How did YOU Break out of the Bar scene??

[Jotown]

Hey Sean, Best of luck to ya'

[strat0124]

....or better yet, how did you break INTO the bar scene! :) :)

[Deathtoallwhoopposeme]

[quote]Originally posted by Geenard Skeenard: [b]....or better yet, how did you break INTO the bar scene! :) :) [/b][/quote]Well if you are serious I'll tell ya..I was able to sing mostly anything rock/pop related and play mostly any contemporary instrument. I had an original band from the time I was 14 and a very musical family. Dad was a pro, uncle was a pro, pretty much everyone played, so it was always around. Older cats in town got wind of my singing and I was asked to join a gigging cover band..Even though I always wrote and recorded my own tunes, and fostered dreams of moving to LA for a career etc...So I joined, went on the road for a couple years and got lot of experience playing live...Then I came home and joined the army...Wanted to do it ever since I can remember, and I'm not one to look back on things and say I wish I had done things, so i joined for 4 years...Did 2 years, got hurt, came home just before 20th Bday...Was still playing/singing/writing and progressing in the Army..My uncle was playing solo acoustic when i got back and suggested that I listen to him, learn the tunes that people want to hear and move on from there....With nothing else going at 20, I got a job valet parking and went to work..Within a couple months I was gigging..by 21 I was gigging full time, making good $$ solo and with My uncle's band on Bass...then I started my own band with my best friend/songwriting partner since High school...We did our originals plus all the cool cover stuff we has always wanted to do..Journey, styx, Kansas, Yes, Genesis, VH, Rush, etc etc etc...It was fun...I was always pushing to move, move move move move...Nothing will ever happen for use here etc etc..We had girlfriends, Lives, family and Mark would not move...Finally convinced him to move Summer of 95...we went out to the Bay area because we were getting into 3d animation, video editing, Hard Disk Recording and production, and thought it could be a cool home base for our music as well as get in on the Silicone Valley computer thing. We should have moved to LA..Actually we should have moved anywhere happening a few years before..I had always wanted to go to Alaska, and so i was to drive up there for a few months over the summer when he went out to SF to get the apartment etc ..I gave up my apartment to my mom, slept on the couch, saved up for 8 months and took off on the adventure of a lifetime July 95. well, I got up there in August and fell in love..wiht the place and a girl..QUICKLY got into a working band making nice $$ as well as started playing solo acoustic..Was having a great time....Had many adventures up there as well as touring around the Caribean, Mexico, most of the states etc since then...But made first attempt to finally move to CA in summer of 97..2 years late!!!!!! got there with 5 grand, couldn't find work to make enough to cover the extensive cost of living in the bay area, went through all my money and even working 2 jobs, went broke..Had to head back up to AK where i was established to make $$ again...did that and stayed till end of 97..Missed everyone back home and realized I was getting sidetracked, etc so I packed it in went back home to FL..got a season gig in a band fri and sat nights over the phone before i left AK so a had $250 a week to come home to...Crashed at my moms...Was working full time again within a couple months, back in college, buying nice studio gear working on 3rd release, Frist solo CD...this was beginning of 98...buit things up, played festivals, bars, parties, by Fall 98 I had taken over the weekend gig with my own band..Was recording the CD, gearing up for another attempted move to CA within a year...worked all the next year till OCT 99 then left to go back out to CA..My friend had built up a nice.com/multimedia company and had a place for me in production..BURNT OUT from the bar scene, i made the leap, moved back out to the Bay area, took the position of audio production manager which encompassed writing, engineering, performing, mixing music for web, Flash corporate presentations, trade shows, interactive training videos etc etc....Good expericne and I really got to know Pro Tools well, but by the next summer I was over it...I didn't find the scene for my original music in the bay area that i had hope either. I wanted to get back to my focus which was my performing and recording my material...This is where i made the CRUCIAL MISTAKE........Instead of moving directly to a place with a vibrant singer songwriter scene like Nashville, I moved back to FL..thinking i could gig right away and make some $$, work on my CD and get things going...Well I did do that and have gotten some nice things going with my own art, but at the price of having to become the Human jukebox that i didn't want to be again....thus making the road to my true path longer then it should be...So, I'm still here 2 years later trying to get it together enough to get out of here up to Nashville where i should have went in 2000....Sidetracked myself then got caught in having to keep making a living playing....So, that's how i broke into the bar scene...reluctantly kind of just falling into it...but, It's never been an effort for me at all..I was blessed or depending on how you look at it, cursed to naturally be able to sing and play a wide variety of styles well enough that people always wanted to pay me..then being the independant that i am I became a band leader myself at 21 and was effective in being able to get myself work...I just kicked complete ass, went in there and got the gigs..Plain and simple..So, that's how I broke into the bar scene, and you've heard how i'm going to break out...I'm telling you though, it's rough trying to get out there wtih the focus on your own art..I was invited to showcase at the Nashville New Music conference this month, and I had to miss a 200 dollar gig, incur the expense of driving up there myself, put myself up, pay for everything, play for free, and drive all the way home!!!! DAMN..Its Actually COST me $500 to play!!!!! but the contacts I have already made, made it worth it..but it's such a huge change from what i'm used to....This is why I say, if you are serious about your music and you are develped enough to have a shot at doing something, don't make the mistake of getting side tracked in the Bar scene....Because that's all it will do...Sidetrack you, burn you out, and stub your creativity...If you play for fun then it can be a way to get your musical rocks off, jam bit with friends...Plus you are not out in the bars getting fucked up, you are playing instead...If music is your life like me, then it's not such a good idea and if you do what i did you will reallize that eventually.

