Hi, I have a band which plays a mixture of folk and metal music (mostly ballads). I'm 17 and my bandmate is 14. We told people about us and i've encountered some people who said we're too young. What do you think? We surely can play and I can sing so it's not about our performance.
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Too young?!
- Thread starter LumenObscurus
- Start date
You must be exactly 21........too young, too old, people can be asshats don't worry about it. I'm sure you can find plenty of all ages shows to play.
Too young to play bars where you have to be of age to get in yeah. Too young to rock, hell no. Best time to learn is when you are young. I know a handfull of players that started when they were 14-17 and are around my age now, they have wicked chops.
Well Im 18 and since weve been aloud to play pubs and bars gigs having been comming in fast, maybe the naysayers meant your too young to make an impact yet ?
The kid (marc Orrel) from dropkick murphys was 17 when he started playing with them. They are all in their 30s. He was a great guitarist. Too bad he left I can see why he did though. Anyway Alot of shows are going to be 21 and over but since your 17 that will be a problem for you too. All you can do is play all ages shows for the next 7 years when he turns 21.
I started playing gigs at 12.
So have fun, play your music and don't look back. For sure, don't listen to anyone who talks about age being a limitation of what you can do, music or otherwise.
Wikipedia.org: At the age of five he(Mozart) was already composing little pieces, which he played to his father who wrote them down."
So have fun, play your music and don't look back. For sure, don't listen to anyone who talks about age being a limitation of what you can do, music or otherwise.
Wikipedia.org: At the age of five he(Mozart) was already composing little pieces, which he played to his father who wrote them down."
I think my mom drove me to my first gig.
When I was a teenager, my main instrument was the 'cello. My school had no string program, so I ended up playing "gigs" with the local community symphony, pit orchestras, etc. While playing in a rock band would have been immeasurably cooler, I did get a lot out of the classical scene. By playing legit music with grown-ups, I learned the unwritten rules of gig etiquette, honed my sight reading skills, and gained the confidence to be a freelance player.
Being under-age can be a barrier to playing in bars, depending on conditions and laws in your locale. Also, people may be nervous about having a "kid" in the band if they are into things that are not quite legal, if you know what I mean.
But setting aside those issues, there is no such thing as being too young. A quirk of human nature is that we can be "mature" and skilled as musicians long before we are "mature" in a social sense. Enjoy it.
So my advice is to seek opportunities where they are available, and enjoy playing.
When I was a teenager, my main instrument was the 'cello. My school had no string program, so I ended up playing "gigs" with the local community symphony, pit orchestras, etc. While playing in a rock band would have been immeasurably cooler, I did get a lot out of the classical scene. By playing legit music with grown-ups, I learned the unwritten rules of gig etiquette, honed my sight reading skills, and gained the confidence to be a freelance player.
Being under-age can be a barrier to playing in bars, depending on conditions and laws in your locale. Also, people may be nervous about having a "kid" in the band if they are into things that are not quite legal, if you know what I mean.
But setting aside those issues, there is no such thing as being too young. A quirk of human nature is that we can be "mature" and skilled as musicians long before we are "mature" in a social sense. Enjoy it.
So my advice is to seek opportunities where they are available, and enjoy playing.
I don't understand rules about being underage and playing in bars. Apparently this varies from venue to venue - my band played in a bar last year (I was sixteen.)
We went to a different town about an hour away to book and were told that guardians must be present to play.
In my hometown, though, apparently it's not an issue. We've played several different bars, and have two other places in the works.
We went to a different town about an hour away to book and were told that guardians must be present to play.
In my hometown, though, apparently it's not an issue. We've played several different bars, and have two other places in the works.
I am not a lawyer, but I have read that in WI, an underage person can be in a bar if they are providing entertainment. The statues are probably online, and it might be possible to search for the word "music."
But... the bars may be asserting a "law" that does not exist, just to avoid having to think about it.
I think probably what they are talking about is that you guys are too young to play certain venues. I don't know what the licensing laws are there in your country but I believe in the US most venues that are licensed require that you must be 21 and over to enter the venue. Here it is 18. There are some cases where people that are under that age may enter if they are accompanied by a responsible adult.
I would take this in to consideration if I was auditioning someone that was going to be too young to play in the venues I wanted to play.
If they are talking about anything else they are full of it.
In the US, laws vary from state to state. Here in Wisconsin, I found this excerpt at the website for the Department of Revenue:
Link: [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Folk and metal I'm confused Could you explain?
Maybe a sound clip or a name of a band I could look up?
Oh, folk is very popular around here. We've just inserted some metal elements in. Nothing more. And we're only verbally known since we had such trouble with their stupid age limitation talk.
Could you explain?
Maybe a sound clip or a name of a band I could look up?
I think that you and the OP are not talking about the same folk music. Your probably thinking Bob Dylan etc., while the OP being from Europe is talking about medieval/ renaissance fair music.
Here in Sacramento...there are plenty of all ages shows. You can probably find the same thing...Start with parties if you want. It worked for VanHalen
I'm from Europe too. Yes we're talking about the same medieval music. Or google Pasarea Colibri. they play the folk ppl like here. We're just blending metal into that kind of folk
. I don't dare to take up medieval music, I love it as it is. 
For Stumpy: My classmates are turning 18 this year (so do I...) and I thought about their parties, but thanks for the idea!
Here, all the gigs are at bars, and you need to be 21 to play them. So yes, around here, you'd be too young. But there is no such thing as too young/too old when it comes to music in my book.
