I Hate Gigging!

[stingrayPete1977]

I think my reputation for not playing any gigs for free has finally got around everyone that knows me, I used to get asked loads but haven't for a while now. 

All that exposure and opportunity missed, ah well. 

[bazzbass]

20 hours ago, steantval said:

Personally my back line is Markbass verses a large stack of really heavy Trace Elliot stuff a few years ago.

my backline WAS Markbass, verses a SMALL stack of really LIGHT Trace Elliot ELF stuff 

how times change, AGAIN hehe

[Stylon Pilson]

On 14/07/2019 at 08:27, Newfoundfreedom said:

Lugging gear around, trying to fit it all in the car. Spending the best part of an hour at the other end unloading it and setting everything up. Standing round like a spare part waiting to go on, then performing to a load of annoying, well lubricated people, who, in many cases aren't even interested. Only to have to break everything back down while the audience who haven't shown a bit of interest all night, start demanding "more". Then lug everything around back into the car, drive home, lug it around again into the house and finally get to relax about 3 hours after the people you've been "entertaining" have gone to bed. 

The only part I actually enjoy is if we get time for a couple of cheeky pints after the gig.

Nah, I disagree. Loading the car is a 10 minute job, I have a system that I always stick to, so I know it's going to fit. We generally gig locally, so the drive to the gig is never more than 45 minutes each way. Setup and teardown at the gig takes a bit longer, but I take the mentality that 80% of my fee for the night is doing that, and only 20% is the actual performance. There's very rarely any standing around as my guitarist is generally late to arrive, and this then results in us being late on. I kinda agree with you about the audience often being cold for the first 3/4 of the night and then suddenly demanding an encore at the end, when I'm knackered and already thinking about my bed, but I'd still take that over them not asking for an encore at all. I'm usually home and in bed within 90 minutes of finishing the last song.

S.P.

[Woodinblack]

I love gigging. For me, if there is no gig then there is no reason to be in a band. Certainly not the sort of bands I am in!

At the moment the load in and out from gigs is starting to p me off a bit because not everyone is pulling their weight, but I am sure that will pass.

14 hours ago, Newfoundfreedom said:

Our band are all UK expats now living in Bulgaria. We don't earn any money from gigging. A monthly salary here in Bulgaria is about one sheckle, three grotes, and a salted peanut if you do plenty of overtime. So we're definitely not in it for the money. In fact any money we earn from gigging is given to charity. We also don't have the hassle of getting gigs. We have a manager who does all that for us. When I say manager, I mean a drinking pal who doesn't play an instrument but wanted to be involved in the band. The biggest problem is he's probably too good at it. We're in a position that I suspect many bands would envy. We've got gigs coming out of our ears. We've gone from playing our first ever gig about 4 weeks ago, to being booked up every weekend until a fortnight after I die.

Well, that is very different, I wouldn't want that at all. For a start, no money, not interested - we do some charity stuff now and again, no problem with that, but not charity for a pub!

Its not a question of needing the money, I really don't and don't look on it as a way of making money, but if I am drawing people into pubs (and who knows if we are, but that is the point), then I want to be paid. All my gigging money goes to pay for instruments and things I use when gigging, so it is a self sustaining hobby.

To the next point, sometimes it gets too much. I get very frustrated if I haven't gigged for a while, but on the other side of the coin I get very annoyed to not have a break. If you do it every weekend it starts being like a job, and I have a job. It has to be the right amount.

14 hours ago, Newfoundfreedom said:

The other problem is, I still need to earn a living, where the rest of the band have a passive income, so I just can't afford to give up so much time. I think part of the reason I don't / can't enjoy it is because for me it's just not sustainable on the long term. So I'm just waiting for it all to implode. 

That probably is the killer there. What they want is not what you want. If you aren't enjoying it and you are not getting paid, there is no point staying there, give them notice, let them find someone else.

Sounds more like you would enjoy it if you a) got some money and b) got to choose low stress gigs less often.

