• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Why are so many musicians flaky?

#142
jasonganis said:
A friend and fellow TBer brought this point up, makes a lot of sense to me. There's plenty of professional acting musicians; BUT

There's plenty of guys out there who just like to party, and playing music is their way of "getting it out of their system" AND "getting away from the wife."
Click to expand...

I've found out that it depends on WHEN you started out playing music. Did one:

a) start out playing by pressure from parents ONLY very very young when you have no idea (remember the word only here). Being a child prodigy?
b) starting out for yourself, for no apparent reason, that you can't let it go...you just want to... at around 10 years of age? (say 9-10-11, pre teen)
c) Starting out in your early teens JUST because of impressing on the chicks? (remember the important word JUST here) When you starting to feel the hormons rage and just want to get laid? This, most bands have started, and is an academical proven point, in numerous researches:

Guitarists Really Are Hot, Studies Confirm

There's a reason there are groupies around. And that it started somewhere.

My experience is that c) are the most flakey ones. goofy, aloof, drama queens, potheads, dunning-kruger, whatever.

As of course, me myself was more of a b) kind of type. Started to get interested in instruments and music as a passion from nowhere, around 9-10-11. Before I got interested in chicks. Later down the road, I've came the conclusion, that when you're grown up and matured, I find myself most comfortable around musicians that have the same starting age. And of course, they seem to have carried on playing their instruments, in spite that their "getting laid" period is way behind them. The a) people bores me silly. They are those who STILL want to JUST impress on others, and get confirmation from others ONLY. Those 100 % perfect note for note when playing any cover, but have absolutely no original unique idea of their own. Just mechanically showing off ALL OF THE TIME. And has the least sense of variation, and improvisational skills. Granted, not every child prodigy can turn out a Mozart, or a Keith Jarrett, but that's the exception.

And those other two a) and c) people probably loathes us b) people being in the same band.
 
#144
When I hear really really decade old tapes of our first band starting out, boy, you bet that I was flaky by all means. Playing, intolerance, whacky ideas, but I did hone it and got away whith the bad habits. As fast as you'd start to get REGULAR and paying gigs, you simply turned up on time, left on time, and played in time, and on time. And kept silent when you should. No brainer. I had no aspberger, adhd, damp, bipolar, or ocd so I could quite easily manage and didn't complain that much.

And absolutely no no reefer: I was asthmathic as a kid so I couldn't tolerate any smoke (even from regular tobacco). Played with guys who didn't do it either.
 
#145
;)
inspirationdemotivator.jpeg
 
#146
Killed_by_Death said:
I used to enjoy working with Engineers, because they were usually well disciplined.
As a matter of fact, the jobs/fields they choose are often called their "Discipline".

Musicians on the other hand, well I think we all know the recurring theme of flakiness from the Band Management sub-forum.

I think it's a general thing with folks who use that side of the brain more, artists, etc.
Click to expand...

A lot of engineers are musicians, I went to a school that specialized in engineering and the music program was well populated, some were extremely talented.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Killed_by_Death
#147
The Dunning-Kruger Effect and research was induced by the following VERY FLAKEY bank robbery:

"A person went into a bank, totally unmasked, and robbed a bank. Everything caught by all surveillance cameras. 20 minutes later he was caught. In court he couldn't get why the invisible ink he had sprayed all over his face hadn't worked. A full grown up man, with a job (However not well paid seemingly) and middle class. Nothing about his education."
 
  • Like
Reactions: s0c9
#148
Idk....musicians in general tend to lean towards drugs or alcohol for some type of "inspiration", which also leads to flakyness. Not saying every musician does drugs, but some of the best albums of all time were created by flaky drug addicts. Alice in Chains for example, more so Layne Staley, the album's he did were depressing and brutally honest. I'm not so sure you would have gotten that level of lyrical content if he wasn't dosed out on heroin. As far as the flake level goes....just watch their Music Bank DVD. Sorry for rambling, just my observation.
 
