Who Performs?

GavRichList · October 2023

Yeah, I do. I have my own band and I’m in another.

theatreanchor · October 2023

Next year (unless the band has imploded by then!)

Echo7 · October 2023

I play in the region of 50 gigs a year, plus sessions as and when they arise.

drwiddly · October 2023

Been playing in bands, both pro and semi pro, for almost 50 years on and off, though I did take a break in the 80’s/90’s due to family, work, etc. I currently play in two rock cover bands just doing the local pub/club scene. We’re fairly busy so doing around 50 gigs a year. I am getting a bit old for it now but I’m in pretty good health and I enjoy it so I’ll keep going for the foreseeable.

munckee · October 2023

No I’ve jammed with other musicians a number of times and always enjoyed it, I have no desire to do it as work and have to practice and perform every week.

Id love to do a single gig at some point or learn to sing so I could do the odd open mic though.

CoffeeAndTV · October 2023

Played in a backing band for a comedian from 16 - 18 went to uni and started studying music. Played in a load of bands until about 26 ish from jazz gigs to working in the orchestra pit for theatres. Still jam with some mates every now and then. Practice everyday and enjoy it.

26.2 · October 2023

Currently 7 years in an originals band. Lots of bands before that, mainly all-original stretching back to 1978.

soma1975 · October 2023

If I was able to make music with other people out of my house my life would feel somewhat more complete.

Never really come to fruition though.

JonnyBgoode · October 2023

Did the rock band thing decades ago, was semi pro Spanish guitarist for about 20 years, retired from that a few years back and now just playing for fun, plus recording the occasional cover for my Youtube Channel.

Keefy · October 2023

I’m a gigging and depping fool, I love to be out playing live and the fees fund new toys. However I’ve recently got hacked off with the grind of pub gigs and started looking for something a bit more ‘quality’.

Lewy · October 2023

I do, but I don't pursue it with any great energy these days. Basically if someone asks me, and I want to do it and it pays then I do.... otherwise I'm just as happy playing exactly the same stuff on my sofa. I no longer feel that playing gigs is some sort of necessary validation to consider myself a proper player.

SPECTRUM001 · October 2023

I was in (awful) student bands, so whilst I enjoyed playing live and recording, I always knew it was terrible, which certainly hampered the experience. Then in my twenties I joined an embryonic band that was very good, and got signed etc.

Those gigs were amazing, and opened up just how powerful and fun it can be to play good live stuff.

But that was then - and aside from a few covers band shows, I have not been collaborating that much. But I would really like to, as it is such a buzz. Finding the time and like minded people now though - that's a challenge

I love hearing stories on here, as it's great to see others getting the same thrills, and also it helps me remember what I did/enjoyed doing.

mike257 · October 2023

First time with an audience was age 14 when they let our school band do a three song set at the start of the Christmas show we were providing backing for.

Played in original bands from my teens to my mid 20s with no real success but a decent run of DIY touring around the UK.

Started playing covers/functions in my late 20s and made a living out of that for a while, but gravitated more towards off-stage touring roles. Got tired of juggling both and packed in the function gigs in 2019 - full time touring as a tour manager/production manager/sound engineer/backline tech since then.

Miss the playing, and occasionally talk about doing something with colleagues (almost all touring crew are failed musicians) but never happens with work and family commitments.

Nearest we've got recently was the whole crew learning some stuff by a band we were touring with and standing in during soundchecks while the real musicians were off playing golf

Roland · October 2023

I've gigged on and off for around 50 years. Fundamentally I enjoy playing in a band. There's a lot more to it than just playing guitar. Being part of a team. Dealing with technology. Yes there's politics and emotional responses too, but they're present in all team activities. Being in a band introduces me to music that I wouldn't otherwise play, and techniques which I wouldn't use. I get to analyse, breakdown and transcribe songs, and work out parts. It's also given me a new hobby in designing and building a series of guitars specifically for gigging.

My current band has been going for 12 years, with the usual personnel changes. Nowadays we gig about once a month. Could do more, but I've got other commitments, and I'm not prepared to put the effort into chasing unreliable venues. I did think about retiring when I hit 70 later this year, but music is too much a part of who I am.

mudslide73 · October 2023

I've been in bands since I was a kid but couldn't keep one together properly until I was in my v. late 20s. I've been in some horrible originals bands where we didn't know what we were doing. Every mistake imaginable and then some. I insisted on keeping the very people that were derailing things thinking they were what would make us brilliant.

