How many BassChatters have never ever gigged?

[Grangur]

Work normally has me driving up to 200+ miles a day on average to go and visit customers as a lighting engineer. When I get back I have reports and stuff to do. I can find I end up working until 10pm and have no control over when the late nights will be. So I can't really commit to band rehearsals in the week.

I dream of gigging, Always wanted to, but alas 'tis probably not to be until I retire. I'm 57 now and never have gigged.

My Dad was into golf. He owned clubs and had lessons but only ever played a few half rounds. When he died, my Mum said sadly, "It was all just a pie-dream". I SO hope nobody says that of me and my basses when I'm gone.

Bass, for me, is a solo instrument. I play music for cello as well as other pieces I've transcribed from treble clef to bass clef. I could change to guitar, I guess, but i love the sound of the bass. Last night I strung a 5-string bass as a piccolo. It was ok, bu I took them off and fitted the usual 130-45s.. That's "home" ground for me. I love it.

[gs_triumph]

I have never played a gig. I would love to play a gig ... It's on my bucket list... But the guys I play with for an to have the same desire. We are school friends who have jammed off and on since the nineties but just never got it together enough to play a gig. Life changes and now family commitments get in the way for some. I have confidence it will haplen one day. I mention it enough.
But for now we still enjoy just jamming together.

[Left Foot]

Haven't gigged as the bassist for 10 months and that was two gigs about a fortnight apart. The 'band' didn't know each other nor really enjoy it.

Ive found more opportunity in obscure table top noise events recently, long live tge resilient DIY scene! But dont kill off tge venues!

[Dom in Dorset]

I don't think I could give it up if I tried. For me music is about interaction with other players and stretching myself musically so being in a band is a must. I'd love to record solo stuff but can't find the time or motivation. For a couple of years in the early 00's I was involved in a serious recording project and only doing studio stuff and don't remember missing live shows but I still had the interaction and musical development .we started gigging as soon as the album was finished.
As well as being in two bands I get regular dep work with others plus occasional one offs and theatre work. About half of my gigs come to me.
I'm 49 years and 363 days old ,I'll stop when the work dries up or something more interesting comes along or if I just can't do it anymore.

[leschirons]

Age is now taking it's toll as eventually, our bodies wear out and mine certainly has. I've changed all my bass gear in the last two years due to weight of instrument / rig etc and have quite a few structural problems to contend with

I gig regularly and have for the last 47 years as I love playing and, the people in the current band. Deps are fun too but I can't deny, it's hard work these days. I even fell over after Friday's gig, tripping over a kerb stone. Swollen knee, cut shin, gravel in the hands and a bruised rib didn't help for Saturday's gig and due to my age, I'll feel like crap for the rest of the week at least.

I'd like to gig until 70 if possible but if I don't, as long as there's an acoustic guitar laying around, that'll do. It doesn't have to be bass for me. I could quite easily spend my time working out the chords to old Burt Baccarach songs

[paul h]

I haven't gigged for a few years now but I have gigged enough in the past that I no longer want to gig just for the sake of it. I will gig again but only if it's in a quality band playing music I'm passionate about at decent venues. It's not quite working out like that but that's the plan

However I do like writing and recording music occasionally so when I'm in between bands my gear still gets used.

Saying that, I do go through phases when I'm just not that bothered and my stuff site there gathering dust...but something always drags me back

[JTUK]

I picked up the bass and the first thing I wanted to do was play gigs... never thought much else about it, that was what you did.
It still drives me on today and if I had no gig prospects there would be no point.

I've put the bass down before for around 18 months when I became very jaded, and took no gigs at all and therefore never picked it up. I've slowly recovered that ground, (as they find someone else, of course) so now I take gigs that I fancy rather than have to do.
There is a fine line between blowing out a good band thru one or two poor gigs but by and large I do the gigs I want to do with the people I want to play with because it keeps me interested.

I like music ---can get very passionate about it-- but it is not all consuming anymore. I need a reason to get up there. I'm not at all showy in an overt look at me stage though.
I just do it for me....

