When did you realise….. you weren’t going to “make it”?

[Babyboomer]

Wow, there are some really interesting replies to this topic. Keep em coming folks.

[lowdown]

10 hours ago, greavesbass said:

Seems there's two aspects here. "Making it" ie fame and fortune (good luck with that as a bass player)  and then simply becoming a working musician earning good money.  The guys I still admire are the ones who stuck at it and then become first call for say a touring act or a TV show...That kind of thing....real work, real money, and to some extent some sort of celebrity what ever that means.

 

That was pretty much me since the age of 17. Although, on certain work, I would say, I wasn't always 'first call'.

It started back in the early/mid 70's and ended during Lockdown.

 

I'm now 66 and receiving my state pension plus a private pension I had going for 25 years. I don't do anymore live work on Bass, although I'm still involved in library music, some transcribing and scoring for acts,

and more recently, some engraving as well. Along with PRS payments and some occasional PPL, this all brings in modest amounts every quarter.

My house is now paid for, we have no debts, I have two boys in their late teens and my wife has various small jobs and projects on the go. She had been in the entertainment business as well.

Me and my wife have been together since 1985, so I have somehow managed to juggle a very good family life while working as a full time musician.

 

I set out to be just that, a full time working musician and I had no real interest in 'making it'. As in being in some pop band or getting record deals.

I had various family musicians who went down the 'working musician' route and earned a decent living, so it was easier for me because I already had some contacts through them and a good insight into what was needed.

 

My first 'pro' work was playing on Cruise ships all over the place. That's where I really got my reading and busking chops together.

Then it was Hotels overseas, and tours around various army/air force bases, both in the UK and in Europe. All this work led me to meeting many of other musicians/md's and I ended up doing Theatre work (resident and touring).

Once again I met new MD's, who would then call me or get the fixer to call me for various well known TV personality acts and celebrities, a few old time entertainers plus a few other novelties thrown in.

I've worked on West End Shows, shows in Japan, Middle East and Europe etc. All through this I still did the usual West End function band stuff as well (mainly when in between shows or tours).

Throw in some decent sessions and cast albums/DVD's, a small amount of TV and Radio, along with a couple of films, has all left me with a CV that me and my family are pretty proud of.

 

All in all, I have pretty much done all that I set out to do musically, made good contacts and formed quite a few lifelong friendships and working relationships along the way.

Have I been lucky? Almost certainly. Definitely a case of 'right time and right place' etc... But, I did put a lot of hard work in.

I can honestly say I have mostly enjoyed the work and styles of music I have been involved in. That hasn't always been because the quality of work, but quite often, the very excellent musicians,

singers and producers I have had the the privilage to work with.

 

[bassbiscuits]

I was playing in very decent originals bands well into my early 40s - didn’t have the aim of “making it” but they did have great songs and I did believe we might go somewhere. Alas like most bands they folded.

 

I’ve always held down a job while playing - something I thought was holding me back from being a “proper musician.” 
 

But I now realise that I’d have to say yes to all kinds of gigs I didn’t like if I was trying to make a living from music. So I’m glad I do it for pocket money and enjoyment. 
 

[BigAlonBass]

I realised it in 1973.

I was playing in Pubs and Working Mens Clubs with a bunch of mates, and making pretty decent money. In the space of a month, I was approached by 3 different (Local but Signed) Bands, wanting me to tour with them, and all that it entailed. On 3 separate occasions, I went along, aced the 'Auditions' and was offered the Gig. To celebrate, we went for a couple of Beers and a chat in the Local Hostelry, round the corner from the Rehearsal Studios. During the three separate chats with the Bands in question, the subject of respective ages came up, only to leave the Members of the Bands non-plussed. Different ways of saying it, but they all said the same thing. "Sorry, we'll have to let you go, you're too old" 

I had just had my 21st Birthday...  🙄

After the third occasion, I realised that lots of 'Musicians' were (insert derogatory word here) so I decided I didn't WANT to "Make It" if that was the stamp of person I would have to engage with. I stuck to playing with mates for the next 49 years, and had a bloody good time of it. (Yes, I paid Tax, and my Accountant made sure it remained reasonable)😋 Bought my House and Boat, numerous Cars, Basses and Musical Gear, got Married and had brilliant Kids, and would have still been doing it, if Arthritis hadn't kicked in with a vengeance. It probably won't mean a lot, if you're not from this area, but I even played Newcastle City Hall, (brilliant to hear your name shouted from the Audience) and appeared on Telly a couple of times. 