I've been playing with my current covers band since 2007 and with this drummer since 1998. We've had three bass players but had this one since around 2017 (if memory serves). Covid has clobbered us and we've been down to about 2 gigs a year since it ended. We've had a few health issues which have stopped us getting back up to speed too. I very much enjoy the acquisition of new material and then the fruition of the rehearsals - then the gigs are the logical extension of that. We're re-learning a few things for a Halloween gig at the moment (plus a few new ones) which has freshened things up a bit. I think I'm still improving as a player but it's a very slow process.

Musicwolf · October 2023

I took up the guitar in order to perform. Given that I've been doing this for 40 years I should be good at it by now, maybe I should practice more.

CountryDave · October 2023

Been in pub rock cover bands since I was 16. I’m 53 now.
Still enjoy picking up my telecaster and making a racket with mates.
Out gigging most weekends. If ai wasn’t out playing I’d be playing at home, so getting out playing with the band give Mrs G a bit of respite.
I honestly believe I’d probably be a much better guitarist had I not been in bands, as I’d have (hopefully) spent more time learning techniques, scales etc rather than songs. Which lets be honest, in pub rock are usually 3 or 4 chords in the occasional different key, or not as is often the case.

There are few better feelings than nailing a song at a bike rally and having the crowd sing along.

Philly_Q · October 2023

I've never played live as such, and I've only ever "jammed" with other musicians two or three times (not that I am a musician, and not that they were really proper jams).

I fully understand and agree that one of the main points of playing music is to interact with other people and have people listen to it, whether that's just a group of musicians in a room, or playing to an audience. But I've never reached a level where I'd be confident to do that, and in terms of writing/composition I don't have anything at all to "say".

As for playing at home for one's own enjoyment, I've said a never of times that I don't really enjoy it, I can't play anything I want to play and it all seems rather pointless. I'd give it up entirely if it hadn't been a part of my life for such a long time - I'll always have a love for guitar-based music and an interest in guitars and guitar gear as "things", but as for actually playing I wish I'd never bothered, really.

Dan_Halen · October 2023

All sorts on a few different instruments. Wind bands, in the pit for some small shows, original stuff, tribute bands, cover acts, some solo stuff, a few tours. Mainly sax/guitar but also other stuff.

Done some amazing gigs at festivals or on tour but don’t really miss it as was a grind. Started gigging again last year after 5/6 years off and, to be honest, enjoy playing small clubs/pubs the most now. No pressure, get to have a few beers, a laugh with the band, mess around with the tunes a bit and the cash pays for a weekly shop or similar.

stufisher · October 2023

Used to jam with mates and some bands during school years. Started a band ag uni which quickly disintegrated so I just did acoustic stuff with a buddy at parties and functions.

Started working and then started open mic nights and more jamming with like-minded fellas every week but it all fizzled out around 1988.

Almost three years ago I started playing again and I have stuck with it (as painful as it has been) but only as a bedroom player. My neighbour has a band and keeps pressuring me to team-up and I have a buddy who has his own studio and writes/produces/orchestrates stuff and he's keen to do 'something' so we'll see.

I don't want to commit to something then let folks down and me'n Mrs F travel a fair bit so I ain't around continuously ... so I'm guessing I'll see my time out never really having done a proper gig.

C'est la vie!

TheBigDipper · October 2023

Started as a classical guitarist at quite a young age and never touched an electric until I hit 17. Very different experience! Played in several originals bands gigging in London with one or two near misses before chucking it in at 25 to focus on a paying career, relationships, etc.

Fast forward 20+ years and I started playing in a gigging pub-level covers band, which morphed into another and then (2009) into a ‘70s classic prog rock covers band playing infrequently but regularly in London and environs.

Moved to Dorset in 2013 and joined an originals prog band (a reboot of a 1970s unit) but had to leave (illness, blood cancer). Got better and decided to refocus on originals again. Now gigging infrequently with my own band playing songs we've written. We're old gits playing weekly and writing independently and together. The rules are “No jazz, no blues and no country”. Everything else is OK. Just lost a keyboard player, so our next gig is as an underrehearsed trio at the local original music venue in Boscombe in 2 weeks.

