The Steel Guitar Forum

I've been thinking more and more about giving up the live scene. I'm at the point where I actually dread the weekend gigs. It's not the band or the playing... I love that. It is the getting home at 3-4am and feeling terrible the next day. It is almost like a hangover ceptin... I don't drink. I'm not sure that I can do this much longer.

I'm sure that other folks been there too...

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God Bless,
Steve Stallings

www.thenightshiftband.net

Yeah...it lasted about a month.

Steve, I know what you mean... I hate 9-1 gigs, especially on Sat. night. In fact, I don't care for dance gigs at all. The best gigs I've played have been with a band that was basically a concert or "show" group. We did outdoor festivals in the Spring, Summer and Fall. The pay was decent (better than dance halls) and I usually got home by suppertime. If you can find a gig like that, take it!

Rick McDuffie
Marlen SD-10, Paul Reed Smith McCarty, Hofner New President, Fernandes LE2G
Rick's Music Photo Gallery
www.tarheelmusic.com



<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Rick McDuffie on 13 August 2003 at 08:36 AM.]</p></FONT><FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Rick McDuffie on 13 August 2003 at 08:37 AM.]</p></FONT>

I got tired of not having any time with my family...plus at that time I drank a whole bunch along with not gettig any sleep and that was enough reason's to quit for me.

Bob

Steve,
I'm leaving my group Sat/nite for similar reasons. I'm also trying to change some equipment around and thats about the only time I can do this as he had us working every weekend.
J.C.

Steve,

If you just like to play out and find it to be a "hoot", you might well get tired of the late nights and hung over feeling the next morning. At which point you can decide which is the lesser of the two "evils": not playing out or coming home late and tired.

However, if you are compelled to perform, you might get weary of the long hours and late nights, but once you leave it , you'll miss it terribly. Like Bill Terry, I did it once. I got "burned out" and quit gigging...for about a month. Then I ran outta the house and posted "musician for hire" notices every where I could think of and ran adds for the same in the local music newspaper. I ended up being busier than ever with pick-up gigs. BTW: One of those pick-up gigs was with the Kevin Fowler Band. As result I've been a permanent band member since then (1998).

You have to be honest with yourself about your motives for playing gigs. That will help you decide if you should quit and if you do, could you be happy with your choice.

Best wishes for the right choice. In any case...

Keep on pickin'!
Glenn www.kevinfowler.com <FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Glenn Suchan on 13 August 2003 at 11:06 AM.]</p></FONT>

I play full time with one night off. I still go play on my night but it is worth it.
My job I play a set show every night the same. I go to a little road house called crickets in hurricane deck MO. They don't dance much they mainly sit, listen, and most of all applaud. it's a giger's dream. PLUS the gig is from 6pm to 10pm. I live an hour away and still make it home by midnight.
I know what you mean about the bar gigs just to much hassle and I agree getting home at 3 a 4am makes sunday a short miserable day. just my thoughts


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Steelin' away in the ozarks and life,
Scott
www.scottyhenderson.com

I'm having the same thoughts. I have a hard time driving 1-2 hrs home after a gig. I've got a wife and a 9 yr old son who are more important to me than falling asleep at the wheel and killing myself or someone else. I don't like playin dance clubs or the drunks you have to contend with. Unfortunately thats the only venue's I seem to have. I just turned 52 and have been playing clubs and dances since I was a teen. The problem quiting tho is feedin that monster inside you that has to perform. I can enjoy listening to music more if I have someone around that can appreciate a great lick. I wish I knew the answer. All I do know is if you aren't sharing the music in you , you will probably be miserable.

gl, cf

Charles French- That last sentence of yours is a very Profound Statement, and I believe true. .....al

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My Website..... www.cmedic.net/~almarcus/

Thanks for all the replies... Some of it is especially thought provoking. I've been gigging since my teen years and am now 51. I've played so many jobs that I couldn't begin to remember them all. (Of course, I remember all my years with Jeff Coffell..but only cuz he's so purdy )
I love playing and I love performing, or at least I used to. I just get so darned tired of the two-three hour drives one way! I live in the middle of nowhere and my band rarely plays in this area. We don't play bars so that is not an issue. I also play in my church praise band which can be a killer when I get home at 4am!

I don't know... I know that I would miss it terribly. Right now, we have cut way back and are only doing two weekends a month. Maybe that will help.
...I sure wish I could find that old "me" that played two hours a day every day. Now, I play gigs and church. Well.. actually, at the moment, I can't play at all because of a hand injury. burned out? reckon so...

ok... I'll stop whining now


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God Bless,
Steve Stallings

www.thenightshiftband.net

I think the happier your domestic situation is, the harder it is to justify being on the road at 3 a.m. on Sunday. Mine's pretty happy! When it gets past 9 p.m., I wanna head for the barn.

Of course- like most young pro musicians- I went a couple of years in the mid-70's when I was a "creature of the night". Sometimes I missed daylight altogether... played till 2 a.m., went to bed about 6 a.m., got up just as the sun was going down. It seemed like a lot of fun for for the first few months- then I realized how much I was missing.

