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R/E/P => R/E/P Archives => Budget? Budget? We Don't Got No Steekin' Budjet => Topic started by: Dave Martin on January 25, 2006, 07:21:22 PM

Title: If you're an artist who's NOT playing in public, why not???
Post by: Dave Martin on January 25, 2006, 07:21:22 PM
Here's another question... it seems to me that the heart and soul of being a musical artist is live performance. If you're sitting in your room writing and recording, there's no way to know whether your material actually moves other people. If you're out in front of them, you know right away. And there's another issue - in most cases, I believe that music is a conversation between musicians; if you're sitting at home (ESPECIALLY if you play all the parts yourself), an appropriate analogy is that you're talking to yourself, not to other people. This is not generally to be considered a good thing.

Some of the folks here DO get out and play on a regular basis; if you don't, why not? And if you do, what do you get out of it that makes it worth the effort?
Title: Re: If you're an artist who's NOT playing in public, why not???
Post by: Tidewater on January 25, 2006, 07:26:05 PM
I am not an acoustic guitar and a guy thing.

It takes money to hold a decent thing together, there's no money in live playing, as there used to be. I have made negative $20k playing live in the last 8 years.

If people heard my songs, they'd cry, and commit suicide, and that's the happy songs.


M
Title: Re: If you're an artist who's NOT playing in public, why not???
Post by: Tim Halligan on January 25, 2006, 07:36:29 PM
In my city, there are two options if you want to play live...

a. covers;
b. indie/grunge style originals.

I don't do either.

As for setting up gigs, getting 90 people @ $2/head when production costs $250+ turns it into a bit of a no-brainer...

If you aren't on the radio, then the punters won't come...and you can't get on the radio if you don't have a record...

There is no record company types over here that are actually interested in finding new artists...they are unit-shifters. To get interest from a label would mean re-locacting to the east coast...which is not going to happen...

It's a viscious circle.


Cheers,
Tim
Title: Re: If you're an artist who's NOT playing in public, why not???
Post by: Ryan Leigh Patterson on January 25, 2006, 10:28:18 PM
I stopped playing for the last two years to focus on the engineering bit and write/record a new record.  I'm finally getting back into the swing of things with a small show early next month and I'm really excited.  I can understand the reasons behind not wanting to play shows though, it can be frustrating to get a band together and keep it running smoothly.

Title: Re: If you're an artist who's NOT playing in public, why not???
Post by: smorgdonkey on January 25, 2006, 10:55:45 PM
The short answer is "I hate cigarette smoke". I live in Alberta and it is one of the last holdouts to keep the pubs/bars a 'smoking friendly' environment. After they finally make people go outside to smoke...I may go do some 'open mic night' things again...but really I am driven to create and performing really doesn't matter to me like it used to.
Title: Re: If you're an artist who's NOT playing in public, why not???
Post by: maxim on January 26, 2006, 04:18:02 AM
i don't play for money

i find the experience terrifying and knee-trembling

i don't look forward to gigs

so why the fuck do i do it?

i suppose it's the search for approval and validation

a few things i've realised from playing live that the quality of experience is not qualitatively different according to the number of people in the audience

just one person to come up to you and thank you is the answer to your question, dave

in smaller places, you can actually see the communication in people's faces

the thing i really find difficult is the raised stage

the only people you can communicate with, or 'play' with, are other musicians

that's why i stopped doing solo gigs

the whole thing becomes more of a performance (a 'trained monkey', as jacques brel called it), than music

or masturbation rather than group sex (which, not coincidentally, is much more entertaining to watch)

why do people stop gigging?

Title: Re: If you're an artist who's NOT playing in public, why not???
Post by: floodstage on January 26, 2006, 08:17:38 AM
Been playing out a little bit lately but I did take a number of years off.  Carrying equipment and running mains/monitors/playing guitar at the same time just took the fun out of it.

Recently, I've found a couple clubs that have a house soundman and house sound rig and, what do you know, all of the sudden I'm interested in playing again.
Title: Re: If you're an artist who's NOT playing in public, why not???
Post by: George_ on January 26, 2006, 08:29:55 AM
Quote:


If people heard my songs, they'd cry, and commit suicide, and that's the happy songs.


are you a member of "my dying bride"??? hahahaha

great comment;)
Title: Re: If you're an artist who's NOT playing in public, why not???
Post by: Tidewater on January 26, 2006, 10:06:29 AM
piracy..

