To the guys whose entire careers are based on music …

DrewJD82 said:
Last year I was heavily debating whether I should quit my job and move back up to New England where I’d make music my money earner. A couple buddies who have been at it up there for decades were really selling me on the idea but the more I dug into it, the more I realized it wasn’t realistic for me. Unless I got into a wedding/corporate band situation where the pay is considerably better, I’d be looking at lots of $50 nights and a TON of traveling between Maine, NH and Massachusetts.

Not being motivated by money pretty much removes any “hustler” traits I could possibly have, if I didn’t have gigs being offered to me nonstop I’d be broke before the month was over and where I’ve already spent the first half of my life mostly living hand-to-mouth I didn’t want the 2nd half of it to be more of the same or worse.
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You could do the music thing down here. I have never made less than $100 for a night. I have had bands that I have been in where I was bringing all of the PA gear and dealing with everyrhing that comes with that and I was making $150 a night with some of those groups. The hard part is getting a band together with guys you can stand to be around and getting good. Then comes the booking of the gigs. I seem to find myself doing all of this stuff as well as being the music director in most bands I have been in. My plan is that the next one I get in I am not going to offer all of these things. I will offer to be a resource for someone else in the band to learn it and take it over.
 
HomespunEffects said:
… what’s the grind like? Is it worth it? What’s your breakdown concerning lessons and playing shows and studio work? How do you get over dealing with opposing personalities?
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It depends what you mean. I've been working in music since I was 23. Even at that age, I knew I didn't want to try and make it as a full time musician, or a session guy, or anything like that. Part of the reason was I knew it was very hard, and part of the reason was I knew that society was moving on already. But also part of the reason was, I have a lot of interests. I'd genuinely rather be coding at home or working on some sample pack or some graphic design, than playing songs I never wrote to a room full of people who don't really care that much.

So I knew I wasn't ever going to be wedding band or covers band material. I'm too much of an elitist prick.

But I did spend 18 years in a relatively obscure band, but one that did have fans, and I played lots of shows to rooms full of people who loved what we did, and that was such an amazing thing to experience. I don't really care if it was 20, 30, 100, or 1000 people. It was great.

At the same time, I had a fairly good run in music tech, designing software, making sample packs, doing all sorts. It paid the bills, paid off my student loan, got me on the property ladder, made me tons of lifelong friends, and so... I really can't complain.

At the same time, it has been very stressful and soul destroying at points. I sometimes wish I'd gone in a different direction, but I don't really know what.

I see it like this - you've got one life.... do you wanna chase money, fame, or girls? I chose girls. Got married, have a fairly "trad" life.... but those are the things that give me the most pleasure in life, in all honesty. Music is a very very close 2nd; to the point where sometimes these things invert!!

You're going to deal with opposing personalities (read: complete fucking dickheads) throughout your entire life. No avoiding that one!
 
my take is and probably always has been wrong. i dont WANT to turn music into a career. i want to enjoy it and be creative and be beholden to noone. ive been involved in music playing, recording, doing sound, hanging fliers, booking shows, helping friends do same, for almost four decades, and i don't want money and resist taking it because i dont want to involve commerce. i know a few very lucky working pros who love it in any universe i appreciate, and they are some of the best and hardest working people i know. i know quite a few others who work making music i have little to no interest in. im glad they love it- but theyre making form music for consumption- which is exactly which i do not want to do.

i think you gotta stake your claim wherever it falls and be honest with yourself about what compromises matter and which ones dont to you to live that way.
 
JasonE said:
You could do the music thing down here. I have never made less than $100 for a night. I have had bands that I have been in where I was bringing all of the PA gear and dealing with everyrhing that comes with that and I was making $150 a night with some of those groups. The hard part is getting a band together with guys you can stand to be around and getting good. Then comes the booking of the gigs. I seem to find myself doing all of this stuff as well as being the music director in most bands I have been in. My plan is that the next one I get in I am not going to offer all of these things. I will offer to be a resource for someone else in the band to learn it and take it over.
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Hahahahah yeah, I've definitely made far better money down here gigging than I have up there, but there's no way in hell I'd do it down here, or I should say, there's a very small pool of musicians I know I would do this with down here and I have zero desire to attempt to get into another band that's gigging for money here. I think I'd almost have to go to a different region/state at this point, I've been associated with metal so much down here it'd be hard to get through that "Isn't that the screamer dude from _____ and ___?" point of entry.
 
I gave it a shot when I was still young enough to change lanes if it didn’t pan out, and by the age of 28 I was done with the whole thing. I managed a music store, gave lessons, and worked every weekend in a cover band. That’s a lot of hours invested for not a heckuva great payout. Plus, even the gigging stopped being fun and turned into a job. I figured I might as well find something that pays a lot better and doesn’t require you to be constantly hustling to keep the money coming in.
 
HomespunEffects said:
Thanks guys. You made me feel better about it.
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TSJMajesty said:
My dreams of having a sole life of music died a long time ago, and in retrospect I'm glad they did. I wouldn't have survived the changes, since I'm not good at pivoting to stay ahead of the changing landscape. I also think making a living from it would've killed the fun for me.
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My buddy toured several states in the early 00’s. The stories of having to shower at truck stops, or sometimes not at all, rewearing dirty clothes, eating whatever shit fast food you could find, all sold me on NOT trying to go that route.
 
paisleywookiee said:
My buddy toured several states in the early 00’s. The stories of having to shower at truck stops, or sometimes not at all, rewearing dirty clothes, eating whatever shit fast food you could find, all sold me on NOT trying to go that route.
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The thing that sucks, is there's no clear path, that if you do A, B, & C, you will succeed. It's a gamble, and lots of luck involved. If you really love it though, and that's what you want to do with your life, you have to go for for it 1000%, and do it while you're young. No, "having a good skill-set to fall back on in case things don't work out." You have to be willing to push ALL your chips in, and that's still no guarantee.

I'm not made like that. Glad some are though!

Even Dream Theater's story is fascinating in that regard: No lead singer for 18 months, going through 200 auditions, about ready to give up when they found LaBrie. And again, almost throwing in the towel prior to SFAM's huge success.

Wanting to "go for it" by pursuing music at Berklee (hard sell to the parents), then wanting to quit Berklee and "go for it again" (another hard sell, lol.) Takes guts, that's for sure, especially when you're playing that prog shit that only music nerds listen to! :rofl
 
TSJMajesty said:
The thing that sucks, is there's no clear path, that if you do A, B, & C, you will succeed. It's a gamble, and lots of luck involved. If you really love it though, and that's what you want to do with your life, you have to go for for it 1000%, and do it while you're young. No, "having a good skill-set to fall back on in case things don't work out." You have to be willing to push ALL your chips in, and that's still no guarantee.

I'm not made like that. Glad some are though!

Even Dream Theater's story is fascinating in that regard: No lead singer for 18 months, going through 200 auditions, about ready to give up when they found LaBrie. And again, almost throwing in the towel prior to SFAM's huge success.

Wanting to "go for it" by pursuing music at Berklee (hard sell to the parents), then wanting to quit Berklee and "go for it again" (another hard sell, lol.) Takes guts, that's for sure, especially when you're playing that prog shit that only music nerds listen to! :rofl
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But you listen to them. :unsure:


:sofa
 
paisleywookiee said:
My buddy toured several states in the early 00’s. The stories of having to shower at truck stops, or sometimes not at all, rewearing dirty clothes, eating whatever shit fast food you could find, all sold me on NOT trying to go that route.
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That was pretty much my 20's anyway, except the showers, I've always been borderline OCD about showers.
 
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