Members leftyjay Posted May 25, 2021 Members Share Posted May 25, 2021 (edited) I got both my vaccine's by mid March, and was all ready to get back out to playing.... then my shoulder started bothering me AGAIN. Went in for an mri and found I need a Reverse Shoulder Replacement (steel ball and cup in my shoulder joint like a hip operation). Rotator cuff was beyond repair. Been getting cort shots every 5-6 months since 2019 and it always calmed down so I can live with it. Now the shots don't do anything. Got 2 Dr opinions. Both came to the same conclusion. So, I'll be out for the summer. Dr says my surgery is quicker to recover than rotator cuff even though it's more evasive, as I'll be in PT 1 week after surgery, and should be able to play guitar again by week 3. My 55 years of constant playing has took it's toll on my body. I go in for surgery June 1 Good news is, during my time off since March of last year, I was able to sequence over 130 more songs of all styles, plus add more vids to my Youtube channel. The bookings of my private parties are coming in steady for the fall and winter. I'll be back to my regular amount of bookings by January. The bar scene has been back since October down here in SW Florida, but the private parties have not come back yet. Next fall all the venues will be back. They will hear a whole new repertoire of songs from me. Are you guys back to playing yet? Edited May 25, 2021 by leftyjay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Notes_Norton Posted May 26, 2021 Members Share Posted May 26, 2021 About the time the vaccines rolled out, our winter audience went back 'up north'. I've got gigs for next winter when they come back, between now and then, if anything comes, it'll be slim pickings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted June 1, 2021 Members Share Posted June 1, 2021 On 5/25/2021 at 5:55 PM, leftyjay said: My 55 years of constant playing has took it's toll on my body. I go in for surgery June 1 Mojo sent. The praise band restarts rehearsals Saturday (with masks and social distance). First time playing in worship again will be Father's Day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Notes_Norton Posted June 1, 2021 Members Share Posted June 1, 2021 We have a booking this month!!! A going away party for some summer residents that haven't fled to "the north" yet. Hooray!!!! It'll be the first one since March 17. 2020. Notes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted June 2, 2021 Moderators Share Posted June 2, 2021 YAY, Notes! Glad you and Leilani are getting booked... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members leftyjay Posted June 7, 2021 Author Members Share Posted June 7, 2021 Surgery went as planned. Amazing how they can completely rebuild the shoulder with steel and plastic and you walk out in less than 2 hours. After the block wears off, you don’t even need the sling. I remember just 10 years back that this procedure would take hours to complete and you would be in the hospital for 3-5 days. Recovery would take 4-6 months. I’m scheduled for therapy 7 days after surgery so they can get my arm moving and the muscles strengthened. They said 2 weeks and I should be able to drive. I’m already using the arm quite a bit. They want me to use it Sure, it’s sore. But it was really sore before surgery The only difference is, I know it will get better every day. I can already get my arm in position to fret the guitar. If I didn’t have the swelling, I could probably play. But I’m planning on returning to gigs in August-September. I want to make sure I’m completely able to perform and carry the gear. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Gigmeister-8YMGf Posted June 8, 2021 Members Share Posted June 8, 2021 I had total knee replacement March 1 and blood clots in the same leg 48 hours later. I was back performing in early April although my wife had to set up and carry mysmall rig to the first 2-3 shows. I've been using a stool for the first time regularly in my career and hope to be standing later this summer. I see a friend in Atlanta is also using a stool for solo guitar/vocal shows. Sadly one of the concessions to old age. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Notes_Norton Posted June 8, 2021 Members Share Posted June 8, 2021 I thought I was going to need a new hip. I couldn't walk two blocks without sitting and resting, and I couldn't drive without a 'blue ice' pack behind my right hip. A doctor told me to try the "Arthritis/Bursitis" diet first. It's quite restricting, but it worked. I can now walk 4 miles briskly (for exercise) and I've driven as much as 8 hours straight without the ice pack and neither caused me any pain. I'm sticking to the diet for life. A nice side effect is I lost a lot of excess weight too. Notes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Notes_Norton Posted June 8, 2021 Members Share Posted June 8, 2021 On 6/2/2021 at 11:06 AM, daddymack said: YAY, Notes! Glad you and Leilani are getting booked... Thanks. It went well. The person who booked us told us everybody loved us, and we'll definitely be back next season (it was a going away party for the winter residents at a mobile home park). The dance area was full, we had a dozen or so requests and knew all but one, and at the end of the night while we were packing out, quite a few of the residents made it a point to stop by and tell us how much they loved the music. Being a pool party for senior citizens, we did a couple of Jimmy Buffett songs, a couple or reggae songs, and a lot of pop hits from the 1950s to the 21st century. It was hot, we were sweaty, the 2.5 hours went by much too quickly (there were hundreds of songs we didn't get to play), we went home tired (a good kind of tired) took showers and at the end of the day felt it was a very good day. We're planning on learning the request we didn't know. We're getting some other bookings for next season as well. Notes 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members modulusman Posted June 10, 2021 Members Share Posted June 10, 2021 On 6/8/2021 at 9:30 AM, Notes_Norton said: Thanks. It went well. The person who booked us told us everybody loved us, and we'll definitely be back next season (it was a going away party for the winter residents at a mobile home park). The dance area was full, we had a dozen or so requests and knew all but one, and at the end of the night while we were packing out, quite a few of the residents made it a point to stop by and tell us how much they loved the music. Being a pool party for senior citizens, we did a couple of Jimmy Buffett songs, a couple or reggae songs, and a lot of pop hits from the 1950s to the 21st century. It was hot, we were sweaty, the 2.5 hours went by much too quickly (there were hundreds of songs we didn't get to play), we went home tired (a good kind of tired) took showers and at the end of the day felt it was a very good day. We're planning on learning the request we didn't know. We're getting some other bookings for next season as well. Notes Be sure and let us know how WAP goes over.