I am Super-Bitter. Music is an abusive spouse.

This puts me in a very unique position though, as I am hyper-critical from the onset, and not afraid to take control of garbage, for money.

M


riches returned
Title: Re: If you're an artist who's NOT playing in public, why not???
Post by: Invisible Member on January 26, 2006, 10:26:36 AM


I listen to Steve Vai break musical types into a couple of different categories and it's been a great help in fabricating excuses.

Performer and composer are the two I remember but I vaguely remember there being a variation in Performer with "Showman" and Composer with Writer.

I wanted to be a performer (aka rockstar) but became somewhat addicted to writing in the studio. Getting the music out of my head an onto somekind of medium was a release irregardless whether people heard it or not. Lots of woodshedding and writing led me to become reclusive and ecletic because I was obsessed with fitting in between the niches.  Then one day it dawned on me that I sucked and it was probably a good idea to keep my music to myself. The opposite problem that Miles has... People hear my music and either die from laughter or commit suicide because of the horror of being exposed to it.

So my summary to the question is because I'm really bad.


Title: Re: If you're an artist who's NOT playing in public, why not???
Post by: Roadster on January 26, 2006, 11:12:49 AM
I wouldn't trade my playing days and experience there for anything. I would do it over again. It was a natural transition for me, personally, to stop playing on stage and start playing in front of a recorder.

I often look at my studio, in fact, in the same way I looked at an audience. Like it's an idiotic, fickle thing and I am there to basically entertain myself.

But you are also right Dave. It's not good to talk to yourself too much!  Smile  Smile

"What?"

"I said it's not good to talk to yourself too much."
Title: Re: If you're an artist who's NOT playing in public, why not???
Post by: McAllister on January 26, 2006, 12:34:10 PM
Since my son was born the time alloted for rehearsals & gigs has dimished. Not that it's not there (lord knows I've made & released a couple of discs, rehearsed the hell out of a 30 piece band, and played out some), there is just a lot less of it.

The guitarist in my band just had a son, plus he's working nights now (I work days), so we're not even really a band. Which is a shame 'cause I miss it tremendously.

My second new years resolution (first is: no crappy beer) is: get out and gig more.

M
Title: Re: If you're an artist who's NOT playing in public, why not???
Post by: archtop on January 26, 2006, 12:53:45 PM
Scheduling is a biggie.


Willingness to put up with others crap is another.



I get off on playing and recording it.

Playing out for others, not so much.
Title: Re: If you're an artist who's NOT playing in public, why not???
Post by: spoon on January 26, 2006, 01:18:11 PM
Dave Martin wrote on Wed, 25 January 2006 18:21

Here's another question... it seems to me that the heart and soul of being a musical artist is live performance. If you're sitting in your room writing and recording, there's no way to know whether your material actually moves other people. If you're out in front of them, you know right away. And there's another issue - in most cases, I believe that music is a conversation between musicians; if you're sitting at home (ESPECIALLY if you play all the parts yourself), an appropriate analogy is that you're talking to yourself, not to other people. This is not generally to be considered a good thing.



There is the hook.  _To me_ playing live is not the heart and soul of a musical artist.  It is to some for sure.  But I treat it how art in general is treated which leads to the next part.

The point of creating music (to me) is expression (usually self expression).  One would like others to be moved by their art, but creating the art / expressing one's self would be the main goal.
"This is what I wanted to say"...period.  "I hope you can relate, understand, appreciate it but, ultimately, this is what I wanted to convey."

I find expressing that message is better served by recorded audio, as the artist has a better chance to accurately convey that message and if the message has many layers, it will take multiple listens to unlock it all.

This may diverge from the origins of recording (to capture a reasonable facsimile of the live event) but recording has since come to encompass more.  I appreciate that quality.


Reasons not to play live:
Some of the above...The messages is not as strong live.
Lack of control (of the sound) due to the environment.
Drunk hipsters.
Hate the setup/break-down part of the evening.
Working around band mates schedules.
Gear gets trashed...tour worn.
The cost of guitar pics.