Oh, also do open mics on an acoustic, sometimes solo, sometimes with my neighbour.

ewal · October 2023

Gigging and writing music in a band is where I'm probably at my happiest. It's just that I don't get to do it very often. A few failed attempts in recent years has significantly done in my motivation.

I have also done a fair bit of solo writing and recording at home. But it really is a poor substitute for being in a group.

maltingsaudio · October 2023

I make a living as a live sound engineer that’s being a performer in some books, although I have had many a discussion as to whether I can be called a creative for funding purposes.

I do also go out as a duo with Mrs M called Modesty Blaise although that only happens if I’m not working

Paul_C · October 2023

Played in various bands from the age of around 18 until I was 30.

Stopped altogether between 30 and 40.

Got back into it from 40 to 50 in a number of bands, gave up again.

Started making solo abstract nonsense in 2018 (aged 55) and recorded hundreds of pieces between then and 2022 (200+ albums on Bandcamp).

I was going to do some gigs with a friend this year but a combination of work and mental health issues has meant I have not managed anything yet.

I'm going to make some more weird albums next year and I'm also pondering committing myself to writing some proper songs for a change (I haven't written anything for years and while I have a few chord progressions I play from time to time I'm rubbish at lyrics so it'll need a lot of work before anything even half decent happens, but using the Jeff Tweedy (and no doubt many others) approach of writing something every day I might come up with one or two, which would be nice.

Not sure if I'll ever play live again, but you never know.

Supportact · October 2023

I'm in two bands, one has been gigging fairly regularly this summer, the other has only done three gigs this year. It's all original material so gigs can be a bit sporadic and there's not much money involved but I love doing it. I'd do more gigs if I could but it's hard to find suitable gigs in the area, and the economics of it make it hard to travel.

I also play classical guitar, but that's really just for my own enjoyment and I wouldn't be good enough to play in front of an audience. That said I think it makes me a better player generally.

I've pretty much always played music and been in bands but not ever made enough to not have a day job, even if only part time.

Voxman · October 2023

I've played in bands since I was 17, mostly covers, some originals. Pubs, clubs, house parties, festivals, and when I was young, the university circuit. Even done some solo acoustic stuff in folk clubs. Various clips on my Voxman5 YouTube channel. Some breaks, some lean periods, some depping. For me, playing live is what it's all about. Currently playing with the Alan Linfoot Band (see Lemon Rock and a few clips on my youtube channel).

Yorkie · October 2023

I gigged a few times in the early 90s, then stopped playing after I got into science.

Fast forward ~25 years, and I am now recording music for my research videos. It’s all a bit frantic because I still have to run a research team 9 to 5, but it’s worth doing because it gives my videos a very polished look and it gives my music some exposure.

I also play for friends every now and then, but I haven’t gigged in 25 years.

Jon

icu81b4 · October 2023

Yep, I gig,even though I’m ancient now. I need to pack it in but it’s still enjoyable.

BigPaulie · October 2023

I haven't played in front of people in public for almost 28 years.

I often think I'd like to get out there again then I remember how difficult it is to find people I actually want to play with, who actually want to play the same stuff I want to play. I know that I should compromise and that I'm passing up on a huge learning opportunity by stepping out of my comfort zone but I'd rather forego the experience of playing live than play stuff I don't enjoy.

I live in Inverclyde (population c.78000) which has a small live music scene consisting of a jam session on Saturday afternoon and an acoustic club on a Monday night. I don't do social media. I work long hours and am tired in the evenings. Finding people to "click" with, with similar tastes to mine is difficult. I'm not really trying.

skullfunkerry · October 2023

I gigged loads in the early 2000s, I was in three bands at one point and I was always out playing or rehearsing.

When I moved down south I didn't bother finding a new band as the last one I'd been in was so good I didn't think anything would match up to it.
Since then I've done stuff on my own, which I put on Soundcloud and/or YouTube, as well as a few jam nights, some recording on a friend's albums; and since lockdown, some new stuff with the guys from my last band in Nottingham; although that seems to have stalled a bit recently.

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