Suffering from gig withdrawal.

[One_Dude]

I play anywhere from 20 minutes to 90 minutes every day, and am working on songs that are new-to-me during the lock down. However, I am finding it increasingly difficult to stay motivated. Last year my band played 41 dates while taking January and February off to learn new material. We had 39 dates scheduled this year, but have only played one so far since everything has been cancelled beginning in early March.

I am used to playing and interacting with other band members, and being currently unable to do so feels like being set adrift in a sailboat in becalmed winds. I have investigated some online practice options, but there doesn't seem to be a good platform available without latency issues. My wife takes part in online meetings using Zoom, but it just doesn't work well enough for actual rehearsals.

Anyone out there have suggestions on how to stay motivated until things open up again? Even after they do open up I suspect that play dates will take a long time to return to normal.

Thanks in advance for your input.

Thump on,

One_Dude

 

[lokikallas]

Start a YouTube channel, and record all of your bass lines for posterity.

 

[JRA]

Even after they do open up I suspect that playdates will take a long time to return to normal.

i think you're right. and i share your pain.

i can't wait! but of course, i will. i sure hope i'm alive when "things get back to normal!"

 

[DWBass]

 

[oldrocker]

... so feels like being set adrift in a sailboat in becalmed winds. ...

Very poetic, It brought up a visual in my mind, Nice.

No, no idea how to stay motivated. sorry.

 

[One_Dude]

I actually have created a YouTube channel, but there is no content right now. Still trying to figure out the correct method for recording that has both good video and good audio. I have a good digital camcorder but it does not accept an external mic, and therefore the audio is pretty bad. My son is in the professional audio/video world in another state and he suggested I try recording on my smart phone. I'm still thinking about that. I have a small sound company, so I have lots of gear, just have to work out the right combination technically.

I welcome any additional suggestions.

Thanks for your input.

Thump on,

One_Dude

 

[CallMeAl]

Im right there with ya. I miss it so bad, even just a rehearsal would be amazing. I’ve never been much of a writer, I just like to play with other people.

I have 0 motivation to work on band songs. What I have been doing is working on things that have been Back burner for me: reading standard notation, walking jazz, Motown, and other favorite covers I’ve always wanted to learn. I bought some new books to add to the collection. It’s motivating to play these things I couldn’t last week, and I can tell my reading is getting better. BUT it feels like gigs are a looong way off, and sometimes it just feels like going through the motions...

I tried out some new strings I’ve been wanting to try, which has been a little shot in the arm. I also got some maintenance done on a bass that’s been sitting in the closet un-played

I’ve been thinking about trying one of those videos where everyone records their part and Then it’s mixed together. Could be a fun distraction, and actually become a decent promo material

good luck one dude

 

[mrcbass]

I think we all feel your pain. Seems you've been able to stave it off a bit longer than most of us - I felt like this in early April and have had a very hard time staying motivated to practice.

Still trying to figure out the correct method for recording that has both good video and good audio.

If you have any decent video editing software, you have can get this working. Record your sound using decent recording gear as you are recording the video and then add the music to a muted video track. It' not too hard to get the two tracks synced.

 

[WI Short Scaler]

I've felt like this for a longer time than most due to circumstances.

Last fall we wrapped up 3 great weekends of gigs in early Sept and then went into a "medical" hiatus to allow for me to have what was intended to be shoulder surgery for a weakness/numbness in my left upper arm. After MRI's and nerve tests it turned into far more of an involved procedure and I ended up having surgery on my cervical spine. 3 vertebrae in my neck were compressed on the spine and things were bound to get far worse without intervention. My recovery took us out of the picture for a couple months and since the surgery involved my neck my voice was shot for a much longer time.

Turned out we finally got to play a gig in January and then one member announced he was quitting. Freakin great! We tried out a couple other ideas and found a new member just in time to have two practices and the world shut down. Freakin great again!

So months of down time have made it almost impossible to get motivated to play.

Sorry for the long story, I have nothing to offer the OP on getting motivated. My attempts to make a Youtube video have been poor as well. But I don't have a good camera or high quality computer sound recording gear so I should expect that.

Best of luck to ya!

 

[SBassman]

Feeling the pain, too.

There's no substitute for playing with other humans.

Believe it or not, I am getting a big benefit out of - Band In A Box. In the old days, the midi and tone generation were cheesy. These days, the digital Real Styles in BIAB are stellar. I can key in any progression, and play along - with other backing tracks that are downright Great sounding.

But, yeah, no substitute for the real thing.

 

[TheDirtyLowDown]

I'm struggling with this, and as others have said, I think it's going to be a long while before we're anything close to normal again. It's so much fun to play live or practice with a band -- that fun was always the primary motivation for me to practice on my own. So, how to fight against that? I'm trying the following:

1. Home Recording.
I convinced our band to set up a home recording environment. We'll all use whatever mics, audio interfaces and computers we have, with everyone running Audacity, and sharing a common dropbox. Not everyone is tech savvy, so I'm not sure if or how well this will come off -- it will be a test of our collective patience and tenacity for sure. But we've got a list of tunes, including some originals, to record, so that's a start. And I'm putting some energy into improving my home recording setup.

2. Be Greedy.
I've been trying to jump start my practice by working on completely new stuff that I can enjoy just for myself. For example, I've always wanted to learn Paul Chambers' bass part on 'So What' note-for-note. I'm working that up now, on EUB. I don't care if our band ever plays it. I'm trying to find other little projects like that, which are totally for my own enjoyment. This greediness includes playing another instrument for a while. I'm back at the piano keyboard after (mostly) decades away, and I'm doing it just so I can re-learn some pieces that I could do when I was 12.

One more thing -- when I get down about missing practice/gigs, I'm trying to instead feel grateful for the ones I had, and watch some old videos of ours. It's tough, because we were slowly climbing the ladder, and playing in nicer venues in the last 6 - 12 months before COVID, and I feel like that momentum is getting lost.

 

[overit]

I too have been feeling this but much longer than just the pandemic because I moved to a new area earlier last year. I've played with alot of people here but only one band that was motivated/connected enough to get gigs just before this started. So I got play 2 gigs in the last 15 months coming from about 40/year before I left. Not a ton but it kept me busy and motivated.

Over the last year of not gigging, I decided to focus on upright and jazz which surprisingly transitioned into really enjoying the bow so I've been working out classical etudes and sight reading. During the beginning of this period I even got rid of my electrics but it came to a point where I just needed to play out. I bought a bass, auditioned and had a couple gigs, then this. My current band wanted to continue and there was alot of talk but not much movement to do remote practicing or recording so I decided to do what my wife's been telling me this whole time - start your own thing.

I put out an ad for a remote internet band and currently I've received interest from a drummer and a vocalist. The drummer is currently recording her parts to 4 songs and will send them along to me. We'll see how it goes. I've also explored other sites like BandLab and Kompoz for online collaboration. I work in graphics (print and web) and have enough video editing to do something fun and creative. I've always wanted to get into doing that so taking this time to explore.