I have been a passionate musician since I started on drums in 1959 when I was 11 years old. Mom thought the drums were too loud so she made me take guitar lessons not realizing that guitars came with AMPLIFIERS!!! I played out with numerous bands during the 60’s and early 70’s in and around my native Brooklyn, NY. Then came marriage…and kids…and jobs… In 2000, I picked up the bass guitar after hearing too many bass lines in my head. When medication didn’t help, it became my primary instrument. Since then, I have been a 5-time master class student at The National Guitar Workshop and played at the famous Bitter End in Greenwich Village twice and in numerous clubs in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Texas. In 2004, I founded and led a 13-piece (FIVE HORN) blues band in New Jersey for seven years with my daughter Kate as the lead vocalist…err…INCREDIBLE lead vocalist, for the first four of those years. I moved to Texas in 2010 after the job market in Jersey completely evaporated. When you get laid off and there are no jobs, you go where the money is. Musically, I was working with a GREAT blues band out of Springtown for a year...everyone a lifelong musician with a passion for playing.; we just loved playing together. Unfortunately, our drummer passed away in December of '13 (cirrhosis), plus our #2 guitarist and vocalist left to start an individual project. Couldn't find replacements so the lead guitarist went back to writing. Another band between '14 and '15 did not work out. Ended up playing for a short time with a fantastic psychedelic rock band out Benbrook, TX. Everything from Post-Fab 4 Beatles, Jethro Tull, Moody Blues, Pink Floyd and others of that era (keyboard guy also played sax and flute plus all the familiar sound effects were sampled). Then I had my knee replaced in March of 2016 and was literally unconscious for months...had to drop out. Then spine fusion in January 2020 plus Covid has kept me off stage...really want to get back to this by Spring, 2022. In real life, I hold a Master’s degree in Environmental Planning (computers and statistics) and have been in IT for over 50 years. I am currently a full-time certified Business Process Architect in the Dallas/Fort Worth area working remotely for HQ USMC at Quantico and the Pentagon replacing their ancient financial system worldwide...then we'll do the same for the Navy. I'll probably retire at age 104' my boss will never let me quit. I have also qualified for Medicare for more years than I want to count. I'm a blues and blues/rock bassist at heart and would love to join another band in the west Fort Worth area. You'll get a great bassist and lead/harmony vocalist working at a very high level of musicianship all in one neat package. Practice once a week; gig 2-3 times a month. No drugs, no drink no drama. I'm just the bass player supporting someone else's vision of their band. I did my "vision thing" with my big horn band; don't want to herd cats again. Really miss playing...contact me...
Music is the entire right side of my brain for the past 60 years and as such, gives me balance in my life. Unfortunately, I have not been able to play live for almost two years now because of Covid. Here in Texas, the hospitals are at capacity and bands insist on playing live right now in indoor settings, breathing the recycled air from 200 screaming, singing, unmasked, unvaccinated idiots. Lots more people are gonna die...I won't be one of them. We all have to wait a bit longer to gig or at least play only outdoor events (wineries, gazebos, town fairs, etc.). Gotta stay safe or we will lose many of our fellow musicians and be deprived of their genius and hard work forever. DON'T BE STUPID!!! Get vaccinated, wear a freaking mask and stay alive to play another day!!!
To be the new bass player for Fleetwood Mac after McVie exists stage left. But I just have to wait until he's passed on...is no more...has ceased to be...expired...gone to meet his maker...is a stiff...bereft of life...resting in peace...pushing up daisies...his metabolic processes now history...off the twig...kicked the bucket...shuffled off his mortal coil...rung down the curtain and joined the choir invisible. He needs to be an ex-musician!!!
Stupidity. Gotta get rid of stupidity. Luckily, we actually have a shot at this. All the people, especially here in the US, that refuse the vaccine are absolutely and undeniably stupid. All we can hope for is that they get Covid and die so they can't pass their "stupidity gene" onto another generation. This is no joke. My step-daughter is an ICU nurse and has had to hold an iPhone to people's mouths as they say goodbye to their families before dying before her eyes (...and she's had to do this for over a year and a half now...). And with their last breath, many continue to deny that Covid is real. Good riddance. Get vaccinated so the world can resume a more normal way of life.
