It's Been Almost 20 Years Since I've Played Music In Public

Nice. What kind of music?

At one point a few years back, I was in a cover band, a pop-rock band that played originals, playing drums for a female singer-songwriter, and drumming at church. All the gigs except the church gig have fizzled out.

Don’t give up on the 18-21 year olds. A lot more of them than you’d think were raised on Pink Floyd, Jack White, and Zeppelin. There’s a lot of young rockers that hang out at the Spanish Moon and Atomic Pop Shop.

You should go to the event they’re having next saturday at Mid City Ballroom. Should be a lot of good young musical talent including Loudness War and Alex Abel playing a homecoming show of sorts.

+1 for the Ball Room show this weekend, plenty of the local young guns will be rocking it out. BR Music Exchange bought an old church and fixed it up to make a pretty sweet new venue.

(also yes to playing live these days FTR, its an awesome feeling)

Performed opening for Dax Riggs from 2003-05 and haven't since.

I miss it, one of the coolest experiences of my life for sure. I miss the rush before the first note, and also the crowds.

Today I am just producing 100% synth based music with occasionally throwing acoustic guitar in the tracks on my downtimes with Macbook Pro and the Arturia V Collection (which is amazing).

I might perform again one day when the kids are older.

Did the same thing over the last few years. After getting out of college, got married, went to work, had kids. Only picked up my bass every now and then to play around. A few years ago, I decided I was going to pick it back up and join a band. It has been a blast. It is the most fun I have. We play together once or twice a week and play a gig every now and then.

So how did it go?

We made it to the bar, and immediately were shocked to be the only customers there. We figured we’d make the best of it and maybe have a glorified practice.

Watched the Saints game on the big screen, and finally a small smattering of people began to trickle in. It was supposed to be some kind of open mic jam night, and, as such, most of the equipment was provided by the house except instruments.
And drumsticks, which our drummer neglected to bring. It took an hour for her to leave and return with her sticks.

The house musician played a couple of songs in the meantime. When our drummer returned, we took the stage. The first song seemed to go off without a hitch, surprisingly. I was stoked hearing my bass rumble through the bar’s PA. Apparently, the singer couldn’t be heard (at all), and the house musician jumped up on stage and began fiddling with PA settings between songs.

We started song 2 and I suddenly couldn’t hear myself at all. Neither could the drummer. Things started to derail, but we held it together.

By the fourth song, the mix was finally balanced out and we hit out stride. Several of the band members elected to call it a night—a bit shaken by the poor mix and the prospect of playing new songs they were still a bit shaky on.

All in all, it was just good to wash the newness off and get some experience—especially under trying conditions. Our singer experienced a panic attack (combination of reasons) the day before, so we were worried about her. Everyone had a major screw up or three, but we kept it together.

We play our first full set next Saturday at another bar as the opening act for a band. I’ve imagined being back on stage for so long, but I don’t think the emotions have had a chance to hit yet. I’m pretty sure I had fun.

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Did the same thing over the last few years. After getting out of college, got married, went to work, had kids. Only picked up my bass every now and then to play around. A few years ago, I decided I was going to pick it back up and join a band. It has been a blast. It is the most fun I have. We play together once or twice a week and play a gig every now and then.

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Sounds exactly like my situation. One of the benefits of getting married and having kids young.