Over the years, I've met a LOT of 'famous folk' who acted exactly the same as those first 3 bands, telling me I was "getting on a bit" which reinforced my early decision, and I haven't regretted it once. 😉 

 

 

[Leonard Smalls]

Back in the early 90s our band was doing pretty well - we were headlining the Marquee and all the Mean Fiddler venues, we were touring with Carter USM and Gaye Bykers, we'd had bands like Bolt thrower supporting us...

So our keys and guitar player decided our fame was imminent and jacked in their jobs. the rest of us felt it best to hold onto our employment for just a bit longer.

As it turns out we were right! We just drifted along until we could no longer be bothered.

[Rayman]

21 minutes ago, Leonard Smalls said:

Back in the early 90s our band was doing pretty well - we were headlining the Marquee and all the Mean Fiddler venues, we were touring with Carter USM and Gaye Bykers, we'd had bands like Bolt thrower supporting us...

So our keys and guitar player decided our fame was imminent and jacked in their jobs. the rest of us felt it best to hold onto our employment for just a bit longer.

As it turns out we were right! We just drifted along until we could no longer be bothered.

That’s an important point…

 

If you read Frank Bellos’ book, he points out that while Anthrax were touring and recording those early albums, he was still going to work in his uncles deli in NY just to make some money! Just shows, fame doesn’t pay the bills.

[BigRedX]

IME having just about any kind of job (or a family for that matter) is almost totally incompatible with being in a band that has any hopes of success. If you can't drop everything to do that last minute gig then you put the band at a disadvantage compared with all those are prepared to make these "sacrifices". Perhaps there will be time for a family once you are established as a musician. You also need to be one of the band's songwriters or at least have negotiated a share of the songwriting royalties in order to still have some money coming in after the band is over.

 

The only time I have been able to put in something approaching the time and effort that is required to be more than just a weekend warrior, was in the 80s when I was unemployed, and more recently now I am self-employed and can be more flexible about how I allocate my time.

[Linus27]

3 hours ago, BigRedX said:

IME having just about any kind of job (or a family for that matter) is almost totally incompatible with being in a band that has any hopes of success. If you can't drop everything to do that last minute gig then you put the band at a disadvantage compared with all those are prepared to make these "sacrifices". Perhaps there will be time for a family once you are established as a musician. You also need to be one of the band's songwriters or at least have negotiated a share of the songwriting royalties in order to still have some money coming in after the band is over.

 

The only time I have been able to put in something approaching the time and effort that is required to be more than just a weekend warrior, was in the 80s when I was unemployed, and more recently now I am self-employed and can be more flexible about how I allocate my time.

 

This goes back to how you define success. I did 3 years as a club band, playing over 100 gigs a year, earning around £10k a year whilst doing a 9-5 job every day and having a wife and 2 kids. It was just a case of finding a balance.

Edited September 14, 2023 by Linus27

[Rich]

When the two bands I was in (quite a few years apart) that were most likely to break through, didn't. One of them was agonisingly close. Somewhere in a 'sliding doors' parallel universe, there's a version of me that's as rich as Croesus.

[BigRedX]

In the "Sliding Doors" universe where my band got signed rather than Wham! after our single (minor) hit the next time you would have seen me would have been in the Identity Parade on Never Mind The Buzzcocks...

[Franticsmurf]

In the late 80s I started out as a geetard in an originals band playing what we thought was a cross between Hawkwind, Gong and a little later Pink Floyd. The early gigs were described as 'punk' by a few of the venue owners. We 'progressed' towards a more Yes/Genesis/Floyd style, still originals, and picked up a few more gigs. But we were finding that to get the gigs we had to bring in more and more covers to please the venues. I think that at the time we all thought there was a chance of 'making it' but we all probably had different ideas about what 'making it' actually meant. To me, it was partly practical - to make enough money that I didn't have to keep my job in the civil service - and partly idealistic. The real measure of success, to me , was having someone learn one of my songs to play as a cover, just as I had done. We had interest from a local manager/agent who turned out to be just a chancer full of wild promises ("Do you want to make a million pounds, lads?") and young and naive as we were, we saw through that one straight away.   

 

It took about 3 years of writing, rehearsing, recording and gigging to get the band to where we all really loved what we were doing, only for the gigs to dry up as there weren't enough people sharing the love. We sold a few self released albums at gigs and through a local record shop, the line-ups changed as various members realised it wasn't going to happen until it was just me and the drummer - the founders of the original band.  