#151
Honch said:
I've found out that it depends on WHEN you started out playing music. Did one:

a) start out playing by pressure from parents ONLY very very young when you have no idea (remember the word only here). Being a child prodigy?
b) starting out for yourself, for no apparent reason, that you can't let it go...you just want to... at around 10 years of age? (say 9-10-11, pre teen)
c) Starting out in your early teens JUST because of impressing on the chicks? (remember the important word JUST here) When you starting to feel the hormons rage and just want to get laid? This, most bands have started, and is an academical proven point, in numerous researches:

.
Click to expand...
I started as a) classical bassist at about 10 (parents encouraged me), and then turned into a b) with guitars. I played musicals in pit orchestras and the odd wedding either on bass or guitar until I graduated college. Then I took a 30 year break and started playing again at 50 (almost 9 years ago). I am having a blast, gigging way more that I ever did before, and I now play by ear and improvise at will both on upright and BG, but no longer play guitar.

The people I play music with aren't flakey at all. The flakes around here are in the wine business!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Honch
#153
what if some officers in the military would be accepted to be and act a little flakey from time to time? ;)



Great tune, great lyrics:

Up above the sunny skies in south California
There's a wounded rocket flying high, heading homeward
It came from a hollow, under a hill
And soon there'll be nobody left to kill
In California

Last night captain Black went dancing at the Whiskey A-Go-Go
When a well-known groupie knocked him back, busted his ego
Stoned out of his head, he crawled off to bed
The following morning he went to the pad
The missile was standing pointing to the skies of California

The red balloon was flying high, watching the weather
Captain Black was trying hard to get it together
Immediate names came into his brain
A rocket from China, a Russian plane
He pushed the wrong button and soon there'll be no place called
California
 
#154
Honch said:
And well, on the other hand, When Peter Green and Syd Barrett did acid, NOTHING good came out of it. And that's why they got sacked from their bands. They thought it would help.
Click to expand...

Truth. In fact, Syd was cooking up his own drugs at home....pretty sure his at home lab experiments accelerated his loss of sanity. Look at The Beatles on the other hand...Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds?!?! Yet considered the greatest rock band of all time and an inspiration to countless musicians.
 
#155
Took me a few days to realize I'm offended. This is a micro aggression against musicians. It feeds the stereotype, and it's part of why as a group we are the LEAST valued of all the professions in the world today. On average we all make way less than McDonald's workers (sorry Cole). These agresseions need to stop!!!!! What if the title of this thread was why are women so flaky? Or why are black people so flaky? From here on I want to be referred to as musician only, not flaky musician, or even bass player.... Or something like that. Yeah. I want to be offended by this because it's the only way I'll start earning as much as others.... Right?





Please keep in mind I have 103 degree fever for 3 days in a row now.
 
  • Like
Reactions: GwenOnBass
#157
The thing is, you'll find very few SUCCESSFUL musicians who are flakey. You don't have to be the best, but if you have your sh*t together and work hard at it, you'll almost always come out ahead of someone with more raw talent. I'd also rather work with that person any day of the week.

This is basically what I base everything off of. I know I'm not nearly the best player, but I've come into many fill-in situations or auditions and I'm fully prepared and ready to go. 9/10 people respect and remember that, even if you're not THE guy.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Honch and Joe Nerve
#158
As far as engineers go.....I'm a CNC machinist, I work with a dozen engineers on a daily basis. While they are some of the book smartest people I've ever met, they seem to lack in the common sense department. They don't seem to understand that, while what they create on paper looks good, it doesn't always translate over so well into real world application. And if you bring this up to them, the usual response is "I know what I'm doing, I went to school for this". Cool bud, now how about you come down to the shop floor, get your hands dirty, and show me how that's gonna work. Now I'm not saying that attitude applies to all engineers, I'm just generalizing based on the ones I work with everyday.
 
#159
Look, flaky musicians tends to team up with or seek to play with bands that has a lot of people in them. So they can take a backseat or make a lazy work, or pretend to act busy, but their contributions are mediocre. If you have a small trio, say jazz, you can't hide behind any other. Either has to contribute just as much, and if they are flakey it will show big time. Most trios I've been in have musicians that are interested in challenges. and wanting to go further than they previously have done. I e developing and evolving as a musician and nothing else. Flakes are JUST in it for the fuc...sorry...fun...
 
  • Like
Reactions: wallawallabob, Killed_by_Death and BurningTheAltar

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back