General Music Chat

Anybody here lose interest in music for a while, and then come back?
I had a ten-year break in playing; kinda got bored with hearing the same songs, I guess.
And I got into it again about in 2005 or 2006.
And I loved it. Wrote a lot of different stuff, started performing.
And now my interest is fluctuating again . . .
My music style has changed a lot, and now much of the new stuff I've been writing requires additional musicians to play; it's a pain finding the right musicians & organizing schedules . . .
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Somebody tell me something good.

I've never lost interest in making music, I've been waiting for it to happen but for some reason...

There was a period when I was working and going to school that I didn't really have time to be in a band, but the desire was still there. When I finished college I jumped back in and have been playing ever since.

I understand the frustration of scheduling rehearsals and gigs, as long as you're the leader of the group this is your yoke. The plus part is you are in control of your fate.

Never complete interest, but there were times I didn't pick up a guitar for months. Didn't write any songs 7-8 years, wrote 1 then went another 7+ years.
My 'muse' left me, but came back.

"Writing music" was not a constant until I started to attempt to write with my 1st band mates. (that was a mistake)

Afterwards, it's all the time.

As for taking time off, I was in and out of playing all my life.
You have to have some other hobbies to keep it fresh.

It comes and goes for me... Right Now I'm burned out... Been trying to optimize touch ups on my project. Were done, basically, but George suddenly decided he wants to never look at another music related thing in his life...He's done gone and built a cement pond and wants to raise and sell Talapia fish... So he's lost heart in the project. FORTUNATELY its down to tweaks on mixing only, and off to get mastered. The Homemade Remedies project ends in Two weeks ...end of story.

I don't know when I'll have the actually CD released... I have no fkn clue who the hell would actually buy it, and where the FK I should distribute it...

Trying to learn Publisher and create my Inserts, also working to get a photo session for the cover.

I'm sick of my project. I wanna move on to different stuff.

Anybody here lose interest in music for a while, and then come back?
I had a ten-year break in playing; kinda got bored with hearing the same songs, I guess.
And I got into it again about in 2005 or 2006.
And I loved it. Wrote a lot of different stuff, started performing.
And now my interest is fluctuating again . . .
My music style has changed a lot, and now much of the new stuff I've been writing requires additional musicians to play; it's a pain finding the right musicians & organizing schedules . . .
.
Somebody tell me something good.

I've quite 3 times. The first time for a year, the second time for 2 years and the third time for about 2.

Every time it came back stronger and more focused. Seasons happen as we get older. Nothing to worry about.

If you never played again would it have been worth it?





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I didnt touch a guitar for around 8 years at one time.

I guess Im lucky cause I dont feel chained to playing music, like its life or death to me. I make the best of it when it hits me.

I picked up a guitar last night for the first time in 6 weeks, seems like an old friend.

In my mind Im planning on doing some sort of prog project just for shits and giggles, not really to sell or market, but just for me. Ive got all sorts of neat little pieces of music thats never fit anything Im doing, so I want to just put it all together into something, may be a clusterfuck, but at least it will be my vision of a clusterfuck.

As far as the cover band waiting to hear from our singer and his hernia, dont know what hes gonna do about it, so who knows, could be the end of that train too, but Ive got great memorys with some guys I love to play with, and if we never play again it wont hurt me any.

I'm still in the "honey moon phase"

I hope it never ends.



Sure I have days when I think I should just sell all this crap and go work for the drug cartels.

But who don't ?

jw123' . . . Ive got all sorts of neat little pieces of music thats never fit anything Im doing, so I want to just put it all together into something . . ."
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Yeah, me too; I have hours of that kinda stuff recorded, too. But when it comes time to putting it together, I get new ideas, and wind up with double the number of ideas, . . . . so many ideas that it's overwhelming.
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I record the guitar, to just remember the song. Then figure out good drums, and re-record the guitar, then a bass track, then echo/reverb, then lyrics and vocals and harmonies and mixing and mixing and mixing . . .
Heh . . . by that time I've heard the song so many times that I'm sick of it . . .
A lotta work, for sure . . .

a married man raising 3 very bright children
has many calls to answer.
well that phase of life is over now
time for me to finish a few things I started 30 years ago.

Great topic!

Here's my story-

I loved guitar/music since I was a kid, picked up and self learned starting at age 12. Played like a fiend throughout my teens, it was to a point my whole life- I joined a few bands after high school only to find the worst in people - drug addiction, lack of preparedness (lazy people), entitled a-holes, etc.. Nothing ever seemed to work out for long, so I eventually gave up and just stayed home with a 4-track cassette recorder and wrote music, it made me happy for a few years.