Best regards,
spoon


Title: Re: If you're an artist who's NOT playing in public, why not???
Post by: Hud Hudson on January 26, 2006, 01:40:14 PM
I shifted from performing to producing fifteen years ago but now that some of my recents songs have gotten favorable feedback, I'm being taunted into performing again and may start doing so in the spring. I was a relatively young man (35) when I "retired" from performing and just turned 50 this week, so I'm sure it will be a different experience, what with all the groupies calling me "Geezer" and "Gramps" instead of "Sweet Cheeks" and "Studmuffin."
Title: Re: If you're an artist who's NOT playing in public, why not???
Post by: wavdoctor on January 26, 2006, 02:34:53 PM
Hellapeno wrote on Thu, 26 January 2006 18:40

I shifted from performing to producing fifteen years ago but now that some of my recents songs have gotten favorable feedback, I'm being taunted into performing again and may start doing so in the spring. I was a relatively young man (35) when I "retired" from performing and just turned 50 this week, so I'm sure it will be a different experience, what with all the groupies calling me "Geezer" and "Gramps" instead of "Sweet Cheeks" and "Studmuffin."


I feel your pain Hellapeno..I am 48 and played for a good 20 years on and off..The smoke,the drunks,the coming in at sunup was fun when I was a younger man, But now I record for myself..because I'm the only one i need to please now. I still get asked by some of the local artists but I will not leave my 42" plazma TV home alone anymore than I have to..or my wife. Very Happy

HB
Title: Re: If you're an artist who's NOT playing in public, why not???
Post by: bilco on January 26, 2006, 06:05:54 PM
Not too much in the last few years.  Austin was a great place to play for acoustic singer/songwriters in the 90s, but that kind of faded away.  The "writers in the round" thing never caught on here the way it did in Nashville.  There are open mics, but the whole show up at 7:00 to sign up for a 11:00 2 song slot when you have to be at work at 6:00 the next morning thing gets old.  I am too old and tired to play a 4 hour solo show for next to nothing.  I do play in a request band every week and I get to slip one of mine in every now and then.

What I get out of the recording: It's like looking for the Holy Grail to try to capture what I hear in my head on a CD.  The process is really interesting.  I always liked tinkering with 4-track cassettes, a Dokorder 4 track reel to reel before that, a "sound on sound" pioneer reel to reel and the machine that started it all, my grandfather's mono Wollensak tube reel to reel.

I gave up drugs and drinking and now the food is catching up with me.......  I have to be addicted to SOMETHING!

bilco
Title: Re: If you're an artist who's NOT playing in public, why not???
Post by: Roadster on January 26, 2006, 09:13:04 PM
Quote:

What I get out of the recording: It's like looking for the Holy Grail to try to capture what I hear in my head on a CD. The process is really interesting. I always liked tinkering with 4-track cassettes, a Dokorder 4 track reel to reel before that, a "sound on sound" pioneer reel to reel and the machine that started it all, my grandfather's mono Wollensak tube reel to reel.

I gave up drugs and drinking and now the food is catching up with me....... I have to be addicted to SOMETHING!


Very Happy Oh ya!
That's about it!
It was legal around these parts in the early 60's to play in the local watering holes when you were a teenager as long as you didn't drink. They considered you "hired help" like a dish washer, etc. And although I've played just about every type of venue since that time, for years you chug along honing your skills and getting paid just about as much as a......dish washer.  Smile
Some folks like to say it's "paying your dues". I basically ended up thinking it was nothing more than a rehearsal for what I'm doing these days. That would be uncovering the musician I am and the creative muse that was at the heart of why I took that route to begin with.    
Title: Re: If you're an artist who's NOT playing in public, why not???
Post by: eightyeightkeys on January 26, 2006, 10:49:38 PM
Endless rehearsals, humping a rack of keyboard modules & a 75 lb controller keyboard, plus stands and amps and shit, into and out of the car, the truck, the van, up and down stairs, multiple stairs, icey stairs in winter, playing a gig at a smokey, dingy, smelly local bar (if you're lucky-otherwise you're on the road to who knows where), with nowhere to escape the D.J., who is louder than the band, and of course almost invariably a greasy jack-ass for an owner, who you may have to choke for the money, schlepping home at 3 or 4 am, then re-humping the gear into the house, over & over again for...how much money ? (if you calculated how much you made per hour you'd probably want to jump off a bridge or something)

Yeah, I miss it. (Did I mention the stairs ?)

I'm quite happy in my little studio. Thx.