😀 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Notes_Norton Posted June 10, 2021 Members Share Posted June 10, 2021 12 hours ago, modulusman said: Be sure and let us know how WAP goes over.😀 THANX!!!!! :D :D :D Although the Seniors seem to like playfully sexual themed songs, I don't think we are going to learn this one. I'm old enough to remember when the Stones' "Lets Spend The Night Together" was banned because it insinuated they were going to have sexual intercourse. I think there is a mid-point between those two songs that would be right for my personal tastes. Notes 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Shaster Posted June 25, 2021 Members Share Posted June 25, 2021 I did my first indoor live gig since 2020 on June 13th. It felt pretty strange, and the band sat outside on the patio during the breaks. Except for the singer, we all wore masks. It was a small band doing a tribute to Dinah Washington - vocalist, acoustic piano, string bass and guitar, although the bass player and I had amps and the piano was mic'ed. I wrote all the charts for the gig, so all we needed was a forty minute Zoom rehearsal - yay! A couple of days later, I got a last minute call to play a downtown "exclusive" club. It was a patio gig, so I said sure. PA was provided. It was the usual, play background music, but don't fade into the background! Even though I used to play that venue every month or so, I could take it or leave it now. I think I've developed a bit of an attitude during the Big Break. Still and all, that's two gigs in one month. That ties my pandemic record, and that brings me to three gigs this year. Got one scheduled for July and one for September. I'm tired just thinking about it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members leftyjay Posted June 25, 2021 Author Members Share Posted June 25, 2021 Its a start Shaster. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel for us musicians. My bank account cant wait to see an actual deposit. Still waiting to play my first gig. Been shut down since march 2020. Ended up getting neck surgery in the fall since I wasn't gigging. Was all set to return in March 2021. Got my vaccine shots, then....my shoulder gave out on me. Been getting quarterly shots to avoid surgery. But, it finally got bad enough, I gave in and got the surgery June 1. It was a complete reverse shoulder replacement. I now have no rotator cuff tendons. Its just my bicep and deltoid muscle doing all the work. Problem is, it was my fretting hand. I can play cowboy chords, but moving up and down the neck is rough. I'm a lead guitarist. It will take time to get my riffs back. 12 weeks of PT. That'll push me into late September. So I've started booking for October on. October will be just 5-6 gigs to get me back into the swing, then November will be 18+ gigs per month thru April. I've got some groupie friends that will help me move my gear for a while till I get stronger and regain my motion in that arm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Notes_Norton Posted June 25, 2021 Members Share Posted June 25, 2021 We've done a few pool parties for the snowbirds who left for summers 'up north. That's typical for the retirement development market, although a little later than usual this year. We're getting bookings for next winter season, but so far, the summer, which is always slow down here, looks pretty bleak. I'm OK with that, and looking forward to next season. Notes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members modulusman Posted June 25, 2021 Members Share Posted June 25, 2021 My band has been gigging since May. We have a busy July coming up with 12 gigs scheduled. August, September and October we have 22 more booked right now. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Notes_Norton Posted June 26, 2021 Members Share Posted June 26, 2021 Good for you!!! We'll probably be that busy in the winter. We make 3/4 of our money between Halloween and Easter. Notes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Gigmeister-8YMGf Posted June 28, 2021 Members Share Posted June 28, 2021 It's getting busy here in Texas. I did four shows the past two weeks and am booked the next two weekends. I did a nine hour marathon corporate show in central Texas yesterday! That's a new record for me. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members derivicus Posted July 20, 2021 Members Share Posted July 20, 2021 I was always a band guy, but the last few years I've been doing a lot of solo work. full time, actually. It's nice in many ways, but I miss performing with my mates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Notes_Norton Posted July 20, 2021 Members Share Posted July 20, 2021 Summers are always slow in this part of Florida, but I have quite a few one-nighter gigs lined up for next fall/winter when the tourists come back, and a one-day-per-week gig that should last all season. Things are looking up. Notes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted July 21, 2021 Members Share Posted July 21, 2021 (edited) ... Edited July 21, 2021 by DeepEnd Never mind, wrong forum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Notes_Norton Posted July 21, 2021 Members Share Posted July 21, 2021 I was in the wrong place, but it must have been the right time ♫♫♫ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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