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Career ceilings

Side comment, but the whole "Of making it 'big time' like so many of today's youth believe" has always been a thing. Everybody when I was a kid in the 90's wanted to be a pro ball player. Every musician in high school in the early 00's wanted to make it big. And that's just my Millennial generation, I'm sure Xer's, Boomers, etc. all said the same thing. Hell, my grandad, who was a band leader in the 40's, wanted to make it big too!

It's not a "kids these days" thing, its an "always have been" thing. Surely you remember when you were younger?
 
Chris Whitten said:
Agreed.
Most musicians I met starting out wanted to play music everyday, and hopefully be paid to do it.
It's a different person who wants to be a rock star or celebrity.
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i feel like that is what I learned that I actually wanted to do during my "run" to try to be a rock star. I found out that it was less about fame, notoriety, and tons of money, and more about just playing, and especially playing with other people. i think as a tween, and teen, I defined it by saying "rock star", but that is not what I really wanted.
 
JimmyM said:
I just wanted a way to meet girls who were out of my league.
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Funny. I played in a dinner theater house band for a year while in college. One semester I dated the lead actress in the show. She was Bernadette Peters with red hair. The next semester I dated the lead actress in that show. Graduated college and pursued a corporate career. No regrets. Now retired and have been playing the drums for the past 6 years or so, starting just before COVID. People ask why I'm playing again. Most expect me to say for the love of music. Instead I tell them "To pick up chicks." Sadly, it hasn't worked yet. Maybe being 62 has something to do with it.
 
MntnMan62 said:
Funny. I played in a dinner theater house band for a year while in college. One semester I dated the lead actress in the show. She was Bernadette Peters with red hair. The next semester I dated the lead actress in that show. Graduated college and pursued a corporate career. No regrets. Now retired and have been playing the drums for the past 6 years or so, starting just before COVID. People ask why I'm playing again. Most expect me to say for the love of music. Instead I tell them "To pick up chicks." Sadly, it hasn't worked yet. Maybe being 62 has something to do
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No I think the chicks of today are more interested in money and if you say you’re a musician they will quickly switch off. I’ve had to work to get my girlfriend to be even mildly supportive of my bad life choice.
 
My wife knew at an early age she wanted to be a pediatrician- worked at hospitals as young teen volunteer and had a basic plan for life- goals and ambitions. I had neither and no plan at all- it sort of unfolded by chance. I’ve noted many people are plan/ambition driven and that seems like a genetic trait. Some like being in lime light and that is my worse nightmare. I think my wife hit her 15 feet ceiling goal with her plan and I ended up with 8 feet ceiling and a roof in bad need of repair without one ROFL.
 
There's a local band that's doing everything they can to "make it big". It's pretty sad. Their latest venture is to rent a theater and try to sell tickets. From all indicators, it's going very poorly. They'll almost certainly be playing to an empty theater. A few family and friends will be clapping in the front row.

I used to be in that band. Most of them are great guys. We had many great times together. But the "pursuit of greatness" got out of control. We were probably the best band in our county. There are 83 counties in the State of Michigan. We were never going to be the next Van Halen.
 
Chris Whitten said:
Agreed.
Most musicians I met starting out wanted to play music everyday, and hopefully be paid to do it.
It's a different person who wants to be a rock star or celebrity.
Click to expand...
When I was a kid, I didn't know there was a difference.

The bands I was familiar with were on the radio, and later MTV. I wasn't old enough to get into bars. And I lived in a city that gave us The Jefferson Airplane, Grateful Dead and others. My mom and friends all had stories of seeing them around town. And we had Journey.

So the idea of working but not famous musicians wasn't something I knew existed until later.
 
Really... it never occurred to me.
I started playing classical percussion at 11, I went to music college at 16 and all I ever wanted to do was play music. It felt like freedom, and working in a day job or for someone else (team building sessions, uniforms like suits) seemed like prison.
When I left college my two ambitions were to earn enough to survive and to one day work on something that people remember after I was gone.
Having worked with a few legends (or at least 'stars') I would not want to be them.
 
I’ve hit a few points where I felt stuck, but switching up who I played with or focusing on a new skill always brought fresh energy and new chances.
 
PorkPieGuy said:
I'm so thankful that I have a day job that I love because the music business is absolutely horrible, yet I can not or will not stop playing music and gigging until I am physically or mentally unable to do so.
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Same here. It's my escape from the reality of working a job they have to pay me for. :cool:
 
At this point, my gig money is my ss supplement. I did full time for app 10 yrs. I worked a lot and even then the money was crap except for resort work. That could put you into a coma! I eventually tired of clubs and a lot of the people that hang in them and eventually started a landscape business. I wanted to be able to help support my family more consistently. I still played, but more infrequently. I retired at 62 and covid hit just months later. My wife and i moved for the first time in 30 yrs and 1 wk later, the shut down occurred. I practiced my butt off during that period and in the last 5 years have played with some of best bands/players i have ever played with. I guess what im trying to say is drumming can be just as fun/purposeful as a hobby as it was as a career. I still study/practice almost as much as i did before. Good luck on your journey
 
Frankreyny said:
I’ve hit a few points where I felt stuck, but switching up who I played with or focusing on a new skill always brought fresh energy and new chances.
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I hit a similar wall a couple of years ago and started looking into side gigs that wouldn’t mess with my practice time. Ended up taking some online plumbing courses after a buddy recommended them, just to see if I could bring in extra income during slow gig months. Surprisingly decent money in it, and flexible enough that I didn't have to give up drumming full-time either.
 
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