[NickRiffed]

I bought a secondhand Hohner B2a and a Cub 30 bass amp in the mid 80's, bought them home where they sat in a corner of the bedroom after a couple of initial failed attempts to get a reasonable tune out of them, and there they stayed.
Kids, house moves, career changes all happened but the bass and amp always made it back to a corner in the bedroom where they just gathered dust.
The age of 40 was on the horizon and, as you know, that's when life begins, so I decided to get a life, seeing that the kids were all capable of looking after themselves to a degree.
I announced to my wife that I was going to learn to play that bloomin' bass and join a band if it kills me.
That was 16 years ago.
Apart from the first 6 months and a two year break where my M.E. wouldn't let me hold a bass let alone play it, I've been playing at home and with gigging bands.
It can take me 3 days to a week to recover after a gig but it feeds my need to get out and play with other people in front of other people.
When that stops, as long as I can still play at home I'll be happy.

[RockfordStone]

i haven't gigged since 2014 since my last band broke up, since then i have been in a couple of projects that didn't go anywhere.

i play bass to make music and play gigs, in fact i started it cos a band needed a bass player to gig, so if i get to a point where there is no sign of gigs anywhere or i don't want to make my own music at home anymore than i will jack it in.

but im only 32 so i still have time.

Edited October 10, 2016 by RockfordStone

[Raymondo]

I formed a band in 1974/5 and gigged every week for just over a year, often two or three gigs a week, just the usual covers in clubs and pubs.

I then met the girl who became my first wife and stopped playing. I sold my gear ( I wish I had kept the Arbiter Ric copy I bought new in '75 !!).

In 1985 My old guitarist persuaded me to join his Originals rock band. I begged, borrowed, ( but didn't steal ) the gear and had a blast for a year playing the local "rock circuit".

The band folded after a while and I went back to being a father and didn't gig again until 1990 when ,after leaving my wife, I got a tax refund, bought a bass and joined a band


I have played hundreds of gigs, in several different bands since. However I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia in 2010 and it has steadily got worse, resulting in less and less gigs until last year when I only did half a dozen and then this year leaving the band after only a couple of gigs.

I want to get back to playing but I find it difficult to get the energy together to learn new songs and have actually turned down a couple of bands due to my own apathy regarding this.


I don't touch my bass these days but my old mate from the band and gigging days in Tenerife (where I played in five different acts and gigged five nights a week) has recently got his enthusiasm for singing and playing back, so we might start a duo in the near future ( he lives near me in the UK now).

I love playing gigs. I have never really got into/enjoyed the recording at home thing, I like the buzz of playing to an audience.

I know plenty of people that do though and understand their feelings ,it's just not for me.

[ambient]

Nobody has to do anything.

A couple of the guys that I teach will never gig, they just love playing,it's their hobby.

If you can afford to buy nice instruments, then why not ?

[ambient]

[quote name='rushbo' timestamp='1476049101' post='3150888']
I guess it's because Bass is typically an accompanists instrument - ie it exists to back up another musician/s. Of course there are honorable exceptions, but for most of us who gig, we're there to make the Guitarist look good...
[/quote]

You should have been at my gig last night. A bass duo sounding nothing like a bass duo, and 2 solo bassists. I know what you're saying though.

[Daz39]

I was in a band very briefly at Uni - last millennium - but I've never gigged. I don't think I could do it, I'm anxious just thinking about it!!

[ambient]

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1476049538' post='3150895']
For those that don't know, I'm 63 and plan on staying in the game for another 10 years.

What else would I do?

Blue
[/quote]

Only another 10 years ?

I bet, (hope) you're still doing in another 20 years.

[thebrig]

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1476052834' post='3150917']
Gigging was all I intended to do when learning bass.

Played at home or the Albert Hall, the bass is the greatest instrument. Whichever venue you choose is fine.

IME nothing in the world feels as good as standing in front of 500 watts with the room rattling and your trousers flapping.


And breaking news. . . . The 20th November is the 50th anniversary of my first gig.
[/quote]That's absolutely brilliant Chris! but how do you remember the exact date?

[ambient]

Three of the jazz bands that I gig with, comprise of guys well into their 70s. The guitarist in the one band is 86, though he doesn't gig nowadays, but he still teaches, and loves to play still.

Playing music is my life, it's about all that I'm any good at. I fully intend to play until a time when I can't hold an instrument. I'm vegan, I don't smoke, and have never drunk alcohol. I try and practice yoga every day, and meditate. When I had my blood pressure tested back in March it was that of a fit and healthy 17 year old. I know that none of this really means anything, and that illness can strike anyone, I fully intend to stay as fit and healthy as is possible.