[Monkey Steve]

hmmm

From your perspective, if it's not making you happy, don't do it.  S'fine.  I have a very different perspective, but we're all different and that's what makes the World an interesting place

But also think of it from the band's perspective.  I've been in bands where one band member has not enjoyed gigging, or hasn't wanted to do as much of it as the rest of us, or doesn't want to play gigs more than half an hour from their front door, or has come up with cunning excuses of why the band isn't really to play gigs.  And it's never ended well, even when they've reluctantly played the gigs - the whining about every little thing that didn't go right is really tedious and spoils what everybody else is getting out of it.  Don't become that guy.

So I'd suggest letting them know that you're really not enjoying it and then give them the option to find a replacement.  Drop out gracefully

[Krysbass]

In my 50s and still love gigging. The loading in and out of gear or late arrivals home don't bother me either - despite some aches and pains the next day.

But I'm bandless right now and missing gigging - deeply. 😟

Rather, it seems my problem is finding enough other musicians who have the commitment and availability to average even a paltry 1 gig per month.... which surely isn't too much to ask? - Evidently it is.

[still-young]

I've not done a lot of gigging, just a few pub gigs really. I'm very introverted, but I never minded playing in front of people - as the bassist I felt fairly 'hidden' in a way (even though the music we played had fairly prominent bass parts). I just find I don't have the energy for it now, I'm usually in bed before you might even start playing at a gig!

Writing and recording is definitely the part of being in a band I enjoyed the most.

[Woodinblack]

1 hour ago, Woodinblack said:

I love gigging. For me, if there is no gig then there is no reason to be in a band.

I would also say, if I am not gigging there is also no reason to go in a pub, I don't drink and I really don't like people who have. Luckily our singer seems to deal with them well, so I don't have to.

[Newfoundfreedom]

28 minutes ago, Monkey Steve said:

hmmm

From your perspective, if it's not making you happy, don't do it.  S'fine.  I have a very different perspective, but we're all different and that's what makes the World an interesting place

But also think of it from the band's perspective.  I've been in bands where one band member has not enjoyed gigging, or hasn't wanted to do as much of it as the rest of us, or doesn't want to play gigs more than half an hour from their front door, or has come up with cunning excuses of why the band isn't really to play gigs.  And it's never ended well, even when they've reluctantly played the gigs - the whining about every little thing that didn't go right is really tedious and spoils what everybody else is getting out of it.  Don't become that guy.

So I'd suggest letting them know that you're really not enjoying it and then give them the option to find a replacement.  Drop out gracefully

Yeah it may well come to that eventually. Although it's a bit more difficult than that. While no one in a band is irreplaceable, my wife is the singer, we own the PA, and also have the practice space. So bowing out quietly wouldn't really work and would l leave the rest of the band well and truly in the lurch. 

[EliasMooseblaster]

In my own mind, I've reached a point where I separate "playing the gig" from "being on the road." I think a lot of a people on this thread have alluded to the similar ideas; I've realised that I tend to enjoy the actual performance, but I find being on the road more and more tedious. The time on stage can be immensely satisfying; the time in the van can be incredibly boring, and it's unfortunate that the latter dwarfs the former.

Since I started the solo project, I've been a lot more selective about the gigs I choose to do. It's early days, so the audiences are smaller, and the atmosphere a bit less exciting, but at least I know I'm not playing for free when I get there. Needing only a couple of acoustic guitars means I can jump on a train and come back the same night without too much hassle. Essentially, making the "on the road" aspect less tedious has made it less of a shock to go back to square one in terms of booking the gigs and building the crowd!

[Woodinblack]

23 minutes ago, Newfoundfreedom said:

Yeah it may well come to that eventually. Although it's a bit more difficult than that. While no one in a band is irreplaceable, my wife is the singer, we own the PA, and also have the practice space. So bowing out quietly wouldn't really work and would l leave the rest of the band well and truly in the lurch. 

