One area where live music is thriving is bluegrass festivals. I think it's safe to say there are more festivals now than ever before. They're held all over the the country from spring through the fall.
You have lots of original music mixed in with old favorites and there's a ton of young and old musicians who are at the top of their game musically.
The crowds run the gamut from young hipsters to old hippies, accountants, lawyers, doctors, etc. The audiences are large and enthusiastic.
The festivals range in size from small local affairs to huge festivals like Merlefest where you literally have to be bused in. Merelefest has numerous stages, workshops for various instruments and there are opportunities to meet a lot of performers. It features bluegrass, folk, blues, jazz, country and fusions of all of the above.
Pat Marr went for the first time this past year and said he had a blast.
While it's hard to break into that scene as a performer, they do welcome original music and new acts.
For those of you that have never been to one, you may want to take time to check them out next year when they fire back up, even if bluegrass isn't your thing.
I went to read that article and here is the sentence that popped out to me.
"The bar his trio was set to play still wanted music, and Deputy needed rent money."
Maybe he could get one of those "job" things if he needs rent money and not whoore (spelling incorrect to bypass censor) himself out with an inferior product for money.
Apparently he was one of those "throw together a band" guys if his bass player is backing out the night before a show. That means to me that the bass player found a gig that paid him 10 bucks more so he had so little conscience that he stiffed the other 2 guys. I have lived that monetary dishonesty and betrayal before, and it stinks.
That throw together crap is just awful. A band is supposed to play with the same lineup every time, performing a predetermined set list that has been rehearsed until it is tight, with no long dead air spots between songs while the players figure out a song that everybody knows and what key they plan to play it in. The idea is to make people leave saying "Wow. Those guys can really sing and play." Not "Man I was SOOOOO wasted!!!!"
Once again note, I no longer play, so feel free to write this off as just me talking nonsense. I want to play concerts. In concert venues. With tickets sold in advance. And CDs and t-shirts sold in the lobby by my people. Of course that is never going to happen for me, because as I continue to say, I am not good enough. However, I will never be a musical prostitute like way too many local level players are, playing with 5 different bands because nobody will commit. The over achiever in me sets goals that are far too high to attain, which is why I don't play anymore.
And there is "Why I don't like cover bands and don't go to see them" in a nutshell.
Live music is alive and well. It has merely morphed into singles/duos from 5 piece outfits.
I would love to have a 7-piece with some horns, a killer FOH guy and a righteous sound system. Of course, I would also like to have a 42' Grand Banks trawler and a chalet in Tahoe.
I think it's simply a matter of demographics. If you're playing 60's/70's covers, adjust your demographic accordingly.
Someone born in 1964 was 16 in 1980 ( to use Bob's example). The problem is; people don't just turn 16 and begin to notice music. I believe that music affects children at a tender age. Most of the early Beatles fans were 12-13 year old girls. 12. That's someone born in 1951.
For 60's/70's covers, I think the prime demo is about 45-70. Sounds like a dull group, no? The fact is that this demographic is mostly retired, affluent, and going through their 2nd Childhood!
I know this is a rather odious way to make a living to some , but when the sound is perfect, and you're in the pocket, and people are dancing – it's all worth it.
By the way.................
Announcing the 90 dB / 2015 Dive Bar Tour & Fish Fry Coming Soon To A Dump Near You!
One area where live music is thriving is bluegrass festivals. I think it's safe to say there are more festivals now than ever before. They're held all over the the country from spring through the fall.
You have lots of original music mixed in with old favorites and there's a ton of young and old musicians who are at the top of their game musically.
The crowds run the gamut from young hipsters to old hippies, accountants, lawyers, doctors, etc. The audiences are large and enthusiastic.
The festivals range in size from small local affairs to huge festivals like Merlefest where you literally have to be bused in. Merelefest has numerous stages, workshops for various instruments and there are opportunities to meet a lot of performers. It features bluegrass, folk, blues, jazz, country and fusions of all of the above.
I agree with everything Bob says and I'll ramp it up a notch: from what I can see, bluegrass is the genre to watch for performing opportunities. It is not only alive and well, it is being actively promoted by preservation societies and other groups such as all the festivals (all over the country) that are dedicated to promoting the music. Preservation societies also provide funding for local gigs.