[Chiliwailer]

[quote name='thebrig' timestamp='1476047205' post='3150867']
I feel lucky to have had a good life, and although I came into music late, I'm trying to make the most of it and if I do have to pack it in, I will try and get my music fix by making and recording music at home.
[/quote]

Hope it all goes well mate, with both music and your friends fundraising. All the best.

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1476049538' post='3150895']
For those that don't know, I'm 63 and plan on staying in the game for another 10 years.

What else would I do?

Blue
[/quote]

I hear you, (mmm, but I'm not 63 so maybe not that part...).
What I mean is that so many of us think 'What else would I do?' and that question really did haunt me in the few years leading up to me quitting as I knew it was coming. But for one thing, how about working with those less fortunate than yourself, perhaps even in music and the arts given your experience. It's so rewarding, and can become a new outlet for those who stop. Of course I'm not saying you must or should go out and do that, it's just a reflection on one of many ways to handle change. I didn't really know until i knew.


[quote name='hiram.k.hackenbacker' timestamp='1476049783' post='3150900']
I have a feeling that the day I'm no longer able to get out and play will be the day I start selling off my collection, so I'm hoping to learn something here.
[/quote]

That would be awful brother, you have way too many cool basses to do that and I just can't see you doing that anyway! You'll adjust if the time comes, which i sincerely hope it won't. Anyway, you might own my Purple Flea one day and I'm hoping that'd be a keeper for you

[chris_b]

[quote name='thebrig' timestamp='1476099289' post='3151193']
That's absolutely brilliant Chris! but how do you remember the exact date?
[/quote]
I never wrote a diary, but I have a book that lists all my gigs for the first 10 years or so.

[chris_b]

[quote name='Raymondo' timestamp='1476096853' post='3151151']. . . . after leaving my wife, I got a tax refund. . . . [/quote]

I didn't know you could claim for that!

[Skol303]

I gigged a lot in my youth but I haven't played bass to a live audience (other than my disinterested children) for about, ooh, 15 years or so!

I am what Blue would refer to as a [i]"bedroom noodler"[/i]. I also play bass guitar (fnar, fnar ).

But... I churn out music on a frequent basis and my stuff does actually get listened to and occasionally played in clubs / on the radio / as a soundtrack to video blogs, etc. No substitute for standing on stage, of course, but I'm very content with my lot for the time being.

Edited October 10, 2016 by Skol303

[Raymondo]

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1476100927' post='3151222']
I didn't know you could claim for that!
[/quote]

Neither did I


To this day I have no Idea why I got a tax refund ( having recently left my wife was, I am sure a coincidence )

I awoke one day to a check for £189.00 from HMRC and thought ".mmmm I am desperately short of money......that will make the bank balance look a little better....OR.....I could buy a bass."
30 minutes later I was in the shop trying out basses


I settled on a Hohner Music man copy for £160.00

[TimR]

I've been playing in gigging bands since 1987. If a band isn't working for me I'll look for another one and move.

I had a short break between '94 and '96 when I was too busy on my day job but I still practiced during that time.

I think the key is not being too precious about the kind of music you play.

[thebrig]

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1476100684' post='3151216']
I never wrote a diary, but I have a book that lists all my gigs for the first 10 years or so.
[/quote]Its a pity you stopped after ten years, it would have made interesting reading to look back on almost a lifetime of gigging, and I'm sure there is a story or two to be told amongst that little lot.

Anyway, well done, fifty years really is an achievement!

[pete.young]

Sorry to hear of your troubles thebrig. I know there are internet jam sites that can provide some interaction with fellow musicians without having to leave the house. I guess that there are also virtual bands, playing virtual gigs, though I'm not sure how the audience participation works out.

[Earbrass]

My last bass gig was about 5 years ago. Since then I've played an average of 20-30 gigs per year, but none on bass. I've had to cut back recently due to health issues (ME/CFS), but hope that won't stop me for too long. These days the bass sits in the corner and is only used for my (sadly occasional) home recording efforts. I wouldn't be without it, though.

Edited October 10, 2016 by Earbrass