Title: Re: If you're an artist who's NOT playing in public, why not???
Post by: Roadster on January 27, 2006, 12:32:05 AM

Quote:

Endless rehearsals, humping a rack of keyboard modules & a 75 lb controller keyboard, plus stands and amps and shit, into and out of the car, the truck, the van, up and down stairs, multiple stairs, icey stairs in winter, playing a gig at a smokey, dingy, smelly local bar (if you're lucky-otherwise you're on the road to who knows where), with nowhere to escape the D.J., who is louder than the band, and of course almost invariably a greasy jack-ass for an owner, who you may have to choke for the money, schlepping home at 3 or 4 am, then re-humping the gear into the house, over & over again for...how much money ? (if you calculated how much you made per hour you'd probably want to jump off a bridge or something)

Yeah, I miss it. (Did I mention the stairs ?)


Very Happy The ones on Rush Street in Chicago in the 70's? Hauling a B3 up with 2 Leslies? No, you didn't happen to mention THAT!  
Title: Re: If you're an artist who's NOT playing in public, why not???
Post by: Fibes on January 27, 2006, 10:11:27 AM
Most bands that carry B3s and leslies have hernias.

Constantly.


Title: Re: If you're an artist who's NOT playing in public, why not???
Post by: Dave Martin on January 27, 2006, 12:33:00 PM
Fibes wrote on Fri, 27 January 2006 09:11

Most bands that carry B3s and leslies have hernias.



We were in worse shape than that - back in the day, the organist in the band had a C3. And we didn't know anything about dollies; all the guys inthe band would just grab hold of part of the Hammond. And run towards the stage with it... it WAS silly, and yes, the wheel HAD been invented by then.
Title: Re: If you're an artist who's NOT playing in public, why not???
Post by: hargerst on January 27, 2006, 12:43:51 PM
If I do any playing live, I just bring a small 15 watt amp and a guitar or bass, and that's it.  Nobody really wants to see an old geezer on stage anyway, but it's fun for me at times.  At least, I take the time before a show to learn the chords.
Title: Re: If you're an artist who's NOT playing in public, why not???
Post by: overeasy on January 27, 2006, 12:48:12 PM
our band plays 90% originals, and we live in NJ.

aka "The Freebird State"



Title: Re: If you're an artist who's NOT playing in public, why not???
Post by: AndreasN on January 28, 2006, 02:02:29 PM
Playing in the studio is getting duller for every live experience. I need people there to feed back their impression and joy and persuade me to give a performance worthy of their appraisal!

The public helps raising the music to new heights in a synergy between performer and dancers/listeners, which at the best of times create a here-and-now vibe that surpasses the experience of any recording.

Can see why people like to do endless arranging, edits, programming and so forth, but that's just not for me. Music is a living organism, not something to plan and ponder too much about. Just do it and get over with it!

Do about one gig a month and that's perfect to me. It's not for the money, just for the experience, which is highly addictive. =)



Cheers,

Andreas
Title: Re: If you're an artist who's NOT playing in public, why not???
Post by: Eddie Matthews on January 28, 2006, 04:20:50 PM
Thank you, Andreas.

We perform because we can.  And for some of us, because we must.  Can't explain it. It's just why we're here.
Title: Re: If you're an artist who's NOT playing in public, why not???
Post by: Tidewater on January 28, 2006, 05:49:20 PM
ROFLMAO Dave.

A C3 is a B3 with a built in anchor.


M
Title: Re: If you're an artist who's NOT playing in public, why not???
Post by: daQuad on January 28, 2006, 07:31:49 PM
I am with Harvey on this, I'm a gezzer and too old to be seen on stages lest they lose their cool, I still like jams for interaction / inspiration, but I did so much live-band I only do it for fun very occasionally.  Otherwise I'm writing in the project studio...
Title: Re: If you're an artist who's NOT playing in public, why not???
Post by: Dave Martin on January 29, 2006, 01:46:19 AM
DivideByZero wrote on Sat, 28 January 2006 16:49

ROFLMAO Dave.

A C3 is a B3 with a built in anchor.

M

No kidding! At least we didn't carry the pedals with it...

I've got a C3 in the studio now, but fortunately, it doesn't get moved. And the Leslie is on a dolly so I can put it wherever I need to for a given session.
Title: Re: If you're an artist who's NOT playing in public, why not???
Post by: Tidewater on January 29, 2006, 08:07:04 PM
I think porta-Bs are rated to 125mph, A-100s to 155mph, Bs are rated to 200mph, and Cs are rated to 350.