[Alndln]

[quote]Originally posted by sventvkg: [b]no one really explained about how they broke out of HAVING to play Human jukebox........it's when Being a Human jukebox 4-5 times a week every week is REQUIRED for you to make a living...[/b][/quote]I guess you didn't quite understand the part of sacrafice and paying a price.In my case I was quite willing to starve(and did)and do whatever it took to get to where I wanted to be,which is what I did.These day's there are more avenues but the dedication and sacrafice thing still holds.If you can't give up the security blanket(clubs) and tough it out then don't complain.

[strat0124]

Sean...I was kidding! :)

[Deathtoallwhoopposeme]

[quote]Originally posted by Geenard Skeenard: [b]Sean...I was kidding! :) [/b][/quote]Oh shit...I just made a fool of myself telling my life story.....well, Fuck it.. :eek: :eek: :eek: :freak:

[Lee Flier]

Sean, I also started out at a young age... was playing professionally by age 15 and made a living at gigging for several years. And like you, realized that I was never going to be as creative as I wanted to be, if I stayed in that situation. Gigging 5 nights a week and having to play a lot of stuff you aren't necessarily into, and not having a stable home, WILL burn you out and not leave much room for anything really creative. So, I interned as an engineer thinking that would be a steadier job, better paying, I wouldn't have to go on the road, and it would be a skill I could use for my own stuff. I was right about all that, but if I thought gigging 5 nights a week for 4 sets a night was burnout, trying engineering a hair metal band for 14 hours a day. :D Once again, it just wasn't leaving me with enough creative energy to do my own thing. So I got into the computer field, and that way I didn't have to equate music with money and could do what I wanted. My band now, we're focused mainly on writing and recording and playing showcase gigs, but it's cool because we also know a lot of covers, and can play the occasional bar gig for extra money. But we play covers that we actually like, we aren't being a "human jukebox." Between occasional bar gigs, occasional freelance engineering, and contract programming, I'm eking out a living while still having plenty of time for the creative part, and not getting too burned out on any one thing. I own a modest house and a home studio, so we have a good creative environment to work in and the living expenses and band expenses are both pretty minimal. I feel like this whole situation is a lot more sustainable than any previous situation I've been in, and gives me the best chance for furthering my creative goals. Have no idea if that answers your question but... I know how you feel, I came to the same conclusion quite a while back!

[Deathtoallwhoopposeme]

Lee, you know what i'm talking about..Very cool..we share the same opinions about it...I've also been an engineer for the last 10 years but only in my own modest studios and a year in the Big PT studio in California and I can see the burnout factor there as well..Sounds like you are doing it right for you, and that is very hip. Carving out my goals for myself will only take what it always takes..Money and time...I have a decent 5 year plan now so i'm finally happy about it. :)

[AlanThomas]

You can break out of the bar scene? :idea: Hmph. Son of bitch... ;)