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Almost normal Band Life...


rct

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On 7/16/2020 at 10:12 PM, rct said:

So we rehearsed and had a good talk last night.  Seems that Almost Normal is now, well, Normal.  This area wasn't an economic powerhouse before all of this, so it is obviously way worse now.  We agreed that we have no place to play,  several of the places we haunted for decades now will not be back.  I had to take out the latest demo this week and do some old fashioned pavement walking in my area and it was all for naught, same for the other two guys.  The bars just aren't doing it, won't be for the foreseeable.   If they can't or won't hook up some kind of outside area they can't have bands, and fact is most of them just can't or won't spend the money.  The casinos are at a loss, they don't know what to do and aren't having any entertainment at all, they can't even feed people except for a hot dog you can carry away and go find someplace outside to eat it.  Drinks and dancing are out of the question.  Our other guitar player works down there and says it is costing way more to be open than it did to be closed, when they were screaming at the sky to OPEN UP.  Nobody saw that coming, right?  heh.

So if the big ones are having this much trouble we know we are in trouble all around.  So we'll rehearse and play for our toughest audience, us.  That's about it for this year.  Really really sad to have to say it and accept it.  The three of us just talk like Costner in Yellowstone, watching the world we knew slip away, for good.

rct

Sorry to hear that.  Maybe things will pick back up after the first of the year or so, depending on how things go.  Maybe not though.

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3 hours ago, badbluesplayer said:

Sorry to hear that.  Maybe things will pick back up after the first of the year or so, depending on how things go.  Maybe not though.

 

We hope that too.  I was out running some errands today and a lot of commerce is looking pretty dismal.  Didn't look great this time last year, so it is really rough right now.  Maybe some new stuff will spring up in place of the old, that would be great.

rct

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14 hours ago, merciful-evans said:

 

That sounds idyllic. Sadly, where I live there is nowhere remote enough to play in the open without violating the peace!

What I'm trying to imply is to think outside the box for some way of satisfying the need, like the internet jams or something on a smaller scale, like from your studio to a pub, live. I commonly put a battery amp in my car and drive to the country. Find a way we may be stuck for a while..

Edited by mihcmac
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4 hours ago, mihcmac said:

What I'm trying to imply is to think outside the box for some way of satisfying the need, like the internet jams or something on a smaller scale, like from your studio to a pub, live. I commonly put a battery amp in my car and drive to the country. Find a way we may be stuck for a while..

 

Oh sure, we could do those things.  Well, not the internet to a pub, the pubs aren't opening.  Rehearsing will do us for as long as it has to.  It's just such a shame so many places are having so much trouble.

rct

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3 hours ago, rct said:

 

Oh sure, we could do those things.  Well, not the internet to a pub, the pubs aren't opening.  Rehearsing will do us for as long as it has to.  It's just such a shame so many places are having so much trouble.

rct

I hope things get better, there is no telling what will come out the other side. Like our current school system may not survive moving to smaller classrooms and possibly virtual classrooms.

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11 hours ago, mihcmac said:

What I'm trying to imply is to think outside the box for some way of satisfying the need, like the internet jams or something on a smaller scale, like from your studio to a pub, live. I commonly put a battery amp in my car and drive to the country. Find a way we may be stuck for a while..

 

You are right. There are possibilities. The pubs here in the uk have just opened (though its difficult to use them).

Also, playing acoustic in the open air could be done easily enough. You could also meet up at some remote location using the What3words geocode system. We wouldn't disturb much in a forest.  The THR30iiW amp I just scored has an internal battery so that's portable too. [thumbup]

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I feel there's a difference between finding 'jamming' opportunities and finding 'gigging' opportunities.    'jamming' opportunities are there.. get together as a band, minimal crowd.  Even as a full band, you should be able to figure that out, but there's got to be a desire to jam for jammin'gs sake. 

But gigging... where your hoping to create and feed off energy of the crowd, there seems to be activity for small acts, haven't really seen any for full bands yet.  I did see a picture of a band on a beach playing to a bunch of folks in boats.  

