brought my gear home. no paying gigs in over a year. we practice the same 8 to 10 songs we do best over and over and over. we've added maybe 3 new tunes in 5 years. effect pedals and volume does not make poorly performed tunes good. need a long break i guess.
i'm cleaning up my jam room and i'm getting a looper pedal. i've got a drum kit, bass amp and a stereo. hell, i've got a 4 track and a mic. i'm playing with myself from now on. starting right now.

I love playing with myself!

Seriously though, I went through the same process a long time ago. Bands who just rehearse and rehearse and never get out and play drive me insane. I find they also like to make to-do lists detailing all their planned steps to superstardom, number 1 on the list is usually "rehearse more".

Cubase has been my saviour, I can do all the drums and bass and keys and guitars and just about howl out a vocal over it. If I ever want to do it live then I know a few musicians who can learn a set in a week. For now I'm happy just getting my stuff recorded.

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my stuff on soundcloud

Jeebus...sounds like a good plan...sometimes when it isn't working you just have to walk away. Doing some recording on your own lets you experiment with new things and maybe rejuvinate your enthusiam for playing live.

Good luck.

T2

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What time is it? It's Fender Time.

You made a very good decision,it seems like trying to get these guys motivated enough to learn new songs is as futile as trying to breathe life into a statue.Playing with people so stagnant doesn't contribute to you furthering yourself as a musician both career wise and from a playing point of view.You need to find some serious seasoned musicians who will inspire and motivate you to become a better musician and you'll see how much better it is to play with musicians who have a positive team approach to playing.Lots of luck with your playing Jeebus,you'll find like-minded musicians some day for sure.

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

(heavy sigh...)

It was a tough decision, I'm sure.
Sometimes the people you're hooked up with don't warrant the investment of your time and energy but that prior investment can also be hard to let go of just the same.

I feel ya.

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Just think of how awesome a guitar player you could have been by now if you had only spent the last 10 years practicing instead of obsessing over pickups and roasted maple necks.

Find a new band and get back in the saddle, pilgrim.

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

You can have an s load of fun with that 4 track bro. Work on some original ideas and use them as a base for rebuilding a band if you get to the point where you feel like it again. Sounds like you made the correct decision to me.

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...pictures or it did not happen!

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"The individual is handicapped by coming face to face with a Conspiracy so monstrous he cannot believe it exists. The American mind simply has not come to a realization of the evil which has been introduced into our midst." J. Edgar Hoover

jeebus, sounds to me like you are turning the page, starting over with fresh ideas and new goals. Bringing your gear back to your own rehearsal space was the hardest part but most important as well. I have a feeling from now forward you will get better as a player and writer. Musically you are going to be smiling and you know that when you're smiling the whole world smiles with you

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you can save the world with your guitar one love song at a time it's just better, more fun, easier with a fender solid body electric guitar or electric bass guitar.

Something I learned a long time ago...if it ain't working, you just can't force it.

I dunno...maybe that's what's working in this new Southern Rock band that I'm in. Typically I'm one who really prefers things tight and well rehearsed, but this particular group...we really fly by the seats of our pants night after night. The guy that front's the band is a real good one (or bad one) for "hey...let's try (insert tune here)"...on stage...even though we NEVER rehearsed it (or in my case, never even played it). We just had a request for the 3 Dog Night Tune "Joy to the World" and damn if we didn't pull it out of our arses! LOL!!! 10 years ago I -never- would have done something like that on stage. Now...I dunno...it works. In this group however I just have this total Zen philosophy of "Whatever"... I'm just the guitar player man! LOL! I guess on some level it keeps things "fresh"...and it certainly keeps me on my toes!

We just did a gig a few weeks back at a rather nice club (which will remain nameless since they're corporate). We went on an hour late (my van broke down on the way to the gig and I had half the PA system in back), it wasn't even our best work...and yea...we scored not one but TWO more gigs out of it! The bar manager kept going on and on about how great we were....all I could do was stand there smiling as she handed us the money thinking "gee....what kind of crap bands do you normally have in this place?", LOL!!!!!!