Talented performers? H#ll yeah! and more importantly is the fact that there are LOTS and LOTS of young bluegrass musicians in the pipeline! and they are GOOD! Their presence is significant because it virtually guarantees at least one more generation of bluegrass. (I think it won't stop there)
Ramping it up another notch, I think that bluegrass is to the current music environment what rock was to the 60s and 70s. He who has ears to hear, let him hear. When was the last time you saw a music festival dedicated to any other genre that approached the size and diversity of Merlefest? And Merlefest is just one of a hundred such festivals!
Quote:
Pat Marr went for the first time this past year and said he had a blast.
That's true. I did... And I'll be going back! I also plan to explore other festivals besides Merlefest... within easy driving distance there's a fiddler's convention in Galax Va., Floydfest in Floyd Va., a bluegrass festival in Raleigh, one in Gettysburg Pa... no matter where you live, I bet there are multiple BG festivals near you.
Quote:
While it's hard to break into that scene as a performer, they do welcome original music and new acts.
I don't think any of us will be playing at Merlefest any more than we would have been invited to play at Woodstock.. but in the same way that Woodstock stirred up interest in local Rock & Roll for decades, these bluegrass festivals are creating local performing opportunities. If I were a good bluegrass musician (and I make no claim to be) I'd have no problem playing around here. There's as much bluegrass going on here as there is anything else. And it's on the rise.
Quote:
For those of you that have never been to one, you may want to take time to check them out next year when they fire back up, even if bluegrass isn't your thing.
Two days ago I was listening to the link at the bottom of BobCFlatpickers tagline (music in the mountains) and learned of another festival near Bob. (If you haven't clicked Bob's link and listened to his music, you should... even if you don't like bluegrass, the awareness is worth an hour of your life.
Live music is alive and well. It has merely morphed into singles/duos from 5 piece outfits.
I would love to have a 7-piece with some horns, a killer FOH guy and a righteous sound system. Of course, I would also like to have a 42' Grand Banks trawler and a chalet in Tahoe.
heh... me too..
Quote:
I think it's simply a matter of demographics. If you're playing 60's/70's covers, adjust your demographic accordingly.
Someone born in 1964 was 16 in 1980 ( to use Bob's example). The problem is; people don't just turn 16 and begin to notice music. I believe that music affects children at a tender age. Most of the early Beatles fans were 12-13 year old girls. 12. That's someone born in 1951.
For 60's/70's covers, I think the prime demo is about 45-70. Sounds like a dull group, no? The fact is that this demographic is mostly retired, affluent, and going through their 2nd Childhood!
I agree 100%. And apparently a lot of people do. I recently went on Gig Salad to scope out the market saturation for various genres. When I searched for Jazz, I found a handful. When I searched for Motown I hardly found any. When I searched for Oldies bands, I got so many pages of hits I stopped before I got to the end. I was looking in a 50 mile radius of where I live. And THAT.. is part of the problem. If you own the only restaurant in town you'll make more money than if you own a restaurant on a street lined with 150 other restaurants. The market is saturated with oldies bands.... partly because of supply and demand. Lots of people still like oldies.
Getting back to Bob's observation is the age demographic. You have to seek gigs where your demographic goes. The 45-70 group has largely abandoned clubs, so if you are playing oldies and looking for club gigs, no wonder you aren't getting work.
Retired boomers go to calmer places like restaurants, parks, festivals, the beach, the mountains, rest homes, camp grounds, private parties, churches, social functions, weddings, golf courses etc. If those places don't currently offer live music, you need to put your sales hat on and go talk to them. They need to be made aware of the fact that their main demographic likes live music in the form of oldies. What's good for you is also good for them
I would love to have a 7-piece with some horns, a killer FOH guy and a righteous sound system. Of course, I would also like to have a 42' Grand Banks trawler and a chalet in Tahoe.
You mean, you don't???? Maybe you need to turn it up to 100db!!
Which 'market'? Raleigh? Chicago? Miami? LA? NYC? There is reason why there are so many oldies bands in your 50 mile radius. There is a demand for them. I'd be willing to bet that in the Triangle there are hundreds of small venues where some great music is being played.
Here in “God's Waiting Room”, where the average age is 112, you have two choices. Classic Rock or Classic Country (think Bob's Country Bunker:
Elwood Blues:
"What kind of music do you usually have?"
Waitress:
"Oh, we have both kinds. Country and Western!"
