| Author |
Topic: Baby Boomers Coming Rocking Out of the Woodwork |
Alan Brookes
From:
Brummy living in Southern California
|
Posted 8 Oct 2006 5:37 pm |
|
It's my belief that there are thousands of Baby Boomer musicians out there who always wanted to be entertainers but never gave up their day jobs.
Now they're all coming up for retirement. I can envision an upsurge of gereatric rock and rollers who for the first time in their lives don't have to work 40 hrs. a week, and can devote more time to music.
|
|
|
|
Jim Sliff
From:
Lawndale California, USA
|
Posted 8 Oct 2006 6:43 pm
|
|
Old news. It's been going on for 5 years-plus on the guitar forums. the correct term is "Geezers". 90% are blues/rock guitar players who had bands in high school, or had friends with bands in high school, or wish they were cool enough to hang out with bands in high school...and they make up a rather large part of the vintage/boutique instrument market.
It drives those of us who've been actually playing in front of humans all those years a little nuts. They buy a Telecaster book and are instantly experts....and they drive up the cost of EVEYTHING. Any vintage piece that has a minimal "cool" factor gets the decimal point moved by geezers bidding things up....that's why things like effects pedals from Way Huge and Lovetone among others have seen prices go through the roof.
Interestingly, I found out when I came to this forum that the crowd was mostly older or around the same age as me, not younger. Steel just doesn't have the mass appeal of 6-string guitar, and there aren't kids playing steels at blistering volume in Guitar Center all day. However, the older crowd is also firmly established, and often set in their ways, so it's almost a reverse of the guitar forums -there, the older guys started showing up and turning things upside down - here it's the "younger" (but not by much) guys flipping things over.
Anyway, it really does affect the market. Fender execs have targeted many of the "signature" and custom shop models directly at the boomer set - who have the money to buy them, as opposed to the kids who scrape together enough dough for a prized made-in-Mexico Strat and a Princeton 650. |
|
|
|
Dave Ristrim
From:
Whites Creek, TN
|
Posted 9 Oct 2006 4:26 am
|
|
| You are SO right Jim. Have you seen the list prices on Gibson guitars going up over the last few years? Wow! |
|
|
|
Randy Reeves
From:
LaCrosse, Wisconsin, USA
|
Posted 9 Oct 2006 4:56 am
|
|
Alan. are you a mind reader?
that is exactly my plan.
Im 55 yrs old. |
|
|
|
Paul Wade
From:
mundelein,ill
|
Posted 9 Oct 2006 5:21 am
|
|
guess what iam doing tha at 59. playing in a country band playing what i like to play my
p.s.g life is good.....
p w  |
|
|
|
Mike Perlowin
From:
Los Angeles CA
|
Posted 9 Oct 2006 7:07 am
|
|
Gibson is pricing itself out of the market. The days when Gibson and Fender were the only good guitars available ae over. You can now get guitars every bit as good at a fraction of the price. The only thing these new Asian imports don't have is the name on the headstock.
------------------
Warning: I have a Telecaster and I'm not afraid to use it.
-----------
My web site
|
|
|
|
Terry Edwards
From:
Florida... livin' on spongecake...
|
Posted 9 Oct 2006 8:21 am
|
|
Yeah, but I wonder what is going to happen to the economics in our local community music businesses.
Supply and Demand.
Lots of muscians and bands might work for lower pay or maybe even free!
Hope I'm wrong.
Terry
|
|
|
|
Gene Jones
From:
Oklahoma City, OK USA, (deceased)
|
Posted 9 Oct 2006 8:28 am
|
|
Well, at least the threshold for antiquity is moving up a few years. I remember very well when reaching age 30 would just about end your career in music.
On my 30th birthday I was really down because I thought my music days were over, so I stopped on the way work to buy a pain killer to take with me to the club.
When the liquor store clerk "carded me" before selling me a bottle, it really made my day. If I had not already had a wife, I would have proposed to her for her sensitivity.
.....and many, many years later, when I celebrated my 70th birthday on-stage with a country music show, I realized how meaningless the age thing really is. Those who fail to hire, and those who fail to perform, because of an arbitrary age, are all losers of all of that available experience.
If there is a point to this it is to "keep on keeping on" until there is a physical reason to stop.
------------------
www.genejones.com
|
|
|
|
b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
|
Posted 9 Oct 2006 8:47 am
|
|
This doesn't seem to be a steel guitar topic, so I've moved it to the "Music" section of the Forum.
------------------
 Bobby Lee
-b0b- quasar@b0b.com
System Administrator
My Blog
|
|
|
|
