How many this year?

[Bilbo]

It's been a few years since I did one of these but I always find this interesting. I have done 34 gigs this year. My best year ever, numbers-wise, was 120 (about 8 years ago?) but I decided to separate the wheat from the chaff and now only do gigs that I want to do because I like the players and know the music will be good. This year, I have played with Adam Glasser (chromonica), Chris Batchelor (tpt), Delta Groove (blues band fronted by Richard Everitt), Derek Nash (sax), Paul Higgs (tpt),  Pete Long (clarinet), Gareth Lochrane (fl), Alan Barnes (sax/cl), Sara Dowling (V), Kate Williams (p), Joanna Eden (v), Jazz at The Movies, Brandon Allen (sax), Brigitte Beraha (v) and a host of good quality musicians from the East Anglia/London region. I have long sought quality over quantity and can now say that, whilst I could not even begin to say that I was anywhere near making a living from music,  I genuinely enjoy every gig I do.

I am looking forward to next year as I have some nice stuff in the diary, both live and in the studio.

How is everyone else doing? Are you working a lot? What gigs are you doing? What venues? Any highlights?

[NancyJohnson]

I would say I've done about 40, but I left the band I started six years ago a few weeks back, so that total isn't going up.  There were a few high-points, Dublin Castle, Camden, an insane show at The Fighting C*cks, Kingston and two Italian gigs (in Milan and Turin) despite the Italian shows being the grounds for my subsequent departure; spending a few days with people you honestly don't really like just sped things along a bit. 

A lot of those gigs were good, but there was direct correlation to how the enjoyment waned and how playing became a chore as the year went on.  It just wasn't fun [with them] any more and I believe the throwing of my bass across the stage at the end of the last gig I did with them reflected just how unhappy I was.

Anyhoo, moving along, new band is up and running, initial home demos are promising, a little different to the old act, so we'll see where things go.

Edited December 22, 2017 by NancyJohnson

[Lozz196]

Assuming all goes to plan we`ll do our 45th gig of the year next Saturday. Might not seem that many but they include Cornwall, Wales, Scotland, North West, North East, Norfolk, South Coast & London, with Belgium & Germany thrown in for good measure. 

Playing highlights have been playing the Scotland Calling Festival in the O2 Academy in Glasgow at short notice (we played Gateshead Fri night, Glasgow Sat lunchtime, Blackpool Sat night), our 2nd mini-tour of Germany, and filling the Winter Gardens Arena Stage to capacity at this years Rebellion Festival.

Other highlights have been recording and releasing our 3rd album, which has come out jointly on Step1 Records in the UK/Europe and Longshot Records (a subsidiary of Pirates Press) in the USA, on vinyl.

And securing festivals in Athens, Stockholm and Amsterdam already for next year is also pretty much up there for me.

[Les]

Saturday will be the last gig of the year for me and number 59.

 

 

[Lozz196]

Just now, Les said:

Saturday will be the last gig of the year for me and number 59.

 

 

So that`s 59 kebabs this year Les, pretty good going.

[joeystrange]

For me this year has seen a grand total of three gigs, with two more to come.

2017 has been pretty terrible for me as far as music goes.

Edited December 22, 2017 by joeystrange

[Highfox]

Not too many for me this year about 20.

Started a new band so a lot of time/work has gone into getting that gig ready.

[wateroftyne]

53, with 8 different bands. About average for me.

Next year is looking quiet at the moment, but then I have this panic every year... I should be used to it by now.

[machinehead]

I've done about 40.  I have a gig tonight and tomorrow and on 30th December.  That takes it to mid 40s so that's enough for me.

Frank.

[MoonBassAlpha]

As few as 9 this year, 3 of those in one week, and one was a double with my band backing Anton Barbeau, and 3 as a 3- piece jam band with the hilariously mis-named Osprey's All Stars. We did have some lined up in October and November, but guitarist breaking his hand put paid to those. Really missing the band at the moment, but it could be a couple of months before we can start up again.

[EliasMooseblaster]

Just seven this year.

