Outside of BC and any band you might be in do you ever talk about music with anyone else?

[BillyBass]

I am an electrician, working in London.  Several of my customers are musicians; I normally spot that pretty quickly when going through their house and start up a conversation about music.  Most are employees of orchestras but I've met the odd bassist.  

 

One of my old customers, whose rental properties I work on, needed me to fix a fault at her home.  I walked in to find a Ricky 4001 perched up against the kitchen cabinets.  It was her husband's and they had no idea I played bass.

[meterman]

Almost all of my friends are musicians, or DJs, or run record labels, or work for radio stations or record shops, or are vinyl collectors... it’s inevitable that we’re going to talk about music. It always happens. Even my ‘non-music’ mates mostly seem to have been in a band when they were teenagers, or ran clubs, or something. Music is just one of those things we all have in common.

 

It’s rare I meet people who don’t have some connection with music. 40 years of playing, and not having a ‘regular’ day job or career is probably the reason for that. I can natter on about other stuff but music always enters the conversations I have with mates.

[Crusoe]

14 hours ago, toneknob said:

Loads! occasionally they even reply, although sometimes it's just "please leave me alone"

 

"Sir, this is a McDonald's drive-thru. Can I take your order?"

[FinnDave]

47 minutes ago, BillyBass said:

  Most are employees of orchestras but I've met the odd bassist.  

 

Surely all bassists are a bit odd by definition?

[FinnDave]

I never talk to anyone about music except my band mates, and I see them increasingly less often these days. I'm seriously considering giving up, I am getting older and it's lost its appeal in the last year or two.

[ahpook]

I really don't have any friends, so nobody to chat music to.

 

So it goes.

[toneknob]

When I meet my musician friends out in the wild, it's largely gossip about bands we used to be in (sometimes at the same time), others in the same genre, gigs we've been to, things we've heard. Take away the subject matter and it's a old ladies gathering at the tea shop - lots of words but very little information is actually being exchanged of any value outside those in the immediate circle.

 

Besides that, I have made new friends by going to gigs and saying hello to people in the audience I've seen before at similar shows, or have seen performing in similar bands. 

 

[davepb24]

Often the main topic in our group... several are decent guitarists (but never been in bands), one has a couple of shows on Hard Rock Hell radio (and another did till earlier this year), several do regular gigs and festivals; and the lovely lady I met a few months back has quite similar musical tastes to my own, not to mention some of the same vinyl 🙂

[nilorius]

I talk about music at work, with woman - my manager. She enjoys it, me too. 😁

[ahpook]

3 hours ago, FinnDave said:

I never talk to anyone about music except my band mates, and I see them increasingly less often these days. I'm seriously considering giving up, I am getting older and it's lost its appeal in the last year or two.

 

I know this one.

[SumOne]

I manage to shoehorn in some music talk in with just about anyone - whether they like it or not! 

[nilorius]

8 minutes ago, SumOne said:

I manage to shoehorn in some music talk in with just about anyone - whether they like it or not! 

You know, You are smart !

[Marc S]

I am in several bands, and always talking music with all of them. I also chat about music with lots of mates who aren't musicians. Always talking music with Mrs S about music too. Often going to gigs with non musician friends.

 

Basically talking music most of the time! And never pass up the chance to talk more music - it's such a huge part of my life... just wish I was better at it 😀 

[chris_b]

I'll talk bass, bands and music to anyone, but I don't know anyone who really cares enough to make it a long conversation.

 

After 2 mins Mrs B's eyes glaze over.

[Stub Mandrel]

Blimey. So sad so many Basschatters don't  get to share their passion.

I suppose I'm lucky - my partner knows loads of people on the local music scene. But I'm not shy and chat to any and everyone about music - I  met a guy who was looking at the same guitar as me in crack converters and ended up gigging with him.

 

My advice is just start conversations. It can be as anodyne as vanilla, people are usually grateful to talk something interesting.

 Went to a celebration of a lost friend tonight. Chap I jammed with at Monday's open mike was there, we spent a good hour chinwagging.

 

music is an icebreaker.  Please don't be shy of talking to people, especially bands. 98.7% of bass players appreciate being approached by another bassist!

 

 

[BillyBass]

19 hours ago, FinnDave said:

 

Surely all bassists are a bit odd by definition?

You might be mate but I'm normal.  They wouldn't have let me out of the funny farm if I wasn't.

[Waddo Soqable]

My experience has been that when people find out you're either in a band, or have been in bands back in the day, whatever, they're interested straight away, and happy to chat and ask you about the whole thing like it holds some kind of mystique, especially if you go back to the 70s 80s era

[LeftyJ]

On 26/09/2023 at 22:42, Nothingman said:

Does lecturing youths about how it was all better in my day count? 

I've had the opposite: "Why do you listen to Gorillaz? You're old!" 

 

But then I was able to reverse it, and tell them "Clint Eastwood" was released in 2001, when I was still their age (turned 18 that year) 

 

 

[zbd1960]

Well, I live on my own, don't have a partner... so the main option is to talk to myself... I don't usually get into an argument.

 

I do have friends that are interested in music (even my eclectic interests) and one who is a serious (major venue) sound engineer who used to be a bass session player.