Theres never been a better time to be a guitar player

Nerine

bluecat said:

Nerine, is gotten a real word?

Yes. It's the correct way to say it in the context of how I said it. 

Funkfingers

One of the reasons for the reduced number of venues for live music was a change in the entertainments licensing laws. These were biased in favour of duos and DJs. For live music acts of three or more, the annual fee became considerably more costly. 

SPECTRUM001

It’s been easier to acquire quality equipment at a decent price for a while now. My awful LP copy Satellite cost £75 in 1981 - however I recall seeing a good Squier Strat (new) for the same price just a few years ago.

No doubt you can get kitted out easily, have far more choice of gear and record decent demos at home on your Mac - yeah, it is a great time to play guitar...

But - being in a band in 2024 is so much harder than thirty years ago. Getting signed now is almost impossible, and competition in the leisure industry (internet, gaming, phones, travel, food, nightlife, social media, etc etc) renders it very hard to make any money nor gain a reputation.

When the music press and radio play actually mattered, a couple of NME or Melody Maker reviews brought in 200 new attendees at shows and possible industry interest. Being broke was somehow a manageable (low expectations ?) choice and gave a sense of drive. The young people I know right now find it very hard to go against the grain and opt out of modern lifestyle trappings (the right phone, the right clothes etc).

Instagram and TikTok may make online access/marketing global, however that's alongside fifty billion other wannabes getting in the way.

I am not sure it so good now.

Of course that doesn't excuse my generation being moaning minnies, but I was quite ok about what we lacked back in the day. I didn't know anything else, and was determined to have an un-self conscious blast - which felt quite natural and easy to do.

OilCityPickups

Those were reversed I believe 
Gov.UK:

A licence is not required to stage a performance of live music, or the playing of recorded music if:

• it takes place between 8AM and 11PM; and
• it takes place at an alcohol on-licensed premises; and
• the audience is no more than 500 people

bertie

OilCityPickups said:

But I bet you wen't playing the St Bernards Waltz, the Gay Gordons and the Valita ... with a side order of Bony M for a bunch of pensioner grannies (and not so many grandads - guess they all shuffled off the mortal coil)  - sitting in a frilly shirt playing the dots for about four hours.

£50 was fecking blood money! 

LOL

no our most cringeworthy song, then was "Aint no Pleasing you"  and "Oh Julie" (shaky)  so I think we got off lightly

tho that does sound like 2 years from Mrs berts seasoned past  -  a twice a weeks stint at the Atlantic in WSM for shearings holidays............... all strict tempo,  bingo and piss

Kittyfrisk

bertie said:

OilCityPickups said:

But I bet you wen't playing the St Bernards Waltz, the Gay Gordons and the Valita ... with a side order of Bony M for a bunch of pensioner grannies (and not so many grandads - guess they all shuffled off the mortal coil)  - sitting in a frilly shirt playing the dots for about four hours.

£50 was fecking blood money! 

LOL

no our most cringeworthy song, then was "Aint no Pleasing you"  and "Oh Julie" (shaky)  so I think we got off lightly

tho that does sound like 2 years from Mrs berts seasoned past  -  a twice a weeks stint at the Atlantic in WSM for shearings holidays............... all strict tempo,  bingo and piss

Was that in her contract or just the rider?

OilCityPickups

bertie said:

OilCityPickups said:

But I bet you wen't playing the St Bernards Waltz, the Gay Gordons and the Valita ... with a side order of Bony M for a bunch of pensioner grannies (and not so many grandads - guess they all shuffled off the mortal coil)  - sitting in a frilly shirt playing the dots for about four hours.

£50 was fecking blood money! 

LOL

no our most cringeworthy song, then was "Aint no Pleasing you"  and "Oh Julie" (shaky)  so I think we got off lightly

tho that does sound like 2 years from Mrs berts seasoned past  -  a twice a weeks stint at the Atlantic in WSM for shearings holidays............... all strict tempo,  bingo and piss

Lol ... 
I got roped in for vocals on anything that sounded remotely country ... as I can do a fairly convincing Nashville drawl ... however I nearly got us banned from one hotel when, to liven things up, I used 'alternative' lyrics to Ruby that started:

'You've painted up your tits and rolled and curled your pubic hair
Ruby are you contemplating going out somewhere?'

 

bluecat

So sorry Nerine, just did not look right to me.
Many apologies.

bluecat

Fifty quid each, fifty years ago my duo was averaging £10 a gig to share. Granted we were only support act, and not really doing it for the money, more for the experience.
Yes a lot of gear was crap in those days unless you had good money to spend. Anyone remember Martin Coletti guitars? Martin and Gibson were out of resch.

bertie

Kittyfrisk said:

 

Was that in her contract or just the rider?

part of the act  

p90fool

OilCityPickups said:

bertie said:

p90fool said:

Of course the beginner gear is better now, but the pay is also crap. 

My first year as a teenage gigging guitarist breaks down as;

£50 a night each
 

fuck me -  loading it in..................  I started getting money for gigs in about 1981,  we'd be lucky to get £50 for the band down in sunny debbun.................. tho it was small town stuff to be fair, and still being in school I wasnt really in it for the money, just the fame        (and other fringe benefits !!!)