In that case, do what the wife of the singer in our band did, went through the gigging calendar for the following year and blocked out every other weekend.

[Woodinblack]

1 minute ago, EliasMooseblaster said:

In my own mind, I've reached a point where I separate "playing the gig" from "being on the road." I think a lot of a people on this thread have alluded to the similar ideas; I've realised that I tend to enjoy the actual performance, but I find being on the road more and more tedious. The time on stage can be immensely satisfying; the time in the van can be incredibly boring, and it's unfortunate that the latter dwarfs the former.

We are lucky in that in 3 years we have only been more than 15 miles from home on 5 or 6 occasions.

[Monkey Steve]

1 hour ago, Newfoundfreedom said:

Yeah it may well come to that eventually. Although it's a bit more difficult than that. While no one in a band is irreplaceable, my wife is the singer, we own the PA, and also have the practice space. So bowing out quietly wouldn't really work and would l leave the rest of the band well and truly in the lurch. 

I don't follow.  You not being in the band doesn't mean that the wife can't continue, or that they can't use the PA or the rehearsal space.

More of an issue for the band should be how you withdraw from playing gigs.  A drummer mate of mine managed his (not for the same reasons, he was moving to a completely different area) by putting a firm end date on his playing, and telling the band to start getting his replacement up and running ASAP.  There was a long enough hand over period where the band could still book new gigs and he'd play them, but they knew that had to get something sorted out in advance.  He did his bit by helping his replacement learn the set, and in the end handed everything over well in advance of his original departure date, with everybody happy.

Though I do agree that it might be easier if your wife wasn't in the band.  probably best to start discussing things with her first, to make it clear that you're really not enjoying it and want to stop, but want to make sure that she can still continue doing it. 

Would she really want you to keep doing something that makes you miserable?

[TimR]

Bands can usually find new bass players quickly if you’re still playing and gigging. Bass players are in short supply and will tend to gravitate to those bands that are busy. 

Bands that struggle are those where they’ve got rid of the bass player, or he has left. Bass players don’t tend to get fired or leave for no reason and when it’s the bands word against the absent bass player, it’s anyones guess what the real reasons for leaving were...

[Dan Dare]

I love gigging. Wouldn't do it if I didn't. I can't understand those who complain about carrying stuff, travelling, etc, etc. We ought to reflect on how fortunate we are. Anything is better than doing a 40 hour week in a call centre or crappy retail outlet, which is what so many poor sods have to do to make ends meet.

[odysseus]

Jamming and writing music is where the fun's at for me.   Gigging I can take or leave.  Fortunately my current band plays originals, and we mainly play small festivals, which is usually good fun.  I played in crappy pubs on and off for years and, with the odd exception, I really can't be arsed with all that any more.  

[Stub Mandrel]

I think it's deeply personal.

When I played a couple of months ago, after a 23 year gap, I remembered that it's up there with surviving mountain biking down a steep technical trail and surviving! One rung down from YKW!

I love the thrill of having to get through the set, no retakes, not stopping, no recriminations - if you make a mistake, ignore it and get the next bit right.

[Muzz]

6 hours ago, bazzbass said:

my backline WAS Markbass, verses a SMALL stack of really LIGHT Trace Elliot ELF stuff 

how times change, AGAIN hehe

Most of the time, my backline isn't.

Helix, in-ears; times have already changed, again... 😀

[Staggering on]

7 minutes ago, Dan Dare said:

I love gigging. Wouldn't do it if I didn't. I can't understand those who complain about carrying stuff, travelling, etc, etc. We ought to reflect on how fortunate we are. Anything is better than doing a 40 hour week in a call centre or crappy retail outlet, which is what so many poor sods have to do to make ends meet.

Absolutely! First gig when I was 16, still gigging at 73 and not done yet.  

 

[Leonard Smalls]

30 minutes ago, odysseus said:

crappy pubs

We've decided that we won't be playing any more of these!