Pedals add 45mph.


M
Title: Re: If you're an artist who's NOT playing in public, why not???
Post by: westwing audio on January 30, 2006, 12:17:20 PM
Seems to depend on the location but, around here, what little there is of the "music scene" is constantly fighting to stay just above abysmal, especially if you're an all-originals band.  Got tired of lugging equipment to shows to play for mostly empty tables with 3 or 4 other bands, no sound checks and not getting paid for it.  The ocassional exceptions to this weren't enough to warrant the effort any longer.  

Parenthood also figured prominently in my decision to exit playing live.  There just weren't enough hours in the day to hold down a day job, be a decent parent, and try to pursue an active gigging schedule.  My health and my marriage were beginning to suffer so it was time to call it quits.  The studio thing is far more satisfying and I'm actually making a little money with it.
Title: Re: If you're an artist who's NOT playing in public, why not???
Post by: Gary Flanigan on January 30, 2006, 05:26:03 PM
I think that there are only two valid motivations for a rocker to perform-lust and greed.

I find myself very much in love with my wife and there is no money in playing live unless you are famous.

That and the fact that I am old and a bit round keep me off the stage.
Title: Re: If you're an artist who's NOT playing in public, why not???
Post by: maxdimario on January 30, 2006, 06:22:17 PM
music in public needs a more sophisticated public than dj music.

musicians are a dying breed, but not for long...

I'm out of it, but the next generation must NOT listen to the hype ..if music is to live.

turn OFF those tv's, turn OFF those home-studios and write songs!

arranging can be bought!
Title: Re: If you're an artist who's NOT playing in public, why not???
Post by: Greg Youngman on January 30, 2006, 06:24:02 PM
Gary Flanigan wrote on Mon, 30 January 2006 14:26

 and there is no money in playing live unless you are famous.



Isn't that the truth.  I have much more fun and profit in the studio.  That stage attention can do some weird things to people.
Title: Re: If you're an artist who's NOT playing in public, why not???
Post by: maxim on January 30, 2006, 09:14:49 PM
gary wrote:

'two valid motivations for a rocker to perform-lust and greed."

you say it like it's a bad thing

max dm wrote:

"I'm out of it.."

i hope you haven't bought into all that agist propaganda
Title: Re: If you're an artist who's NOT playing in public, why not???
Post by: Trumpetman2 on January 31, 2006, 10:06:37 AM
Greg Youngman wrote on Mon, 30 January 2006 18:24

Gary Flanigan wrote on Mon, 30 January 2006 14:26

 and there is no money in playing live unless you are famous.



Isn't that the truth.  I have much more fun and profit in the studio.  That stage attention can do some weird things to people.



Not only that, but for many years I played on stage in various jazz, salsa, etc. bands and have no lasting documentation of it....when I do a "trumpet jazz creation" in my studio...it lasts a long time and people are now asking me for a "reissue" of something I did 8 years ago!!!!!  In short, recordings last for posterity (or infamy...) live performances blow in the wind..... Laughing
Title: Re: If you're an artist who's NOT playing in public, why not???
Post by: Tidewater on January 31, 2006, 10:12:45 AM
Wow, I am just worn out, and 'have been played', but alot of you guys are just plain anti-social!

There really isn't a feeling in the World like hearing your vocal warble off the back of Tampa stadium! I like big crowds, on the other side of a retainer, thank you very much!

I loved to throw my guitar across the stage. I love Miller Genuine Draft!

Nothing really measures up.. nothing.. a kick ass band, kicking ass. Fact is, they don't make us like they used to. Smile

The World SUCKS! (*but when I was there, it rocked!)


M

*come on! not because of me, but FOR ME! Woohoo! I am old!
Title: Re: If you're an artist who's NOT playing in public, why not???
Post by: John Ivan on January 31, 2006, 11:30:32 AM
Yep.. It's a blast. I still love it a lot. Thankfully, it still pays in the clubs around here,,,just not as many. The bigger shows I do are a blast!! I never want to stop doin' it live.

"What??" "I said More kick in the fill's please"

Ivan.............................................
Title: Re: If you're an artist who's NOT playing in public, why not???
Post by: Dave Martin on January 31, 2006, 11:35:25 AM
And I think that there's no feeling at all like standing on a stage with a bunch of musicans, creating something that is, by its very nature, ephemeral. That's part of what I love about it - you play it, you're done. If you wanna hear it again, you play it again the next night, when it'll be different.

