When did you hang up the dream?

[JACKSONFREAK]

When i first picked up the guitar when i was 16 i wanted to be a rock star. Just like every other 16 year old who played guitar, bass ,drums, or whatever. But life got in my way.School, work, chores around the house. and of course hangin out with friends. A coupld of my friends played too and were in a band together. but i was jsut learning and they had both been playing since they were really young. I did get into a band briefly in 82-83 but as we were getting label interest our lead guitar player left. to join another band. I couldnt do what he did on the guitar so we took a break to figure things out. And we never did get back together. All have gone about thier lives else where. So i guess it was then that i realized it wasnt gonna happen for me. altho i did try to get into other bands. Posted ads on harmony central, called musicians wanted ads and still never got into another band. Either due to personality conflict or it just wasnt what i was looking for or vise versa.. Now im 44 and still a hack at guitar. Altho its fun for me and a good way to unwind. My dream has become less important now that i have to take care of my elderly ill healthed mom. Altho i may never make it big i may still get into a band again some day. When my time is my own again. I just do it for me now and im ok with that.
Gil

[Cleveland Metal]

Gil, what you're doing now is exponentially more important than anything. Wishing you much strength man...

[RobRR]

Im 27 and were working out ass off for it... Ill give up the dream the day my eyes close for ever. Until then, its game on!

[clifffclaven]

I hung up "the dream" when i turned 35. all the things that broken_fusion said above, ive done, except ive always been fortunate enough to have excellent players in my band, but that doesnt matter. At 35, its over. Actually, at 29... Especially with the current state of "music", unless you play country.

[MetalMedal II]

The most I ever did was play with a few friends at home/school. I love guitar and playing, but even in high school it always took a back seat to other stuff, like school/sports. I would like to think I had the talent to play out in a band and be successful in it, but I honestly wasn’t 100% sure about it and in the end kinda chickened out. Maybe it was knowing too much about the uncertainty of making it in music biz. I watched the Decline of the Western Civilization Part 2 movie many times over in my youth and seeing how hard it was for these bands to be noticed maybe got the best of me..though the ease of getting laid should have compensated for it! It wasn’t just me though. Getting this past my parents would have been a big obstacle, maybe not impossible though.

You guys really put it in perspective. Those of you that play out, you get my highest admiration for putting yourself out there. I’m at the other side of the spectrum thinking of “what if” and vicariously living my would-be music career through friends, board members, and bands I listen to.

Anyways, to answer the question, I never ran with it so I have nothing to hang up, and with turning 36 this year, I ain’t starting now, at least not a serious venture. At some point I’d like to be able to find the right people and be able to play out every once in a while, even just covers would be cool. Hell, I’d settle for playing with my friends again, as it’s been some years(!) since I did that. I guess getting married and having a kid hasn’t helped my musical career either! lol

[OnlineStageGear]

It's not I have given up the dream, but in my late 20's early 30 I got my priorities straight. Before then it was band above all else. Work some overtime Matt?? Nope, gotta go to band practice. Get a better job that might interfere with band? Nope, out of the question. Go out and have some fun Matt? Nope, gotta practice......

Now it's just a hoby, and like all hobies, they are down a ways on my priority list. I am 38 and play in a mostly cover band. I really don't see me doing that past 40.

The internet has changed some things though. If you have "The Song" you don't have to sell all your shit and move to LA. Just put it on YouTube or MySpace.

Matt

[JACKSONFREAK]

Thanks Cleve much appreciated.

[AlexL]

I'm 39 and I'm trying to put together a band now. My vision of the so-called "making it" is just playing out live no matter the size of the venue, just having friends come and enjoy the music that I make. I'm perfectly happy with my life as it is now...husband, father, friend to many.

Bingo. Exactly where I am right now. Except I'm 40.


- E.

[Cleveland Metal]

Thanks Cleve much appreciated.

Hey man, much respected... I'm headed that way and I do understand. Hard sacrifice, but, it's the right thing, and the mark of a good man. I'm sorry, and I know it's a tremendously hard thing we'll all face in some form.

