Miss playing music!

My first set was a pearl export select series that I turned into an 8 piece. Was black wood grain, always used evans hydraulic heads, heavy sticks with nylon tips and have always been loyal for the most part towards zildjian.

Then I moved to guitar, but am very thankful I have a drum background and don't have to depend on anyone else.

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dealing with 4 other people with inconsistent schedules and motivations

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the 90s were so much easier, people had less distractions. Girlfriends couldn't call or text cell phones, etc..

Cause back then when you were home, you were either listening to your music collection, playing video games, smoking dope or fapping. Sometimes all at the same time. And back then you had to sometimes share the pornography amongst friends, so at least everyone was on the same page. Literally.

I threw in the towel gigging about 11 years ago. Playing for three hours was fun, it was the other 21 hours of band drama, pulling lights out of the ceiling on ladders at 3 a.m., driving hour(s) home at 4 a.m., all the stuff kingbob talked about, that just got too old. Especially when you're around 40 and you have a demanding day job where they expect you to function coherently while you're on their clock. I knew my days were numbered when my then-girlfriend (now my wife) and I made a spread sheet of what I brought in compared in my last band (gig shot below) to what I invested in both my time and my $$$. Let's just say fixing guitars pays much better than playing them. And that was a band that was gigging two or three nights a week every week, all over the local and regional bar and private event circuit.

From the Balcony, Houma, around 2009 I think. Their curling load-in/out staircase is a b!tch to move gear down when you're tired, drunk and eyes burning from sweaty eyeliner.

It was a lot more fun when I was 25 and playing for just 45 minutes to an hour and change in front of college kids for peanuts. It was just so easy, low stress, and fun. Making money at music is hard work and you have to play what “the crowd” and the venues want. Turning it into a business takes all the fun and creativity out of it.

I was in this boat. Played through college then just didn't really pick up my bass for about 20 years. I then had a mid-life crisis and said screw it, I love to play and am going to join a band. My wife thought I was crazy. This was about four years ago. After going through two bands that were DOA, I am now in a good spot and gigging about 3 to 4 times a month. I love it!

Similar story here, played a ton in my college days, recorded an album of our own stuff and tried to make a career of it but we were too stubborn to play the stuff everyone wanted to hear.

Played a few fun gigs with friends over the years but life/work intervened. Kept up with my bandmates however, and finally through the miracle of the interwebs recorded our followup album 32 years after our debut Even got to play our first live gig since ‘83 just a couple of years ago.

Now we’re working on album #3, drummer is coming down from his home in NoMI in May so we’re planning another gig down here.