With our guitarist relocating to Wales, and me having had a baby arrive in the household, it was quite difficult to do any more, to be honest. And if the usual parties start to complain next year, I shall remind them that - unusually for an originals band at our level - we were paid for all but one of those gigs!

[JapanAxe]

NYE will be my 50th gig of 2017. This year I only played in 11 different bands, compared to 16 in 2016!

[T-Bay]

Six this year, fairly well spread and all good in their own way. A charity gig we did in September and which raised nearly £2k for Wellchild was the highlight I think. Sell out crowd and a good night all round.

[Mudpup]

We have 2 left this year - Saturday and NYE - and that'll take us to 48. Next year we have 48 confirmed and a few waiting in the wings. The good thing is that every single one is one we all love doing, we've dropped the shaky ones, the ones that don't promote or have an indifferent crowd and the smaller venues that are a bit of a squeeze. Oh and its just the one band - I don't have time for anything else. Its been a pivotal year for us  

[FinnDave]

47 this year, with one more to play.

[discreet]

2 hours ago, Lozz196 said:

...we`ll do our 45th gig of the year next Saturday. Might not seem that many but they include Cornwall, Wales, Scotland, North West, North East, Norfolk, South Coast & London, with Belgium & Germany thrown in for good measure. Playing highlights have been playing the Scotland Calling Festival in the O2 Academy in Glasgow at short notice (we played Gateshead Fri night, Glasgow Sat lunchtime, Blackpool Sat night), our 2nd mini-tour of Germany, and filling the Winter Gardens Arena Stage to capacity at this years Rebellion Festival. Other highlights have been recording and releasing our 3rd album, which has come out jointly on Step1 Records in the UK/Europe and Longshot Records (a subsidiary of Pirates Press) in the USA, on vinyl. And securing festivals in Athens, Stockholm and Amsterdam already for next year is also pretty much up there for me.

Good to know you're enjoying yourself mate, I'm glad it's working out for you. I have hopes for 2018, maybe I'll see you out there somewhere.

[chrisanthony1211]

28 gigs this year, it does seem to be getting harder and harder to get gigs, another live music venue in Docaster is just about to close down

[oldslapper]

13 gigs (10 of which were made up of 2 small tours).

That's enough for me as I don't particularly enjoy gigging (yes, yes, I know....dont go on)

But.... lots of studio time this year, recording, writing, arranging which is where I most love to be.

[fleabag]

None this year. We folded last year

[martthebass]

Joined a new band this year after 3 years in an 80s genre band.  Gigs were thin pickings in the frozen north for the stuff we were doing which severely limited giggage and I really didn't want to do classic rock yet again just to increase the gig count.  Fortunately  a dep job  I did last December in a 70s Glam Rock band turned into a permanent position and this year has been my busiest ever with a gig count of 50 by 31st Dec.  Totally full diary up to and including NYE 2018 so a happy bunny at this point in time

 

[Len_derby]

17 in all, but almost every one in the first 6 months of the year.

i was in an originals band playing folk-punk. We were managing to get at least 2 paying gigs a month, plus radio performances and festivals.

It wasn't really going in a direction I was interested in, and what with a fulltime 'normal' job making demands I decided to bow out in July after the recording of the second CD.

The back-end of the year has been quiet but I've got a new project starting in the new year, plus the revival of an old band. I'm looking forward to 2018.

[martthebass]

1 hour ago, chrisanthony1211 said:

28 gigs this year, it does seem to be getting harder and harder to get gigs, another live music venue in Docaster is just about to close down

Cask Corner?.......a real shame that.

 

[Woodinblack]

36 this year, including the gig tomorrow as the last one this year. The singer decided that he wanted to cut down on the number of gigs for family reasons, so probably quite a few less next year, the guitarist wants to do more. Interesting to see what is going to happen when those to forces meet. 

Wouldn't mind doing some 'other' stuff too next year, rather than just the covers group.

[Jus Lukin]

-

Edited February 25, 2022 by Jus Lukin

[chrisanthony1211]

6 minutes ago, martthebass said:

Cask Corner?.......a real shame that.

 

Yep, running out of venues....