That said, a band is a team effort and again, if it ain't working, it ain't working. Maybe some recording is a good way to go to get your head together...goodness knows I've been there myself. Let us know what you come up with!

Peace,
Jim

Good advice so far !

You need to do what makes you happy !

Thing is, I suspect playing in-sync with a Looper pedal isn't going to satisfy...

Find other people to play with !

If it takes 20 Ad responses and 20 play-dates to find players you dig... that's what it takes.

The right combination will come along, if you hang in there...

cheers!

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'11 FSR Am. Vtg. Ltd. Ed. CAR '57 Stratocaster (SN# LE02639)
'14 American Deluxe Ash Stratocaster
'12 Telebration Empress Telecaster
'99 Deluxe Nashville Telecaster
'12 FSR Telecaster HH
'10 Heritage H-535
'99 Martin DC-1E
'13 Lanikai Tenor Ukulele

That's exactly what I did during the past 13 years or so, because I simply didn't have a chance to play in a band due to my heavy workload and traveling with my job.

Believe me, it can be relieving for a while but not for long!!

The best recordings can't replace a band forever!

I'm in the process of building up a band right now, after many years of "forced" solo work.
It already p****es me off, because there seem to be no really MOTIFIED musicians out there anymore but I still believe in getting the proper crew together....somehow...someday.

I'm really sick of playing alone and after all: I want to get back on stage.
There's no true substitute for a real life audience which is honest (you can tell by looking into their eyes). I've come to the conclusion, that putting your stuff online isn't a bad thing but generally you end up on indie musician sites such as Soundclick, Myspace, Soundplanet and so on, where not all but at least many musicians just like your stuff to be liked back, not because they are FANS of what you're doing! A lot of online feedback seems untrue to me.
Of course there's many out there who will really appreciate what you're doing but in the majority of those sites I'd say that "reaching a bigger audience" is just an illusion kept up by the guys who run those sites.

Building up a fanbase seems way more difficult on those sites in comparison to playing gigs in your local area.

You hardly find the audience you're looking for on those sites. IMHO we're all looking for "fans" who are mostly non-musicians and who just like to listen to music they like and who appreciate our performance. Those people hardly find their ways onto indie music sites because they're bombarded with mainstream $@!& by the media.

I promise you: it'll be relieving for a while and then it'll lead to let's say 85% of dissatisfaction.
Wanna bet?

Better keep your eyes open for musicians, who share your idea of running a band. As long as you don't find them, keep going with your solo stuff but NEVER STOP LOOKING for those few matching musicians who are out there somewhere, feeling just as miserable about nowaday's band situation as you do!

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Kindest regards from Germany, Dee
My recordings --> http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_mu ... dID=564337
STRATS ROCK!!! but Teles and Firebirds, too!

putting together a band with good players is very hard these days,
too many "JOBBERS" out there only want to play for hire,
and have no intention of joining a band, as they are playing with 2 or 3 bands already.
I know it's hard to make a living at playing music these days, i did it for 15 years.
it's seems to be much harder these days to gig on a regular basis,
as the club scene took a dive in the mid 90's.

Sure there are still many clubs, but finding a steady job at 1 place for a week no longer exist.
your lucky now to find work for 2 days at the same place.
I stopped playing in 98 due to the frustrations of traveling to break even.
and greedy booking agents didn't help things much.
I do know that i am having fun writing and recording on my PC,
there are many good programs that allow this , with great quality.
But nothing replaces the feeling you get doing a live show,
maybe some day i will be able to return to the stage once again.

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1986 Kramer Baretta
1989 Samick "The Samick" Les Paul
2007 Fender Strat MIM Deluxe / 1985 MIJ neck
1990 Epiphone Strat
Marshall JCM 2000 DLS 50 watt / Marshall 1960a 4x12

https://soundcloud.com/jim-slimjim-cassi