Steve, I play an Opry show Sat. nights and I play with a Country/Southern Gospel group on Sunday nights and we book different Churches in the area which is a very enjoyable thing.
Have you thought of getting with a Gospel group and playing concerts at Churches?
It is very rewarding but not financially.
Jerry

Steve,
I can relate with how you feel the next day after a late night gig (I'm 57). Just don't rebound as quickly as I did in my earlier years - been playing around So Tx since 1968. I, too, quit - for a couple of years. But, came back to playing and love it more than ever and am playing more than ever. However, what feeds my monkey is the live playing - in Tx dancehalls. Fairs, opry-style shows, recording studios just don't fill the bill for me, so to speak. Has to be that "dim lights, thick smoke and loud, loud music". Ain't it great!!
Hope you find a way to compromise and still enjoy playing....
Gary

Gary you can't be 57.......

Hi Steve. I have been picking steel in bars, concerts, special events, studio, TV and church since my teens. I have found it necessary to take time off a few times. I am much older than the guys on the previous posts and I still enjoy playing. I,m in a 4 piece traditional country group and we play to an older crowd. Sometimes I work with a bunch of youngsters in a Christian Praise Band which is extremely rewarding. Take a little time off, and evaluate things, and hopefully you will find a venue that will fit your needs for playing. Best regards, Jody.

Don,
You're not too far behind me...

Sent you an email several day back, did you get it? If not, drop me one (current address in my profile) so I can grab your correct address.

Still picking some with Frenchie?
Gary

Steve,

I can relate. Smoky the Bar really kills me the next day, and I typically don't drink at gigs. Thus, I gig a couple times a month. Summertime I look forward to the festivals and outdoor gigs. Wintertime I look forward to catching up on TV (ick).
You are wise to listen to your body, if it's complaining then a change is in order.

cheers,
Drew

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www.newslinkassociates.com
www.drewhoward.com

There's a lot to what you're saying.

I quit drinking 23 years ago. Not even a beer.

I've noticed the "hangover effect".

I'm not kidding here either.

When I've played with a blues or rock oriented band the night before, regardless of the smoke, or others' intoxication I wake up feeling like total $hit.

I'd suggest a more "traditional" venue, with more settled players.

I'd suggest that over diving into a "church gig" unless of course you are already involved or feel the need to be involved with one. Sometimes from MY experience the ego/adrenaline problems can be found there too, along with the lack of serious applause unless is OK in the "worship format".

What it might be is adrenaline.

It is a powerful stimulant, and a very addictive one. One that you "crash" from the use or especially the "abuse" of. It causes your body not to heal as well, and depletes your B vitamins much like the "speed" drugs.

Look it up.

I noticed the "hangover effect" years ago after I played with a couple "rock bands", and I gotta say that there IS a marked difference between that and even bluegrass or "hot" country.

<SMALL> Sometimes I run out of Adrenaline, but I've still got plenty of Gall. -Eric West-</SMALL>

I can quit anytime I want..



EJL

<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Eric West on 14 August 2003 at 10:05 PM.]</p></FONT>

I quit drinking long ago because I thought it was responsible for that next day "hangover" feeling.....but I still had it.

Next I quit smoking because I thought that was responsible for it...but I still had it!

Finally after many years of living with it I quit playing in clubs....THAT DID IT, no more next day handovers.

My non-scientific conclusion was that breathing the air in the club environment, combined with sleep deprivation, was the culprit!

Boy, STEVE, you really started a worthwhile thread that strikes a familiar chord with most all of us musical veterans! I think GENE has identified the problem; question is,what do we do about it? I have tried quitting for a while to get back on track,but always miss the emotional gratification I get from performing. Maybe we should just face the fact that musicians, especially steel players, just aren't "normal".
~~W.C.~~

I have no plans of quiting the thing that I need to keep me going.I'll be 65 in Oct.and doing the Am. Leg.,Moose etc. 2 or 3 nights a week with a 4 piece I've been with for 9 years.I have a good woman so i've cut out the fringe benifits. all the above keeps me in tune. BOB

Gene.

Maybe it was that dreaded Neon Light Radiation.

I find that it makes me look younger, but in daylight I start melting.....



EJL

Eric, It may have been the "black Lights and the Nehru Jackets with the white turtle-necks" that did it.....they made us stop wearing them because we looked like a band of Priests doing an exorcism and it made the audience uncomfortable!

.....those were the REAL hangover days!
www.genejones.com

I can really relate to this topic. The last 10 years have been pretty steady work for me, but then I hit a wall about nine months ago. I just got sick of the whole thing. I started turning down everything. I got weary of driving to gigs, and here in LA, it can be brutal. I just now turned down a gig for tomorrow because it was too far to drive. This month I was offered a bunch of gigs with Freddie Fender, some in Arizona and in Nevada, but I turned it down cause it was too much of a hassle. Maybe I'm getting lazy or just burned out. I don't know. I like to play, but I do get tired of playing the same songs over and over. I'd like some kind of new experience with the steel. I guess that's why I spend so much of my time simply recording stuff that I write. I'm not sure about retirement though. I like to think something will come around and get me interested, but I sure can't see it from here.

Steve,
Being a musician is like having a brother. Sometimes you don't get along... you might fight, and not even see each other for a while.

But, you'll never completely get away from each other.... 'cause he's your brother.

All the best,
-John