Pros, wannabees and hobbyists

[Merton]

Hobbyist who is lucky to get paid for every gig I do, and I hopefully convey a professional attitude

[Dave Vader]

I would like to put forward the term "probbyist" for those who are doing the knife-edge balancing act of constant gigging while holding down a real job.

I stopped, am firmly a hobbyist now, it's nicer that way (until I change my mind again).

[RickyV]

Hobbyist. Latecomer to the world of bass. Full time job and in a rock covers band that are just starting to gig. I love it and I dont need or even want it to be any more than it is.

[CamdenRob]

Hobbyist here

[stingrayPete1977]

I'm a weekend warrior but we've got a wedding gig next Thursday so I'm not sure what I am now.

[EBS_freak]

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1471012384' post='3109997']
I'm a weekend warrior but we've got a wedding gig next Thursday so I'm not sure what I am now.
[/quote]
A husband to be.

[stingrayPete1977]

I'm not gay but my boyfriend is.

[EssentialTension]

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1471012799' post='3110002']
I'm not gay but my boyfriend is.
[/quote]

He's professional but you're only a hobbyist?

[JTUK]

I've tried both..
I admire a couple of my younger friends who have managed to get mortages through playing music. I also admire them if they have a great gig and a world tour but they weren't rich before that. I hope they will be when they finish.

I was just thinking this very morning that if I had then what I have now, I'd have gotten closer but whilst I earnt good money here and there, I knew I couldn't do that over 45 weeks a year, year-in, year-out so I took jobs that paid me a salary to live how I wanted to live. By the time you are 30 you need to make that choice and I did and had no regrets.

Ultimately it depends what you want from live and how you go about it... I made my decision with no regrets.
Would I do things differently? yes, but I don't have that option so don't worry about it.

I do think it is easier now...easier.. but still not easy..!!
I still get to play with some of those guys so that is good but I'm not going to struggle to do it...

[Funky Dunky]

Wannabe here. I don't wannabe famous, but I do wannabe gigging regularly and making money from playing bass. I want it badly enough but I don't reckon I'm good enough yet. Currently looking for a job with less hours (working 12 hour shifts hurts practice time) so I can dedicate more time to improving.

Edited August 12, 2016 by Funky Dunky

[tony_m]

Confirmed hobbyist here. Happily retired, was having fun with a couple of bands (albeit only rehearsing not gigging) but had to leave them when we took the opportunity to move to the other side of the country. Now trying to find another band, but still more for fun than profit.

[blue]

I'm not sure what a "Pro" is.

I don't have or want a traditional 9-5 job.

I make a living from playing music, however I would not consider my band a professional band because we work a lot.

So, I would say the band and myself have a professional attitude and we conduct ourselves in a professional manner.

Blue

[lowdown]

[size=4][color=#222222][font=Helvetica Neue, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif]Just a regular full time working Musician (not solely Bass income any more),[/font][/color] as opposed to 'living the dream'.
[color=#222222][font=Helvetica Neue, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif]Got my first tour when I left school at sixteen and being a musician is all [/font][/color]I have ever done work wise (now 59).
[color=#222222][font=Helvetica Neue, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif]Playing Bass is now only a part of what I do musically these days, [/font][/color]and I will more than likely hang my gigging Bass boots up in January.
[color=#222222][font=Helvetica Neue, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif]Currently, I am more involved with various Media Music related work ventures and projects, [/font][/color]working mostly from home, with a few short, overseas trips thrown in.

[color=#222222][font=Helvetica Neue, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif]I count myself as lucky, I suppose, as I always seemed to be in the right place, at the right time, when an opportunity arose.[/font][/color]
[color=#222222][font=Helvetica Neue, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif]Made dozens of contacts all over the world and managed to work and live in various other countries, working with a lot of top class musicians along the way.[/font][/color]
[color=#222222][font=Helvetica Neue, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif]The latter part of my career was mostly working with TV turns/tours and pit/show work and a few decent sessions thrown in.[/font][/color]
[color=#222222][font=Helvetica Neue, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif]The early days was doing Cruises, night clubs, overseas hotels and function etc.[/font][/color][/size]

And contrary to belief, I managed to eat, go on holidays, buy cars, buy houses and bring up two kids. Oh, and I have managed to sustain a very happy thirty one year relationship with my wife,
[size=4][color=#222222][font=Helvetica Neue, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif]who has also been in the music/stage industry all her working life[/font][/color] (Singer and Dancer)

[color=#222222][font=Helvetica Neue, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif]I have made a huge amount of friends in the music business, who have helped make me enjoy and laugh my way through 43 years in the business of show.[/font][/color]
[color=#222222][font=Helvetica Neue, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif]Would I do it all again ? Absolutely, although I suspect the working opportunities are not in[/font][/color][color=#222222][font=Helvetica Neue, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif] an abundance for a Bassist as was in my hey days. Things have changed a lot.[/font][/color]
[color=#222222][font=Helvetica Neue, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif]I guess you had to be there.[/font][/color][/size]
[size=4][color=#222222][font=Helvetica Neue, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif] [/font][/color][/size]

Edited August 12, 2016 by lowdown

[stingrayPete1977]

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1471015605' post='3110027']
I've tried both..

[/quote]

Well it's the 21st century, a hole's a goal and all that

[stingrayPete1977]

[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1471013732' post='3110011']


He's professional but you're only a hobbyist?
[/quote]

Well I'm not really putting my all into it.

[interpol52]

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1471015605' post='3110027']

I was just thinking this very morning that if I had then what I have now, I'd have gotten closer but whilst I earnt good money here and there, I knew I couldn't do that over 45 weeks a year, year-in, year-out so I took jobs that paid me a salary to live how I wanted to live. By the time you are 30 you need to make that choice and I did and had no regrets.

