Sorry for the extreme length, I'm at a major fork in the road of life here and it's kind of hard to make this any more compact..
After filling in on bass for my friends' band when they were in town I kind of got that urge to play live again, as I was kind of expecting to. The problem is, they have a position open for me if I were to move back down to California and my brain keeps ping-ponging back and forth as to whether it would be a wise decision or not.
I'm going to try to list as many positive and negative things as I can think of that pertain to this situation.
Positive:
-I love music, obviously, or I wouldn't be here on this forum. I also love the feeling of playing live and how it has the effect of basically erasing shittiness from your life, even if only temporarily.
-I now realize how much I miss playing live, and being in a band and all (most?) of the stuff that goes with it.
-I've been going through phases of depression since leaving my band almost two years ago, and being in a band again would help with that I'm sure.
-The singer for the band is my old singer from my previous bands, and is basically my best friend, and I get along with the rest of the guys really well (we're all nerds).
-The band is signed to a small label, and although it's still struggling, it's quite a step up from joining just a local band with no support.
-They get a guarantee of $200 per show regardless of how many people show up, and do fairly well selling merch as well.
-The drummer has an amazing business mind and pretty much handles all the logistics, and he does it quite well, so I could basically focus on the music and not worry so much about business, which is what burned me out before.
-They have quite a few endorsements from companies like Dean guitars (they GAVE the drummer a brand new ddrum kit) EMG pickups (the guitarists get free sets of EMG's every year or some shit like that) and Krank amps (although I guess they're still expensive as fuck with whatever deal they have).
-They're entering the writing mode for their second album and are basically looking for some fresh input creatively (they don't want to make the same record that they already made), and I feel like I would have a lot to offer in that respect (I'm a riff writing motherfucker).
-While bass isn't my preffered instrument, I have taken more and more interest in it the past couple years after actually owning one and being able to play it all the time, and wouldn't be able to handle their guitar parts anyway (can't shred), and don't particularly like being a drummer (even though I love playing drums, go figure).
-They would want quite a bit of creative input from me, which is a must for me to be in a band
-I'm 27 and haven't the slightest idea of what I want to do with my life career wise other than play music, and this would pretty much be my last chance to pursue being in a metal band. If I pass it up, it would pretty much be time to throw in the towel and just go on cleaning beer fermentation tanks every night.
-This might sound lame, and I'm sure everyone here feels this way, but I feel like I was born to play music. I'm not good at anything else, and I don't have any education past a high school diploma. I've always felt like if I'm going to contribute anything to the world, it will be through music, and this might be my last chance to really achieve that.
-My Fiance is 110% supportive of the idea, and is totally behind me, even being aware of the hardships it would put us through when it comes to being away on tour. She also gets turned on seeing me onstage, and misses that, so who could complain about that?
-In the words of Robert De Niro, "If you don't go, you never know". If I pass on the opportunity, I'd always wonder "What if?"
Negative:
-I'm not particularly fond of the idea of moving back to where we left. It gets hot as fuck in the summertime, it's ugly as hell (I'm living next to the ocean right now, so there aren't many places that compare) it's smoggy, and is generally a lame town, plus there was quite a bit of drama surrounding my Fiance and I leaving (we basically ran away together, and going back home and running into the wrong people could prove a bit uncomfortable, haha).
-Finding a flexible job that will both pay the bills and allow me to tour will be a pain in the ass and perhaps even impossible with the economy how it is, especially given the long distance of the move.
-We'll undoubtedly have to share a place with roomates (most likely the singer and his girl) which while isn't necessarily bad, is kind of tough when you're used to being on your own.
-I need to get bass gear. I have nothing other than a bass, and even at that I would need a backup. I have a drumkit I can sell, but that would suck to see it go. I'd also hate to part with my Gibson SG, but I hardly ever play it anymore..
-Touring will surely put a strain on my relationship. I have yet to spend a night away from my fiance since we got together, and I'm still madly in love with her, so theres no telling how we'll deal with touring.
-I'm a pretty private guy, and I don't see how one can find privacy while on tour
-I'll miss the fuck out of this place. The weather sucks, but it never gets hot, and most of my family live up here now. It will be hard to leave my dad, and I'll miss the anonymity we have up here. Plus this is where my fiance and I started our relationship, so theres a ton of sentimental value attached to the area.
-My fiance and I would be leaving our only friends in Oregon basically alone (they're recent California transplants as well) and I'd feel pretty guilty about it. We're their only friends up here basically.
-I'm not primarily a bassist. I'm a guitar player. I use a pick, which is fine for metal and I actually preffer it for the style, but being just a bass player doing nothing extraordinary might be a blow to the ego a bit. Being able to write songs I'm sure would more than make up for it, but being "seen and not heard" as some may put it might be a bit lame. I've heard laymen talk about how you can't hear the bass on Chaosphere (WTF!?)
-The music and style of the band is quite a bit more mainstream than what I normally prefer. Kind of killswitchy and metalcorish, but still quite enjoyable to play. My hope is that I could put enough of a stamp on the newer material to kind of break away from that a bit, while still being accessible to most people.
-I come from a bit of a different mold than most of the other dudes musically. They're into a lot of bands I really don't care for, but I think I'm just a hard motherfucker to please. I kind of cringe a bit when they talk about Lamb of God or some similar band. I think that's mainly my issue though. I'd hopefully be infusing some Scar Symmetry / Meshuggah / Cannibal Corpse fanboy flavor in there.
-They have breakdowns, and actually use the term.
Not that I particularly dislike breakdowns, but actually using the term? C'mon, man.
Thats all I can think of right now. Sorry for it being so long. Thanks to anyone who actually read it. Also sorry for all those ( )'s.
