Getting Bruned Out?

[bendafender]

I have been aware of burnout since it happened to me in a different field, even though I was aware of the possibility. I used to be a photographer and always feared the day when I might not want to get out of bed and look at another camera.

 

But music has not yet become something to dread, far from it. I play music for fun and even though I make some money from it, I have vowed to back off if it ever becomes a grind. I must say that the types of gigs I do are somewhat different from what most band members here do. Most of my playing out is in theater musicals, something I never dreamed would be as much fun as it has turned out to be. Thursday

[Lee Flier]

Well I think you're already ahead of the game if you're aware that burnout is a possibility. We all have to find that threshold and for some people it's higher or lower than others.

 

I think a lot of people get hung up on "I must make my living from music" and then end up taking a lot of gigs they don't like just to pay the bills, and then wonder why music doesn't give them the same joy anymore. I equate it to being a hooker all day and then going home and trying to enjoy sex with your husband. Some people have the personality to do that but many don't.

 

The important thing is not to assume that because you can't do what the next person does you can't continue to enjoy playing. You have to figure out what YOU have to do to make it enjoyable and what your priorities are.

 

To me, the priorities are playing music I love, playing in a band that inspires me musically, and enjoying the company of the people I play with personally. I also realized early on that I love touring but NOT for really long periods of time - 4 to 6 weeks max. I need lots of downtime to recharge my personal and creative batteries. I also need time to spend songwriting and recording - gigging alone doesn't do it for me if we don't continually have new material to play out.

 

This means I don't make all of my living from playing, but that's OK. I don't want to kill the joy of doing the thing I love no matter what. It's worth doing something else that I don't enjoy as much but that I'm not as emotionally attached to either. I burn out on my "day job" sometimes but I don't really care - because I can go play music and have very rarely been burned out by that. And that's most important.

[BlueStrat]

 

Originally posted by bendafender   To those who are jaded or burned out on music I feel your pain. You can get burned out on any activity. My suggestion is to just walk away and do something else fun. Life is too short and nothing is so important you have to do it, even if that

[cooterbrown]

I have played a solo or duo gig sporadically for the last 14 years.

At times, it was my only gig, and I would make sure I scheduled time off every so often to recharge.

There were times when I would even take a straight job doing seasonal work, out of state, just to get completely away from the music.

Since my duo partner moved to Nashville, I am currently debating over whether to totally revamp my songlist and do my sequencing on my Motif ES, and go back to solo, or find another partner, and continue to play my current set.

Either way, my two full bands keep everything fresh, for me, and after four full years of playing nearly every weekend, those gigs are still enjoyable.

[tamoore]

I got burnt out twice.

 

I stopped playing for 2 years once, and 3 or 4 years another time.

 

We used to play 50 weekends a year on a 4 or 5 club rotation, normally.

 

Playing the same material (covers), with the same people, at the same places, regularly gets to be like flipping burgers, only worse.

 

Both times that I walked, I had to for mental health issues. I would start dreading having to play the next Friday, on Monday morning, and carry that feeling all week.

 

I sometimes now think it'd be nice to get a club band back together to play, but I fear it turning into a painful experience again......

[salislore]

I think I'm getting a little burned out right now.

 

Been gigging with my latest band for a little over two years.

 

It's not gigging and playing the music that's burning me out, it's all the crap I have to do to keep this band practicing, gigging, and trying to improve.

 

Just like Bluestrat did, I do most everything for my band. That's what's getting to me.

[Outkaster]

Funny this thread came up because I just got back from LV on a vaction earlier than expected. My friends are full-time musicians there and are excellent. I came to one of their gigs and had a funny feeling that I did not love music enough and that is why I am not there, I mean doing it like they are. These guys want me to move there and I had someone offer to even fly me out for certain shows that has a good band. He saw me on stage and acutally told me he was waiting all year to have me out there. I had not felt that kind of support in a long time. Basically since I got back I have not felt like running a band, a MySpace page and a website. To top it off the other keyboard player took a layoff/buyout from Kodak and got a Class A license. He is driving tractor trailer now so who knows what will happen to him. He has to do what he has to do. Most of you saw my other thread on the girl singer and I am trying to turn that situation around.

 

Sometimes I can't feel it anymore and that is sad because when I am around the right people it is great but that was years ago. I feel like I am buying time. It is an awful thing to feel unmotivated and not touch the keyboards for weeks. Don't get me wrong I am glad to have two decent jobs that pay good for someone with an AAS degree. The music is something I am good at but my threshold for what you put up with is very low lately.