Runcible Blog

quit music?

jazz bass

I've been thinking of retiring my bass....or at least, putting it away for a while.

Friday's gig went well, but it got me thinking: where is the band going? And where am I going musically? I really don't have musical aspirations at this point or else I'd be looking for another band. TWC is moving along, getting gigs, and returning to the studio soon. But what does it add up to? It's not like any of us are going to quit our jobs and play full time.

The way I see it, if you're going to be in a band, it should be either very serious or not serious at all. Either you intend on making music a career, or you're content with playing around in a basement. But anywhere in between seems like a waste of effort. It takes a lot of time, money, and work to do typical band-related things. In order to get gigs, you have to have something recorded, which requires money. Then once you start playing at one place, you inevitably want to play at bigger or more important venues. That takes persistence, promotion, etc.

It doesn't help that I'm at a point where I feel that even though the band as a whole might be playing better, I'm stuck in a rut, playing the same types of stuff, or at worst, losing some skill that I might've had in the past. Even our "different" tunes are constrained by musical inhibitions. Maybe part of the disconnect is that the rest of the band members are 10 years older than I am.

I've tried looking for other opportunities in various bands, but that's a big hassle in itself. It's hard to find non-flaky musicians, it seems. I've thought about starting my own band, but unfortunately, I don't have enough original material on my own, don't really know what kind of music I'd like to play, and don't know anyone else who would join me in an experimental music venture. Besides, I'd only end up at this point eventually.

I tend to focus on one activity (and sometimes, one person) at a time. If I'm going to do something well, I have to push everything else out of the way. For the foreseeable future, being in a band isn't high on my list of priorities. I really need to devote some obsessive amount of time to photojournalism because that's what I intend to do as a career sooner rather than later.


That's what I'm thinking now. It's ironic that the reason I got back into a band after a few years was that I was tired of playing by myself and itching to collaborate with others. Now that it's become routine, I'm itching to cast it aside and move on. Who knows what I'll think in the future?


tax man

I started cleaning my room yesterday because I couldn't find my W2 in my piles. When I found it, I started to file my taxes online (don't get me started on that baloney). As I was typing in the fields from the W2, I thought, "hmm, didn't I make more money than that?" It turns out that was the 2003 W2. doh. I sifted through my desk again and found the current W2. After all that clicking, I'm due a pretty nice refund. I plan on spending it on twinkies and pogs.


that's a boring story.


sad day for one small animal

The other day I had my first and hopefully last roadkill incident. I was on Route 133 at about 10PM when I saw a little possum wander into the road. By the time I noticed and swerved, it was too late. After thumping over him, I turned around to confirm that he was dead. And indeed he was. I was pretty sad about that.

At least it was a genuine accident -- unlike the time when I unintentionally killed a bird with a bb gun when I was about 15. Somehow I thought I'd just scare him away, but instead I shot him right in the eye while he was sitting on a clothes line. He died instantly. Boy, that was awful. I never tried scaring birds again.


give up, dave

Misplaced romanticism:

angie

heart

I know I'm barking up the wrong tree, but when you're inspired, what can you do? Forget about it? nah.

I feel special knowing that nobody else has written her name in the snow, but I'd feel more special if it made any difference. eh, no big deal. Eventually, I'll give up. maybe.


What happened yesterday?

human dogsled race
Human dogsled races at Lowell's Winterfest

Nate in his room
A futile attempt at cleaning Nate's room

hallway confusion
Confusion in the hallway

uno's
Supper at Pizzaria Uno