But I bet you wen't playing the St Bernards Waltz, the Gay Gordons and the Valita ...

Neither was I, it was mainly blues/rock type stuff with a bit of prog thrown in. 
To be fair though, although I was 17 years old it wasn't a teenage band, the other members were all in their 30s, so I guess they'd done all their hacking around school halls for a tenner years before I turned up. 

I never actually gigged with other teenagers so don't really have any idea what that would've been like. 

BenSirAmos

Personally, I'm having the time of my life - and the gear is so much lighter (apart from the Telecaster)

noisepolluter

From what the live music is like in a fair few of the pubs round our way, it looks like there’s never been a better time to be a Frank Sinatra tribute with a backing track, a bad suit and a predilection for 1970’s-style ‘banter’. The blue rinse brigade seemingly cannot get enough of it. 

CaseOfAce

noisepolluter said:

From what the live music is like in a fair few of the pubs round our way, it looks like there’s never been a better time to be a Frank Sinatra tribute with a backing track, a bad suit and a predilection for 1970’s-style ‘banter’. The blue rinse brigade seemingly cannot get enough of it. 

Down here it 's female tribute acts to Adele or Stevie Nicks. 

bbill335

i'm sure it's been said already but it is absolutely halcyon days for guitar enthusiasts but i think it is harder to "be a musician" than in the past. 

Offset

thomasross20 said:

I preferred the old days tbh, now it's information and gear overload and find I play less than ever because of it.

I presume my irony gene momentarily disengaged and your tongue was firmly in your cheek when you posted 

Litterick

Nerine said:

bluecat said:

Nerine, is gotten a real word?

Yes. It's the correct way to say it in the context of how I said it. 

It is American English. 'Got' is the British English past participle of 'get'.

Greatape

p90fool said:

OilCityPickups said:

bertie said:

p90fool said:

Of course the beginner gear is better now, but the pay is also crap. 

My first year as a teenage gigging guitarist breaks down as;

£50 a night each
 

fuck me -  loading it in..................  I started getting money for gigs in about 1981,  we'd be lucky to get £50 for the band down in sunny debbun.................. tho it was small town stuff to be fair, and still being in school I wasnt really in it for the money, just the fame        (and other fringe benefits !!!)

But I bet you wen't playing the St Bernards Waltz, the Gay Gordons and the Valita ...

Neither was I, it was mainly blues/rock type stuff with a bit of prog thrown in. 
To be fair though, although I was 17 years old it wasn't a teenage band, the other members were all in their 30s, so I guess they'd done all their hacking around school halls for a tenner years before I turned up. 

I never actually gigged with other teenagers so don't really have any idea what that would've been like. 

This in itself seems to have gone away - young people doing an apprenticeship almost with older musicians. 

People in this thread have observed that there are many resources on YouTube to learn from, but that doesn't teach you ensemble playing. I'm sure the evisceration of state music education and directed ensembles therein is a big loss. 

Rocker

Good equipment is relatively inexpensive these days. Almost every guitarist has a home setup that pub gigging players of the 1970s could only dream about. But equipment is only part of the equation - determination, work ethic, communication skills and some talent are needed to move from being a guitar player to a musician. 

I can visit the local crafts shop and buy an easel, canvases, brushes and paints that are all the colors of the rainbow but those items won’t make me into the next Turner, Constable or Jack B Yeats. 

OilCityPickups

Greatape said:

p90fool said:

OilCityPickups said:

bertie said:

p90fool said:

Of course the beginner gear is better now, but the pay is also crap. 

My first year as a teenage gigging guitarist breaks down as;

£50 a night each
 

fuck me -  loading it in..................  I started getting money for gigs in about 1981,  we'd be lucky to get £50 for the band down in sunny debbun.................. tho it was small town stuff to be fair, and still being in school I wasnt really in it for the money, just the fame        (and other fringe benefits !!!)

But I bet you wen't playing the St Bernards Waltz, the Gay Gordons and the Valita ...

Neither was I, it was mainly blues/rock type stuff with a bit of prog thrown in. 
To be fair though, although I was 17 years old it wasn't a teenage band, the other members were all in their 30s, so I guess they'd done all their hacking around school halls for a tenner years before I turned up. 

I never actually gigged with other teenagers so don't really have any idea what that would've been like. 

This in itself seems to have gone away - young people doing an apprenticeship almost with older musicians. 

People in this thread have observed that there are many resources on YouTube to learn from, but that doesn't teach you ensemble playing. I'm sure the evisceration of state music education and directed ensembles therein is a big loss. 

The other issue I see is that the fall of the local music shop has left age groups of musicians more segregated than they ever were before. My old home town music shop that I worked for in the 70s, Tom Tailor Music , Was as much a meetup space for musicians of all ages as it was a shop. Tom the owner made a big thing of the musician's notice board ... and also used to suggest guitarists he'd heard in the shop to bands who needed members ... as teens we'd hang about all Saturday morning ... or afternoon to sound out who was doing what with whom. 
Join My Band  is a lot less personal!!!