The moments that I remember are usually little things - playing with a second line band in front of a few thousand people at a street festival, and at some point, tossing a cowbell and a beater to the burnt out monitor guy, who'd been on stage for 3 days. And having him wake up and start rockin' along with us. it wasn't about what I did, but about how HE reacted. or seeing some little old lady get all teary eyed when the singer did "Embraceable You" at a retirement home - obviously a story there - one that I'll never know. Playing with a full orchestra - nothing else is like it. Or even the night that the guitarist and I both ended up with feedback a third apart (I had to have been using some sort of really obnixous distortion box to even get my bass to feed back) - and letting it sustain for minutes while the singer scatted around around what we were playing, creating all sorts of interesting chords...

I'm a couple of weeks away from finishing a blues/R&B/blues rock project in the studio - and then we're gonna go out and play; we're not too old to rock, though I admit that we MIGHT be too old for people to pay to see us rock.
Title: Re: If you're an artist who's NOT playing in public, why not???
Post by: PookyNMR on January 31, 2006, 12:37:45 PM
I still play live all the time.  I think it helps me keep my edge musically.  I also agree that the synergy of the band members is of critical importance.  I also think that it helps me to stay connected to audiences and lets me know what moves them and what doesn't.  
Title: Re: If you're an artist who's NOT playing in public, why not???
Post by: scott volthause on January 31, 2006, 05:40:47 PM
I play live several times a month in an original band. I love it. It really is where it's at... for me personally.
Title: Re: If you're an artist who's NOT playing in public, why not???
Post by: Primear on January 31, 2006, 05:44:43 PM
I have played in bands and/or have done solo gigs since I was 16 years old. Im now 39 and havent gigged since I moved to the Carolinas. I was in a store today asking where people might play music. I got the low down on a few coffee shops and a few other places. Seems Bluegrass is big here so Ill just brush up on those chops.

I enjoy playing out. I dont need the money for living but for gear sluttage. Its nice to use that little bit o cash for a new pedal or mic or whatever.

Ill be playing live till I die. My great aunt has just quit her band in NYC. She is in her 90's and does the chord melody jazz show tune bebop thing. Like her Ill be doing the same. As I get older the style may change (although Im pretty pleased to play any style now) but Ill continue to play for folks...

Playing music is breathing...
Title: Re: If you're an artist who's NOT playing in public, why not???
Post by: Coco on February 01, 2006, 10:34:23 AM
I really enjoy playing live and I get cranky when my band does not do a show for a while. I feel an itch coming on and I tend to bug out a bit until we get a show. I have been playing live locally since I was about 15 years old in an old hardcore/punk thing and now am in a band doing an alt/indie rock thing. Now at age 34 I am one of the "old guys" in the local alt/indie scene but who cares. I get real satisfaction openning up for a younger band full of white belt wearing hipsters and freaking them out because the old guys can still kick ass. I have been in a zillion bands but none of them have ever toured, which is basically bad luck. The bands I have been in seem to self destruct once the ball gets rolling and it is time to book shows out of town, and someone always flakes out. That usually means I am stuck holding the bag on owing a studio money because we were half way through a recording once things caved in. That has happened more than once, so I got sick of that and bought my own recording gear. I am always the band mother and that tends to piss me off. Nothing like having to tell your guitar player to make sure he has an extra set of strings before a gig. Thank God those days are over and the band I am in now has their shit together. The fact that I am a drummer, I have a large amount of stuff to move, which is no big deal except when all the other guys are sitting around drinking beer while I strike my gear and 9 times out of 10, I end up humping their gear as well because they are out in the parking lot smoking a joint when it comes time to do load our gear. I am really getting sick of moving someone elses Ampeg 8 x 10" cabinet, but it is all worth while just to see the reaction of the crowd when they dig your tunes.
Title: Re: If you're an artist who's NOT playing in public, why not???
Post by: Spiritwalkerpro on February 02, 2006, 01:09:31 PM
Dave Martin wrote on Fri, 27 January 2006 10:33

Fibes wrote on Fri, 27 January 2006 09:11

Most bands that carry B3s and leslies have hernias.