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 With the standard venues being closed, it may be time to salt the mine to let the patrons know there is entertainment. Its time for the club owners to re-evaluate and adjust to the new norm, dancers were in protective boxes, punk bands in cages, if people can't gather in a nasty cellar to enjoy music it's time to let the sunlight in. Or the entertainers need to change venues, people will follow.

Edited by mihcmac
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Our limited experience of spikes and lulls in virus activity suggest that venues that involve music, dancing, close proximity wil be first to close and last to reopen each time the authorities revise the regulations, so obviously the gig as we know it will suffer greatly. Ad hoc opportunities for outdoor playing may well present but by no means guaranteed...and you can do it yourself I guess, but risky especially in towns and cities....do you want to be on the news or held to account if there's an outbreak? Probably just gotta ride it out and maybe grab the occasional chance to play socially in more unstructured settings rather than plan for gigs in the usual (pre-pandemic) sense.

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5 hours ago, mihcmac said:

 With the standard venues being closed, it may be time to salt the mine to let the patrons know there is entertainment. Its time for the club owners to re-evaluate and adjust to the new norm, dancers were in protective boxes, punk bands in cages, if people can't gather in a nasty cellar to enjoy music it's time to let the sunlight in. Or the entertainers need to change venues, people will follow.

 

There aren't any venues to change to.

rct

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21 hours ago, uncle fester said:

I feel there's a difference between finding 'jamming' opportunities and finding 'gigging' opportunities.    'jamming' opportunities are there.. get together as a band, minimal crowd.  Even as a full band, you should be able to figure that out, but there's got to be a desire to jam for jammin'gs sake. 

But gigging... where your hoping to create and feed off energy of the crowd, there seems to be activity for small acts, haven't really seen any for full bands yet.  I did see a picture of a band on a beach playing to a bunch of folks in boats.  

"Jamming for the sake of jamming"    we've been doing that for over a month now  There's 5 of us.  the place is big enough, no issues, and we don't expect there will be.  If one's not feeling right, no matter what "not right" is, we don't get together.  Our whole mantra is to get together for the fun of it.  We have really no plans to "take it out"...  We'd like to get back to the recording plans we we setting up for in February.  But that seems like a life time in the past now.

Regarding gigging,  I think I've shared my thoughts on that whole sitch even before this pandemic.  The $ was just no longer worth the effort, time and hassle.  I kicked that whole idea to the curb about 5 years ago.  Nothing has occurred to make me re-think it.  In fact, it's progressively gotten worse, then we got to March 2020 and it was all pushed off a cliff.  

I'm just glad I got in and got out, while it was still good. (late 70s thru the mid to late 90s mostly)  in the last 20 years, I can count the "band" gigs I've done on two hands.

I aint planning on getting back in to it either and good luck to those who are.

 

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6 hours ago, mihcmac said:

The old way is gone, at least for now. You will have to recognize opportunity when it presents itself.

 

They are nice words and I appreciate them.  In daily life, in the actual world of trying to get a band out, they mean absolutely nothing.  I think you live in a place in which it is either not populated enough for anyone to notice, or nobody cares that a bunch of guys set up a bunch of stuff and basically disturb the peace while getting creative about gigging.  I live in the most densely populated state in the nation.  You can't have a party in your back yard without a municipal permit.  You can't just set up somewhere and start playing, that is most definitely not how it works at all.  It was hard enough for established businesses before all of this, it's nothing but ridiculously difficult now for everybody.

The old way is most definitely gone.  The new way appears to be possibly more beach bars in AC and more On The Dock things inland on the waterways.  That will take time to sort out for most of the old venues, and time for some new venues to move in and start doing something.  Until then we rehearse and chuckle and joke about hot masksex with that one babe at the convenience store.

rct

 

Edited by rct
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2 hours ago, rct said:

The old way is most definitely gone.  The new way appears to be possibly more beach bars in AC and more On The Dock things inland on the waterways.  That will take time to sort out for most of the old venues, and time for some new venues to move in and start doing something.  Until then we rehearse and chuckle and joke about hot masksex with that one babe at the convenience store.

rct

 

mihcmac afaik is in Hawaii.

