(I couldn't find a topic like this but won't be shocked if this is kerbled.)

I'm turning 26 this month. The general thinking of my bandmates is that 25 is the limit for trying to be a serious musician. I didn't think so but what do I know--

At 17 I started playing guitar, writing and by 18 or so had formed a band with my best friend. After one show drummer and second guitarist left-- I stuck it out with my friend as we recruited drummer after drummer and a steady stream of guitarists. Bassplayer/bestfriend/room-mate gets into selling drugs/increaces drug-use/gets addicted to heroine steadily for a few years until I'm completely done with him. At 21 I move back in with my parents, take a couple classes at community college get shit job. I start experimenting with recording my own songs (me and my friends writing style was I would come up with guitar and drum parts and he'd figure out lyrics and one of us would sing). A year later, my girlfriend takes a job in arizona and we move out there together.

I take shit job and work on music. I'm not a good singer but I play a few shows as a singer/songwriter just for fun with a friend I met. Later I Make friends with an alt/country trio and take up bass/harmonica. We play a handful of shows I play on a few recordings. Got free beers at the bar regularly for playing shows. Went to SXSW. Things go well but band stops practicing and plays shows rarely. I made friends with a few older fellas (late 30's) that were into garage/early punk and play with them for a few months doing the alt/country gig whenever I'm needed. Things in that band go okay for a few months until I'm informed that the bass player doesn't care for me (gives me no reason-- I think I've been entirely cool with everyone but who knows.). I leave band. I'm 24,

Very shortly after. I join as guitarist of an indie/pop band on the verge of playing shows. It's not great but it's the best situation I've been in lately. I learn the bands songs pretty quickly and we practice regularly for a month. The drummer is in another band that starts eating up more of his time and so he only shows up to practice with us for about an hour, twice a week. Bass player loses interest and it's just me and the guitarist paying for the practice space. Guitarist/bandleader is in school and doesn't want the practice space anymore. Band goes on hiatus after a few months.

I take up pedal steel for my friends band just to try and get things going with him again. I'm just turned 25 at this point. I start music on my computer and sending it to the guitarist/singer of the band. I've been working a 60+ hour work week for the last 2+ years and have neglected my own songcraft-- which isn't that good (I'm not a good lyricist or singer) but I still write and record a few songs when I'm not exhausted. Guitarist takes to one of the songs I wrote for him and we get a practice space again. We get one of his friends to play drums for us and get a bassist. The band leader and I do our best to do a few recordings of the band which turn out okay. Bassist flakes out and is never heard from. I finish recording bass parts drummer offhandedly mentions how another band invited him to play with them. Me and guitarist figure that he's gone so we look for another drummer.

We get some free recording from the drummers friend that still is unfinished, even though we did everything but the vocals back in january. I have no idea what the engineer is up to. We've landed a good drummer but are still missing a bass player. I've offered to switch instrumments just so we can play shows but no one wants to go along with this. We auditioned a few bass players but no one that's clicked lately.

So this week my girlfriend has job interviews lined up for schools around the country. She's tired of Arizona. We've decided that we've got to move. Come July I'll be in a new city trying to be a musician. I've always wanted to be in a real band-- one that makes no money but plays shows and records and tours-- but have never been able to make it happen. I'm trying like hell just to write and get better at song craft and still would love to be in a real band. I'm just wondering if this is viewed as sad by other musicians. I don't think so, but what do I know.

i was going to be a dick and say your age was the age to stop, 'til i noticed you were my age.

stop when you want. when you stop finding people to play with would be a good age to stop.

Talk to Robert Pollard about that one.

that damned fly wrote:i was going to be a dick and say your age was the age to stop, 'til i noticed you were my age.

stop when you want. when you stop finding people to play with would be a good age to stop.

So you're saying I should just be a singer/songwriter?

Stopping isn't on my mind-- it's just that past age 20 or so, finding people that actually love making and playing music has become increasingly difficult. I was wondering if it's because it is, or it's at least thought to be, sad.

For the most part, youngsters don't make good music. Why does there seem to be an aversion to being not a kid and wanting to take making/playing music seriously?

righthanded wrote:For the most part, youngsters don't make good music. Why does there seem to be an aversion to being not a kid and wanting to take making/playing music seriously?

I guess the older a person finds themselves to be, and they're not at a level of success they want musically, the harder it is for them to take it seriously.

I say keep going for as long as you'd like. If you love making music, I bet you'll find someone who you can make music with. Just keep playing.

How old is too old to be doing something you love? This is an okay varient on the question.

-Jeremy

ask Iggy and Ron Asheton

Dude you can do it forever, just don't think of it as a job.

Music is like playing tennis or skiing or painting or getting blowjobs or anything else people do for its own sake: If you get something out of it, you keep at it because it is its own reward. The common thread among all these fulfilling pastimes is that very few people can expect do them professionally.

If you're only willing to play music if it has the potential to become a career, then you probably don't like it enough to want to do it for a career.

get out of Arizona. ten, fifteen years from now that place will be uninhabitable. get out while the getting is good!

i've thought about it, and at 33 it's easier for me to find people to play music with than it ever was before, or at least it's no harder. certainly easier than it was at 18. and these aren't douchebags or anything, these are people worth playing with.

don't give up unless you think you should. age shouldn't be any kind of issue in an of itself. physical ailments due to old age are a reason, if your back's too bad to lift an amp or your fingers are all arthritisized or something. age-related stuff like getting married and having babies can be a reason to quit playing, or maybe just cut back, whatever makes sense from individual to individual. but your numeric age doesn't mean shit. I'd say treat it as totally irrelevant.

hard to say... i mean, at a certain point, you need to go SOLO! you can then graduate to having a backing band.

ok seriously. hopefully you'll get better as you get older. that's reason enough to keep going. plus, what on earth is more fun? it can be hard to find others with both the same tastes and same amount of time to devote to a band. i should know, i'm currently bandless. sucks. doesn't mean i won't stop looking.