Bluewine

We can't control the behaviors of others. Blue

Unbelievable how hard our job is when we have to work with weak drummers. Blue

I like to think my strength is knowing how to be in a band as well as understanding my role in a band. I've been playing in bands since 1966. I have good basic understanding of chords ,what notes are in all the chords and how to make sense of it all. The ability to play bass lines that make musical sense and provide a solid foundation for any song. I'm certainly not the guy with the fancy riffs and a lot of technical ability. I'm not a complainer, I can't control others members behaviors or ideas. I sign on to play gigs , play bass and sing background vocals. I don't care about material choice, it's not why I'm in the band. My weakness, age. Playing 4 hour gigs is becoming increasingly difficult for me. Blue

Excellent selling points in my opinion. Blue

Depping is quite different than the guy trying to be a member of 2 busy gigging bands, right? Blue

You've seen all the YouTube clips of 2 years old with incredible technical ability and unbelievable chops. Fact, no matter how much most of practice and study we're never going to play at that level. Have you identified what you are good at, your strengths and where you fall short, your weaknesses. Please comment Blue

The Rolling Stones are the greatest Rock & Roll band in the world. Blue

Yes to that, if you don't sing you'll definitely limit your opportunities. Blue

A lot of our local toilets have closed and for good reason. Unfortunately many of the decent places that provided live local bands have also closed. Not many of the local bands can draw crowds that can make the nights economics. Blue

That's great advice. Just because you write songs doesn't mean you know how to arrange, record or produce a record. Agreed, if your serious about recording hire a good producer Blue

In my neighborhood it was the Mom's that were wonderful. Blue

Sad Blue

Well I was loading my gear into someone's parents car. Parents would drop us off and pick us up. Mostly school dances, church sponsored events for teens, YMCA stuff like that. Usually about $20.00 a man which as you can imagine was a lot of money for a 12 year old in 1966. Blue

It depends on what your in this for, the creative outlet of the bluesier band or the gigs of the cover band. I always contend you can't be in 2 bands that gig a lot without big schedule conflicts. There's only so many Fridays & Saturdays. Blue

My opinion none of these artist are in the same league as Aretha. It takes more than being a great singer to accomplish what Aretha did. Let's not forget get she was a once in a lifetime artist and has a very special place in history. The others don't in my opinion. I will continue to wave my 1960s flag high with honor and will always support the icons from my generation. Blue

I think about what I'm playing, staying aware of what the rest of the band is dong and the audience. Blue

Not sure cthis comment is for this thread. So weird, last night Saturday night I was loaded my bass into my car and getting ready for my gig. I remember doing this same routine when I was 12 years old. I'm still doing it at 65 years old. I'm blessed, there's no real down side to this. Blue

No matter how much you practice we all can't be fancy riff technical guys. Figure out where your abilities start and stop and work with it. Master what you can do well. Blue

The Vista King Boat Cruise on Lake Michigan was actually a good gig and I hardly ever say that. It was a good gig because it was sold out at $22.99 per ticket.so the pay was top rate. I think it sold out because we did it on at Saturday night instead of Friday night. After 3 disasterous gigs for me I was finally happy with my sound. I had my MXR M-80 Bass Distortion pedal on most of the night with gain and level down pretty low Great enthusiastic young crowd. Very engaged with the band thanks to our front person whose also our star lead guitarist. We came out " Blazing" from our first song till the last. We played non- stop for two hours. Our front did an excellent job calling up songs. All up tenpo recognizable standards including if you can believe it, Sunshine Of Your Love, Boots Are Made for Walking and our take on Superstition. No originals or slow tenpo songs all night. It's so much easier and effective to manage 2 hours of material as opised to 4. Blue

Awesome, and I thought my 65 gigs was a lot. Blue

I'm open to new music but my genre is pop and progressive guitar, bass and drum driven rock. Not much new stuff for my for my genre that I know of. Blue

I'm 65 and gigging every weekend. 39 is young in my book Blue

I go way back in the 70s with TOP. What can I say, I'm a FRP guy. Blue

Very interesting point. I would think guys playing at that level would have and could easily afford a good health insurance plan. What kind of money do these guys make as pro musicians. I would think 6 figures annually? Comments? Blue

Thanks, he's one of my top five. Unbelievable chops and a style all his own. Blue