There's a larger reality for many of us who are no where near beaches, or "attractions" that bring in vacationers, weekend travelers, tourists etc.

Any the bar or pub in a 50 mile radius from my home town have been closed since the lock down. 

About 95% of those venues are probably closed for good.  I drive by these places and see the signs in the neighboring towns where we all used to paly that say "Closed for good, thanks for your patronage"

The only places left to gig are restaurants and grilles that have live music, which is a restriction of Phase 3 in this state (Mass.)   Establishments HAVE to server food AND alcohol to be able to be opened right now.

As a result there's an abundance of performers and bands looking for gigs but a serious shortage of places to work.  If you don't already have an in, or a very tight contact, good luck getting a night or two.  

Just about every band that that I knew of (friends of mine) that were working in January, have now dissolved.   Covid killed the entertainment business where we are.  There is no "new way" to embrace. 

 

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As far as I know the Hawaiian Islands survive off of tourism, most local small businesses are dead, except the custom Bikini stores that are now making masks.

Restaurants provide take-out some are trying limited occupancy.

Each Islands rules are set their Mayor, the Big Island no bars are open, Events can have a 100 people, no concerts. 

Maui and Kauai may open a few bars for a limited number of patrons.

Inter-Island travel for locals require some documentation while off island travelers are required to quarantine for 2 weeks at their destination island.

A small music store has survived by taking orders over the phone and delivering in their parking lot, another form of take out I guess.

The professional working musicians are waiting it out the best they can, local tradition recognizes entertainment to be their full time occupation.

A few musicians are playing in parks and on the street. 

Beaches and parks are open for fishing, exercise and walking dogs as long as correct distance is maintained.

The Governors order for masks to be worn in public is the new way of life, no mask no service.

Honolulu Oahu acts as a filter for the rest of the Islands and has much higher rate of infection. The other Islands with international airports have hot spots, but nothing like Oahu.

I feel very fortunate that several years ago, when I developed a bad case of band burnout, I started jamming in a rural area that was off the grid and the neighborhood kept inviting me  to come back.

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5 hours ago, Karloff said:

from March thru May I lost about 12 gigs but since June I've had 6 gigs. its picked up a bit.

What's a gig for you Karloff - are you a full band?  What type of local are these happening (and good for you that there is anything out there!)

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Just now, uncle fester said:

What's a gig for you Karloff - are you a full band?  What type of local are these happening (and good for you that there is anything out there!)

it's a 4 pc band. Eastern Shore of Md.  theres been a few gigs at a Tiki Bar by the Ocean, a standard bar towards the bar bridge & a couple Elks Lodges. 

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8 minutes ago, Karloff said:

it's a 4 pc band. Eastern Shore of Md.  theres been a few gigs at a Tiki Bar by the Ocean, a standard bar towards the bar bridge & a couple Elks Lodges. 

How is the whole 'social distancing' thing managed?  Is it a thought?

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On 7/21/2020 at 1:31 PM, Karloff said:

it's a 4 pc band. Eastern Shore of Md.  theres been a few gigs at a Tiki Bar by the Ocean, a standard bar towards the bar bridge & a couple Elks Lodges. 

Hey Doug? is Gideon's Groove still together?

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1 hour ago, kidblast said:

Hey Doug? is Gideon's Groove still together?

well, kinda.  we were sidelined for about 1 1/2 years. drummer had double rotator cup surgery. he's ok now but Joe has had some health concerns. we had a few gigs lined up in the past few months but they were canceled mainly because Joe had to back out over Covid concerns. didn't want to risk infection where his daughter Marissa has the health issues as well.   but we'll no doubt play again. we'll show up after 2 years and play lol. 

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12 minutes ago, Karloff said:

well, kinda.  we were sidelined for about 1 1/2 years. drummer had double rotator cup surgery. he's ok now but Joe has had some health concerns. we had a few gigs lined up in the past few months but they were canceled mainly because Joe had to back out over Covid concerns. didn't want to risk infection where his daughter Marissa has the health issues as well.   but we'll no doubt play again. we'll show up after 2 years and play lol. 

that's good news then.   PMing you for more...

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