How good do you need to be...

[Eight]

[quote name='hubrad' post='512327' date='Jun 12 2009, 05:44 PM']Always have a flask of coffee and a supply of biccies or chocolate stashed behind the amp (that's why we use big amps )[/quote]
So that brown stain when you leave the stage is actually melted chocolate and spilt coffee then?

[Golchen]

[quote name='Eight' post='512292' date='Jun 12 2009, 04:58 PM']I'm thirty (my best days are behind me) and I've always played an instrument, always listened to music but never been in a band.[/quote]


You're worried at 30!!!!



I'm 47

[Eight]

[quote name='Golchen' post='512451' date='Jun 12 2009, 09:25 PM']You're worried at 30!!!![/quote]
It might sound daft - but turning thirty has been a big deal for me. Not coped that well with it really.

Somehow everything seems a bit more urgent now... a feeling not helped by another member of family dropping dead earlier this year I guess.

[TimR]

[quote name='Eight' post='512454' date='Jun 12 2009, 09:30 PM']It might sound daft - but turning thirty has been a big deal for me. Not coped that well with it really.

Somehow everything seems a bit more urgent now... a feeling not helped by another member of family dropping dead earlier this year I guess.[/quote]


Hey, don't worry. Time is a great healer and these BIG 0 numbers are always a time to question where you're going in your life. I just hit 40 last month and joined another band where I'm the youngest. Day job, two kids and two bands and regular cardio-vascular to keep the middle age spread at bay and be fit to run around a stage!

[Eight]

Sounds like you have it sorted Tim. Maybe growing up isn't so bad after all.

[skankdelvar]

Growing up is just fine. What you learn as you get older is that you can be as happy, or as unhappy, as you like at whatever age you are. All that changes is your knees go or your back plays up, hence the interest in lightweight cabs!

As regards going for auditions: just do it - the worst thing that can happen is that they don't ask you to join, thus freeing you up for the next audition. If you're worried about your playing competence - don't be. Some auditions you go to, you may be technically better than them. Others, they may be better than you. In the end, water finds its own level and so will you.

The other thing is, there are plenty of people out there in 'bands' who are completely devoid of self-awareness and therefore fail to recognise their incompetence. So questioning your own readiness is a good sign - it shows you're self-aware. Sort of like: "I doubt, therefore I think, therefore I can gig".

Don't worry about mistakes. Everybody makes them all the time, and if they don't, they aren't trying hard enough. And you'll soon discover that there are bigger issues to being in a band than technical competence - like getting gigs and stopping the guitarist getting pissed at half-time!

Plus, the gig where you make the most mistakes is inevitably the one that the audience raves about. Good luck with the auditions

[BigBeefChief]

Eight, drop Jakesbass a PM about your concerns. He'll sort you out. He's like a bass Yoda. Worked for me.

[Musky]

[quote name='Golchen' post='512269' date='Jun 12 2009, 04:27 PM']I'd love to play in a band myself, but for me the fear factor is just too great. I don't know why, but my standard of playing (all instruments) goes right down when I'm with other musicians. What I need is a few people I know to just go and make some noise and try to get into it. Unfortunately my only two musician friens both live about 100 miles away from me.

I wish I'd done it when I was younger, my biggest regret in life.[/quote]

You ought to do it now. Just click on to Gumtree or wherever right now and put an ad in.

I regularly see ads from musicians in your position looking the for people to jam with, improve their playing, have a few beers and maybe gig when ready. Sure it might take you out of your comfort zone to start with but you're likely to be playing with people in exactly the same position. In my experience playing with others is less about ability than the way a band gels as people.

You've nothing to lose but your regrets.

Edited June 13, 2009 by Musky

[chris_b]

[quote name='Stylon Pilson' post='512086' date='Jun 12 2009, 01:24 PM']....I joined my first band before I could play....[/quote]
Adam Clayton joined/formed what ever U2 were called back then, before he could play. Sid Vicious [i]never[/i] learned how to play bass!

To join a band you only have to be as good as you [i]need[/i] to be, but it's much harder to be as good as you [i]want[/i] to be!

[BigRedX]

I don't think anyone is ever as good as they want to be.

Just get out there and go to some auditions. The worst thing that can happen is that you don't get into the band.

IMO every hour spent playing with other musicians is worth at least 10 spent practising by your self.

[Eight]

Well... I've thought it over for the past two days... sucked in all the good advice given to me here... and decided not to go for it. Lol.

But... this thread has really focused me and helped me decide that playing in a band (soon) is something I just have to do. So, as it would be financially very irresponsible for me to just run out right now and buy the amp equipment I need, I decided to make acquiring these my number one priority and then force myself in for the next half-decent band opportunity that comes along.

No excuses, no more thinking. Just going to get the tools I need for the job and give it a shot.

Thanks guys. You have all been great in helping me think this whole bass and band thing through.

[Telebass]

Hey, I restarted this at 53, and even after all those years, you probably already know more theory than I'm ever likely to learn. Go for it as soon as you're amp'd up. See my post in this section to see what happened to me after 17 years off!

Edited June 14, 2009 by Telebass