Anyone Else Tired of Playing Dances?

Subject: Anyone Else Tired of Playing Dances?
From: Ebbie
Date: 29 Aug 02 - 08:36 PM

I love jamming. I love getting together socially and breaking out the instruments. I love to sing. I love playing at nursing and retirement homes. I no longer even attend house parties that don't involve home-made music. However, I am tired of playing for dances, specifically contradances.

It's nice to see people having a good time and all that, and it's nice making a production of our sound seeing how good we can make it but it's begun feeling like a lot of work. While everyone else is out there playing, *we're* working.

Our core group of 5 (and now 6) played for contradances for 6 solid years. We learned a lot of tunes and we play very well together. Our energy was high, we had fun, and we got a lot of strokes. Then some of us got busy and we stopped.

My problem is that after we stopped the scheduled dances five years ago, we still often get asked to play a 'special' dance, or they don't have a band for that week, or it's a holiday dance and they would like to have us... And I just don't want to do it anymore. Right now, they're asking us to do a dance on September 21 and another on Thanksgiving Day weekend. I was out of town when they did the July 4th dance; the one before that was in May. Last year it was at least as frequent.

How do you say NO? The rest of the band is gungho again. I'm the oldest of us at 66- the youngest is 41- but most of them are close to my age so I don't think it's just simple age. Maybe I've just gotten lazy? Has anyone else come to that stage? Did you eventually get past it?

Our 'band' consists of a fiddle, a banjo, two mandos, an upright bass and one guitar, me. If I stop, they'll have to get another guitar player. I don't want to stop jamming and practicing with them- we meet once a week just for fun.

BTW, we're not talking a lot of money here. Most of the money we made over the years gets put into sound systems and other supplies.

Any thoughts?

Subject: RE: Anyone Else Tired of Playing Dances?
From: Sorcha
Date: 29 Aug 02 - 08:47 PM

How about what "my" other fiddler playrer says..."I don't want to do that" and then doesn't. If the Band wants to take it without you then fine. It's not that hard, Ebbie.

Subject: RE: Anyone Else Tired of Playing Dances?
From: M.Ted
Date: 29 Aug 02 - 09:08 PM

It is hard to turn down folkdance stuff, because the people who call and beg etc are friends for the most part(with a certain number we only pretend that we are friends with;-)), many who you've known for a long time, and many who, over the years, have done nice things for you and the band--

Our band(which played international stuff) ended up splitting into pieces because some of us wanted to play more and better paying gigs, and some refused and only wanted to perform for certain groups of dancers--it doesn't seem like a big deal, but when people have conflicting obljectives, the tension eventually tears things apart, and small acrimonies are amplified over time--it's been nearly fifteen years, and we've barely spoken to one another--

Subject: RE: Anyone Else Tired of Playing Dances?
From: Willie-O
Date: 29 Aug 02 - 10:31 PM

Dance band needs a guitar player? Hey, call me.

Wait, you live in Alaska don't you Ebbie? NAAAAAAH.

On third thought, call me.

Willie-O
plays one dance a year, can use the energy hit.

Subject: RE: Anyone Else Tired of Playing Dances?
From: Ebbie
Date: 30 Aug 02 - 01:04 AM

Come on up, Willie-O. I'd like to direct them to someone in the wings.

These are friends, Sorcha. Friends I want to continue playing with. If I drop out, I won't be comfortable - it wouldn't be appropriate- to continue to play with them each week.

Heck bells, I guess I've talked myself into giving up the fight. I'll play...

Subject: RE: Anyone Else Tired of Playing Dances?
From: GUEST
Date: 30 Aug 02 - 01:30 AM

I will do a dance ANY DAY...thank you!!!

Good money...good people...lots of fun...sometimes get to spend the night with a good looking lady...

Haven't done a nursing home gig since High School....and don't intend to ever do another ...until I am in one myself.

What the hell is a "contradance?" Sounds miserable.

Subject: RE: Anyone Else Tired of Playing Dances?
From: X
Date: 30 Aug 02 - 01:33 AM

I played peddle steel and odd insturments in a C&W band for 20 years, six nights a week. Once I quit I started enjoying the music once again. Quit if you wish but let the other guys find a replacement before you leave and give the replacment a hand with the tunes before you go. Than you can leave with no hard feelings and maybe pick with them from time to time and work a gig with them now and than.

Subject: RE: Anyone Else Tired of Playing Dances?
From: RichM
Date: 30 Aug 02 - 04:57 AM

Banjoest, that's a good suggestion!

I'm starting feel the way Ebbie does; I decided to take up the octave mandolin in the Irish band I play in---and persuaded the bodhran player to do my previous instrument: rhythm guitar.

I am thinking now of leaving the band--I love them all, its fun to play, but I am playing in 3 bands right now!
I already know of an octave mando player who might replace me....

Subject: RE: Anyone Else Tired of Playing Dances?
From: wysiwyg
Date: 30 Aug 02 - 08:21 AM

You keep the commitments already made and give your friends notice NOW that you feel yourself being called in another direction musically, and then you GO in that direction, so they can find someone who WANTS to play these. What would you rather be doing than playing these? DO IT. If you do this, they may not contiunue to be the people you will keep jamming with all the time, but they will still be friends, and when you get together you will each talk about what new things you are excited about.

~Susan

Subject: RE: Anyone Else Tired of Playing Dances?
From: Dave Bryant
Date: 30 Aug 02 - 11:10 AM

I don't mind playing for dance gigs, but I'd only normally do it for money. On the other hand, I'll travel miles for a good singer's session, as I did last weekend for the ones in the barn at Towersey FF. I enjoy joining in with musician's sessions (esp English Country Danceband ones), but you can drop out for a natter at any point - and there's usually plenty of other people to talk to. When it comes to gigs where you're stuck up on a stage with the band for hours - I wanna be paid !

Subject: RE: Anyone Else Tired of Playing Dances?
From: Jim Krause
Date: 30 Aug 02 - 11:39 PM

Yeah, dances can get boring, I suppose. I haven't played guitar at a dance in years and years. I've played banjo some, and fiddle mostly. So for me I guess it isn't as easy to get bored or in a rut.

I could tell you about our guitar player. He's one of the best I've ever heard or played with. He and our bass player seem to have this extra sensory communications thing going on where without visible signal, they start getting creative harmonically, or rhythmically. Sometimes they quit playing altogether for a couple of passes through the entire tune. Then they come back in together softly, hanging on the I chord entirely through maybe a complete pass through the tune, maybe just through the A part, then after they've built up enought tension, never changing chords, they crash right into the next part of the tune. The dancers really like that. Some folks call cheap tricks like that the Squeal Factor. We call it a Euphoriagsm.

Another trick Asa uses when he drops out the guitar is to switch to spoons. He has a pair made of wood. Ruby, our bassist taps out a rhythm pattern on the sides of her bass. Its internal mic picks up the sound pretty well.

A third trick is to play one chord per measure on the down beat, and then rest for the rest of the measure. So you get one strum per chord change. Very effective on tunes such as Elzic's Farewell.
Jim

Subject: RE: Anyone Else Tired of Playing Dances?
From: Marion
Date: 31 Aug 02 - 12:54 PM

Guest, why do you say "Haven't done a nursing home gig since High School....and don't intend to ever do another ...until I am in one myself."?

Marion