. We do both. Heck, we ad-libbed the theme from “Green Acres” last week because some guy dared us. Now, that's livin' on the edge, man.
“Retired boomers go to calmer places like restaurants, parks, festivals, the beach, the mountains, rest homes, camp grounds, private parties, churches, social functions, weddings, golf courses etc.”
Again, Pat – depends on where you are. All of our local bikers are retired boomers. They don't care for calmer places.
>>>..Changing records without missing a beat, mixing into the music several special effects... just incredible and creating a new experience. ...>>>
Actually it is stupid easy. There are a few free DJ software programs you can try to see how its done. Took me about 5 minutes to learn.
The key is the beat indicator crawling across the top of the screen. BiaB has one, in the Audio Chord Wizard window. DJ programs have two, one for each virtual turntable. Roll the second turntable, adjust the speed so that the spikes line up, then crossfade the volume.
Nothin' to it...
Flatfoot sez: Call me when 'Talent-in-a-Box' is ready to ship! -- [8{>
One area where live music is thriving is bluegrass festivals. I think it's safe to say there are more festivals now than ever before.
Not so much here in LA but if you can post some links to tunes with interesting keyboard parts, maybe I can work them up.
As far as searching out where the classic rock boomers are I've thought about that. We're only a few years away from nursing homes being filled with the children of the 60's. I can see it now, I'll have a setlist consisting of the Stones, Led Zep, the Allman Brothers, The Doors, James Brown and I'll be using tracks in the dining room keeping the whole thing under 80db. I'll be taking nice quiet Deep Purple Jon Lord organ solos. Sounds like so much fun...
I remember when every Holiday Inn on up had a band, and there were singles 'meet markets' all over the place with live music.
I traveled the country playing live music clubs, and there were always other bands just around the corner. I got to meed Rick Derringer, Peter Cetera, Terry Kath, Sonny & Cher (then Caesar and Cleo) and many others before they became famous, playing in the bar around the corner.
Most cities with more than 3 traffic lights had competing lounges with 4 to 7 piece bands and they were jam packed.
Those days are gone because people don't jam pack those bars anymore. Live music obviously isn't as important to most people as it used to be.
I hear people in the baby-boomer generation stating that there are no places to go and dance to live music anymore. I ask them how many times would they go, and the answer is usually fewer than once a month.
If live music isn't packing the clubs, live bands aren't going to be hired. The club owner wants to make a return on his/her investment.
The town I grew up in is about 10 times as populous as it was when I was gigging in lounges, and there are fewer than half as many bars with bands as there were then.
The golden age of live music in bars is gone. Will it ever come back? I don't know. Subscription TV, DWI laws, Sports Bars, DJ's, Karaoke, and a generation who grew up listening to DJs, doesn't make me seem hopeful.
Wow - I didn't expect to see so much interesting, reminiscing on this topic. Lots of you guys have great memories of a time when there was a bigger demand for live bands.
Reading on this topic as I have through the years, what stands out to me is the fact that schools have cut music programs, so far less children (and parents of those children) have been exposed to the pleasures and joys an instrument can bring. I have a nephew whose parents are not 'music' people - in that they do not seek to listen to lots of music, nor have a joy for more harmonic music, and not surprisingly, their child's values are the same.
I'll bet everyone on here has a completely opposite history - either a musician in the family, or inspired in school where you were introduced to an instrument.
I'm personally in both agreement and disagreement on a few points. While the Internet does offer 'unimagined possiblities'...I feel that technology in general has decreased and in some cases filled the need for live music. Granted - the experience of watching music live vs. on a video screen are ENTIRELY different and the video screen can't replace the human connection and excitement of live people. But it can come too damn close in terms of satisfying the audience - especially the audience that hasn't grown up with exposure to the experiences I listed above. It's a little like the 'buggy whip', IMHO. I do think - as Pat has mentioned, that as a live entertainer, if you can find a way to increase the listener's participation and experience of the live event in a way that is not emulated using video in isolation, and combining various technologies to do something new that hasn't been done before (and certainly there are many tech opportunities for this) - that you can come up with something very new - creating a new live experience for audiences that hasn't been done before.
I think unfortunately the the VOLUME demand for live music has indeed gone down to to it's easy capture, availabilty, ease of sharing/distribution, all on the internet.
