It then occurred to me that a decent part of the reason that I perform live is a selfish one - on some level I'd rather demonstrate social utility by being a human jukebox than have to interact with people normally. Apparently I'd rather chug water and double-check the setlist after getting off stage than drink a beer and introduce myself to people. As ironic as it sounds there's a certain security to being on stage that insulates you from having to hang out with people while still scratching the itch to go out.
Maybe I'm psychologizing myself too much but it's a thought. Definitely something I'm going to work on regardless.
It does not sound ironic to me, and it reminded me of “To know them” by Eric’s Trip. If you don’t know the song, I think you’d feel at least partially identified by the short lyrics, regardless of what you make of the music.
There was a time when we were hoping to “make it” and we did release an album but it wasn’t very successful, of course. That band broke up a few years later but I kept going with different bands.
I can’t do it every week anymore, let alone every night. It’s very physically demanding, so once a month is plenty in my age.
But it’s still fun. A lot of fun. I can’t imagine ever stopping it until I can’t physically do it. It’s part of who I am. Long live rock’n roll \m/
>One must put up barriers to keep oneself intact
>I can't pretend a stranger is a long awaited friend
-Neil Peart
part of being a parent is puttying your kid first. if you don't like to dance but your daughter really wants/needs this as part of the ritual, then you put on your big boy pants and do it. if your daughter really is okay with it fine, but you're an asshat for not. you may not like ballet, but you show up to the recitals. you might not like sportsball, but you show up to the events. you might cringe at the beginner band's abilities on stage, but you show up. it's not for you. it's for the kid.
After the show two of the band (40 and 37 y.o.) were talking about what next. They realise that, sadly, they're probably not going to make it big, but aren't sure that the occasional local gig with audience of 120, or supporting someone bigger but where the audience don't care, is enough. What should they do? give up? change mental focus and do something completely different (one thought about being a counsellor, the other about going into visual art). I'm older, so they were asking whether I'd had similar thoughts. Sure have. I long ago realised I could never make a living lighting live music unless I moved to the US, or possibly europe. For reasons, neither were practical, so I consciously decided that desgining hardware, writing software, and doing the occasional hobby lighting gig were enough. But for those two? No idea.
Not really sure where this is going, but the tone of the article really resonated with the discussion with those two last night, and my tiredness this morning.
I still think live music beats the pants off recordings. And show in smaller venues where you can really see and interact with the band are _way_ better than big shows where you just have loud television
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sultans_of_Swing
And Harry doesn't mind if he doesn't make the scene
He's got a daytime job, he's doing alright
He can play the honky-tonk like anything
Savin' it up for Friday night
With the Sultans
We're the Sultans of SwingAuto-complete gets me again.
There's also the question of what kind of music people want to listen to. Rock music seems to wax and wane according to youth preferences and other pop culture and social trends. Bars and clubs that fail to adapt will usually fail.
In the late 90s dance/rap/electronic was rising while guitar-based rock seemed to be fading, or splitting into niches like nu metal. By the early 2010s rock really seemed to be in a deep trough ... at that time I saw some bands that had once been considered big rock acts in 90s like Deftones, Helmet and Kula Shaker playing much smaller venues and neighborhood clubs in Boston.
But 10 years later the pendulum seemed to swing back to rock. I saw Deftones once again on their 2022 tour, now playing a 4,000-seat arena.
I believe the SF metal scene and the NY scene at the time was very much the same.
It's also the case with my other hobbies. Aside from chores and responsibilities, most of my days consists of doing things for fun. Sometimes it aligns with something people will pay me to do.
In my 30s now.
Beats being an accountant or urologist I suppose.
I suspect there's a similar vibe for cover band folks.
Its a shame visa laws make it hard for European bands to come to the US