We'll only play dedicated music venues or festivals now where the audience have actually come to hear music, rather than the band being a too-loud irritant to folks trying to have a quiet pint, and who don't really like music anyway unless it's that song they got off with Sheena to when they were 18. They'll lean against you saying "like, yer knows the one, it goes 'dadadadumdedadum', it's great, yer know it, it's by that bloke, yer know the one" etc while I explain we're a punk funk originals band, and who knows why the landlord booked us to the PinkTorpedo Inn* near Arscott! We should have known by the "Sky Sports" sign.

 

*It's actually in Hanwood, but near Arscott, and we've never played there - in fact I've never even been in but hear they do decent Wainrights beer. The name entertains me every time I drive past; they don't even do music and many other pubs are available that you wouldn't necessarily like to gig in!

 

 

[Newfoundfreedom]

4 hours ago, Dan Dare said:

I love gigging. Wouldn't do it if I didn't. I can't understand those who complain about carrying stuff, travelling, etc, etc. We ought to reflect on how fortunate we are. Anything is better than doing a 40 hour week in a call centre or crappy retail outlet, which is what so many poor sods have to do to make ends meet.

True, and I'd absolutely agree if I was doing it for a living. But still having to earn a living and giving up every weekend to play for nothing is a different matter. 

[gjones]

It's very rare that I don't enjoy a gig. Even if it's a small crowd and they're not really into it, I get a lot from the experience. It boosts my serotonin levels.

I suppose I'm lucky that I've played with some decent musicians and singers over the years. 

[peteb]

There is nothing forcing people to gig if they don’t want to. There is a shortage of venues promoting live music these days and if you don’t want to do the gigs then there are plenty of guys out there who would be happy to take your place.

Obviously, I would love to exclusively play theatres and open air events, but I’m quite happy to play half decent pubs. Apparently Leland Sklar happily plays local bars with his buddies when he gets off tour and if it’s good enough for him, then it’s certainly good enough for me! I can be reasonably sociable (most of the time) and generally most punters are fine when they talk to you. I suppose you can get the odd ignorant one, but I’ve never been shy of telling them to f*** off if required. Fortunately, that is very rarely necessary.

To me, playing live is the essence of being a muso. I love performing to a crowd, the camaraderie of being in a band, travelling to new places, meeting and playing with new people – the whole package. As you get older maybe it can take it's toll the next day. But it’s a small price to pay for doing something that many people would love to be able to do but will never have the opportunity.

As someone said above, it beats playing golf. But if it’s not for you then don’t do it…

[Lozz196]

5 hours ago, Dan Dare said:

I love gigging. Wouldn't do it if I didn't. I can't understand those who complain about carrying stuff, travelling, etc, etc. We ought to reflect on how fortunate we are. Anything is better than doing a 40 hour week in a call centre or crappy retail outlet, which is what so many poor sods have to do to make ends meet.

Agree, we’re very fortunate to have the hobby/pastime/job that we all share and take that moment out to just realise it. 

[Deedee]

6 hours ago, Dan Dare said:

I love gigging. Wouldn't do it if I didn't. I can't understand those who complain about carrying stuff, travelling, etc, etc. We ought to reflect on how fortunate we are. Anything is better than doing a 40 hour week in a call centre or crappy retail outlet, which is what so many poor sods have to do to make ends meet.

 

Again there’s a big difference between those who do it professionally (it’s their chosen profession and main source of income) and those who do it as a hobby.

If it was my chosen profession I would enjoy the good, the bad and the ugly far more as that’s what I’d decided to do to earn my coin. However if it’s a hobby alongside a full time job which is paying the mortgage, clearly the threshold at which the downsides could outweigh the joy of the performance could be very, very different.

There are many reasons why people don’t gig, or stop gigging. Work pressures, family commitments, performance anxiety, lack of opportunities, band politics etc, etc. I just don’t think that those people should be looked upon as lesser musicians because of it.

Edited July 15, 2019 by Deedee