Anyone Else in the "Sweet Spot" of their Musical Endeavors?

#41
Am really excited for my upcoming project and getting it off the ground.
Last year had a really fun originals project = guitar/writer/singer, bass/backup vox, drummer, and female lead singer. Very well recieved by our community and a lot of fun! After a year the female got overwhelmed by all of the songs - 30+ and chose to bow out. Too bad; she hasn't had much music/band experience, but we thought she was doing just fine - I felt she was in a very supportive, nurturing situation, but once she made her decision she was very firm.
The guitarist/song writer and I decided to keep things going and tapped a great singing drummer, and a very young and talented guitar player. Rehearsals have been really fun and sound really good! Can't wait to get stuff - songs and vox - up to snuff and play out in a couple of months!

We're in a very isolated part of the country on the south Oregon coast. 3 of us are older. 2 of us have lots of experience in bands and making a living playing in bar and agency bands 70-90s in large metro areas before ending up here - actually we all are transplants from larger cities, but the two of us were working musicians. Used to be one could make a good living playing bars and lounges, but those days are decades over. So, like with the OP, playing 5 hour bar gigs an hour away for $75-100 a man a night just isn't worth it. Happy to play the little 2 hour semi local music one night weekend bar gigs where the tip jar usually brings in +$100 a man and I'm done by 9 or 10pm. Hopefully will be invited to play local festivals, fairs, and private parties - but may draw the line at "benefits" - I want paid for what I do - but willing to negotiate.
No plans of making it big, just LOVE playing the songwriter's material - very accessible and a wide range of styles = rock, pop, funk, modern, blues, RB, even some power poppy punk. Great lyrics and interesting progressions not too outlandish. Two of the guys have pretty nice recording/rehearsal home studios, so recording quality tracks is available for net and local radio.
We all get along really well and enjoy playing with each other and shooting the sh*t. Drugs and alcohol are not going to be a problem as us oldsters have been through that wringer a long time ago and the young guy is pretty straight arrow.
Here's to the future! Straight ahead ----->
 
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#44
neddyrow said:
Anyone else in their personal "Sweet Spot?"
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Positivity, I love it.

I'd have to say yes. Having almost no vocal ability I really have no business being as busy as I am, but for years now I've been juggling a half-dozen mostly regular bands plus a variety of sub gigs. I play live almost every weekend, usually more than once. In short: bass player shortage in my large metro area. But to be fair, I've learned a few tricks after all these decades.

Other nice things: these bands rarely or never rehearse. My colleagues and I have developed large repertoires, and know how to do our homework. Also, while a few of my bandmates have quirky personalities (goes without saying), none are truly difficult to work with.

Context: aside from one all original blues funk rock power trio, these bands play cover tunes in bars. I don't get many high dollar corporate/wedding gigs, or high profile showcase gigs in large venues. That's all OK with me.

Sometimes I miss the advantages of being in one really busy band, but I enjoy the variety of being a hired gun, so to speak.

P.S. Just a weekend warrior, I have a full time day job.
 
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#46
I'm in a couple of great bands. One is a 19 piece jazz ensemble, the other a jazz quartet that plays mostly originals. Plus odd jobs as they arise. Sometimes I get my *** kicked, such as when I agreed to fill in for a band that played classic rock, country, and polka music. The workload is just about right considering my other responsibilities. I think I'm a known quantity on the local scene, even if I'm not one of the top players.

In my old age, I've discovered that I like playing in bands that rehearse -- assuming that rehearsals are productive. Sure, I get it, that a band full of good enough players should be able to perform satisfactorily with few or no rehearsals. I've done that kind of work for 30+ years, and still do it. But I also think that rehearsals allow for exploring more interesting repertoire, and add "energy" to performances, that the audience notices even if they can't put their finger on the exact reason. Rehearsal provides a chance for experimentation with composing and arranging, and improvement of those skills. Most of the local bands that I hear, either rehearse, or sound like they would benefit from rehearsing.

So by all conventional measures, I'm in a sweet spot. But paradoxically, part of the "sweet spot" is having the freedom to improve and change. I'm always working on improving. I spend a fair amount of my practice time, working on things that will improve my soloing, and I expect to do more of it. I'm educating bands to expect that a bass solo is not a gig killer, but something that audiences react to in a favorable way. Of course it's my job to make that happen by playing better solos.

