Giving up playing live... things aren't what they used to be!

[Thurbs]

It's probably worth pointing out that not all "playing live" is in sh*tty pubs to pissed punters. Why not try somthing new & different?

[Musicman20]

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1398122830' post='2430774']
What a load of softy pussy-footing wimps, eh..?

Here's what the good gig circuit was like in the '60s...



Want to read more..?

[url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beatles_in_Hamburg"]Wikipedia: Beatles in Hamburg...[/url]

Still want to be a 'star'..? The British circuit was perhaps slightly less uncomfortable, but paid much less.
Things ain't what they used to be eh..? Gerraway..! Never 'ad it so good..!
[/quote]

If I didn't have the day job, and earnt a living off music (and was in a suitably amazing band) this wouldn't bother me!

[JTUK]

Sure would bother the hell out of me, tho...
I don't have any time or patience for half ar$*d efforts anymore...
I don't think I would have enjoyed it when I was young enough, but
I approach gigs now on the basis of how well are they going to look after us.
I want to look forward to gigs, not dread them...

[Bilbo]

At the age of 50, I am having the best year I have [i]ever[/i] had playing live.

About 5 years ago, I did 120 gigs in the year. I earned a lot of extra money but the music was totally sh*te. Some of it was so bad that I was really starting to question my own ability and getting massively frustrated that, in a nutshell, I was not doing myself or the music any favours by continuing to hack away in this fashion. I pared back all of my gigs to the bone and only agreed to take the gigs I thought had some musical merit or, if I am honest, which I enjoyed as a social event (in the 'dark years', some weren't even offering that!!). The following year I did about 30 gigs but I was arguably a lot happier with the gigs I did do and began to feel a lot better about the music I was playing. The space also allowed me to start thinking about playing the double bass and I saw an improvement in my playing, my musicality and my confidence.

Over the next few years, I started to see an improvement in the number of gigs was getting but also in the quality of those gigs (I hasten to add that, by quality, I do not necessarily mean money - the best gigs I have now pay really badly but that is not actually why do it). The gigs I do now are invariably more 'up my street' musically and I set up my own gigs now as much as I wait to be called. In the last 12 months, as well as playing with an orchestra for the first time (see that thread elsewhere), I have played with John Etheridge, Jim Mullen, Gareth Lockrane, Julian Siegel, John Parricelli, Tim Whitehead, Tony Kofi, Kate Williams, Alan Barnes, Peter King, Georgia Mancio, Phil Robson, Christine Tobin, Martin Speake, David Gordon, Josh Kemp, Kelvin Christiane, Nigel Price, Vasilis Xenopoulos, Gilad Atzmon, Ross Lardner, Christian Garrick, Julian Nicholas, Pete Oxley, Steve Fishwick, Osian Roberts, Lewis Wright, Robin Jones Latin Jazz ensemble, Mark Cecil, Nic France (Kate Bush, Dave Gilmour), Steve Waterman, Art Themen, Mark Lockheart, Dave O'Higgins and Roger Beaujolais. In the next couple of months, I am scheduled to play with Byron Wallen, Jason Robello, Brandon Allen, Simon Allen, Ivo Neame (Phronesis), Matt Wates, Anita Wardell and Eddie Parker. I have also met and played with great (and I really do mean great) local (Suffolk, Norfolk and Essex) players like Andi Hopgood, Phil Brooke, Russ Morgan, Simon Brown, Roger O'Dell (Shakatak), George Double, Zak Barrett, Holly Barrett, Simon Hurley, Chris Ingham, Kevin Flanagan and Andy Watson and am imminently scheduled to play with a few more local monsters like Malcolm Miles as well as more gigs with Jim Mullen and a few others listed above. I have also done some other really nice local Jazz gigs with guys like Ben Blackmore, John Parker, Ian Buzer, Charlie Richardson, Dan Banks, Frank Sebastian, Adam Morris, Albert Garcia, Michael Spearman, Ian Thompson and Tristram Butler, any one of which I would be proud to share the stage with again at any time. It's been a great, great year.

Playing live is what Jazz musicians do. There is not really much point in it otherwise!! My point is that playing live is what you make of it. You get as good as you can be, get better at setting up your own gigs, learn the repertoire and get good at reading, whether that is dots or just charts and put yourself in the position of being the guy who gets at least some of the calls.

[flyfisher]

[quote name='Thurbs' timestamp='1398156943' post='2430912']
It's probably worth pointing out that not all "playing live" is in sh*tty pubs to pissed punters. Why not try somthing new & different?
[/quote]

Quite.

Some people must enjoy playing live in 'sh*tty pubs to pissed punters', because it seems a pretty tough way to make £40 or £50 otherwise..

[BigRedX]

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1398163417' post='2430996']
… My point is that playing live is what you make of it...
[/quote]

Completely and utterly this.

I too am having the most fun and musical satisfaction playing live right now than I have ever had in 35 years of gigging.

It seems to me that those who aren't happy about playing live are playing the wrong music in the wrong bands at the wrong venues to the wrong audience.

Also at the risk of sounding like a broken record I'm really not seeing a reduction in gigging opportunities. From my PoV it's never been easier to get decent paying gigs and TBH some of our best ones are in the north of England.

I can't help but think that this is a problem mostly affecting those who play covers. Maybe it's time to start playing your own music?

[JTUK]

I too, think there are much better gigs out there, which is why we can 'afford' to cut down
our pub work to about 4 pubs a year ( special pub dates notwithstanding ) The better ones we go back to maybe 3 times in that period
but only work them on a friday during the summer.
This way, it is also easier to keep the rates consistant and weed out the ones that have their set
pay scale.

[Musicman20]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1398168950' post='2431067']
Completely and utterly this.

I too am having the most fun and musical satisfaction playing live right now than I have ever had in 35 years of gigging.

It seems to me that those who aren't happy about playing live are playing the wrong music in the wrong bands at the wrong venues to the wrong audience.

Also at the risk of sounding like a broken record I'm really not seeing a reduction in gigging opportunities. From my PoV it's never been easier to get decent paying gigs and TBH some of our best ones are in the north of England.

I can't help but think that this is a problem mostly affecting those who play covers. Maybe it's time to start playing your own music?
[/quote]

Out of all the gigging bassists on Basschat, I envy both your gig position and Nigel's position. Both of you have tons of passion for live music and both seem to be having the most 'fun' (which is surely the idea of it!), plus I like the fact you are gigging your own music and have created an image to go along with it.

I mean this in a respectful way as well, as it seems you've got to this stage at a more 'mature' point in your bass playing, which is even cooler. I'm no spring chicken at 33 but it is a glimmer of hope.

I take a lot of advice from your posts on here, especially with regards to just getting down to writing, get in a band, and play what sounds great. It has, in a way, along with the rubbish time I've had with other songwriters, pushed me to write my own songs like I did when I was 13/14 and I had a lot more imagination.