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a question for "serious" musicians with a dayjob


TimmyII

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Originally posted by Santuzzo



Good luck with finding a girl, dude .... you will need it when you have these 'pretty high standards' and she'll have to accept you being busy with music 24-7 ....
;)

Terve .....


Lars




AH, there are plenty of ladies out there who don't need diamonds, big weddings, flowers daily, etc... I think ol' Timmy II just needs to find a lady who appreciates his funk and love of alkee-hall.

here's another opinion that'll probably make me unpopular with the ladies (ladies?) in the forum. Most women in my age group (young gen X) live in a fantasy world I like to call Cosmo-land where they have the 2.5 kids, the college degree, the husband, the white picket fence, etc... this is not the kind of girl for a musician to be with. These ladies live in a world full of fast food and flashy appearances with little substance. It's a world of ready made careers and guaranteed security but it's a terribly banal and boring place to live.

there are plenty of ladies out there who would be ecstatic to hang out with a guy who has more purpose in his life than simply going to work every day and watching football with his fraternity brothers from college.

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as far as music and work:

1) find a good day job....that may be your future, and things you learn in one forum frequently apply to other situations....DON"T have the generic dumb-ass musician mentality that you are a failure if you have a real day job...do BOTH

2) don't waste your time with time wasters!!!!!!!! if certain musicans don't cut it, look for others

3) when dating and looking for the significant other, make your priorities clear.....

4) live BELOW your means....so when you hit a rough patch, you will have options....if you put yourself in a hole, you'll always be digging out, and never going forward


good luck

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Originally posted by geddyentwistle

as far as music and work:


1) find a good day job....that may be your future, and things you learn in one forum frequently apply to other situations....DON"T have the generic dumb-ass musician mentality that you are a failure if you have a real day job...do BOTH


2) don't waste your time with time wasters!!!!!!!! if certain musicans don't cut it, look for others


3) when dating and looking for the significant other, make your priorities clear.....


4) live BELOW your means....so when you hit a rough patch, you will have options....if you put yourself in a hole, you'll always be digging out, and never going forward



good luck

 

 

I find myself now in a position to go after a full-time music life for the FIRST TIME in my life. have spent the last two years paying off bills and lowering my monthly living expenses to very easy levels. I have a 'career' that I can go back to any time that pays GREAT (Bomb Disposal). I live danger-close to a major metropolitan area with a vastly-overblown 'music-scene'. AND NOW, IT's FRIDAY NIGHT, AND I HAVE NO GIG!!!!!!!!! But, I'm tryin', I am! Today was a day of big-time dissapointments. Got shot down on a 5-week long audition process for a regularly-gigging country band. Got a call yesterday from a guitarist in an acoustic group who wants me to play bass for them. They gig 3-5 times a week. Ooopps. The singer doesn't think he wants a bass.......................... Some hard rock wanabee needed a bass player to play a Hollywood gig in Oct. I reponded. No dice. ALL IN ONE DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Where's my pistol...........?(!). Today is one of those days where I felt like giving up and calling the bomb companies and asking for a job in Iraq or Afghanistan. Didn't, though ! Somebody ALWAYS needs a bass player!!!!

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Trying to juggle the dayjob, band, and other things is tough. I wish I was 17 again so I could just focus on music. Anyway nowadays things just take much longer to happen. Gigs are once a month, practice once or twice a week. We took a little over a year to put together a decent CD. And now have started getting together a website. inch by inch it's a sinch.

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i totally understand what you are going through. i wake up at 5:45am every morning to work a 9 hour work day computer repair job.

when i get home i am exhausted but i take a power nap for like 20 minutes drink coffee and then i am set to at least practice an hour or two.

If you fall into a deep sleep you will be drained and not be able to function.

Time management is key. Find out when and how long of a time window you have to accomplish tasks and stick to it.

http://homepage.mac.com/musemaker1234







Originally posted by TimmyII

thanks everyone.



the thing is...right now i have a job as a dish washer and i have to get up at 5:00am and i feel like i don't have the energy to practise after work...any motivational hints or something?
:)

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Don't worry, if your doing cover gigs it gets better. After several yars of hammering covers and different styles and genres, your ears become very adept and skilled, as do your hands. I approach every new tune with a pen and pad. I write out format, chord progressions and harmonies just playing through the song once, then maybe play through it again once or twice to get the vibe. Then I just use the notes at rehearsal and slam through the songs. It really, REALLY pays to develop a good ear. Just my two cents.

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Originally posted by geddyentwistle

as far as music and work:


1) find a good day job....that may be your future, and things you learn in one forum frequently apply to other situations....DON"T have the generic dumb-ass musician mentality that you are a failure if you have a real day job...do BOTH


2) don't waste your time with time wasters!!!!!!!! if certain musicans don't cut it, look for others


3) when dating and looking for the significant other, make your priorities clear.....


4) live BELOW your means....so when you hit a rough patch, you will have options....if you put yourself in a hole, you'll always be digging out, and never going forward

 

 

 

This is good advice. Is this Gene Simmons? You CAN work and still make it as a musician. Many hate KISS but they are the perfest example of this happening. All four members worked full time jobs AND found the time to put together one of the biggest bands of all time. If you are working 10 hours a day you can jam for 6 hours a day and still have 8 hours to sleep. So go for it.

 

Secondly, if you are coming home from your job TOTALLY exhausted it sounds like A)You hate your job OR B)You are facing depression or some other medical problem. If it is A get a new job.......if you can't understand why you are so tired go see a Doctor. I am NOT being an asshole either. Being totally exhausted every day usually is a sign of a health problem of some kind.