Rant: I wish that "pick up" gigs would be more adventuresome about repertoire. The Real Book is a half century old. It has essentially defined its own "genre" of jazz. Let's kill it. There must be a way to expand beyond the 40 or so Real Book tunes that get called at every gig, and played according to the same standard arrangements. There must be a way to introduce audiences to music that's more "out." Maybe by rehearsing.
 
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#48
fdeck said:
Rant: I wish that "pick up" gigs would be more adventuresome about repertoire. The Real Book is a half century old. It has essentially defined its own "genre" of jazz. Let's kill it. There must be a way to expand beyond the 40 or so Real Book tunes that get called at every gig, and played according to the same standard arrangements. There must be a way to introduce audiences to music that's more "out." Maybe by rehearsing.
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In the non-jazz world, bands that deviate significantly from well-worn standards have trouble getting gigs because audiences want to hear the Same Old Stuff. I would think that many jazz musicians agree with you, so if jazz bands are playing jazz SOS then I have to assume that jazz audiences are responsible.

Yes, there are specialty clubs with sophisticated audiences who appreciate high-caliber musicianship and prefer deep cuts/originals to SOS (true for both non-jazz and jazz), but hobbyists as well as pros often focus more on quantity of gigs over quality... and quantity usually requires SOS.
 
#49
Fuzzbass said:
In the non-jazz world, bands that deviate significantly from well-worn standards have trouble getting gigs because audiences want to hear the Same Old Stuff. I would think that many jazz musicians agree with you, so if jazz bands are playing jazz SOS then I have to assume that jazz audiences are responsible.

Yes, there are specialty clubs with sophisticated audiences who appreciate high-caliber musicianship and prefer deep cuts/originals to SOS (true for both non-jazz and jazz), but hobbyists as well as pros often focus more on quantity of gigs over quality... and quantity usually requires SOS.
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Those are good points. The gigs I'm talking about are the ones where the bandleader books the gig, and then starts calling people. In those cases, I don't think there's even a "jazz audience" involved. The audience is probably not choosing the band. Maybe I'm just getting bored with that format. I've played "Blue Bossa" enough times for one lifetime. And one possibility is that the players are at their limits or are burned out. I've played gigs where the band tried something "interesting," and it was a train wreck. So maybe the bandleaders are as concerned about the mechanics of the performance as they are about the repertoire.

One of my bands is definitely high caliber and plays in a dedicated jazz club once a month. In that case, the audience is there because they want to hear this band (many repeat customers from month to month) or are more socially adventuresome people.

Something has now happened more than once, almost like it's a pattern. For instance one gig was outdoors at a promotional event for a business district, on a Saturday morning, where there were people milling around, parents with kids, etc. The bandleader leans over to me and says: "I don't think this is the kind of audience that wants to hear a lot of bass solos, if you catch my drift." I responded with: "We'll see about that." After a couple tunes, the bandleader let me have a solo. I took off. People stopped and watched, and applauded after my solo. After that, I solo'd on every tune. The band got a good report from the client, and a repeat booking.

Now to be fair, I work hard on my soloing, I'm perceptive to the band, and try to tailor it to the crowd. When I hear that people don't like to hear bass solos, my gut reaction is: "Then play better bass solos."

And also to be fair, I'm bucking the conventional wisdom, and maybe I'll turn out to be wrong, but I plan on continuing the experiment. ;)
 
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#50
i feel like most of my experience as a musician has been in the "sweet spot," and most of that has been luck of the draw...i've had experiences where i could have used more luck :laugh: , but i was lucky to 'be there' just the same.

when it's all about the music and playing the music...that's pretty sweet! ;)
 
#52
Oddly enough! YES!!! I've got most of the gear I could ever DREAM of as a teenager! I've finally got a couple live shows in a band setting under my belt, and about to finally be on an official release of music (through my church's upcoming "live" album, but still a release in any capacity), my YouTube covers do fairly well and seem to be appreciated by my goal "audience" which is fellow prog fans and music nerds. All is well!!! And I'm still under 30!
 
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#53
Sweet spot? I'd say yes to that. Satisfied? Not quite.

