when you were 25...

[kiddo]

hey guys,

 

being new in this (stevie wonderful!) forum, i tend to imagine most of you married with kids, with a career and lots of boards at home, or rather, in your own private studios. *drool*

 

i'm 25 now, not married, and just about to get my very 1st board. don't ask why but i'm really curious about...

 

what were you doing at the age of 25? what kind of music were you playing, and how many/which boards did you use at that time?

 

kiddo

[RABid]

At 25 I had saved $10,000, quit my good paying job, and started playing full time. I used the money I saved to finish off my keyboard rig and move to a city.

 

Equipment:

Rhodes Chroma

Memory Moog

Sequential SixTrax.

Moog Source

Sequential DrumTrax

Electrovoice 18" 3 way keyboard cabnet

Crown 200w amp.

Ashley keyboard mixer

Digital Delay (don't remember the brand)

 

Robert

[steadyb]

Playing originals in clubs in L.A. (trying to get a record deal) with a Prophet-600 and a DX-7 and going to the Grove School of Music (when it was located in Studio City).

Wishing I had more gear, and trying to wring every possible sound out of the synths I did have.

 

...and chicks...lots of chicks. (I also ran a small farm )

...and babes...lots of babes. (I also ran a small nursery )

...and honeys...lots of honeys. (I also ran a small bee colony )

...and hotties...lots of hotties. (I also ran a small Mexican resturaunt )

 

sorry, what was the question???

[Imbecilia]

Originally posted by kiddo:

hey guys,

 

being new in this (stevie wonderful!) forum, i tend to imagine most of you married with kids, with a career and lots of boards at home, or rather, in your own private studios. *drool*

 

i'm 25 now, not married, and just about to get my very 1st board. don't ask why but i'm really curious about...

 

what were you doing at the age of 25? what kind of music were you playing, and how many/which boards did you use at that time?

 

kiddo

I AM 25!!!

[Pim]

I had a Sequential Circuits Pro One and a Roland JX3P and played in a typical 80's U2 kind of band.

We were pretty famous in our part of town We were more ambitious than talented...

[coyote]

I was playing drums for two local clubdate orchestras, working three or four gigs per weekend. I was also playing drums in an original act, and playing lead guitar in another original band.

 

Now (fifteen years later) I occasionally jam w/ friends, and gig from time to time. Hmmmm.... What happened???

[Jazzman]

You don't want to know.......that was 26 years ago, let me put it this way.......I would have to go to the library to look up that year to remember.HA!HA!

 

Jazzman

[nhcomp45aol.com]

22 years ago I was playing bass for a full time working band 4 or 5 days a weekin NYC area. At the same time I was playind drums in a Rush, Who tribute band. As soon as we got working I quit the bass gig. I was still drag racing every Sunday which ment no sleep Saturday nights. Long Island clubs closed at 4:30 am. Trying to find time for my girlfriend was a tough one. Boy I miss those days.

[BassGuy]

Around age 25, I blew my $1000 worth of life savings on a Fatar controller and Proteus/FX module. I was randomly drifting and frustrated in just about every area of life except having lots of cool sounds to use!

[Jonah]

That was just two years ago. I was one year into graduate school (Ph.D Chemical Engineering) and was doing nothing else but study--had little friends outside the department. Having played piano my whole life, I had purchased an 88 key Korg N1 because I was bored as hell and had no instrument to play at home. The thing wasn't getting much use at all so I decided to join a band. We played Rush / Floyd / Yes / ELP Covers and wrote original music that was decent. Everything got short circuited by rampant drug use by the singer and drummer. The experience still changed my life. Thesis work took a lot longer.

 

I am getting my Ph.D this summer but still help local cover bands with weddings from time to time. Thinking about taking jazz lessons again . . .

 

Sorry for the long post

[R_dup1]

I had just finished law school and was playing with some other musicians I had met there just jamming for fun. Equipment was a Korg M1, Yamaha CP70B Electric Grand piano, Roland D-50, Ensoniq ESQ-1 and an Ensoniq Mirage Sampler. I still remember how blown away I was by the D-50 and the M1.

[Intheether]

Let's see that was only three years ago...

I bought my g4and MOTU system. I am still paying for the computer, but finally payed off the rest. I used to go to a lot of clubs back then...now just shows here and there. Kiddo, you'll find a pretty great range in ages here, but yes, I'd say the majority on the boards are 30-50 male musicians. And with the exception of maybe less than a handfull, everyone who posts frequently are very knowledgable and experienced - that's why us youngsters stick around! ~nel

[Dave Bryce]

25? Lessee...

 

I was working in a music store in Boston and playing in an originals band and a cover band.

 

In the cover band, I was using a DX7 and a JX8P. In the originals band, I used to have this rig that I referred to as Battlestar Bryce, consisting of my MiniMoog, a Jupiter-6 and a DX7 on my right, a CP-70 and OB-8 on my left, and and a Sequential Drumtrax sitting on a rack housing my mixer, amp and effects processors. Very '80s...

 

dB

[K.C.]