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  • 2 weeks later...
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Originally posted by TimmyII

i'm talking about people who want to make a living out of playing, but are stuck in a dayjob...



how do you find the time to practise/write songs etc.? i feel like i don't have enough time to write AND practise music...(yes, i currently have a job)

 

 

I find myself conitnuously struggling with that issue and to me it seems that I never have enough time left for practicing.

 

As you can see also from other posts, you are not the only one having this problem, and all you can do is try to swing it with as little money as possible (thus only as much dayjob-work as neccessary for you to get by with) in turn having more time left for your music, and maybe finally trying to make money out of that (which would be the ideal situation, wouldn't it ?!).

 

Well, all I said has in one way or another already mentioned before by other posters, but I just wanted to throw it in once more.

 

Greetz

Lars

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I have a day job that I love (at least most days). I am the principal at an elementary school, and still manage to work with three bands and gig every weekend, sometimes Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings. One of the ways I do this is by practicing rarely. I can do this since one of my bands (the oldies show band) has been together for 12 years and, since we're doing oldies, we don't really need to learn any new stuff.
I also front a three piece oldies/classic rock band where I am the guitarist/vocalist and I work with a non-singing drummer and a non-singing bass player. By using a vocal harmonizer I can still get really full sounding vocals without the necessity of working out harmonies in a band setting. If I have a new song that I want the band to do, I just give the bassist a chart and count off the rhythm for the drummer right on stage in the middle of the gig. So far it's working great.
I also gig with a third band where I'm the hired gun guitarist and somebody else handles nearly al the vocal chores. The frontman usually hands me a setlist with the chords charted out right before the gig and that's all I need. Of course, I've been playing since the 1960's, so I've had a lot of exposure to different songs and styles of music, and I don't mind jumping right into a song and figuring it out as I go along. It also helps that most of the stuff I play is basic three-chord rock and roll.

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Originally posted by fllstck




AH, there are plenty of ladies out there who don't need diamonds, big weddings, flowers daily, etc... I think ol' Timmy II just needs to find a lady who appreciates his funk and love of alkee-hall.


here's another opinion that'll probably make me unpopular with the ladies (ladies?) in the forum. Most women in my age group (young gen X) live in a fantasy world I like to call Cosmo-land where they have the 2.5 kids, the college degree, the husband, the white picket fence, etc... this is not the kind of girl for a musician to be with. These ladies live in a world full of fast food and flashy appearances with little substance. It's a world of ready made careers and guaranteed security but it's a terribly banal and boring place to live.


there are plenty of ladies out there who would be ecstatic to hang out with a guy who has more purpose in his life than simply going to work every day and watching football with his fraternity brothers from college.

 

 

Man, did yo ever hit the nail on the head with your take about women..I'm from S. FL and have lived in CA among other places, and I can tell you MOST womeon are like that in those places. But I have to say, I have found it difficult to find that elusive lady out there that is artsy, cool, creative, laid back, spiritual, beautiful, and has no problem dating a cool musician. Most I have found are the latter type..And this is all over the US. I'm a successful musician who actually makes a living from it to boot!!! I'm in Alaska now, and moving to Nashville in the spring and I would think things would be different there. We'll see, but I will maintain we are looked down upon for being artists.

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Originally posted by fllstck




AH, there are plenty of ladies out there who don't need diamonds, big weddings, flowers daily, etc... I think ol' Timmy II just needs to find a lady who appreciates his funk and love of alkee-hall.


here's another opinion that'll probably make me unpopular with the ladies (ladies?) in the forum. Most women in my age group (young gen X) live in a fantasy world I like to call Cosmo-land where they have the 2.5 kids, the college degree, the husband, the white picket fence, etc... this is not the kind of girl for a musician to be with. These ladies live in a world full of fast food and flashy appearances with little substance. It's a world of ready made careers and guaranteed security but it's a terribly banal and boring place to live.


there are plenty of ladies out there who would be ecstatic to hang out with a guy who has more purpose in his life than simply going to work every day and watching football with his fraternity brothers from college.

 

 

Yes, the world is full of such women. Usually you can see them on any episode of "Cops".

 

Look, the women you see with rock stars are ones they have picked up after going through all the years of eating crap. Most women want security, and a man who will commit himself to her and any children they have. Most of thei time, that involves being home at night to help with the kids. Music is probably among the least family friendly career paths one can choose, right alongside military and long haul trucking. A career path in the performance side of music is akin to a career path in winning the lottery: the chances of success and living a stable life with either is roughly the same.

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Originally posted by BlueStrat



Yes, the world is full of such women. Usually you can see them on any episode of "Cops".


Look, the women you see with rock stars are ones they have picked up after going through all the years of eating crap. Most women want security, and a man who will commit himself to her and any children they have. Most of thei time, that involves being home at night to help with the kids. Music is probably among the least family friendly career paths one can choose, right alongside military and long haul trucking. A career path in the performance side of music is akin to a career path in winning the lottery: the chances of success and living a stable life with either is roughly the same.

 

 

I can't argue with any of what you said. It's certainly tough to find a mate of substance being in this business. I have never been looking for that lottery win. Just want to make a living from my music. No illusions.

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Well, it seems this thread sort of like went into the direction of 'managing your work, music and your relationship'.

All I can say is, that being a serious musician having a dayjob is already pretty tough. Then keeping up a relationship makes it the most difficult thing you may ever have to face in your life.

By saying this I don't mean to encourage anybody, it's rather the opposite : keep on trying and trying !!!And just don't ever, ever give up !!!!

Peace

Lars

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