are you in band?

BassTooth · Post by **BassTooth** » Wed Jan 03, 2007 7:41 pm

are you in a band? have you ever been in a band? why/not? what is so great about being a DJ/mixing? why are bands gay? what instrument would you play?

i played in 2 hardcore/punk bands when i was 13. i'm 23 now and i'm more into recording/engineering and i'd like to be in a band again now that i have something real to contribute. i love mixing. i love electronic music. i love all forms of music.

so, when i was in a band i played the Electric Bass. i mostly just played the root notes and it was really noisy and loud and the sound was complete shit and it was so muddy sounding. the guitar players would crank up the bass on their amps and i would have to turn my amp up louder and the drummer would complain. and you would have this huge muddy overly distorted sound, which was nothing but rythym chugga-lug-lug(shit). but we had fun. now i'm alot older and i'd like to give it one last shot. i seem to think that all the time i spent on my own has refreshed my brain and i'm ready to start a new project and that somehow i've become a better player. i've spent alot of time practicing and learning about music Theory, playing the piano/guitar, understanding chord structure, modes, harmony, and interval relations, learning how to mix(using Live), i've met alot of cool new people, and most of all writing new songs. i think i'm getting too old tho, anywhere past 25 and its already Spinal Tap, deja vu. time to get a real job.?

darkcatt · Post by **darkcatt** » Wed Jan 03, 2007 7:48 pm

I am 29 and about to start a NIN tribute band. AS far as being too old you are not. Most artist start getting rolling in their late 20's, record companies lie about everyones age, and it takes the average band 5 years to come around.

Next off, if you are getting into a band to be a rockstar, stop now. Do it for the music and enjoyment or not at all. Rockstar is not a profession unless you are raised in it from birth like all pop idols out there today.

Most bands that are super popular don't even right their own music. Aerosmith barley wrote anything on pump. Infact "Janie's got a gun" the biggest hit was written by some one else. I AM NOT SAYING THAT NO ONE WRITES their own music, but it is getting increasingly more rare.

Moby was damn near 40, puddle of mudd 28 , sting 28, etc.

JUST HAVE FUN!!!!!!!!!!

sebovzeoueb · Post by **sebovzeoueb** » Wed Jan 03, 2007 7:55 pm

Bands are good, even when the music is shit. I definitely recommend playing in bands, I certainly haven't done enough of it, but I'm at music college now, so it should be better.

I have played in a metal band when I was in France (http://www.myspace.com/synkaos), I played electric ukulele in that, and that has taught me a hell of a lot about playing with people.
Since being at college I am in a Rock Band playing bass (http://www.gothopera.co.uk). I have also tried to start a Troll/Folk Metal band that is so far rather random jam sessions, but it is still quite a laugh, and some friends and I have recently started a Drum 'n' Bass band in which I'll be playing bass.

The only thing I would say is annoying about bands is that you rely on other people to do stuff, and they sometimes don't... Hence the success of multitrack recording etc.

fatrabbit · Post by **fatrabbit** » Wed Jan 03, 2007 8:09 pm

It's about finding the right people to play with too.

Nobody likes an egocentric twangy-guitar-solo-lead-singer-tosser!

Johnisfaster · Post by **Johnisfaster** » Wed Jan 03, 2007 9:04 pm

protect your ears though. I've had continuous ringing in my right ear for years from my hardcore band days. I even went totally deaf in my right ear for over a week once. scared the shi* out of me.

protect your ears!

darkcatt · Post by **darkcatt** » Wed Jan 03, 2007 9:06 pm

fatrabbit wrote:Nobody likes an egocentric twangy-guitar-solo-lead-singer-tosser!

HEY THATS ME!!!!!!

no just kidding, but that is way to funny and dead on

Nogi · Post by **Nogi** » Wed Jan 03, 2007 9:09 pm

BassTooth wrote:i think i'm getting too old tho, anywhere past 25 and its already Spinal Tap, deja vu. time to get a real job.?

Depends, really. If you are looking to get that babysitting money out of 13 year old hands then your appeal past 25 is limited (and creepy). But, really no one is expecting much pure artistic insight from an adult fresh off of the assembly line. Our experiences take time to digest.

Consider that to be concerned with such things at 23 shows just how young 23 is. I thought the same thing at that age. Let me save you five years and tell you what a joke of a human being you will think you were at 23 when you turn 28, 29, etc...

Your cronological age isn't your direct concern as an artist. It's the concern of some marketing douchebags. If you had said you wanted to be an Olympic gymnast, I might have told you to find another path but musician? Don't buy into the things you think you see when you turn on the TV.

The first rule is: Talent will not be denied. So, be talented.

Finally, no matter what path you take, get a real job and learn to juggle.

Johnisfaster · Post by **Johnisfaster** » Wed Jan 03, 2007 9:14 pm

take a look at iggy pop and tom waits. whether you like their music or not doesn't matter, they are shining examples that you should just do what you love to do until the day you die. tom waits bairly even makes music from this planet (I think he's actually from some gypsy alien planet) but he's doing it still.

