With playing live being put on hold for over a year due to COVID, many are making their plans for a long-awaited return in the summer of 2021. I, however, won’t be joining them.
1. Playing live covers to 50-somethings quickly gets old.
Our live music scene is dominated by the usual classic rock black T-shirt brigade. The same old bands playing the same old songs. To get anywhere you need to play what they like, else you don’t get a rebooking. Simple as that really, and rather depressing.
2. It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.
The main music venues are largely run by a handful of agents who book the bands. Getting in with venues means getting in with agents, with absolutely no room for outsiders. It’s difficult to get in when competing against the safer option of an established band with a ready-made audience. Today, it’s all about bums on seats rather than introducing anything new and exciting, which has fed a culture of staleness and predictability.
And that’s never a good thing.
3. Playing live doesn’t pay enough for the hours.
A band is paid a flat fee for a gig. For argument’s sake, let’s call that £250. Firstly, take out the agent’s fee of £20. Now divide that £230 by the members of a 4-piece band and that’s less than £60 each.
Thinking back to my gigging days, the night probably started around 6 pm to run through the songs at home, and I’d be lucky to make it back before 12am. £10 an hour then, just above the living wage.
But… what about equipment purchasing and maintenance? Travel, storage, and rehearsal expenses? Being in a bar usually means you buy drinks, and being out for six hours usually means a takeaway on the way home, so it was very rare that I came home with my full wage anyway.
4. There’s no end product.
Devote an hour to practice: You get better, an hour to songwriting or music production: You’ll hopefully come up with an idea or some tracks for a song. But what is the tangible product of playing covers? In reality very little bar the pay packet. Sure, you may have tightened up as a band and as a player but not anywhere near as much as six-hour focussed guitar practice for example.
5. Playing live is unsociable.
I know getting out and playing live music in a variety of venues seems the opposite of unsociable, but bear with me….
When you’re gigging, you’re often far too busy to chat with anyone except the band, as you’re either setting up, playing, or packing up. When you do have free time, you’re more often than not exhausted and just want a drink. Gigging is most definitely not a replacement for just going out with a drink or meal with friends as it’s often not relaxed, and a lot of the time you’re driving anyway.
Add to this the time away from your family, six hours on a Saturday night is a big chunk you won’t get back.
6. Playing live can impede your development as a guitarist and a musician.
I covered this a little in My Guitar Pedal History, but in a nutshell, rattling out indie rock covers every Saturday night is definitely NOT optimal for your guitar and music development.
7. The game has changed due to COVID.
The music scene was already dire before COVID, but now we have socially distanced tables and pre-booking, meaning even fewer punters and revenue. This can only mean a worse situation for the performers in the short to medium term at least. Less revenue equals fewer bands and/or reduced wages.
Doesn’t sound like much fun does it?
8. Your diary is no longer your own.
If you’ve been a good boy, got in with the right people, and finally secured a booking at an established venue. That date is likely to be set in stone months ahead, with any change effectively putting you on the naughty step for good. Venues can’t afford empty dates but CAN afford to replace you at the drop of a hat. At this point, it’s very difficult to get back in the game.
But this IS the game, you either play it or you’re out.
9. The venues.
I would never think twice about drinking in some of the venues I’ve played in. On the whole, most places are decent and run by decent people, but every now and again you’ll get into an uncomfortable situation where you’ll wish you were somewhere else.
As a development of that, there’s the danger element of property and even physical harm. Not things you should ever have to worry about, but often that’s the way things go with alcohol and even on some occasions, drugs. Stolen gear is unfortunately not a rare occurrence either.
Sadly, what is a rare occurrence (outside the realm of wedding/event bookings), is playing in a quality establishment, to an appreciative audience, for a fair wage.
10. The drama.
Ahhh, the drama. If I add up all the above reasons together, if I’m honest, they still don’t tip the balance against my love of music, guitar, and playing live. No, the drama is the absolute nail in the coffin for me and has been many times over in many bands.
If I’m to be spending six hours away from my family at the weekend for a pittance, I want it to be about the music, the gig, to play our best, and hopefully get a rebooking whilst having a blast along the way. Sadly, most of the time, the actual music and fun take a back seat in favour of bickering, laziness, and a whole host of inane, meaningless distractions that serve only to kill the buzz and lessen our reputation and number of gigs.
Conclusion.
All told, as much as I love music and the guitar, I don’t miss playing live. It’s too cliquey, too much effort, and far too much drama for little or no reward.
As we emerge from lock-down, it’s an ideal time to spend some meaningful time with the guitar and my friends again.
What’s the situation with the live music scene in your area? Drop me a comment below.
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