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Thinking About Walking Away

#102
kirkm24 said:
My wife is supportive and always has been. I basically work two jobs. I have a full time day job where I work 8-12 hour days and then 2-3 nights a week I teach college classes. That takes me out of the house for essentially 2-3 whole days. I feel guilty doing anything beyond that to take me away from home.
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I'm 39 and getting back into bass playing I would certainly not consider myself to be too old and neither are you! Perhaps you are just too busy!
 
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#103
slofut said:
Dude! Quit whining. If I had to play church music I'd want to quit too. But you don't HAVE to play church music! There are multitudes of killer new and old music out there now and it's so accessible. The internet is your friend and the greatest thing to happen to music and musicians ever. Try on some Bonnamassa, have you heard Johnny A.? Remember Serpentine Fire? Hell, I'm 57 and I've played in a band since high school. Ebbs and flows all along, but now the supply of great music is so endless, I have fun just finding new music and players. Hey how about Jeff Beck and Tal Wilkinsfeld! Damn that's just as good as it gets, it'll make you tear up, and not one word of praise! It won't kill you to miss church sometimes I promise, and it may give you some time to think with your own mind. Get yourself a basement or a spot and get some guys together and play for the FUN and LOVE of music, not politics, not religion!
But you asked for an opinion and this is mine, and it's meant with the utmost respect and appreciation for you and music.
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+1
 
#105
As several people have said before in this string age is not a factor and age does not define coolness. Paul McCartney is usually the coolest guy in any room he walks in and he just turned 73.

as several others have said also You don't need to quit the bass - you need to find a different group of people to play bass with.

I stopped playing for 20 years - got back at it about 11 or 12 years ago and am now with a group of people that have me excited to play at 65.

Good Luck and remember if it is fun for you, your band mates and the people that you are playing for - what more can you ask?
 
#106
I dropped out 10 years ago - new country, new career, full time office job etc, and a bit dead-ended in my perspective as a performing musician (=had gotten bored consistently lately with my own playing regardless of the project). Sold my gear etc. I was composing a l lot of music in between stuff and that helped, but I really missed the playing after a while.

What got me back into the game was to reinvent myself as a player from the ground up. And then it hit me: now that I had a regular day gig instead of being a 'professional musician' with professional obligations, I only had to play what I really wanted to play. I realized a) what a privileged position I actually had found myself in and b) that I actually had no idea at all what I really wanted to play. Today at 50 years of age: still discovering that, enjoying myself, with a much deeper connection to the instrument (and more serious practicing) than ever before. Hope this helps.
 
#107
kirkm24 said:
I've been a TB member for 8 years and have been playing for almost 20 years. I started out playing in Alt Rock bands in the mid to late nineties. In 1998, I played in a swing band and learned upright. We toured the eastern united states for 2 years and played more than 300 shows. Around 2000, the swing craze died and so did the band with it. I ended up finishing my degree at college and getting a "real job." Since then music has been a hobby. I've pretty much just played on worship teams at churches during the last 15 years.

I'm now 37, have grey hair and not young, hip and cool. The church I go to is a great church and love it dearly but I am beginning to wonder if my time has passed. The music is now all this "techno pop" stuff that does't leave much room for live bass (everything is programmed); instrumentalists just kind of play along.

The church hired an outside producer who is helping them release their first album of original music and producing a live video production. The producer is using his own bass player for the project. They are using our guitarist, drummer and singer but he is handling everything else. I'm disappointed by this but I am beginning to wonder if my time has passed.

I will never make a career in music at this phase of my life. I love doing it but it's just a hobby. Are any of you feeling this way? Do any of you have any advice? Is there an appropriate time to hang it up to make way for the younger generation?
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I'm older than you by a considerable amount, and I'm going through a second "renaissance" period.

The kids are grown & gone, and there's tons of time for me to rediscover my "glory years".

I practice everyday and I hope to get on with my friend and his band at their church, and who knows from there.

I definitely know what you mean about today's world, today's music, Hell.......todays everything, it all pretty much sucks, and I'm not trying to be a drag here.

You have something to offer to these millennial's we all complain about constantly.

As long as your playing your bass somewhere, there's the chance that some 20 something year old will see you and get inspired to do something other than sit at home on mom & dad's couch playing video games, and keep the refrigerator empty....:eyebrow:

Please don't stop playing your bass, find new genre's of music, push your boundaries into types of music like classical for example to rediscover your bass.

