Members steve mac Posted March 30, 2015 Members Share Posted March 30, 2015 if you could somehow borrow Marty McFly's Delorian for an hour and pop back to see yourself as you took the first baby steps on the road to being a paid musician what tips would you give? Obviously other than burn the guitar and never talk of it again. For me it would be; Learn how to use and get the best out of the equipment you have before being taken in be marketing hype and going for the next shiney toy. Oh and make sure that both sides of a verbal contract are very clear on what their responsibilities are ie hours to be played, breaks, when paid, equipment provided and then back this up with a friendly email clarifying what was agreed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pogo97 Posted March 30, 2015 Members Share Posted March 30, 2015 I'd have gone full-time in my 20s rather than splitting my efforts between music in the winter and camp counsellor in the summer. But really, I should have studied chemistry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted March 30, 2015 Moderators Share Posted March 30, 2015 Okay, so if I could go back forty years, and talk to myself? Swallow your pride, take the gigs that don't always make you the top dog, be more accepting of supporting roles...time to be 'the guy' will come, don't be so stuck on yourself. This is what stalled my musical career in my early 20s. I passed up several opportunities which later would have been unbelievably advantageous, including possibly working with Nile Rodgers/Chic [unknown at the time] because it was 'disco'. For that matter, I would have benefited even earlier by staying on the road with a nationally known act, even though they were fading. The other musical advice [it took me many years to figure this one out]: turn down and listen to everything else going on. Then fill the gaps that need to be filled, not all the gaps. Other advice: take better care of yourself, and be a bit less willing to take wild risks...this body is paying the price for your craziness now. oh, and if it hurts when you pee, go to the doctor right away... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bob Dey Posted April 1, 2015 Members Share Posted April 1, 2015 Move to a resort area and learn lots of songs. Take a stand up comedy class. Invest in IBM then in the '80s microsoft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted April 1, 2015 Moderators Share Posted April 1, 2015 Buy Apple stock at the IPO.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pogo97 Posted April 1, 2015 Members Share Posted April 1, 2015 practisepractisepractise Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted April 2, 2015 Moderators Share Posted April 2, 2015 learn to spell, learn to spell, learn to spell... [yes, I know the Canadians and the Brits spell a lot of things incorrectly, eh?...but I try to treat it with some humor...or humour, for those English impaired types... ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dingoist Posted April 2, 2015 Members Share Posted April 2, 2015 "Don't be a jackass -- the opportunity may exist now but not in 6 months." I was more successful as a writer than as a musician, but when a top tier national magazine says "please send us more of your stuff for publication" -- don't just put the letter away and do jackall with it, continue to deliver the goods. I missed that boat due to arrogance and personal issues. As a musician, it's "don't stop". The guitar got shelved in multiple moves, various cities, during trying to build a non-musical professional career, and I'm only recently getting back at making music / playing originals. But I'm too old to be a rock star Though I've recently crossed a few things off my bucket list, which includes playing original music to a local audience and not sucking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pogo97 Posted April 2, 2015 Members Share Posted April 2, 2015 learn to spell, learn to spell, learn to spell... [yes, I know the Canadians and the Brits spell a lot of things incorrectly, eh?...but I try to treat it with some humor...or humour, for those English impaired types... ] Being Canadian, I'm bi-spellable. But I like the difference between practice (noun -- habit, business) and practise (verb -- the act of rehearsing). It's a pity Americans are deprived of that distinction, but do soldier on regardless. Someday we'll all spell in Chinese. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted April 3, 2015 Moderators Share Posted April 3, 2015 Someday we'll all spell in Chinese. dammit, all those sanskrit pensmanship lessons...all those clay tablets...wasted.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jimbo_Keys Posted April 3, 2015 Members Share Posted April 3, 2015 I'd tell my 14-year-old self that it's not sissy to take voice lessons. And if that didn't work I'd tell my 14-year-old self that if you take voice lessons you'll be in classes and recitals surrounded by 14-year-old girls (as I discovered when I finally began taking voice lessons at 50). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pogo97 Posted April 3, 2015 Members Share Posted April 3, 2015 My 80-year-old self just came by and told me not to bother. Said: "The 14-year-old won't listen anyway. Save your money for beer, chicks and cars while you can still enjoy them." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted April 4, 2015 Moderators Share Posted April 4, 2015 My cyberclone just stopped in...he looked mah-vell-uss...he said 'forget posting on the internet...put everything on magnetic tape and bury it as a 'timecapsule'....what was old will be new....your genius will be discovered and they will create me, your cyberclone to perform your works for the next 300 hundred years...' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bob Dey Posted April 6, 2015 Members Share Posted April 6, 2015 My 14 year old self just time ported into the present and asked me why I didn't go back in time to give him the cure for acne. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Shaster Posted April 6, 2015 Members Share Posted April 6, 2015 Wear ear plugs all the time. Drink less beer. Spend more time on my success versus any particular band's success. Buy a couple of pre CBC Fender Strats and a couple of Gibson Les Paul gold tops and store them at my parents house for a few decades. Take more pictures. I had a decent 35mm camera when I was a kid, darkroom and the whole bit, but I didn't chronicle much. Sure would be nice to revisit all those gigs, and see who I was going out with at the time... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pogo97 Posted April 6, 2015 Members Share Posted April 6, 2015 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqfFrCUrEbY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members trevcda Posted April 7, 2015 Members Share Posted April 7, 2015 Spend more time on my success versus any particular band's success. This. My sense of loyalty towards others (combined with a few other issues!) has kept me from taking advantage of numerous opportunities over the years. I'd tell myself to learn the difference between doing what's right and doing what's right for you. They're not always the same thing and often conflict with each other. Stop fearing change! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pogo97 Posted April 7, 2015 Members Share Posted April 7, 2015 Success always necessitates a degree of ruthlessness. Given the choice of friendship or success, I'd probably choose success. Sting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted April 8, 2015 Moderators Share Posted April 8, 2015 that is an interesting moral dilemma...it says a lot about individual values. I think, in many ways, one can measure success by how many real friends one has... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sventvkg Posted April 9, 2015 Members Share Posted April 9, 2015 I would have a LOT of advice for myself but since I know myself, I know I would never have taken ANY OF IT! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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