I'm lucky because I went a different path in life - believing that music was ALWAYS a dog of a career because of the intense competition. More people play music than baseball, I bet - and look how hard it is to become a professional baseball player. Given the low percentage of musicians who make a steady, middle-income wage, I went the 'conservative' route of 'Electrical Engineering" major. Unfortunately - this didn't exactly work out like I expected either - since when I graduated in '88, all the largest local employers for EE's were the Defense companies, and this was a time a gradual decline for them due to decreased government funding.
I did aspire and hope to be a professional 'wedding band' musicican, but my lack of natural talent, a late start in playing (e.g. started guitar at 14 years old), not finding the 'right' teacher, prevented me from reaching the skill level needed for this while wedding bands were still somewhat common.
So now, my only really hope for spreading my musical joy is through teaching younger students and begginer/intermediate players - for which there is still a demand, especially if you have patience and enthusiasm and love to see another little person or motivated teen and up person come to enjoy what music has to offer.
Yeah, this looks easy. These things are not static recordings, these guys are controlling the whole thing using loops, beats, prerecorded tracks and synths live. And there's a few people at this show, like oh I don't know 50,000 maybe? Here's another one:
This one looks smaller, like 5,000 or so and it's just one guy but it's obvious he's a big star. Again, from a few interview vids I've seen all these different elements of music you hear are all being controlled, created if you will, live using a whole library of prerecorded stuff. The guy is mixing, muting, fading in and out, starting/stopping all kind of things.
I get bored and curious and just find things on YT. I certainly don't like it, I can't relate to it in the slightest bit but something big is going on right under our noses that we know nothing about.
Sorry Flatfoot, you're not learning this in five minutes.
Oh, beatboxing. I found the vid of that Australian kid I mentioned earlier.
Don't give up on this too soon, give it 10 minutes or so. This is much more subdued than that monster DJ show, it's just one guy but he does incredible things with his voice.
Oh, I watched a bit of the first two electronic dance music (EDM) shows -- very, very depressing. There is just something sad about that being concert material and the huge, huge egos of these EDM DJ's.
I can see it in a club for dancing, but for a full concert (or festival??), I just don't get it. Are the DJ's talented and skilled at what they do -- sure, but I still don't get it.
Now beat boxing, on the other hand, is a real "musical" talent. I don't know how that guys gets that multi-sound thing, but it is pretty dang good.
Yeah, this looks easy. These things are not static recordings, these guys are controlling the whole thing using loops, beats, prerecorded tracks and synths live. And there's a few people at this show, like oh I don't know 50,000 maybe? Here's another one:
This one looks smaller, like 5,000 or so and it's just one guy but it's obvious he's a big star. Again, from a few interview vids I've seen all these different elements of music you hear are all being controlled, created if you will, live using a whole library of prerecorded stuff. The guy is mixing, muting, fading in and out, starting/stopping all kind of things.
I get bored and curious and just find things on YT. I certainly don't like it, I can't relate to it in the slightest bit but something big is going on right under our noses that we know nothing about.
Sorry Flatfoot, you're not learning this in five minutes.
Oh, beatboxing. I found the vid of that Australian kid I mentioned earlier.
Don't give up on this too soon, give it 10 minutes or so. This is much more subdued than that monster DJ show, it's just one guy but he does incredible things with his voice.
Bob
That's the funniest darned thing I've ready in quite a while.
I have been reading this thread with interest. Music has changed so much in our lifetime. When I first bought BIAB I would NEVER have considered using loops and now they are included in 2015.
This is how music has changed in our lifetimes. I found this article where Beyonce is compared to Freddie Mercury and this picture, from the article, says it all
The Beatles, then Queen, gave me inspiration to write songs and then came the song that was an influence for me to start recording and all to be done MY WAY
John Miles: Music is my first love. 1976
We all should be grateful that we grew up with real music ranging from Big Bands, Jazz, Swing, Rock and Roll, Country,Blues etc. From Count Basie, Sinatra, Beatles, Stones, Queen,Led Zep etc and now we have "One Direction" and "Justin Bieber".
My Dad complained in the late '70's that all pubs with Jazz Bands had closed and now they had bands playing modern rubbish (my music LOL) Now I say the same. My son was a Night Club Manager and had quest DJ's every weekend mixing tracks, using their computers, because that is what the punters wanted. They got £1000 a gig WHAT!!!! for mixing stuff, very clever but they are not musicians they are now technicians.
Us musician oldies are becoming extinct. Just my thoughts
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