You have something really tremendous to offer, not everybody is so lucky, don't walk away from it......:thumbsup:
 
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#108
kirkm24 said:
I will never make a career in music at this phase of my life. I love doing it but it's just a hobby. Are any of you feeling this way? Do any of you have any advice? Is there an appropriate time to hang it up to make way for the younger generation?
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Hobbies come, hobbies go. If that's how you feel about your music, it shouldn't be too hard to walk away.

But the age thing, sorry dude, I don't get it. I'm 56 and almost always the liveliest player in the band. I will play and perform until I literally can not physically hold the instrument.
 
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#109
I will never make a career in music at this phase of my life. I love doing it but it's just a hobby.
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There's nothing wrong with that. It can actually be a bonus: You only take gigs you want, versus having to take every gig you can get. I've always had a day job in applied sciences and never played "full-time pro". Through the years, music has been for me either just a hobby, a self-financed hobby, or an actual sideline. As long as you're having fun, it's all that matters (IMO). If it has become more of a hassle then anything else, then it's better to take a break.

Is there an appropriate time to hang it up to make way for the younger generation?
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You're only as old as you feel. Where I used to live, there was a band of cats in their 60s playing a blues joint every saturday night, and they'd always have the whole place dancing. Are you too old now to achieve rock star status? Yes. Are you too old to enjoy playing music? Not at all. Play if you still enjoy it, just don't put pressure on yourself.
 
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#110
One other thing, I run the board at church, I am the sound man. I really would rather do that than play bass because from a music perspective it doesn't interest me but I certainly do my best to make it sound good as weird as that sounds. A christian who doesn't like christian music, that me. Anyway my point is like others say, don't get too wrapped up in a single church gig, don't let any gig make you want to quit playing. Expand yourself, think about what you WANT to play and do it.
 
#111
I took a lot of time off between '03 up until a few years ago to take care of my kids. By the time I was able to get back into gigging, I was over 40, but that hasn't stopped me one bit. I found a band that was fun and relatively successful and fit in with the rest of my life (career, family, etc) and it's great. They'll have to pry my bass from my cold, dead hands!

Tom
 
#112
Do it as long as you're enjoying it. I have been enjoying it a lot less lately myself,not because i don't love playing,but I've just been very discouraged by current band member interactions(both musically and personality wise).
At 61,I can handle the aggro if i'm enjoying the music side,but when that isn't any good,either.....
 
#113
Yeesh! 37 and quitting? I just took up the bass. I've been playing a month. I see a bright future for me and my bass, or any other bass I happen to get. I fully intend to keep this up for life.

I'm 51. 37 ain't squat. And I do agree with (most) everyone else here, you just need a change of scenery, that's all. That's IMO, of course, if you do really feel like quitting, then maybe you should but I'm guessing you'll regret that, eventually.
 
#118
37?? Haha - you old geezer! No, seriously - don't walk away from it. My wife and I had our 2 children when we were in our early - mid 30's so I didn't play out for a few years aside from a gig here and there with a Genesis tribute band. Once they reached a certain age I hooked up with some guys I was in jazz band in college with and they fired their bass player and brought me in. I'm now 48 and I'm playing out again about 2 times/month and enjoying it! Just because your circumstances right now don't seem conducive to playing in a band don't walk away from the instrument! You just might pick it up again in a couple years. Keep playing - buy some home recording gear and write, lay bass tracks down - anything! Use this time to learn some new styles you aren't familiar with! Get your kids involved and make it fun for them. Forget the church thing for now.
 
#119
You're 37? I'm 55 and just started taking lessons a few months ago. I know I won't be the next bass whiz kid, but my goal is to have fun. I've seen kids who can play circles around me. At first it made me wonder why I'm doing this, but then when I put on some music and start playing along, not much else matters.

I'd recommend continuing to play in church. Don't let hurt feelings over the recording interfere with your worship.
 
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#120
I'm 62 now and started playing bass when I was 12. There was a long period (20 years or so) when work and life got busy, but I kept my Kalamazoo bass and Vox amp around all that time. Around 1995 I started jamming with some buddies from work and we got some gigs. I've been playing since. I eventually moved to Upright in a western swing band. I also play in a bluegrass and a blues band. It's all fun and none of the bands are mainstream.
If making music and seeing people enjoy it are important to you, like me, the future will bring an opportunity.
Best, Larry
 

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