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What Stopped Gigging for You


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[size=4][font=Arial]Open discussion about why your no longer gigging.[/font][/size]

[size=4][font=Arial]Here are a few examples, I'm sure there are others.[/font][/size][list]
[*][size=4][font=Arial]Lost Interest[/font][/size]
[*][size=4][font=Arial]Health Issues[/font][/size]
[*][size=4][font=Arial]Fear of playing in front of people[/font][/size]
[*][size=4][font=Arial]Could never find a band that played music I like[/font][/size]
[*][size=4][font=Arial]No personal connection to live performance only interested in at home projects[/font][/size]
[*][size=4][font=Arial]Too much trouble for the money[/font][/size]
[*][size=4][font=Arial]Gigged for years and grew tired of it[/font][/size]
[*][size=4][font=Arial]History of bad band experience[/font][/size]
[*][size=4][font=Arial]No market or opportunity for gigs in your region[/font][/size]
[*]Marriage and other personal family responsibilities
[/list]
Blue

Edited by blue
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Guest FretNoMore

Your list should perhaps include "health issues", for instance back and hand problems that aren't uncommon for bass players.

Edited by FretNoMore
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[quote name='FretNoMore' timestamp='1425358710' post='2706476']
Your list should perhaps include "health issues", for instance back and hand problems that aren't uncommon for bass players.
[/quote]

Your right, I thought I had listed. It should have been number 1. I am dealing with left hip pain. I was up to taking 600 milligrams of ibuprofen to get through a typical 4 hour bar show.

Blue

Edited by blue
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For me it hasn't happened yet. However,there are 2 things that would probably bring my gigging to a halt.[list=1]
[*]If my band were to break up,I would be out of business for a long time. In Milwaukee bands with paid gigs on a consistent basis are almost impossible to find.
[*]I'm 62 and at some point (knock on wood) health issues will probably prevent me from doing these back breaking 4 hour bar shows.
[/list]
Blue

Edited by blue
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[quote name='Chiliwailer' timestamp='1425363675' post='2706482']
Health issues.

However one door closes, another opens, and life moves on. I've been lucky, that the opening door had some good stuff behind it.
[/quote]

And the younger you are when doors close, the number of new doors increases.

Blue

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[quote name='blue' timestamp='1425364210' post='2706483']


And the younger you are when doors close, the number of new doors increases.

Blue
[/quote]

Not sure I'm with you there from a personal point of view. it's quality over quantity, one door opened for me, it was a good one and my life has more meaning now and purpose in a wider context.

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[quote name='Chiliwailer' timestamp='1425364467' post='2706484']
Not sure I'm with you there from a personal point of view. it's quality over quantity, one door opened for me, it was a good one and my life has more meaning now and purpose in a wider context.
[/quote]


That's awesome!

The more doors there are, your chances for quality increases. But, I get where your coming from.

I wish the 4 hour bar show door would close and the door to 80 minute headliner shows would open for me.

Blue

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Interestingly i got my band together because i had health issues. I needed something to focus my mind on and divert attention away from dwelling on health matters.
We are never going to be prolific giggers but we do gig and when i'm not feeling too great i do pick up the bass to practice and write riffs. I had a long break from music and prior to this was in a band that just rehearsed rehearsed rehearsed and did a handful of gigs which put me off.

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Still gigging quite a bit at the moment but out of the list, it will be "did it for years and grew tired of it" when I do stop.
(Assuming I get by on the health issues)

I know that I'm starting to feel a little weary now in fact.

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We still get gigs but they are definitely not as prolific as they were, so if it was to dry up, I think that would be the reason as I can't see me stopping anytime soon, as long as we get bookings. Obviously health could be a factor which no one can foresee.
Touch wood, I'm gonna keep on keepin on for a long while yet! ;)

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The last band I was in , left a nasty taste in the mouth so to speak . Initially , we never knew each other ( 4 of us). The singer was Irish/ American but was dropping out of rehearsal last minute . Mr. Guitar ( who also played bass), had no proper personality and only spoke to slag me off when I made errors in rehearsal.
Mr.drums was friendly and chatty but was angry at guitarist lack of personality. Mr. Vox had all the notions but sang awfully. I was very sluggish starting off tbh, and did deserve criticism .
We recorded a poor demo , which some people liked. We did 1 gig , and Mr. Guitar said I was the best performer . Next rehearsal, singer was gonna be away again , so Mr . Guitar quit.

