcrawfordmusic]

I was 6 months from being born...

 

[wazzel]

I was two years into college working on my Mechanical Engineering degree, working in a convieant store and playing a few gigs.

 

[MCS4]

That was right around the time that I started to figure out that I really liked music, although in those days it was more about stuff like Weird Al. I was still years away from picking up a bass.