Musician Forum - Band Discussion Board - BandMix

Reporting from Seattle. More of the same here. I'm 59 and play for fun, practicing at home. I have shifted more practice time to solo acoustic fingerstyle including Hawaiian slack key. If I don't find or start a band Plan B is to go it alone. I'm getting close, though. A couple of weeks ago one of our friends said the husband of one of her friends plays surf music, which is what I enjoy playing the most. As others have said, there are a ton of metal players/bands looking for guitar players. I also wish there were metro musician forums like "The Dallas Musician Forum" "The Chicago Musician Forum " or similar where we could find others of similar age and interests. I can see that these metro forums might be too small even in major cities to be economically viable.

27, been playing bass about 10 years, listening to *at this moment* Bela Fleck & the Flecktones... and I can groove to anything, and it was Geddy Lee that got my juices flowing for the bass. I'll listen to anything with a groove.

I'm looking for some people to jam with - mhbuckelew - if you're down, I may have an occasional drummer.

I have the most respect for the older rock - although usually listen to more modern rock.

After reading through all of the "Old Farts" area of General Chat, I feel very lucky. I am 56 years young and have played the Drums for close to 40 years, even taught several to play. I to love the music from the 50's and 60's and the more -moving- Country and even some Blues. A friend of mine has a studio he built in his privet home, and we get togather every Saterday evening to play. We have a base Player younger than both of us, we also have a great keyboard player and a saxaphone player. We invite others to come and play music with us and just have A good time. And of course we write original Music. The only thing is it seams that no one will respond to E- Mail 0r your listing on Band.Mix. Hang in there Old Farts. Live long and prosper. In the Tulsa Oklahoma Area.

Hey, lovesdrums,
Sounds great - jamming in a studio every Sat. night w/ drums, bass, keys, sax . . .
Samick1

Samick 1

Yes it is very good. Iwould hope that everyone looking to play can
Because once it's in your blood it's there to stay. If it is possible, pass on what you know to someone, so the Music never die,s. Good luck to you.

lovesdrums

lovesdrums,
Yeah, guy, it's in my blood, alright.
You mentioned an important topic when you said, "pass on what you know to someone."
I wish I could.
I want to pass on what I know to someone who is also capable of passing it on.
Otherwise, when I die, my music dies with me. And that would be a crying shame.
.
I have written (and am still writing) music that is different from all the other mediocre stuff out there, but not so 'abstruse' - that nobody understands it.
Peaople have to like it.
And, well - they do.
Most of my originals are well out of the mainstream, yet I've found it to be readily acceptable (and enjoyed) by both experienced musicians, AND the average, uneducated listener.
My songs put good emotions into of you . . .
Music should make you feel good.
Anyway - so, I guess I succeeded in writing good music.
.
Now, who can I teach it to? Evidently there's no one nearby willing (or capable?) to learn it.
.
When I die, my family will probably throw out all my notes without looking at them. And discard all my recordings without listening to them.
My life's work - lost forever.
.
Anyway, yeah, I've got a couple of friends I'm showing stuff to.
They originally came over to jam, but I had to show them new things, in order for them to play my songs. New bass patterns, new chords, new rhythms . . .
But neither of them are capable of passing it on. They just can't do it, our experience levels are just too far apart.
.
Hey, I've been playing since the 70's, and I never gave up trying new things in writing and playing my music.
I will never rest on my Laurels. There are too many wonderful things to be discovered to pass by . . .
I challenge myself with new rhythms, new chords, & different song structures constantly.
So - I continue improving. And I continue writing . . .
.
Ok, that's all well and good . . .
.
BUT.
.
The down side is - now there's very few musicians able to PLAY my songs!
.
The best ones are already in groups, have heads the size of Manhatten, live way too far away, or - maybe - are still undiscovered . . .
.
Sorry about crying the blues, man. It's depressing . . .
Alan

Hang in there man!!

I'm a new old fart in here, 56 as of last month. I'm currently in Frederick, Maryland, but will be moving to Milledgeville, Georgia at the end of October, to remarry my first wife after 31 years. (It's a long story)
I've been playing in country/classic rock bands (lead guitar, vocals) for almost 30 years, and hope I can find some geezers with similar interests when I get to Georgia. If anyone can clue me in to the music scene in central Georgia, or you might like to get together when I get there, please email me at [email protected].
Thanks for your help!

How many hours a week do all you guys practice/play?
I'm doing about 15-20 hours a week.
Alan

Alan,
I'm putting in about the same amount time:play out twice a week@4 hrs=8 hrs total and practice twice a week,average 4hrsx2=8 hrs totaling
16 hours.Our practices can vary so I'm saying 16-20/week.Once I get our band out playing more than we could go from 24-28.I'm very happy with our schedule.........

Jon

Hi all,
I'm new to the site. I just relocated from the east coast to Huntington, West Virginia. I'm 51, but a 30 year career as a professional musician kept me young I guess. At 45 I finally got married and went into "retirement" from the music business and last October we had a son, so everything old is new. The employment situation here in WV is not real snappy, so I'm seriously considering music as a career again if I can locate a gig.

There's really no style of music I haven't tried and I'm not ruling out anything in the future. Rock and Blues have always been my favorite venues but I'm as at home with big band Jazz, Country, Latin, Classical or dinner theater. I've been reading music since I was 10 and I've done a lot of studio work and subbing for cats who were ill or needed some time off the road. I've toured off and on and been up and down the ladder a few times now. Since walking away in the 90's, I've mourned my music and often wished I cold get back in a comfortable situation of performing and perhaps pursue my writing.

As this song I co-wrote and performed a while back says, I long to get back Out On The Highway.

I'm somewhat familiar with the Huntington area. My band played New Year's eve 2005 at a place calleed Vito's in Prestonsburg, KY (down 23 South). They're just screaming for a good house band. It's about 30 or 40 miles from Huntington, but if you're looking for a gig... Also, Fat Boys in Logan is pretty nice. Both also have house pa's. Good luck!

Alan: I practice 2 hours nightly mon-fri for 10 hours and 12 hours on the weekend for roughly 22 hours wk...sometimes more if a gig or studio work is involved....Jon

Jonny,
You're a man who loves his music.
That's a goodly amount of time to practice.
.
No two of my practice sessions are ever alike. Sometimes I do only all new stuff, sometimes all old stuff. Sometimes I do mostly stumming, sometimes mostly finger picking.
Sometimes I play only fast, jazzy stuff, other times slow stuff.
Usely just one guitar, but sometimes 2. Sometimes I just play bass.
Sometimes I do only songs, other times I mostly do 'practice patterns,' of which I have several.
Sometimes I just work on different progressions.
.
This variety keeps me from getting burned out. Something is always available to fit my mood.
Anybody else?
How many hours a week do you practice?

Thanks Julie,
I appreciate the input.