Me and Mr. Drums auditioned a new guitarist. A friend of mine sang with me in a few birthday gigs , so we got Jim on board. We had. A much better time of things gigging more etc.
However, Mr guitar kept making up his own solos and was nearly sacked after about 6 months .trying to get used to his boss pedalboard.
He then used us, and quit.
So then Mr drums had to record in Thailand so quit also.
A few months later , it was just me and Mr drums.
We recruited 2 guitarists and a singer.
Singer was a good laugh . 1 guitarists wife commited suicide( he is a miserable bar steward any way). Broke his hand . We waited for him.
We played a few gigs / barbecues which were good .We recorded possibly the worst demo , because guitar 1 wanted to do it o the cheap.
Done by dj(s) who messed it up.
The band pics were embarrassing. I got a couple of gigs sending a previous cd we did which was good .
Then the band started bickering because I never learned 2 songs due to upheaval , and the songs I learnned, Mr guitar had not .
I'm in my early 50's now and cannot be bothered .
I wouldn't mind jamming in a rehearsal room tho 'just for fun .
Oh, and playing in front of one man and his dog, is a waste of time

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I retired aged 41 from regular gigging with my main band last year due to health problems (now fixed with a Pacemaker).
I kept the acoustic side project going, and I'm now depping for about 4 bands - I'm almost as busy as before I retired, played last weekend and am playing twice this weekend!

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I'm still in a band and we still gig on an irregular basis (only four gigs last year but then we lost our drummer!).

Over the years, family and work commitments have increased and I couldn't justify gigging 30-40 times a year any more. I also couldn't be bothered! :(

Due to those same family and work commitments, I also have to choose between playing cricket in the summer and playing in a band. At the moment its fine, but I miss my cricket now and it is starting to affect my health and fitness adversely....

The sacrifices I make for rock and roll! :yarr:

Edited by Conan
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I'm replacing a band as I didn't agree with a personel change. I accepted it had to be done but 2 of us
didn't like the new direction/player so we vetoed it. Apparently that set us on a collision course so we left.
I tend to leave if it isn't working musically... I can put up with a lot but the musical reason trumps all.

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Although I’ve committed to my current band for the rest of the year, I’ll be quitting after that. With a covers band you want to either make each song your own or absolutely nail a copy of the original, and for me it’s a case of not quite getting there. I also think some of the material choices are bad; too slow, too long, repetitive… and often cheesy. I need something more exciting.
Apart from that, my musical history has always been cyclical. I’ll spend a couple of years writing and recording original stuff, then I’ll get the itch to go back to live work. It’s now been 5 years since writing/recording. Funnily enough I don’t have notepads full of lyrics and chord sequences – nothing at all if I’m honest – but the urge has returned.

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Many years ago I stopped gigging for about 5/6 years. I`d both had enough of being in bands with "dedicated professionals", and simply wanted to go down the pub and get drunk, and gigging was getting in the way of that.

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Hostile/punative venues...

Potential audiences stay at home now... massive cultural change over last 20 years - look at the rise in super-market alcohol sales and correlate to pubs closing.

When audiences do appear, they generally don't want bands any more - only tunes they recognise are 'classics'/featured in films/featured in X-Factor/Radio which leads me to my next point...

Guitar-driven bands old fashioned in this era of Urban/R&B which has been the dominant style form for a little while now.

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[quote name='visog' timestamp='1425403346' post='2706988']
Hostile/punative venues...

Potential audiences stay at home now... massive cultural change over last 20 years - look at the rise in super-market alcohol sales and correlate to pubs closing.

When audiences do appear, they generally don't want bands any more - only tunes they recognise are 'classics'/featured in films/featured in X-Factor/Radio which leads me to my next point...

Guitar-driven bands old fashioned in this era of Urban/R&B which has been the dominant style form for a little while now.
[/quote]

And as I keep saying, from where I'm standing it's the complete opposite. There are far more gigging opportunities in my home town now than there were 15 years ago and even 35 years ago when I first moved here when getting to see a local band live at the weekend was a near impossibility. Furthermore I've probably done more gigs in the last 4 1/2 years with my current band than I have in all my bands over the previous 30 years. You just need to be entertaining and be prepared to put the work in to get the gigs because they are most definitely out there.

As for the question in the OP. In my case it will be either death - my own, or a massive change in priorities in my life. And since playing music has been pretty much the most important thing in my life for about 40 years now I can't see that changing out of choice anytime soon.

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I just have no desire whatsoever to entertain other people.

When I've been on stage in the past I have felt no connection whatsoever with the audience. If I felt anything at all it would best be described as indifference or even contempt.

I'm also very much a loner & just don't like the whole "band camaraderie" thing, it's the same reason I've never had any interest in team sports.

I still very occasionally do an acoustic gig with an old friend of mine who is a great singer but I do that because I love hearing her sing - I couldn't care less about the audience.

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Shift work makes it difficult. If others in the band aren't working shifts then nobody wants a bassist who can only rehearse alternate weeks. If others in the band are shift workers then usually the shifts don't coincide so there's no rehearsals at all. "What about weekend rehearsals," I hear you cry. I'd be up for that too, but nobody likes rehearsing at the weekend for a number of reasons - the day they have the kids, the missus wants to go shopping, it's my day in the pub, the football is on, can't be arsed etc etc.

So I have to wait for quiet periods when shifts stop and I work regular days... then shifts come back and I ask to stay on days... which is ok for a few weeks then I get the threats about what will happen if I don't start doing shifts again, and bye bye band.

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