Ultimately it depends what you want from live and how you go about it... I made my decision with no regrets.
Would I do things differently? yes, but I don't have that option so don't worry about it.

[/quote]

And that sums it up perfectly for most. I think you have to make a decision at some point don't you?

I've just played in covers and originals for most of my time. I was professional for about 2 years when I was in a band that got signed to a major, it was fun, recording and touring etc but no success came our way. Luckily for me I have a career (I'm a teacher, is that a career anymore? I almost feel ashamed to say it nowadays), I knew I always had something to fall back on.

Now I am going to have a couple of years of being a hobbyist, my ears ring constantly and and in the absence of being able to find a band who can actually play their fecking instruments I'm better just playing bass at home.

I still love every minute of playing bass though, at home or with others.

[bottomofthebarrel]

Hobbyist. I enjoy playing music (mostly bass and drums) all by myself. The wife likes it too! She is still here, so I really think she does

[BrunoBass]

I have a good job which I guess you could say is a career. I work hard and make half decent money. As a bass player, I have no interest in 'making it', I'm happy playing in a covers band and I enjoy the gigs, the camaraderie and the crack. As a solo performer, yes I do dream of getting somewhere (wherever somewhere is), not as a performer but as a songwriter. I've been persisting and persevering with my songs for years off and on, and will keep chipping away. Sometimes I wonder why I bother but I have self belief and I'll carry on. I may never get anywhere but if you don't try you'll never know.

[BrunoBass]

[quote name='lowdown' timestamp='1471021803' post='3110093']
[size=4][color=#222222][font=Helvetica Neue, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif] Just a regular full time working Musician (not solely Bass income any more),[/font][/color] as opposed to 'living the dream'.
[color=#222222][font=Helvetica Neue, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif]Got my first tour when I left school at sixteen and being a musician is all [/font][/color]I have ever done work wise (now 59).
[color=#222222][font=Helvetica Neue, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif]Playing Bass is now only a part of what I do musically these days, [/font][/color]and I will more than likely hang my gigging Bass boots up in January.
[color=#222222][font=Helvetica Neue, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif]These days I am more involved with various Media Music related work ventures and projects, [/font][/color]working mostly from home, with a few short, overseas trips thrown in.

[color=#222222][font=Helvetica Neue, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif]I count myself as lucky I suppose, was always in the right place at the right time when an opportunity arose.[/font][/color]
[color=#222222][font=Helvetica Neue, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif]Made dozens of contacts all over the world and managed to work and live in various other countries, working with a lot of top class musicians along the way.[/font][/color]
[color=#222222][font=Helvetica Neue, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif]The latter part of my career was mostly working with TV turns/tours and pit/show work and a few decent sessions thrown in.[/font][/color]
[color=#222222][font=Helvetica Neue, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif]The early days was doing Cruises, night clubs, overseas hotels and function etc[/font][/color][/size]

And contrary to belief, I managed to eat, go on holidays, buy cars, buy houses and bring up two kids. Oh, and I have managed to sustain a very happy thirty one year relationship with my wife..
[size=4][color=#222222][font=Helvetica Neue, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif]Who has also been in the music/stage industry all her working life.[/font][/color] Singer and Dancer.

[color=#222222][font=Helvetica Neue, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif]I have made a huge amount of friends in the music business, who have helped make me enjoy and laugh my way through 43 years in the business of show.[/font][/color]
[color=#222222][font=Helvetica Neue, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif]Would I do it all again ? Absolutely, although I suspect the working opportunities are not in[/font][/color][color=#222222][font=Helvetica Neue, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif] an abundance for a Bassist as was in my hey days. Things have changed a lot.[/font][/color]
[color=#222222][font=Helvetica Neue, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif]I guess you had to be there.[/font][/color][/size]
[size=4][color=#222222][font=Helvetica Neue, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif] [/font][/color][/size]
[/quote]

That sounds like a fantastic life you've had. I'm sure many will be envious... 😊

[spike]

Hobbyist here, but gigging enough to make a noticeable difference to my income. Does that make me semi-pro?

[josie]

Hobbyist, but I'm hoping to do a bit of recording some time. Partly just for the experience, mostly because I write songs - some of which surface (solo bass / vocal) at local OMs - and it would be fun to have a little EP of originals to give to friends and family. I wrote the signature song for "my band" (don't ask - we're truly dreadful ), which they love, and it's a huge buzz when we play it. I'd love to work with some good musicians on some originals.

[grandad]

First picked a bass up aged 50+. Weekend warrior in a 60's cover band for 10yrs-ish. Now help run a music club at community centre. Deputising in a Jazz quintet. Love music as my retirement hobby.

[blue]

[quote name='spike' timestamp='1471032460' post='3110175']
Hobbyist here, but gigging enough to make a noticeable difference to my income. Does that make me semi-pro?
[/quote]

Maybe, who knows. We've haven't been able to define pro or semi pro.

Blue

[paul_5]

Music is my sole source of income. It's not all from gigs though, I teach a couple of days a week as well.

Edited August 12, 2016 by paul_5

[4stringslow]

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1471035979' post='3110204']
Maybe, who knows. We've haven't been able to define pro or semi pro.
[/quote]

Surely 'professional' means earning a living solely from playing music?

Not sure about 'semi pro' - someone who earns some money from playing music? Though I'd suggest it would have to be a significant proportion of overall income rather than just 'beer money'.

I'm in neither camp so I guess that makes me a hobbyist, but I'm fortunate to be able to play and gig purely out of love of doing so, which means I'm not obliged to gig or play anything I don't want to in order to pay the bills.