I'm getting "that" feeling

[Newfoundfreedom]

Just had the second practice with my new band and I have to say I'm absolutely loving it. Don't get me wrong, it's as rough as a badgers @rse and would make most "professional" musicians ears bleed. But, having tried to get something together for years with loads of different people, it's fantastic to be in a room with like minded people where it just flows. I think it probably works because we're primarily a bunch of mates who go out drinking together and happen to play instruments. Were all in our 40's and 50's and have no delusions of being rock stars. Isn't it great when it just gels. No egos. No agenda. Just playing for the love of it. 

Do gigging, paid musicians still get that? 

[PawelG]

I thought this topic was going to be about GAS.

Edited August 12, 2018 by PawelG

[fleabag]

I thought  the OP was bracing themselves for a visit to that special clinic

[skidder652003]

Still pretty much get that feeling..

[Skybone]

Long may that "feeling" continue!

Good luck with the new band.

[BassTractor]

1 hour ago, Newfoundfreedom said:

No egos. No agenda. Just playing for the love of it. 

Do gigging, paid musicians still get that? 

First of all: congrats with the band and with that feeling. As Skybone said: may it continue! 

As to "gigging, paid musicians": before, I just played for the love of it. Money was needed to survive, but without the love, I'd have stopped doing it pronto. My last two bands had conflicts between other members. After some mending attempts I quit both.

These days I just dep, and only to help someone out. In these cases I'm not there to enjoy it, though I might enjoy it a lot.

[BrunoBass]

Congratulations. The fact that you’re a bunch of mates in a band together is great, I think. We’re the same in my band. I remember a rather condescending thread on here a couple of years ago where bands consisting of mates were getting a bit of stick, for some reason. ‘Boys night out bands’, I think they were referred to, as if that were a bad thing... Anyway, it’s supposed to be fun, so good luck to you. 

The feeling you describe is still there for me, despite our band existing for a few years now. However the more time goes by the less the dog work appeals, to the point that even rehearsing feels like a chore now, but gigging is a different story and something that I look forward to from the minute I wake up on a gig day. We get paid but it’s not about the money, it’s about the fun, and sharing the adventures we have together out there on the road.

[odysseus]

Yes it's great when that happens.  My current band have been together for 18 months now.  Writing our own stuff, playing a few festivals, nobody wants to be a star or is concerned about getting paid for playing, as we all work jobs.  Going to do some recording, make a couple of vids for a giggle, write more stuff, rinse and repeat.  It's a nice, and rare, place to be!

[Lozz196]

Yep, we`ve been together for almost 5 years now, have released 3 albums, 3 eps/singles, played festivals, done overseas gigs/tours, and it`s all still incredibly good fun. I think a lot of it is to do with age, similarly we are all 40s/50s with no illusions of being stars. As such with the ego malarkey out of the way this is the most successful any of us have ever been, probably due to it being a hobby, albeit a very time-consuming one, and primarily done for fun/the love of it.

We don`t take any money from the band, it all goes back in to the pot to pay for recording, flights, ferries, hotels, more merch etc. This coming week we`ll rehearse Mon, then got gigs on Tue/Wed/Thu in Bristol, Manchester and London respectively. Later on this month we have another 3 gigs in 3 days, Stockton On Tees, Edinburgh & Doncaster. That`s off the back of releasing an EP at the start of this month, at The Rebellion Festival in Blackpool.

Were I to be in my 20s doing this I don`t think I would have appreciated it at all, probably would have just got riotously drunk at all the gigs (which is what I did in fact do at the smaller gigs I did back then) whereas I realise now that I`m incredibly fortunate to have my hobby enabling me to do all of the above. I reckon being able to do all of this in my 50s has made me appreciate it all the more.

[SubsonicSimpleton]

Music should be enjoyable, there is absolutely nothing wrong with a band being primarily a social activity, as long as that meets everyones expectation - IME it can go a bit wrong if there is a mismatch of ambitions and some members want to hang out and others want the band to be booking loads of gigs or working hard to push the musical boundaries.

In working bands it is possible to have situations where everyone can play to the standard needed to deliver your service and they are all easy to be around as human beings, but the need to get paid means that sometimes you have to work with people you don't really like just to get the job done - bit like most regular day jobs.

 

If you are enjoying yourself, just appreciate it and ignore any naysayers.

[chris_b]

22 hours ago, Newfoundfreedom said:

Do gigging, paid musicians still get that? 

Of course. Why wouldn't we?

I haven't been up close and personal to a badgers derrière for a long time but. . . "that feeling". . . get it all the time. I get it every time a band clicks, or the gig "works", or when the audience is up for it and their energy feeds back to the band.

It doesn't matter where you are, rough and ready or slick bands, originals or covers, wet, soggy fields or the Albert Hall, gigs are where "that feeling" lives.