"The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round". What can I say...I grew up in the 50's when all we had on AM radio in NYC was Sinatra, Martin, Como and Bennett.
The Beatles, Stanley Clarke, Santana, BB King, Joni Mitchell, Steely Dan, Paul Simon, Pink Floyd, Dire Straits, Moody Blues, Jethro Tull, Fleetwood Mac, Bruce Springsteen, Jewel, Billy Joel, Bonnie Raitt, WEIRD AL!!!!!
The need to feel balanced in my life. Music feeds the right side of my brain...without it, I don't feel complete.
FEEL...don't think!!! Just let yourself become part of the music. Surround yourself with it, immerse yourself in it. Life is short and sucks a lot of the time. Make music your escape room.
Completely at ease and happy. Zero stage fright or worries. Whatever I play on any given night is what I play. A recent sociological study found that DEATH is the #2 fear in human beings. The #1 fear is having to speak (or perform) in front of an audience. Think about that for a second... Most people would rather BE IN THE COFFIN than have to give the eulogy. I started gigging live at age 15 and have never stopped...I'm 73. In addition, I have had to present "papers" in front of large professional conferences and once to the federal EPA brass in DC. No problem...ever... Many people call it a "rush" or an "addiction". I also agree with hose assessments. There's NOTHING that beats playing in front of a lively, engaged audience.
We are in transition right now. The old "record company controls everything" paradigm is mostly gone but musicians haven't figured out yet how to replace the old ways using new technology. I think this will change in the coming years. Just have to figure out how to monetize your work on the Internet. I think you will see a whole new structured and successful paradigm by 2025-2030.
No clue...first time here...
Playing with people who are content to be where they are and are never open to stretching their musicianship. In my bands, those people are gone really fast. In 2004, I founded and led a blues band that eventually grew to 13-pieces with FIVE FREAKING HORNS!!!! A few people faded away but the remaining crew and new members were ALL on the same page musically, willing to push their talent further and being part of something very wonderful and unique. PS: Except for the female leads and our bari player, we were ALL in our 50's and 60's and had been playing out since we were teens. Doctors, engineers, scientists, teachers, IT people and more during the day...amazing musicians at night and on weekends. I had to leave the band after seven years because of a job change in a different state but this January, the band will be celebrating the 17th anniversary of our first gig. When you build something right, it will last. I consider it to be my legacy to all my great friends back there in Jersey.
I used to do some open mic nights to meet and support local talent but nothing since Covid. Plus, I urge people NOT to gig indoors right now because it is way too dangerous in Texas. My county has a 29% vaccination rate. You must be CRAZY to gig indoors in such an environment.
Above all...perseverance. Plus a willingness to expand one's musical limits and exceed them...constantly.
My blues/rock band in New Jersey...The BassBoards. They've found a way to fill that "sweet spot" between cheap DJs (~$900/gig) and wedding bands (~$5,000 or more/gig). The horns and strong female leads set the band apart from any other in the central NJ/Philly area and now have an excellent following. The guys and gals make waaaay more than the standard $100/night because they pack their venues (outdoors only right now) and the owners love them for that. Last year, they payed a huge festival gig ("Shadfest" on the Delaware River). After they were done, a guy came over to talk to Mike, the guy who took over after I left. (PS: Mike has three Ph.D,'s and a law degree plus plays trombone, tuba, bass and piano) The guy said: "Hey... I really love your band. If your male lead singer can't make a gig, I'd be real happy to sit in. Think about it." Yeah, yeah...big deal...he handed Mike his card and walked off. Mike looked at the card... Johnny Maesto WHAT???? Johnny Maestro of The Crests and The Brooklyn Bridge? Johnny Maestro who sang "Sixteen Candles" and "The Worst That Could Happen"? THAT JOHNNY MAESTRO????? And he wants to sing with The BassBoards??????? That, my friends, is the greatest complement any musician can ever get. When one of the GIANTS of rock and pop says he'd love to sit in with your band...well...you must have one hell of a band. Look up The BassBoards, Flemington, NJ on YouTube plus their website. Videos span 15 years of work... Enjoy.