After filling in on bass for my friends' band when they were in town I kind of got that urge to play live again, as I was kind of expecting to. The problem is, they have a position open for me if I were to move back down to California and my brain keeps ping-ponging back and forth as to whether it would be a wise decision or not.
I'm going to try to list as many positive and negative things as I can think of that pertain to this situation.
Positive:
-I love music, obviously, or I wouldn't be here on this forum. I also love the feeling of playing live and how it has the effect of basically erasing shittiness from your life, even if only temporarily.
-I now realize how much I miss playing live, and being in a band and all (most?) of the stuff that goes with it.
-I've been going through phases of depression since leaving my band almost two years ago, and being in a band again would help with that I'm sure.
-The singer for the band is my old singer from my previous bands, and is basically my best friend, and I get along with the rest of the guys really well (we're all nerds).
-The band is signed to a small label, and although it's still struggling, it's quite a step up from joining just a local band with no support.
-They get a guarantee of $200 per show regardless of how many people show up, and do fairly well selling merch as well.
-The drummer has an amazing business mind and pretty much handles all the logistics, and he does it quite well, so I could basically focus on the music and not worry so much about business, which is what burned me out before.
-They have quite a few endorsements from companies like Dean guitars (they GAVE the drummer a brand new ddrum kit) EMG pickups (the guitarists get free sets of EMG's every year or some shit like that) and Krank amps (although I guess they're still expensive as fuck with whatever deal they have).
-They're entering the writing mode for their second album and are basically looking for some fresh input creatively (they don't want to make the same record that they already made), and I feel like I would have a lot to offer in that respect (I'm a riff writing motherfucker).
-While bass isn't my preffered instrument, I have taken more and more interest in it the past couple years after actually owning one and being able to play it all the time, and wouldn't be able to handle their guitar parts anyway (can't shred), and don't particularly like being a drummer (even though I love playing drums, go figure).
-They would want quite a bit of creative input from me, which is a must for me to be in a band
-I'm 27 and haven't the slightest idea of what I want to do with my life career wise other than play music, and this would pretty much be my last chance to pursue being in a metal band. If I pass it up, it would pretty much be time to throw in the towel and just go on cleaning beer fermentation tanks every night.
-This might sound lame, and I'm sure everyone here feels this way, but I feel like I was born to play music. I'm not good at anything else, and I don't have any education past a high school diploma. I've always felt like if I'm going to contribute anything to the world, it will be through music, and this might be my last chance to really achieve that.
-My Fiance is 110% supportive of the idea, and is totally behind me, even being aware of the hardships it would put us through when it comes to being away on tour. She also gets turned on seeing me onstage, and misses that, so who could complain about that?
-In the words of Robert De Niro, "If you don't go, you never know". If I pass on the opportunity, I'd always wonder "What if?"
Negative:
-I'm not particularly fond of the idea of moving back to where we left. It gets hot as fuck in the summertime, it's ugly as hell (I'm living next to the ocean right now, so there aren't many places that compare) it's smoggy, and is generally a lame town, plus there was quite a bit of drama surrounding my Fiance and I leaving (we basically ran away together, and going back home and running into the wrong people could prove a bit uncomfortable, haha).
-Finding a flexible job that will both pay the bills and allow me to tour will be a pain in the ass and perhaps even impossible with the economy how it is, especially given the long distance of the move.
-We'll undoubtedly have to share a place with roomates (most likely the singer and his girl) which while isn't necessarily bad, is kind of tough when you're used to being on your own.
-I need to get bass gear. I have nothing other than a bass, and even at that I would need a backup. I have a drumkit I can sell, but that would suck to see it go. I'd also hate to part with my Gibson SG, but I hardly ever play it anymore..
-Touring will surely put a strain on my relationship. I have yet to spend a night away from my fiance since we got together, and I'm still madly in love with her, so theres no telling how we'll deal with touring.
-I'm a pretty private guy, and I don't see how one can find privacy while on tour
-I'll miss the fuck out of this place. The weather sucks, but it never gets hot, and most of my family live up here now. It will be hard to leave my dad, and I'll miss the anonymity we have up here. Plus this is where my fiance and I started our relationship, so theres a ton of sentimental value attached to the area.
-My fiance and I would be leaving our only friends in Oregon basically alone (they're recent California transplants as well) and I'd feel pretty guilty about it. We're their only friends up here basically.
-I'm not primarily a bassist. I'm a guitar player. I use a pick, which is fine for metal and I actually preffer it for the style, but being just a bass player doing nothing extraordinary might be a blow to the ego a bit. Being able to write songs I'm sure would more than make up for it, but being "seen and not heard" as some may put it might be a bit lame. I've heard laymen talk about how you can't hear the bass on Chaosphere (WTF!?)
-The music and style of the band is quite a bit more mainstream than what I normally prefer. Kind of killswitchy and metalcorish, but still quite enjoyable to play. My hope is that I could put enough of a stamp on the newer material to kind of break away from that a bit, while still being accessible to most people.
-I come from a bit of a different mold than most of the other dudes musically. They're into a lot of bands I really don't care for, but I think I'm just a hard motherfucker to please. I kind of cringe a bit when they talk about Lamb of God or some similar band. I think that's mainly my issue though. I'd hopefully be infusing some Scar Symmetry / Meshuggah / Cannibal Corpse fanboy flavor in there.
-They have breakdowns, and actually use the term.
Not that I particularly dislike breakdowns, but actually using the term? C'mon, man.Thats all I can think of right now. Sorry for it being so long. Thanks to anyone who actually read it. Also sorry for all those ( )'s.
