Do you play???

[vchizzle]

professionally?
weekend warrior band?
basement rock star?
couch noodler?
I don't play my guitars, I only look at them

Your selection will not be revealed unless you post it, feel free to say.
I'm a weekend warrior guy myself.

[prsrocker1988]

Played in a tribute band (touring) for 3 or so years. Now I do party band shows for events, BBQs, parties, etc mainly by request. I guess you could say I'm a "professional" guitarist but my gig isn't full time but I have made money from it and still do. I miss the touring band though. Shame it came to an end.

[Fbrandw]

I'm a self proclaimed garage guitar god and along with my next door neighbour who plays drums, we are the most musically talented people in a 2 house radius

[wilerty]

Looking at the age poll ... we must understand that what we did in our teens might be different than what we do in our 60s. I've been all of the above ... except the last option.

[Shawn@PRS]

"Basement Rockstar". Hey, that's not funny.

[ACE]

I play mostly at home but get out about 2x a month to jam with other musicians. I actually enjoy these informal jam sessions much more than gigging because we can play wat we want without the pressure of putting on a show and entertaining others. We can play undanceable tunes and if we want to do a 15 minute 12 blues jam there's no one to complain.

[]-[ @ n $ 0 |v| a T ! ©]

I'd like to get back to playing out on weekends. I just lack the tolerance I used to. Bands are a lot of work.

[aristotle]

I'd like to get back to playing out on weekends. I just lack the tolerance I used to. Bands are a lot of work.

It's the opposite for me. Monday nights are band practice night, and it's our version of poker night. Lots of fun with guys who grew up together. We never gig more than twice per month, and we'll only take paid gigs at local clubs within a 20 mile radius that have enough of a built-in crowd that we're not under pressure to draw more than 15 or 20 of our own. We usually don't learn more than 2 new songs per month, but our song list is a FIFO (First In FIrst Out) so we don't have to keep current with a 200 song set list.... we hold it steady at around 70, so there isn't a bunch of pressure there. We're just a 4-piece, so managing everybody's schedule isn't that bad. The comraderie is what it's all about from my perspective. The only part that seems like "work" is loading back up at the end of a gig (sometimes as late as 2AM). There are usually pancakes involved afterwards though, and that fixes most anything...

[andy474x]

It's the opposite for me. Monday nights are band practice night, and it's our version of poker night. Lots of fun with guys who grew up together. We never gig more than twice per month, and we'll only take paid gigs at local clubs within a 20 mile radius that have enough of a built-in crowd that we're not under pressure to draw more than 15 or 20 of our own. We usually don't learn more than 2 new songs per month, but our song list is a FIFO (First In FIrst Out) so we don't have to keep current with a 200 song set list.... we hold it steady at around 70, so there isn't a bunch of pressure there. We're just a 4-piece, so managing everybody's schedule isn't that bad. The comraderie is what it's all about from my perspective. The only part that seems like "work" is loading back up at the end of a gig (sometimes as late as 2AM). There are usually pancakes involved afterwards though, and that fixes most anything...

I like this... Especially the pancakes!

[11top]

Weekend warrior band. Got a gig this Saturday.



Check us out on YouTube.

[LSchefman]

Studio warrior. I love playing in a group, but Hans is right, bands really require a lot of time and energy.

[vchizzle]

I'm a self proclaimed garage guitar god and along with my next door neighbour who plays drums, we are the most musically talented people in a 2 house radius

Awesome, award winning post! So, I have all faith you have a pile of Garammy statues standing on your mantle.

Looking at the age poll ... we must understand that what we did in our teens might be different than what we do in our 60s. I've been all of the above ... except the last option.

Indeed, I'm interested in past and present...which I should've stated I supposed.

"Basement Rockstar". Hey, that's not funny.

Shawn, I love a guy that's killin' it at stadium volume in the basement(or even TV volume). I will forever be that guy after my gig days are done, there's nothing better.

I'd like to get back to playing out on weekends. I just lack the tolerance I used to. Bands are a lot of work.

So true. Bands are a b!tch at every level. Hans, my tolerance get's lower with every waking hour...with everything

Studio warrior. I love playing in a group, but Hans is right, bands really require a lot of time and energy.

Les, you are the prime example of a guy who's "made it" IMO. To make a living doing studio work is awesome, especially coming out of a non-music biz career.


Great stuff guys, keep it coming.

[Mike Duncan]

I used to play in bands and play out. Ever since I became "The Man", bands don't like me. I also have too many kids to get out and play.

[sergiodeblanc]

Ever since I became "The Man", bands don't like me.

[DirtyMoonsRJT]

I used to play in bands and play out. Ever since I became "The Man", bands don't like me. I also have too many kids to get out and play.

Hah!!! My new band is made up of "The Man"...all of us. What's nice about this is that nobody needs to play for the money. The other guys are all very talented and the gear is a gear guys dream! At 34 I'm also the youngest guy in my band by at least 20 years....which is fine by me...because they all have had decades more experience and have dealt with ALL of the BS...this is their no BS band...which works out perfectly for me because I do this for enjoyment not Drama...if I'm not doing it for the fun, comraderie and the music than I'm just not doing it...and I've told them that...I have too many important things going on in my life...family, work, etc... It's very laid back. We all have similiar tastes. We play what we want obviously still keeping the audience in mind. We run the band as a democracy over beers...practice once a week together. I occasionally play with the other guitarist an additional night to work on things. The goal is a gig every month...unfortunately the very local music scene is not all that big around me...so even once a month can be hard. Two of the guys played together in another band for the last four years and they averaged about 1 gig a month. It's been working really well so far. My wife is also very supportive of me and considering we have 2 little boys I am extremely appreciative of her for that support...if it wasn't for her I wouldnt be able to do this...I try to make sure she gets to do the things that she wants to do as well...make sure I do lots of bath times and bedtimes and do as much as possible with the family when I am not in the office. If not...she would have a very different view of what I do. In addition I waited years to find the right band. Most other bands wouldn't be this laid back and flexible.

[Rick]

These days I'm mostly a couch noodler ,
but with practice I think I could be a basement rock star .
I'm thinking about doing a tour of the neighbourhood ....

[themike]

Played for a few years in local bands. Then played "professionally" I guess for a little while - signed a contract, had a record in stores and then left the band. Touring wouldn't have provided me enough income to keep up with my PRS addiction! (seriously - Im not kidding, among other things).

[t.shamone]

I play and gig with four different bands right now. Two of the bands have the same bassist in them.
I also play jazz and classical gigs with my wife and friend Frank. When needed, Frank and I will sub for each other .
I teach private guitar and saxophone lessons on top of it all. Sax was my first instrument.

In the past I did some studio work in Jamaica and backed up local musicians in Westmoreland and Hanover.
I've also spent time hanging out with Jimmy Bralower in his personal studio after giving his son guitar lessons.
I learned a lot there and met some really cool people.

[andy474x]

A few years back I was in a band that was sort of trying to make it... and by that, I mean a couple of us were dedicated, and the others were very talented but had no desire or motivation. Now they have much more dedicated members and things are starting to get moving, and I'm really happy for them. As of now, I play in a band of my grad school classmates, which is nice because we all have the same schedule more or less, and they all take it fairly seriously. We've played a few gigs of cover tunes for some good crowds, and we have some originals being recorded right now. Hopefully put out an EP or something in the next couple months.

[clcwarlock]

I was in bands and played out when i was younger. I have 2 kids now and dedicate a lot of my time to them. I am currently a basement rocker. most of my time downstairs is writing now. I plan on putting together enough songs for an album by the end of next year.