JDSampo · Post by **JDSampo** » Wed Jan 03, 2007 9:27 pm

Never too old, especially not 23. Myself and 3 others got a band together at age 23 after we left college/military/clown school/whatever in 1986. We went on for 7 years with rotating membership, cut a single, got a little college radio play, did some gigs and had a freekin awesome time doing it. We kept our day jobs but played regularly, it was fun.

Playing in a band forces you to learn to work with other musicians in a different way than you do when collaborating on a recording project. Often you're contributing something to someone else's project or they're contributing to yours. You often are focused on one person's creative vision (not always, obviously, but the live jam vibe is something unique). In a band you all (should) have creative input and will find the whole is greater than the sum as it were. We did songs and arrangements that no one of us would have come up with.

It really comes down to getting the right group of people together though. That elusive chemistry thing is a real phenomenon and extremely important. Would I do it again now at 43? Yup I would, given the right people (but I'd still keep my day job).

--JD

mbenigni · Post by **mbenigni** » Wed Jan 03, 2007 9:54 pm

Nice read. I remember having a mid-life crisis at 22 because I thought it was all over for me. Out of college (an easy excuse for letting the years slip by) and not a rock star... It's difficult when the pop world is hung up on pretty young faces and much of the instrumental world (esp. for rock guitarists) is hung up on wunderkinds and proteges.

At 22 I wished I'd had more accomplishments behind me, but regret takes a lot of time and energy - sort of a vicious cycle of inertia.

I'm 38 now and let me tell you, I was a fool for confusing 22 years old for "all washed up." Now I just do my own thing because if I get hung up on my age again I know I'll suddenly be 50 wishing I could be 38.

So yeah 23 is plenty young, and you've got a good mix of experience - a bit with a band, a bit with theory, a bit with tech. And if you put it all together you can have a lot of fun (and learn things you'll never learn on your own.) Sounds like you'd be happiest playing keyboards or some other sort of controller (guitar synth?) that can drive MIDI. The cool thing about being a techy musician is that you can bring a real wide variety to a band, and still get a lot done during the dry spells when you need to work alone.

Oh yeah, +1 on planning on keeping a "real" job to pay the bills.

D K · Post by **D K** » Wed Jan 03, 2007 10:12 pm

i been in bands for 25 years now...
started performing at age 12. bass player for life.
no turning back now....never had a real day job.
my current band is in my sig.
i tour as an engineer for money alot of the year now,
and get to see the world.
just bought a condo, never thought i'd be able to afford it through music,
but here i am with my own place.
music just kind of took me to where i am....no plan really.
i'm quite comfortable with it, i love to switch between engineering/mixing
and performing the rest of the year.

Johnisfaster · Post by **Johnisfaster** » Wed Jan 03, 2007 10:21 pm

D K wrote:i been in bands for 25 years now...
started performing at age 12. bass player for life.
no turning back now....never had a real day job.
my current band is in my sig.
i tour as an engineer for money alot of the year now,
and get to see the world.
just bought a condo, never thought i'd be able to afford it through music,
but here i am with my own place.
music just kind of took me to where i am....no plan really.
i'm quite comfortable with it, i love to switch between engineering/mixing
and performing the rest of the year.

you suck

D K · Post by **D K** » Wed Jan 03, 2007 10:49 pm

Johnisfaster wrote:
D K wrote:i been in bands for 25 years now...
started performing at age 12. bass player for life.
no turning back now....never had a real day job.
my current band is in my sig.
i tour as an engineer for money alot of the year now,
and get to see the world.
just bought a condo, never thought i'd be able to afford it through music,
but here i am with my own place.
music just kind of took me to where i am....no plan really.
i'm quite comfortable with it, i love to switch between engineering/mixing
and performing the rest of the year.
you suck

well, i'm also lucky that i never had any serious medical problems the 15 years i had no money for healthcare....and i'm proud to say i never kissed one ass to get where i am

Johnisfaster · Post by **Johnisfaster** » Wed Jan 03, 2007 10:54 pm

so you're the most talented guy in the world.

wanna buy me a lemur?

Atomikat · Post by **Atomikat** » Wed Jan 03, 2007 10:56 pm

I played in a Rock band when I was living in my country (Colombia) in 1990. I used to play the guitar and my girlfriend was the singer...it was a very good band, really. We had some success there, but then...I moved to USA in 2000 and had very bad experiences trying to have a band here...so I decided to get into electronic music and just play...alone. I got all the stuff (laptops,samplers,midi's,P.A.'s, software,etc,etc and play all what I want Live from minimal, techno,house...to electro,IDM,etc but sometimes I want to go back and play in a band again.
BTW...Basstooth, where in NJ do you live? I live in Elizabeth...maybe someday we can get together and play some music...

are you in band?

are you in band?

Re: are you in band?