Yer in my thoughts bro...

[cookiemonster]

after my first couple of bands and discovering nearly all other musicians have massive ego's and very little ability (they can wank off the instument of choice ..but put them in a band situation and they can't seem to function as a normal human being).
then my first son was born and that put the last nail in the lid of that career coffin.

[cookiemonster]

after my first couple of bands and discovering nearly all other musicians have massive ego's and very little ability (they can wank off the instument of choice ..but put them in a band situation and they can't seem to function as a normal human being).
then my first son was born and that put the last nail in the lid of that career coffin.

oops!! double post.......

[Newc]

I'm 40 and far from giving up, though I never did believe that the "best" or only way to "make it" was to hop on a bus for a specific city (Seattle, LA, NY, Nashville, etc) or pile 4 friends and their gear into a van and kill yourself for $50 a night.

Every other profession has advanced except musician. We're still expected to be Wandering Minstrels who gladly take any opportunity to play, even if all we get is fed and laid.

Way back when, you had to be a blacksmith's apprentice before you could become a blacksmith. There was no such thing as "watch and learn" or "I learned it myself". You had to have some sort of "background check" by which people could verify your ability. That was true for most professions (Doctor, Lawyer, Banker, etc etc).
As well, you could actually start at the bottom and work your way up - be it as a blacksmith or other apprentice (bank teller, doctor's assistant, etc). Lee Iacocca started at GM sweeping the floor of the lobby. He worked his way up to CEO, not by being an MBA from Harvard, but by hard work.
When that stopped, and you were held in place because of documentation requirements and an "old boy" clique, there were new ways to achieve what you wanted.

As Matt said, today you don't have to "get in line" in LA to make it. Write something and put it on YouTube or MySpace. Record labels like we grew up with are dying. To preserve themeselves, they're chasing American Idol "quick-in-quick-out" acts that take minimal effort and expense to manufacture but yield high returns. Even if it lasts for only a year, they've made more than they've put out and left the "artist" out in the cold. All they end up with is a dwindling fanbase and bloody underwear from the record label screwjob they got.

I know how good I am, and I know how good I am not. My perspective isn't skewed by ego or vanity. I know I'm good enough to "make it", whatever defines "making it" in this age. I could be an Internet Sensation but not have the appeal to get a label deal or even independent/small label much less a tour and a band behind me.

Or I could be one of the millions of people who put their stuff online for the rest of their lives and never be heard outside a small circle of people.

It's the same chances as heading out to LA and "standing in line".
But, I get to keep my well-paying job, a roof over my head, and a dry place to sleep.

[Endrik]

I gave up thinking of becoming a rockstar a few years ago when the industry crashed. There's no way for a new rock band to perform constantly for 70,000 head crowds, buy Ferraris and big mansions, trash every hotel and fuck every supermodel. "Making it" these days means playing in decent clubs and earning enough to cover your expenses and a little bit more. That's hardly my dream. The only way to live like a rockstar... somewhat... is to join a band which is already really famous and has been active for a long time. It's really hard to get those gigs and if you do then it's not your band and the full potential of your creativity might never be used.
I will never give up playing music, but I don't rush, I take my time to find the musicians and projects which I really like.
If I had the change to live the dream, I would take it 100% and leave everything else behind, I don't care.
Decades ago I would have done everything to take the risk and try to make it, these days it's not worth the hassle. I just don't care about touring in clubs. I want to be in front of 200,000 people, on a huge stage with 36 Marshall stacks on 11 and rock out.

[nhspike]

I made my living playing and teaching guitar for 3 years.
That was long enough.
It almost killed all the joy of it for me.
Now, I really just dig jamming with friends.

At some point, you don't get any better, you just get more famous.

That was the conclusion I came to, and what motivated me to move on from "the dream".

Wakey wakey, eggs 'n bakey!

[broken_fusion]

unless you play country.

I'm not opposed to that.Actually really enjoy some of the current country music. It's a lot more 'fun' and less 'I can outshred you'.