We were in worse shape than that - back in the day, the organist in the band had a C3. And we didn't know anything about dollies; all the guys inthe band would just grab hold of part of the Hammond. And run towards the stage with it... it WAS silly, and yes, the wheel HAD been invented by then.



Ha! I remember when I was 14 trying to carry an M3 up the stairs at the local Elks club.  Had to be 30 stairs.  I remember the guitar player, who was on the bottom, about a 3rd of the way up yelling "I can't hold it"  I tried to slow it down but holy smoke did that unit go down fast and hard.  The pedals were ruined and we were scared for life!  Do I miss moving furniture? no.  Do I miss gigging live? oh yah.  Sad but hardly any gigs here for an old guy of 46.

Norm
Title: Re: If you're an artist who's NOT playing in public, why not???
Post by: Trumpetman2 on February 05, 2006, 05:21:19 AM
 Shocked Very interesting...but NOT suprising- the thread is divided by young(er) rockers who "must" play to a large audience, and older musicians (like myself) who have been there/done that and are somewhat tired of it!  Do I miss being on stage?  Hell yeah, but I'm having a ball in my studio!!!!!  The studio gives me the ability to do what I want, how and when I want....can't do that with a live venue; things are usually controlled by whomever is paying for the venue.... Confused  
Title: Re: If you're an artist who's NOT playing in public, why not???
Post by: Dave Martin on February 05, 2006, 10:21:06 AM
I'm not sure that the division is quite that simple - I'm 48 and by the summer hope to be playing live gigs 4-5 nights a week (we're booking the dates now with a couple of the artists I work with). It MAY be that there's a division between those who do it as a hobby and those who work with music as a living, or between those who feel like it's 'worth the effort' and those who don't, but I don't really think that age in and of itself has anything to do with it.

Maybe it's 'maturity'; I have no intention of growing up and acting like an adult - there's no fun in that. I'd rather be Dennis the Menace than Mister Wilson.
Title: Re: If you're an artist who's NOT playing in public, why not???
Post by: floodstage on February 05, 2006, 10:30:36 AM
Dave Martin wrote on Sun, 05 February 2006 10:21


.................
I have no intention of growing up and acting like an adult - there's no fun in that. I'd rather be Dennis the Menace than Mister Wilson.



What he said!!!!!
Title: Re: If you're an artist who's NOT playing in public, why not???
Post by: John Ivan on February 06, 2006, 12:13:51 AM
Yeah, I'm in my early 40's and do this for a living. I love it even though it's getting harder and harder to play local gig's. The tour's every summer in larger venues pay good but in the down time months, local band gig's are being replaced with DJ's and this thing called KARAFUCKINYOOOOKEEE.. So, it's tough. I do some playing sessions that help too but it's getting harder..

Age has nothing to do with it. I'll be playing live for as long as folks will have me.

Ivan...............................
Title: Re: If you're an artist who's NOT playing in public, why not???
Post by: Mark Gensman on February 06, 2006, 01:39:26 AM
I've been playing live for over forty years and still play many weekends a year. There is something about the feedback from a live audience that cannot be recreated in the studio. I get more of a rush from a standing ovation after a killer sax lead than I do when I close a million dollar dea. It isn't about the money..although the money these days is quite good.

From club gigs to concerts in front of thousands, playing live to me is like a drug. I'll just keep doing it until I can't.

So, here's a vote from an old guy that twenty five years ago tried to quit playing live and immediatly decided that was a dumb idea and never looked back.
Title: Re: If you're an artist who's NOT playing in public, why not???
Post by: Roger Langvik on February 07, 2006, 12:24:21 PM
Creation of music, seeing people happy, the social thing within the band is the three most positive things about playing live to me.

The put-offs are just as easy: drunken, rude people, being away from loved ones and lugging gear...

And depending on how the venue treats you, that can be positive or negative experience as well.

Actually I find the audience to be a two edged sword, they can be the reason I like to play live and the reason I just want to get the hell out of the whole scene.

I play in a pubband, so plenty of drunken people in those places.... Rolling Eyes
Title: Re: If you're an artist who's NOT playing in public, why not???
Post by: Dave Lang on February 12, 2006, 03:33:14 AM


Title: Re: If you're an artist who's NOT playing in public, why not???
Post by: Tidewater on February 13, 2006, 12:58:24 PM
..and the stone just keeps on rollin', bringing me some new bad news..


M