At What Age Do I Have to Switch to "The Blues?"

[Czar]

What is the mandatory age for a "I have a 401k," corporate lackey suburbanite to drop the Rock and Roll dreams and play the blues full time?

 

[phatduckk]

What is the mandatory age for a "I have a 401k," corporate lackey suburbanite to drop the Rock and Roll dreams and play the blues full time?

ummm ... now im confused to

 

[Czar]

ummm ... now im confused to

You should write a blues song about that

 

[phatduckk]

You should write a blues song about that

no way dude ... its 11am - way too early to star drinkin remind me tonight.

but all jokes aside ... what happened?

 

[SteveB]

What is the mandatory age for a "I have a 401k," corporate lackey suburbanite to drop the Rock and Roll dreams and play the blues full time?

Well, if you ain't a rock star by age 30 it seems the odds go way down...

But as a tax-paying corporate lackey, you are entitled to play the blues during the weeks surrounding April 15th.

The mandatory age is, I think, 57.

By then you're tired of working but too young to retire without penalties.

 

[adouglas]

There's a lot of stuff that an older person can credibly play that isn't the blues. All you need to do is switch on the Wayback Machine.

My band is all in our late 40s. We retain credibility because we don't play currently trendy music as a rule. We'd look pretty effin' stupid trying to play Green Day, with our gray hair, aching knees, ever-broadening butts and bulging guts.

We play, for the most part, pop-rock from the 60s-80s, though we're all over the place and don't stay within any one genre. We just choose songs that fit us, and we play them our way instead of trying to sound just like the original.

The strategy works. If you sound good and put energy into your performance, people will have a good time, and so will you. The material you're playing is less important than playing well IMHO.

We're one 12-string acoustic, a flute, a bass, a drum machine, and all of us sing (except the drum machine). Based on what we play, you might think we're a bunch of lightweights, and you'd have a good argument...we're not Metallica or Korn. But the last gig we played was outrageously entertaining for all concerned including us, and we even got shut down by the cops (I'm SO proud!).

It pays to remember that people who are becoming senior citizens in 2005 were 23 years old when the Beatles landed in New York. You've got 40 years worth of great electric rock & roll and pop music to choose from...stuff that stands up just as well today as it did back then.

There's no reason you can't rock as long as you're able to stand up without a walker.

Where's my oxygen tank?

 

[phatduckk]

There's no reason you can't rock as long as you're able to stand up without a walker.

i saw Bad Religion a little while ago and they can still out-rock most of the "younger" bands ive seen. they rule

 

[muggsy]

There's no reason you can't rock as long as you're able to stand up without a walker.

Absolutely. The best punk show I've ever seen was Rocket From The Tombs, probably two years ago. The band includes ex-members of Pere Ubu, the Dead Boys, and Television. Those guys are all probably mid-to-late 50s, and they killed. In the past year I've also seen the reformed Gang of Four and what's left of the New York Dolls, both awesome shows as well. At the Dolls show, I stood next to a couple who were probably in their late 50s, and there were two girls and a guy in front of me who HAD to be in high school. Age is just a number, and rock is mostly attitude anyway.

 

[AnthonyD]

Right on the money!

...My band is all in our late 40s. We retain credibility because we don't play currently trendy music as a rule. We'd look pretty effin' stupid trying to play Green Day, with our gray hair, aching knees, ever-broadening butts and bulging guts.

We play, for the most part, pop-rock from the 60s-80s, though we're all over the place and don't stay within any one genre. We just choose songs that fit us, and we play them our way instead of trying to sound just like the original.

The strategy works. If you sound good and put energy into your performance, people will have a good time, and so will you. The material you're playing is less important than playing well IMHO.

We're one 12-string acoustic, a flute, a bass, a drum machine, and all of us sing (except the drum machine). Based on what we play, you might think we're a bunch of lightweights, and you'd have a good argument...we're not Metallica or Korn. But the last gig we played was outrageously entertaining for all concerned including us, and we even got shut down by the cops (I'm SO proud!)...

