I spent the early part of my 20s as a member of a pop group. It wasn't as glamorous as i thought it would be and what possessed me to be so stupid as i was to join a group i now put down to my youth. Being a kid, i made some terrible decisions, decisions i'll regret for as long as l live. If i could live my life again i would. I'd probably make some other error of judgement. Of that you can be sure. Collecting stamps would have been better than what i did do. We all make mistakes. I just didn't realise that i was making any. Let's just say i've made better choices than to be a musician.
Let me tell you, first of all, that it's an expensive hobby to have. What are the chances you'll get anything back? Well, once you've played a few gigs, things start to wind down and you're not as popular as you liked to think you were. It doesn't seem that long ago, but the reality is that it was. It was a time you thought would last forever. It never did though. It was hours and hours of practise that came to nothing. I'm not sure what advice i'd give to any youngsters today. Maybe they could give me some.
The best artists have played in front of an audience for years. They've built up a huge following and even though they're not the best musicians you've ever heard, they don't need to be. They have what's known as the 'x' factor. Elvis, The Beatles and The Bay City Rollers had it. So did a lot of others (i haven't got all day though). The Beatles played The Shea Stadium, we played a village hall in Stoke Golding. There WERE advantages to being in a band. (I won't bore you with what, ok i will) Playing in front of a live corowd was something special. Expensive, but special.
So, just to conclude, music is a very expensive hobby. Not everyone is going to succeed at it. You might have a fine repartee in humour and the personality to go with it, but that means nothing these days. The equipment you bought all those years ago is probably gathering dust right now in some second-hand shop as you wonder why you weren't snapped up years go. They were good days (weren't they?) Sorry, but you were awful and shouldn't have bothered.
It isn't a dream my introverted non-musical self has ever had. On balance are you sorry you learnt to play or just sorry that you were in a band? Some at least of the expenses wouldn't alter.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry I ever saw a guitar to be honest (like l always am).
DeleteI bet you enjoyed it at the time? Isn't that good enough?
ReplyDeleteEveryone who joins a pop group always expects great expectations. It isn't like that though.The reality is very different. I enjoyed it at the time, yes. Who wouldn't? Looking back I wished I'd tried something else.
ReplyDeleteTo try and fail is better than not try at all. I'm sure it must take a lot of effort and determination to succeed and a bit of good luck with the right agent to become a popular group.
ReplyDeleteMistakes are just lessons in life. We all make mistake that we need to learn from.
HUgs, Julia
I like your sense of reasoning. Still think I should have given hair dressing a go.
DeleteOur mistakes in judgement are what contribute to making us the person we are today. I'm a mess...ooops. Seriously, I'm sure you had a good time and gained some valuable experiences and learned some valuable lessons that still serve you well today.
ReplyDeleteLesson no1) don't go into music. Leave it to those that know how.
ReplyDeleteWe certainly do all make mistakes. Hindsight is 20/20. Hopefully we learn from them and move on.
ReplyDeleteHopefully we do learn from our mistakes and move on from them.
ReplyDeleteI would rather do something and it not pan out than to not try it and regret never having tried to do it. I'm incredibly shy but I was in the school choir from 8th grade until 12th and even though it was embarrassing quite often, I'm glad that I at least tried it. I'm sure you have a few good memories from that time in your life and if you do then wasn't it worth it?
ReplyDeleteI had a go at being a pop person and even though I laugh and make fun about it now, I tried to make a success of it. I failed at it and even though we played all over Hinckley I never really met any women while I did it. That was the whole point. Wine, women and song never really took off for me because I didn't get a girl friend from it all.
ReplyDeleteI had dreams of being a piano player for a living, doing small concerts...I took lessons. In the end it became too much pressure for me and I gave it up after my first recital! Now though, I would like to acquire a piano again, but just for my own pleasure. The music industry is so competitive. I don't regret trying to follow that dream, but at least I realized that it was not meant to be so it wasn't too hard on me. It's not fun when your dreams are squashed! :)
ReplyDeleteTell me about it. I had ideas above my station and soon realised that it wasn't for me. I had a go and that's all I did. I knew I didn't have the desire and willingness to carry on...
DeleteYeah! Yeah! Yeah! But I bet you had a lot of fun moments, too...and a lot of fun memories. :)
ReplyDeleteSeriously, I wouldn't have missed it one little bit.
DeleteWere you serious about hair dressing? (in your reply to Julia) We have a well-known hockey player from our region who has achieved great success at a young age. He gets interviewed a lot. A couple of years ago he said when he was a kid and thinking about what he wanted to do when he grew up, it was a choice between hockey and hairdressing. I love that story.
ReplyDeleteBeing in a band must have taught you a lot of things you wouldn't get elsewhere. I can imagine how expensive it was, though.
Being in a band was ok for a while, Jenny. It didn't really teach us anything though. It was nothing that I'd call useful, anyway. It paid for the booze during the breaks we had.
DeleteI think we all need to quit worrying about what we will get back from a hobby, activity, job, our children. If we knew that we would not succeed at things we try, we would never try anything and what kind of life is that?
ReplyDeleteBeing part of that group, being part of music helped to make you who you are today. An excellent writer that can share experiences of his youth. I enjoy your blog but if you had not been in a pop group...what would you have written about? Our life experiences are fodder for our blogs!
Alicia, I'm sure I'd have found something to write about. Life is just a fork in the road and I took the wrong turning. That happens at times.
ReplyDeleteI was in a band from the age of sixteen. We played youth clubs, village halls, working men's clubs etc.. most weekends but then I had an opportunity to be a VSO teacher in Fiji for a year and I chose that instead. I have often wondered how far we might have gone if I had stuck with the band. I was the lead singer.
ReplyDeleteI think you made the right choice, but then again....
DeleteAt the time it was your dream. If you hadn't been in that band you probably would be regretting it right now. Remember the best forget the rest....sounds great advice and way lol.
ReplyDeleteTreey I want to follow your blog but can't figure out how. What am I not seeing?
It's different to most blogs out there. I like it though.
DeleteThe advice seems ok, I followed my dream and at least I wasn't taking drugs.
I could've gone down that route, but I was saved somehow.
Where is your 'follow' button so I receive the post each time you write?
ReplyDeleteThere isn't one. It's how the blog is designed. Sorry.
ReplyDeleteIt's not made the same way as yours is.
You did what you wanted to do at the time, and now you're regretting it? It's all part of experiencing life. At least you did it. I often have regrets about NOT doing something that I wanted to do.
ReplyDeleteYes, I regret it now. At the time I was too busy to. I couldn't see the wood for the trees.
DeleteBut look at all the fun you would have missed out on :)
ReplyDeleteI think most of us look back and think "what if".
~Jo
I wish I could turn back time...but I can't do that.
DeleteKeep up with the pills.
ReplyDeleteBob, I really think I'm on enough pills as it is thanks.
Delete