General Music Chat

You know how you like it JW

Having listened now to all on your profile, I can understand better
your frustration. You are very talented. I would love to work with you but
am computer challenged.
Your song "Johnny Boy" is exellent and is inspiring to me.
You dont just play, you bring the listener in.

jmho
KLUG[/b]

I quit playing for about 25 years. But I didn't miss it. I was tired of playing clubs where I didn't want to play. I was tired of playing for drunks. I was tired of playing the songs that I didn't want to play. I was tired of playing the songs that I knew and didn't hear anything new that I wanted to hear. The proverbial brick wall. So I hung it up.

Then a friend started sending guitars to me to get me to start playing again. For a while I just modified them for something to do, to get a sound that I liked. Then I was absorbed by music all over again, and started working out on the fingerboard. I didn't miss it all those years, but when I started in again I realized that being a musician, as opposed to a guitar slut, was why I started playing in the first place. Now I would miss it if I quit.

I agree it's all about being a musician,
but I like guitar sluts too.

Ditto what every single person whose responded here says...

As fer Me. I've spent a lifetime "not being heard" A couple of things I've learned:

1) When you feel depressed, its your inner self getting worried about whether or not you might be missing out on some glory from your 'masterpieces'.

2) With respect to glory (Legends in our own minds, not withstanding) No masterpiece is really a masterpiece until somebody 'else' declares it to be a masterpiece. I find this salient truth to be funny, because its quite amazing and comical what some folks declare as a masterpiece. (Its almost never what we thought it would or should be)

3) We musicians... have been musicians since the day we were born. It was only after we assembled two or more of our first notes, that we had graduated from the banal world of Legos and left the non-gifted behind. IF a Lego Truck sits in the woods, next to a budding guitarist, and nobody is around to hear the guitarist...does the lego truck make a sound?

4) We all get caught up in the politics of the music industry. By design, the industry wants most of us to fail, but by our perseverance, we can persuade the industry to reconsider... That's the process that separates the wheat from the chaff... NOTE: The industry is strictly about the glory...not the music. When you knock on the door of the industry its presumed you want a share of the glory...That aside, you still have this wonderful gift called music.

Music is in our blood...Nail us to a cross and see how we whistle while we wait... RUn over us with a bus, and maybe the last thought we have is the key that those screeching brakes were in... (Not to mention the percussion pattern of the tires that bumped forward over us ...and then again when the driver backed up to see what happened.... )

Its all good dude.. And I heard your music and its great .. Time to pick up and move forward with it...

I quit playing for about 25 years. But I didn't miss it. I was tired of playing clubs where I didn't want to play. I was tired of playing for drunks. I was tired of playing the songs that I didn't want to play. I was tired of playing the songs that I knew and didn't hear anything new that I wanted to hear. The proverbial brick wall. So I hung it up.

About the same for me as Slacker ... after 20 yrs on the road I quit for about 10 yrs ...

Ditto what every single person whose responded here says...

You sang, "Angels we Have Heard on High," in a reosunding bass while waiting in a long line at Wal-Mart, too? What a coincidence!

J/K

Ditto what every single person whose responded here says...

You sang, "Angels we Have Heard on High," in a reosunding bass while waiting in a long line at Wal-Mart, too? What a coincidence!

J/K

That I did...And to get the falsetto voice on it, I had to stick a feather duster up my ass... lol!

Ditto what every single person whose responded here says...

As fer Me. I've spent a lifetime "not being heard" A couple of things I've learned:

1) When you feel depressed, its your inner self getting worried about whether or not you might be missing out on some glory from your 'masterpieces'.

2) With respect to glory (Legends in our own minds, not withstanding) No masterpiece is really a masterpiece until somebody 'else' declares it to be a masterpiece. I find this salient truth to be funny, because its quite amazing and comical what some folks declare as a masterpiece. (Its almost never what we thought it would or should be)

3) We musicians... have been musicians since the day we were born. It was only after we assembled two or more of our first notes, that we had graduated from the banal world of Legos and left the non-gifted behind. IF a Lego Truck sits in the woods, next to a budding guitarist, and nobody is around to hear the guitarist...does the lego truck make a sound?

