Are you a gigging bassist?

[gitfiddl]

I'm at the point now that I only play out occasionally, mostly fill-in stuff and jam nights, although we do still have a "Dad Band" that's been known to cover gigs for friends who've had to cancel at the last minute for various emergencies.

Frankly, while I love playing, I'm just tired and don't like to stretch myself thin anymore. My wife is not in good health and is unable to work. The local bar gigs don't pay much ($50-75 a man/night) and I'd rather stay home on weekends get caught up on the things the wife can't do. My 40hr/wk M-F day-gig pays the bills, so it's not like I need to gig for monetary reasons. From 2004-9 though, I was a gigging fool with a great band. Worked the 40hr/wk day-gig and managed somehow to squeeze in around 150 gigs a year (at $125 and up a gig!). Those were the days...

 

[CryingBass]

Hey - I don't see "gas-fueled collector" in that poll!

 

[delta7fred]

I'm in 2 bands that gig regularly and sub in another occasionally.

I thought when I hit 40 my gigging days would be soon coming to an end.
At 50 I was playing more than I ever had been, and making quite a bit of money doing so.
When I hit 60 I was convinced that if the band I was in split I would struggle to find another.
I'm 67 now and play in 2 bands that regularly gig, in one of them I am not even the oldest member.

I recently took up upright bass (EUB first and now a DB) and play it in one of the bands. I have had 2 more offers to play DB, one with young boy/girl duo, the other with a professional singer/guitarist. I am very flattered by these offers but don't think I am good enough to do it (I know I'm not).

 

[Nashrakh]

I'm in one band that gigs regularly, one that's starting up but is looking to gig soon, and a dad band with no regular gigs, but that's okay because it's more of a social get-together with old friends.

 

[Bunk McNulty]

I'm in 2 bands that gig regularly and sub in another occasionally.

I thought when I hit 40 my gigging days would be soon coming to an end.
At 50 I was playing more than I ever had been, and making quite a bit of money doing so.
When I hit 60 I was convinced that if the band I was in split I would struggle to find another.
I'm 67 now and play in 2 bands that regularly gig, in one of them I am not even the oldest member.

I recently took up upright bass (EUB first and now a DB) and play it in one of the bands. I have had 2 more offers to play DB, one with young boy/girl duo, the other with a professional singer/guitarist. I am very flattered by these offers but don't think I am good enough to do it (I know I'm not).

Yeah, that sounds familiar! When I relocated from North Carolina (where I was a busy boy...two, sometimes three gigging bands, studio work) to Massachusetts four years ago, I figured my spurs were hung up. Instead, I'm actually busier now than I was then. You never know.

 

[Johnny Crab]

So true.
My Dad started this when he answered my request for a bass and amp in 1965 at 10 years old.
Had no idea I'd have a fulltime career(engineering) and also be in a working band at 62-1/2.

Never a dull moment in either and the physical and mental exercise of being in a performing band keeps you and your mind in shape(and balanced). We don't use charts or sheet music but must recall 400 songs at any time as THERE IS NO SETLIST. B/L reads the audience and away we go. Drummer is college degreed(jazz background), guitar 1 is GIT grad, guitarist/keyboardist is retired from a 10+ year run in the 1990's #1 country star's road band. B/L and I...unskilled labor. We're ages 60(GIT guitarist) to 63(drummer). Drummer is a machine unless he's tired or sees a well-endowed female dancing in front of the stage...then I become the "slow him down" bass man by playing in time but slightly behind his kick drum hits...he gets it real quick. We KNOW what the other will play a LOT, sometimes play rhythm games with each other in songs without hurting the song(dancers), I love it.

 

[foolforthecity]

I have no interest in playing gigs anymore. I feel like a stooge getting up on a stage in a bar with my mediocre local band chapter #9576

I'm sorry. Playing out is the spice of life, for me at least.

 

[Marc valero]

9 shows this month 9 next
Ready to go in 10 min on the water in fla.

 

[MYLOWFREQ]

Used to be a fulltime gigging bassist in between approximately '97-'04. Now still do gigs but my daytime job is audio engineering.

I can't do without playing live though

 

[Two Leggs]

Just fixin broke stuff. A lot of bass rigs.and old fender amps.and beyond ,if it’s on stage ,i have probably seen one in my shop.

 

[Two Leggs]

9 shows this month 9 next
Ready to go in 10 min on the water in fla.View attachment 2983235

Where abouts in fl.? Looks like a cool gig .

 

[CaseyVancouver]

Yeah gigging since '72. Still gig with one guy I've known since I was 16 heh heh. We play instruments we both bought in '74.

Thousands of gigs, hundreds of bands. About 75 to 125 gigs a year for 46 years.

Practise bass every day, still learning. Don't rehearse or practise with bands unless they pay for it.
Started at 14 on electric, 16 on upright. I think like a bass player...

 

[57pbass]

It may take several tries to get the right combination of people. And even then, it's tough to keep a band together. I'm in a small market. I have a few guys that I've played with for years, off and on, in different groups and different genres. If you want to play in a band, keep at it. It should pay off some day.

I’ve been in several different bands over the years. They either faded away or disbanded..half the battle is is finding members and keeping all interested

 

[Marc valero]

Where abouts in fl.? Looks like a cool gig .

Englewood on west coast, Lighthouse Grill at Stump Pass,
On the east coast in Fort Pierce tomorrow. Here are a couple more pics

 

[Acoop]

For 40-years but, there were times I'd back off for sanities sake. ... I was crazy busy 2-years ago but it just got too loud that I had to draw back. Now it's about four nights a month on jazz gigs on upright and then stepping out to some good jams. ... Playing music should be like having a great conversation.

 

[scuzzy]

Humans can be some of the weirdest people.

is that a Yogi Bera quote?

 

[morgansterne]

In my 30s I gigged on bass a lot (it's all relative of course). When people found out I play keyboards I ended up transitioning and now I gig on keys.

 

[two fingers]

is that a Yogi Bera quote?

Not quoted.... maybe influenced.

 

[Richard Martin]

My North Carolina band is on the verge of becoming a regular house band for a local establishment. We've been playing together for a little over 2 years. We struggled with finding a singer and that held us up for a long time.

 

[PauFerro]

The sad thing about bass is that it's not really a solo instrument like piano, or even guitar. rarely do I see a bass player out playing it alone. Unless you do recording, or enjoy playing with backing tracks at home, I think it's largely a must to be in a band after a while.

I had a plan to make my piccolo bass a solo instrument with backing tracks, but I was so busy with managing my several bands and playing electric and upright that I never got around to it. But I do front a band on piccolo bass semi regularly, which is really fun.

There are times I wish we could just shut off the gigs, and just rehearse new frontiers for a while, and then go back to gigging with renewal. It can get kind of taxing at times.