I graduated from University Technology of Malaysia 2 years ago with a degree of Aeronautical Engineering ( AE .. pity that it is not Audio Engineering). Now 25 years old working on projects from Singapore and Malaysia ( arrangements and mobile phones ringing tones) but staying in US. This year I got my 1st pro studio monitor, 1st analog mixer, 1st E-mu sound module, 1st sampler, 1st SCSI CD-ROM drive, 1st SCSI HDD, 1st E-mu keyboard (PK-6).

 

I think if I grow up in US, I would have owned all of these while in teenage ..

 

pity that I never heard of E-MU 's name before I came to US. The only keyboards instrument I found in Malaysia is ... Yamaha (only organ and clavi, not even S-80), Technics .. what a pity! .. and of course Casio...

[Rod S]

Not too long ago.. only 5 years ago.

 

Alesis QS6+Kawai K1+Yamaha Piano module. Nothing too exciting. I was engaged to be married (I'm divorced now). Not really playing that much, actually. I had kind of 'dead period' between 92 and 99 as far as playing goes. If I could turn back time

 

Now I got rid of the wife and have more gear, and more time to spend with it. Yeah!

[Magpel]

I was almost finished with my Masters (in English Lit and Composition Theory--written composition, that is). My guitar chops were rusty from disuse, but I was probably just getting into 4-tracking and serious songwriting. I was also 2 or 3 years removed from founding the audio theater troupe that survives to this day. Still a couple years away from buying my first keyboard (Roland U20) and from starting to play out seriously. In truth my wonderful wild years transpired on the stage of my early 30s. 20s were a bit of a bore, trying to act older than I was because I was teaching college English and needed some authority. By my 30s, I was trying to act younger than I really was, and that led to a very good time.

[marino]

Uh, good thread...

I'm 42. Married twice, I'm living alone today, and I got more girlfriends than ever in my life...

At 25, I used to lead a kind of schizophrenic life: I earned my living by playing acoustic piano (in theatre shows, mainly) and by writing music for the stage; but I used to spend all my earnings buying synthesizers... I had left conservatory at 19, and I was studying composition eagerly.

My rig at the time was a Rhodes Chroma, a Korg Trident, a Roland sampler, Rhodes and Wurlitzer electric pianos, and later Yamaha TG77. I did play gigs with these instruments, just not all the time. I was in a couple of jazz/fusion bands...

Anyway, having bought the Chroma was one of the reasons I started working as a session man. (You know, it's not "he's good", it's "he has a..." Very sad)

Also, in those years I did my first jazz recordings - a whole LP of my own stuff, in trio and quartet, playing piano. A great period - thanks for the chance to recall it.

 

Carlo

[FrankieP]

6 years ago... was mucking around with an DX7 and an Akai S950.

[soapbox]

I was 25 in 1984. It was one of the best years in my life. I was in what our agent claimed was the top bar band in the Southwestern U.S. We had long lines of clubgoers waiting to see us outside of almost every bar we played in. We were managed by a guy who also had another band with a Top 20 hit. At that time, it looked very much like we would follow in their footsteps. When the future looks bright that way, the present feels great too.

 

I had minimal gear onstage because our manager didn't want me to be covered up by keyboards. As a result, I had an Oberheim OB8 and a Yamaha DX-7, IMHO two of the best keyboards available at that time.

 

We were on the road a lot during that time, and I was the main writer for the band. I often brought a Yamaha drum machine and a Fostex four-track cassette recorder into the clubs with me during the day, and I would use them along with my keyboards to track my ideas. I also had a cheap Casio keyboard and a normal cassette recorder I kept at the motels and band houses we stayed at in case inspiration struck while I was away from the club.

 

In 1985, our manager's Top 20 band broke up and he lost his clout while we were still developing our "sound." Instead of coming clean that he couldn't do much for us anymore, he stalled us. Our band eventually burned out from all of the time on the road, and we broke up in 1986 without ever getting a tape to a major label. That chapter in my life may have ended poorly, but it began with much promise. When I was 25, things were great.

 

(FWIW, I don't want to leave this on a down note. I've had enough success behind the scenes since then that my life has turned out well.)

[Superbobus]

That's almost six years ago and already not that easy to remember, ehhh...

I was studying jazz piano at the royal conservatory. Also, my gigs were in that direction so my rig sucked poop at that time: a Roland FP8 (that one was okay), a D5 and an SC55. I'm embarrassed...

I was doing a weekly gig for the Dutch radio with a trio, jazz intermezzos in a political program. Too bad my thoughts were more with booze and chicks than with business...

And then there was this funkrock band with a Mother's Finest guitarist who stayed some time in Holland, yyyippeeeee! That band broke up because everybody's thoughts were more with booze and dope than with business...

Being in quite the same situation right now, but definitely more organized, much better equipped, wiser and healthier.

[lightnin digits]

...simple-music moved backstage to career and family.

It was '76/'77 (July B-day)-was playing a MiniMoog, Wurlitzer 200, and B3 in small-town band with dudes in similar lifestages.

