Music life sucks.... (Page 2 of 2)

What's keeping you?  It's already late Friday morning where you are.

- Zurf

Zurf that's great about you and your kids!  It's wonderful that they live in a home with such musical parents and inspirations/influences.  Way to go!  Maybe you just need to get more wine for your wife. 

Cheers
RavenLady

Hehe, I'm happy too! Thank you. I have considered surprising my wife with a clarinet.
She used to play in middle school and I think she would be awesome on it again.
The thing is finding a good one for less than 1000 dollars. Hiding the purchase from her on the books is going to take some creativity...hehe.

Dm

Zurf - You have already exceeded my expectations. The simple fact that we will eventually get together and jam is all that I could have ever asked for.
I built a piezo pickup for my acoustic guitar (Which you can see me playing with on my youtube page) that absolutely rocks when plugged into an amp.
I will have my acoustic and my electric on hand when we jam if you would like to try it. If you like it I can build you a piezo pickup too. The parts are less than 3 dollars at radio shack.

I understand the whole family thing, time is a lot more valuable when it's not just you deciding how it's spent hehe.

Well, I wasn't ever really that interested in playing the bass. I only learned it because that was the only way that the band I was in would let me play with them. And even then they wanted me to play bass exactly like the band leader did (Which is impossible). Anytime I picked up a guitar or brought my own, the band leader would get huffy. The bass is nice, but with the guitar I can express myself a lot better.

I will answer your email in a minute. I've been jamming most of the day in the lab to backing tracks.

Dm

After reading this

And this

I'm going to offer up some of Jerome's Patented Unsolicited Advice(tm)

Don't play with people who want to have some kind of "role" in a band.   Find people that want to be musicians, rather than a guitar player, and you will have much more fun.

I play bass in my band for the same reason everyone does. No one else wanted to.   But if I pick up a guitar for a set (and I do),  someone else is happy to play bass.  We're constantly looking for reasons to bring in another instrument.  Right now, we're looking for a mandolin or a dobro, but if we brought in a slide whistle or a bag pipe, we'd try to find some way to make it work. 

Variety is the spice of life.

Ohhhhhhh we are going to have fun. 

I listened to that little jamm you did on your YouTube page with your Squier 51 and I had bass riffs running through my head. 

Hey, you play guitar pretty good for a bass player.  :-)

JEROME - You play bass for the same reason as everyone else NO ONE WANTS TO!!!!  Son, I've got some folks to introduce you to.

Hey Tine,

Where are you located? I can post you a link to nearly all Folk/Acoustic Clubs, Folk/Acoustic Jam Sessions, Open Mic, Floor Spot etc, etc etc, ALL OVER the South West from Hampshire to Devon.

Hey detman, I understand your frustration. A couple of years ago my brother in law approached me and asked if I'ld like to be in his band. Assuming he wanted me to play rhythm and do some vocals I agreed. When I showed up at practice that night with my gear I was told to put it back in my car as I was now a bass player. Surprise surprise!! I reluctantly agreed and figured I could probably learn and possibly even enjoy it. Then they dropped the big bomb. They had a gig booked in three days and I had to learn 20 songs! Needless to say the bass line in the songs was not very close to what they were supposed to sound like. We managed to get through the gig and continued to practice together for a couple of weeks and I tried to find time to practice on my own while working a regular full time job with out making my family feel like I didn't have time for them. My bass playing skills improved enough to make me feel I was making progress but evidently not fast enough for anyone else. At our next job I showed up and found another bass player setting up. That's when I found out I was being replaced. I was'nt so much mad as I was dissapointed that my brother in law of 20 years didn't have the decency or the guts to tell me straight up that this was going to happen. I have played with many people over the years and performed on stage many times and too many times I see good people get a "rock-star" attitude. Now i either play alone or with my 15 year old son and my time in the spotlight is limited to my wife's family reunion( where for some reason my brother in law will not play) I hold no animosity for him and continue to wish him luck in his musical endeavors. Some times you have to make your own road and although it may be a lonely trip at least you can command your own destiny. Keep jamming and who knows maybe you'll find someone with the same mindset as you and something will develop

Hey Tine,

Where are you located? I can post you a link to nearly all Folk/Acoustic Clubs, Folk/Acoustic Jam Sessions, Open Mic, Floor Spot etc, etc etc, ALL OVER the South West from Hampshire to Devon.

Thanks for that.... Yeah I am in Guernsey!!! Channel Islands. I know we used to have a folk and blues club because when I was 15 and at school my Music teacher invited me to sing there in her band. It was the most memorable moment of my adolescence. I swear I found my comfort zone from that moment on!

Don't think you will have us on there though will you?

Hey Detman,

Looks like everyone has given you some great advice on the subject you raised. I think a lot of people have gotten their fair share of disappointment when trying to group with others to play music. I'm guessing it can sometimes be hard to find like-minded people. Either that, or egos get in the way. I've found that too many people are over-confident that they're going to become rockstars, and they miss the point of the collaboration.

When I began playing again and felt ready to start jamming with others, I visited two places on the net where I could potentially find other players: 1 was a musical forum for my city, and the other was craigslist.com. Both sites had sections for musicians seeking like-minded players for various projects. I was looking for something less serious, and more focused on having fun and being creative. I eventually found 2 great guitarists, started jamming, and have been having fun ever since.
After we had gotten good enough (in our heads lol) to try some open mics together at cafes and bars, the opportunities to find other jammers multiplied again. These open mics can be a haven for musicians of all ages who are seeking to show their music and express themselves. After getting to know some of them, I now find myself trying hard to find time to keep up with all the jams. Also, we often meet at parks during the summer, and when people hear our jam, they also join if they have their instruments. I remember several afternoons that were spent jamming with a group of 30 other people of all ages, playing all kinds of different instruments.

Of course, there will be those that you encounter who are either arrogant, selfish, or deluded with ambitions that even they cannot live up to. I've had my share of them, and also those that weren't like that, but that I didn't share a musical connection with. Sometimes, it is easier to play by yourself, but I would recommend not giving up on trying to share making music with others. It's both fun and an enormously insightful learning experience.

In any case, I hope you find what you're looking for. The websites (check your local craigslist and musicians' forums) and open mics really worked for me.

Good luck and good jamming.

J.