In my mid-20's, life, women, career, etc.. started taking over, I moved in with a girl, focused on career, and found myself playing guitar less and less.

Then, every time I picked it up, I found myself struggling to play things that were once easy, I was getting rusty, and every time I played, I was even rustier. It usually would end in 15 minutes or less, where I would just put it down out of frustration. Before I knew it, I was no longer picking it up.

I still thought about music all the time, creating melodies and riffs in my head, but every time I looked at my guitar, I would just deflate. My job excluded me from having the time to devote to it also.

Next thing I knew, 8 years passed me by, and I still yearned to play, thought about it all the time. Got a job, good ol 9-5 deal and I decided I wanted to get back into it. I had over the years traded or sold most of my gear and had little left, so I went to guitar center and bought a new guitar, multi fx pedal and amp. Started playing again. This time I knew I was super rusty and needed to really bone-up so I started with the basics and worked my way back up. It came back surprisingly quick, like riding a bike Within 2 months of maybe 8 hours a week practice, I was as good as I ever was.

I started looking for bands, went in and out of a few before finding my current cover band (been over 3 years with them), as well as teamed up with an original folk artist and played guitar for her at shows as well as recorded a professional EP.

I'm in my early 40's and have no illusions as to how far I can go, but I refuse to believe there's a ceiling either. I have a good day job, and don't plan on going on tour or anything lol.

A lot of musicians draw a very distinct line with doing it "for fun" which I really disagree with. Playing gigs costs money. Free gigs aren't really free- you put wear and tear on your gear, time, and gas $, as well as wear and tear on your vehicle or band-van, and the costs of keeping that up as well. We all do it "for fun" but I only do 2 shows a year for free, and insist on them being charities. I don't do "for exposure" gigs anymore, as they are a huge scam IMO.

Well, went off topic but that's my story.

(edit) To add-
I also developed a severe case of carpal tunnel about 6 months after getting back into it and over the next year, playing got harder and harder.. I tried everything from chiro to acupuncture to massage therary, electric therapy, cortisone shots, etc.. Nothing worked and it got worse and worse. Playing became so painful I would have tears running down my face at gigs from the pain.

I got surgery, sat out for a couple of months, then went back into a full regiment of practice, hand exercises, etc. The surgery literally saved my life and now I actually play far better than I ever did before (which I attribute to the military-style practice regiment).

Was in a power trio in the late 70s. Had an album coming out. Became a Christian and left the band the night a guy from Atlantic records was in my home listening to the final tapes, inviting us to NY. Big decision, but the new path was set. Sold my last kit in the early 80s. Entered the ministry.

Years went by. You can take the boy away from the drums but you can't take the drums out of the boy. Got back into it a decade later. Started making my own drums. Started a ten year off and on again band. Did a couple clinics.

Recording now. Come to find out the album I made 30 years ago is a cult classic. I got one off ebay for ... well, a lot of money. Lost the one I had in a move. If I knew it was that valuable ...

Life goes on. The bassist and I keep getting requests from various record companies to reissue the album. No master tapes anymore. Bootlegs are everywhere. You can download the album off the web all over. There's no point to reissue for us. But for sure I have learned in the music industry nothing is certain, and no one really knows how things will go.

I have no regrets.

Kramerguy: " . . . I got surgery, sat out for a couple of months, then went back into a full regiment of practice, hand exercises, etc. The surgery literally saved my life "
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I understand.
There have been times where I'd have felt totally lost if I had been able to play guitar.
I guess there would have always beem the posibility of learning a keyboard, but the rhythm and everything else about it is all different than guitar.
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Anyway - I'm glad it worked out for you, man . . .

I had quit for roughly 30 years because I didn't like playing clubs anymore for drunks, and I was tired of the songs.

A friend of mine found an old tape I had made right after I quit playing. He said I was too good to quit playing. I asked him "What is this too good to quit stuff? I haven't picked up a guitar to play it in 30 years"

Then he started sending guitars to me to convince me to take it up again. The first was a cheap Strat that was made out of lead plywood, but the single coil pups won me over. Then he sent a brand new cherry red sunburst Less Paul in a hard shell case to me. That tweaked my interest more. Then he sent a brand new New American Telecaster in a hard shell case to me. By the time I was through customizing them I found that I was back into playing again.

Voila!