4) We all get caught up in the politics of the music industry. By design, the industry wants most of us to fail, but by our perseverance, we can persuade the industry to reconsider... That's the process that separates the wheat from the chaff... NOTE: The industry is strictly about the glory...not the music. When you knock on the door of the industry its presumed you want a share of the glory...That aside, you still have this wonderful gift called music.

Music is in our blood...Nail us to a cross and see how we whistle while we wait... RUn over us with a bus, and maybe the last thought we have is the key that those screeching brakes were in... (Not to mention the percussion pattern of the tires that bumped forward over us ...and then again when the driver backed up to see what happened.... )

Its all good dude.. And I heard your music and its great .. Time to pick up and move forward with it...

Well said.... Very well said. I think you have opened my eyes a bit my friend. Well done.

Thank you very much for taking the time.

P.S. Not that no one that has responded hasn't done the same. lol.

Thank you guys for taking the time and sending replies to my post. I really appreciate it, and it has granted me some interesting insight.


Perhaps, I should just enjoy my gift myself, and share it nonchalantly to my friends, and loved ones.


Thanks fellas.

Ditto what every single person whose responded here says...

You sang, "Angels we Have Heard on High," in a reosunding bass while waiting in a long line at Wal-Mart, too? What a coincidence!

J/K

That I did...And to get the falsetto voice on it, I had to stick a feather duster up my ass... lol!

LOL That's hilarious.

Never consider a stop as final. Most of us have taken breaks from playing - utltimtely life gets in the way.

The fact that you may not know when your next gig is going to be, doesn't mean it isn't going to be!

Talbot

Hey Talbot, I've been drinking but no sh#t,
last week musically 3 Hours a day on guitar,
3 hours a day on piano, 1 hour a day on theory,
% days in a row M-F, I'm going to do it again
next week, I'm living the life, sorry I've been
so hard on bass players, but that's really how
I feel.

My drunken drummer had his cousin call me
wanting to know if he can come beat the f^ck
out of my drums tomorrow. Old friend hell of
a drummer, and we lived the drunken drug
addict lifestyle back in the day. I told him no,
but have my drunken drummer friend call or come
see me, I think I need to whip his azz.

And I Lynard - have been drinking too. After a decent practice tonight I'm feeling much like you described yourself. I've got bandaids all over my fingers from practicing finger picking so much yesterday and playing the bass day before.

Tonight I played lead and had a blast.

I welcome all the comments about bass players actually. Since at heart I still think of myself as the bass man I'm always interested in hearing what others think. You might be surprised playing with me - wish you were closer!

But I'm enjoying playing lead guitar - since I too have been studying theory the six string guitar was a necessity - more notes to play around with. Chord theory and all that other stuff. What fun. Life is too short to do it all but we keep pushing it and it's like standing for something. We refuse to accept mediocrity.

I was watching some movie the other night where aliens were shooting the sh*t out of Santa Monica - I thought, 'oh yeah - that's were I wrote that song for a screen play that never went anywhere.' And had to laugh. Here I am - allways a project.. all these years and still getting pushing it, never even considering that it might be a wash in the end...

So I'll raise a glass to you bro and then get back to working on the chords and transition in some new work - one of the changes is not quite right. sigh...

Talbot

I know that in some respect, one or all of you have achieved success in the industry.

I have studied from a very young age in music, as I am sure some, or most of you have.

I have been through the ringer, and have been spit out. It reminds me everyday what I am. Every waking moment that I have tells me that I have a gift. Who is to say if I am wrong or right? I am humble enough to admit it can not be myself.

I do cherish those few precious thoughts that I have had during my youth, when all seemed to fit. Where I knew where I was going, and where I would end up. Let us be truthful in saying there is no such thing.....

You never know what tomorrow brings...


Then so be it.

Where does that leave me now?


It is a good question, that I believe that you, being experienced as you are, could answer.


Should I finally put my guitar down, and stop trying to find the people I need to create a fully functional professional project?


Thoughts please....

Are you freakin nuts ?

Consider not victory nor defeat. It is enough to simply be in the now.