No expectations-just had fun.

[Dan O]

25yrs old ? I was already married .Working in a piano store selling Young Chang Piano's , Wurlitzer .....

That was 14 years ago for me .......39 this year .

dano

[jimbyjoe]

kiddo,

 

i'm 25 too! just. i am married (it was our one-year anniversary yesterday). i am working for our state government doing administration work (hey everyone else i got out of the carpark!!!!!!!!!!!). i also play 2-3 sundays a month at our church. i am working on a demo that i am going to send to whoever wants it so i can become a popstar. i write pop/rock sorta stuff. i am using a roland xp-50, cubase VST, wurlitzer 200A and yamaha upright.

 

what do YOU want to do with your musical career? do you just want to do it as a hobby or are you like me and have stadiums in mind? i'm just starting to get a bit old now, being 25 and wanting to become a rock star. doesn't mean i can't do it. and so can you. don't worry about not having your 1st keyboard until now. i did get my first proper board when i was about 19, but don't let that get you down. i know a lot of good muso's who don't have a lot of gear. and we know some, like rabid, who have heaps. you'll like it here. one word of advice - don't spam . you don't want to know what will happen if you do

 

pray for peace,

kendall

[Bucktunes]

I was 25 in `85 and the first half of `86. At the time I was unhappily married to Miss Wrong, the most spoiled, narcissistic b**** in town! She thought I should be content to work 50 hours a week as a production machinist, and she "let" me play in a cover band on weekends for wedding receptions. I was divorced at 26, and I've been considerably liberated since then!

 

At the time I was playing a Prophet 600 and just got my DX7. Since I couldn't afford third party sounds for it, I actually learned to program it. I couldn't wait to dump my "obsolete" old Rhodes, which I sold for about $200. I was way into Jan Hammer at the time, and I would run my DX7 through a flanger and Tube Screamer to get that lead guitar sound. It was fun trading licks with the guitar player! To this day, I have an old friend from back home who calls me a frustrated guitarist!

 

Peace all,

Steve

[nitecrawler47]

Whoa!! I was 25 in '72. I played in an original R&R band that year. Already married with two kids. (on third marriage now) We recorded that same year in a recording studio four of our originals. My first experience recording. I got started into my own recording in '79 when I bought my Teac 3440, reel to reel. Equipment? Wurly and Fender Amp. Back in those days it was simple and clean. My memory is a little "Smokey" if you know what I mean? nitecrawler

[Llarion]

Hmmm.. I turned 25 in October 1989.. I was living with the girlfriend that would become soul-sucking gravitational vortex wife #1. I was on the logarithmically steep downslope of a nice fat songwriting curve spanning the previous two years. Most of the 1990s was completely musicless for me, because of the aforementioned companionship, and the necessary rebuilding of a career. I got back into music in 1999.

 

My equipment at the time was:

A 1977 Rhodes (Just recently donated to a teen outreach center in NYC)

A Roland HS-60 (A Juno-106 with self contained speakers)

A 1983 Peavey Foundation (Still got her)

A Lotus Strat copy

A Fostex X15-II 4 track cassette

A Yamaha RX-15 drum computer

A $24 Radio Shack mic (you all know the one)

 

Wow. Pretty primitive. I did OK considering!!

[Slowly]

I refuse to think about it.

 

But seriously, I was married, raising a sister-in-law and two boys. In college and having the time of my life. Those were the days my friend, we hoped they`d never end. Kcbass

[Botch.]

Welcome to the forum, Kiddo! You'll like it here.

 

This thread's bringing back the memories. At 25 (1985) I was an Air Force Lieutenant, travelling to electronic warfare contractors during the week and playing country music on weekends, I played fiddle, pedal steel, harmonica and harmony vocals. I was getting sick of country (great music to learn on but I was listening to everything else on the side) so I walked into the Dayton Ohio music store and put myself into three years' debt: DX-7, Roland 505 drum box, a 4-track cassette recorder, SPX-90, Carver amp, and Peavey speakers and 7-channel mixer. I didn't know a thing about synths and bought the DX over the Prophet 600 based on the piano sound only!!! Like Bucktunes I had more time than money so I learned to program that DX inside & out. I'd made a dance cassette for one of the Air Force parties, and put my own version of "Axel F Theme" on it, only ONE GUY could hear it wasn't the original (another keyboardist), that was a thrill.

 

At 42 I'm still gigging two weekends a month, still enjoying it immensely, and I may be bringing a 42-year bachelor career to an end here soon (will keep you posted). Life is good, at 25 and now

[RABid]

...and we know some, like rabid, who have heaps...

 

pray for peace,

kendall

Most people my age have a house, I have equipment. Have to get the priorities straight.

 

Robert

[Postman]

25? Wow, that was a while ago (13 years to be exact). At that time I was an intern at Mad Hatter in LA. It didn't pay, but it was fun and I did land a paying gig based on my time there. I also got to play Chick Corea's Bosendorfer and Steinway on a regular basis. Beautiful instruments indeed.