Wow - I could've said the very same thing re: my situation (swap your flute for two additional guitars! ).

Very common philosophy here - the "right" songs make all the world of difference. We are very careful to play the music we believe to be within our range of space - songs that fit our styles, fit the drum machine and most importantly, provide high "fun-factor" for our audience.

Did I mention that our lead guitarist needs to have BOTH his knees replaced!?

Hoping to have the cops shut us down real soon!

 

[adouglas]

adeluca...you're not all that far from us...the home base is in Westchester County.

Want to come check us out sometime? I'll let you look at my Bongo. Maybe. If you keep your hands to yourself.

I'd like to come see you guys play too.

 

[oldbluebassman]

It pays to remember that people who are becoming senior citizens in 2005 were 23 years old when the Beatles landed in New York. You've got 40 years worth of great electric rock & roll and pop music to choose from...stuff that stands up just as well today as it did back then.

There's no reason you can't rock as long as you're able to stand up without a walker.

Where's my oxygen tank?

I was 17 when I first saw the Beatles in 1963. I'm playing more now than ever before, almost 70 gigs so far this year, basically because I have the time. I play for a local song writer and a lot of the material we do is original. Some of it is country influenced, some of it is rock influenced, some of it is punk influenced. When we play the local pubs we also do covers, polular covers,the kind that everyone likes to sing along too, but not a blues song among them. I gave up playing for a Blues band to do this. Long may it continue. Age is an attitude of mind.

 

[Freddy-G.]

We're one 12-string acoustic, a flute, a bass, a drum machine, and all of us sing (except the drum machine).

I like the idea of not having to compete with an electric guitar to be heard. Especially a noisy rhythm guitarist.



Do I sound bitter?

 

[Golem]

What is the mandatory age for a "I have a 401k," corporate lackey suburbanite to drop the Rock and Roll dreams and play the blues full time?

Figure the first time you have to sell a MM to pay to fix your car, that's when.

 

[AnthonyD]

adeluca...you're not all that far from us...the home base is in Westchester County.

Want to come check us out sometime? I'll let you look at my Bongo. Maybe. If you keep your hands to yourself.

I'd like to come see you guys play too.

Cool... We're about to go underground for the next few months, but expect to be out in the Spring. Our reality is five gigs a year, give or take...

 

[tkarter]

I am 48 and if I wanna thump out some Green Day I thump away.

Blues isn't mandantory at all until you are 70 and single and I somehow think you will gravitate there naturally. L


tk

 

[shamus63]

"If you don't feel it, don't play it."

 

[Morrow]

I started playing in blues bands in my early twenties and gave up on any dreams of rock stardom. Got lost in the shuffle....avoided any popular idiom like the plague. Had a lot of fun playin in de blues bars.

In me fifties now and am very comfortable playing in various blues bands. Never stopped doing it. Still have a lot of fun playin blues bars. We see a lot of younger kids coming up and getting into the blues. It is the mark of a good scene. Some of the kids are deadly.

I guess you can retain a certain dignity being an older blues player but there's lots of ageing head bangers out there too....

I think you're too old when you don't want to do it any more.

 

[Disquieter]

Absolutely. The best punk show I've ever seen was Rocket From The Tombs, probably two years ago. The band includes ex-members of Pere Ubu, the Dead Boys, and Television. Those guys are all probably mid-to-late 50s, and they killed. In the past year I've also seen the reformed Gang of Four and what's left of the New York Dolls, both awesome shows as well. At the Dolls show, I stood next to a couple who were probably in their late 50s, and there were two girls and a guy in front of me who HAD to be in high school. Age is just a number, and rock is mostly attitude anyway.

i thought that was rocket from the crypt?


could be wrong.

 

[phatduckk]

i thought that was rocket from the crypt?


could be wrong.

+1

 

[MingusBASS]

I'm 24 and I play the blues with one of my bands. You don't have to be old and washed up to play the blues- although it might help. There are some really great blues clubs up here and you can make some good money if you bring something fresh.

Andrew