On the positive side, I have an original trio, playing my singer's songs. He doubles on guitar. He and the drummer have 20+ years of playing together. I joined them in a quartet in 2018. After COVID, the three of us decided to continue and it is pretty great. The singer is a pretty prolific writer, but recently, we have stagnated a bit, playing the same 10 or so songs. I'd say the stagnation is more due to real life interfering (work/kids/etc) than anything else. He still writes the songs, we just have to flesh them out when we can.

That band plays out about once a month or every couple months, again, depending on schedules. Seattle is filthy with original rock bands, so though we can usually get on or create a bill, believe it or not, it's hard to find a club to book without it being months down the road. Incredibly, I am looking at booking into Feb 2025!

I get to sing some great backups in this band. I get to create my own basslines. And I get to play with two awesome dudes and musicians. Highly recommended.

My other band is a yacht rock cover band and, having never been in a cover band before this one, I was surprised at how much I love it. It's been an excuse to buy and use/learn new gear (wireless IEMs, multi-effects pedal), as well as dive into some really challenging music. My thrift shopping has been out of control as well, always keeping an eye out for epic yacht rock-type clothes.

The mates are really aces in this band. I enjoy the hang quite a bit, love the music, and the money is pretty great when it can be. I'd love to add a multi-instrumentalist to the mix, but the impact to the band dynamics, revenue splitting, scheduling, etc, may not be worth it and trying to find a unicorn to do so may be too challenging.

As far as the satisfaction aspect of things, for me, it's performing live. I simply love it. And for the most part, I think my mates do too, but getting gigs can be tough. As mentioned before, we have so many great bands in Seattle, the more popular clubs can cherry pick the popular bands. And we are not a popular band yet. Some nights we do decent, others can be tough.

My cover band has a hard time getting shows as well. We try to do as many private parties, but those have been few and far between. I think when someone wants a YR band for their party/get-together, they are thinking of a $250-600 budget. And when we tell them our booking price, they all of a sudden go radio silent. Club shows are hard for us. We can and have done them, but the clubs don't pay a guarantee like the parties do. And they've been hit and miss. We've sold out a place (awesome!) and had 10 people at another club (not great).

TLDR: happy, yes. Just want more gigs!
 
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#54
neddyrow said:
This is not meant to be a brag post but just curious if you are happy with your situation when it comes to your band and goals...Anyone else in their personal "Sweet Spot?"
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I'm not unhappy, but my "sweet spot" was probably about 2019ish. I was playing guitar in a Top 40 Dance band with really good players, I was playing guitar in an all-originals band in which I wrote and sang most of the songs, and was a bass player in the blues band that I'm still in. I've had other "sweet spots" like the time I was in 5 bands, but the one leading up to 2020 was the most recent.
 
#55
My sweet spot is peace of mind with the band(s) I play with. I show up, do my job, get paid, go home.

I'm blessed to play with professionals who don't let personal BS follow them onstage. On the rare instances where I find myself playing with someone who can't keep a lid on their toxic side, I simply stop working with them.
 
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#57
neddyrow said:
Anyone else in their personal "Sweet Spot?"
Click to expand...

I'm satisfied with the band I'm in now, typical classic rock cover band that plays mostly bars and some outdoor festivals in the summer. I mean, it's a fun gig but it doesn't do much for me musically.

I do want to branch out, get some other types of gigs under my belt, maybe play in an originals band, which is what I did from the late 80's until about 6 years ago. I miss the song writing process, and that feeling of accomplishment. I think it would also be fun to do some sub gigs, particularly for any local/regional singer-songwriters that need a bass player. Finding the time is difficult, however. I enjoy my time with my family and we like to take long weekends for some car travel, or just enjoying what the area has to offer.

Anyways, I think I'm at a place that I haven't been in a while, where I am very enthusiastic about music and playing bass, more so than I have been since I first started, so that's a plus. The minus is that I don't have the outlets that I need at the moment. Someday, I will.
 
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#58
A lot depends on your type of networking so doors close and open. It depends how motivated people are, where you meet them and what circumstances are in the background.
I think 90% of my musical 'friends' are still active so gigs crop up.
Its when you sit at home and people 'forget' about you that you stall...
 
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