 

One of the problems was that I wasn't a great geetard and at the same time we had problems with keeping a decent bassist. If I'd taken up the bass duties and we'd got a decent 6 stringer, things might have been different. But probably not. 😃

 

I got into bass playing with another band doing all covers and with no pretensions about success. 'Making it' was getting the next booking. I readjusted my expectations and decided that the criteria for success was covering all my musical expenses, GAS, etc with the earnings from gigs, and enjoying the process. In this respect, I made it in the early 2000s.

 

Now it's very much about enjoying what I do. I play in a band that only does charity gigs (all the fees for performances go into a large pot from which we donate to local charities nominated by the band members).  I'm currently in the middle of getting a band together to play the stuff I enjoy playing. It's taking longer than I would like, but if it comes off I will consider that I have 'made it' once again. 

[Paul S]

40 minutes ago, Rich said:

 Somewhere in a 'sliding doors' parallel universe, there's a version of me that's as rich as Croesus.

 

Somewhere in a 'sliding doors' parallel universe there's a version of me that is slim and handsome  

[Rich]

Yes, that too  

[Lozz196]

Another thought here, has anyone had people making bootlegs of your merch - t-shirts etc?

 

 

[Jackroadkill]

17 hours ago, Linus27 said:

 

Here you go,

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inter_(band)

 

Did you used to play the White Horse in High Wycombe in about 1998?

[meterman]

6 minutes ago, Lozz196 said:

Another thought here, has anyone had people making bootlegs of your merch - t-shirts etc?

 

 

Bootlegs yes, but not t-shirts or merch stall gear. Have found tunes by one of my old bands on a couple of dodgy bootleg CDs, and in one case last year, a poorly pressed 7” single. Boils my Fosters, but once they’re already out there’s very little you can do except get your solicitor or publisher to issue a cease and desist letter and call the f***ers out on social media and make sites like Discogs aware that the items are counterfeit material which prevents them from being sold on their site.

 

The guy that did the dodgy 7” sort of did me a favour though, in that his actions made the label I was signed to in the UK decide to put out a deluxe edition of the 7” in a picture sleeve with free stickers and stuff thrown in. That was a result.
 

Never been in a band big enough to have had bootleg t-shirts done, as far as I know. Homemade badges would probably be the most I’ve seen.
 

[Linus27]

29 minutes ago, Jackroadkill said:

 

Did you used to play the White Horse in High Wycombe in about 1998?

 

We did play there but it was on the 12th August 1999. I don't think we played there previous to that.

[Linus27]

46 minutes ago, Paul S said:

 

Somewhere in a 'sliding doors' parallel universe there's a version of me that is slim and handsome  

 

Somewhere in a 'sliding doors' parallel universe I would be in The Stereophonics. Virgin were coming to see us and The Stereophonics and we were in discussions with them but in the end they decided to sign The Stereophonics.

[Linus27]

38 minutes ago, Lozz196 said:

Another thought here, has anyone had people making bootlegs of your merch - t-shirts etc?

 

 

 

We've had fans record our gigs and make their own t-shirts which we were ok with. We even had a band cover one of our songs in their live set which was pretty cool. A few years ago, I heard a new band and one of their songs was quite a rip off of one of our songs. 

[Lozz196]

Back in my Knock Off days we had a few people make their own tees, and if I recall correctly we were contacted by a band about them recording one of our songs. I never heard it but I really hope they didn`t do a better job than us. 

[BigRedX]

No bootlegs (that I am aware of).

 

One of my songs was covered by the band that eventually become 13 Candles.

 

I also had a request via GarageBand.com for the chords to a song we had on there as someone wanted to do a cover. After sending scans of the various convoluted shaped the guitarist used I never heard anything more.

[cheddatom]

People cover a few of my band Headsticks' songs, but I only play the drums so no writing credit for me. One band actually recorded a Headsticks cover with me in my studio though, that was weird

[snorkie635]

When did I realise? Next week! 😍

[PaulWarning]

same here, got contacted asking if a band (from Sweden I believe) could record one of my songs, never heard anymore, guess they had no more success with it than we did 😂

Last year we did get a royalty payment for £40 for plays of one of our songs on Norwegian Radio, guess we ought to organise a Scandinavian tour 😀

[Barking Spiders]

I've found being in bands generally quite dispiriting tbh. Apart from schlepping around from one venue after another,  playing the same material to indifferent crowds in pubs and at functions is a bit of a downer. Then there's often the argy bargy with band members about direction and negative reactions to songs you might've written.  Then, if you've actually made it there's all the shyte coming at you from  social media trolls and snarky music journos. If that's all water off a duck's back, big kudos to you. Me? Maybe I'm too sensitive a flower for that kind of life.