Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Once upon a time

It doesn't take long to be out of the loop. People who used to read my blog might remember, back in the dim, dark past that I'm a musician. I almost typed 'used to be' then but, no matter how hard I try, I'll always be a musician. Having said that though, it's been quite a while since I've played a gig, or been in a band. I'm doing some solo stuff at the moment but it's still coming together so, I'd reckon it's been at least eighteen months since I've played. Not long in real time terms but, long enough. Lady Hem and I went to the National Hotel to see a band called Graveyard Train. We saw them at Golden Plains, loved them and so, saw them when they came to the ol' home town. It was when I was standing around with a beer that the thought occurred to me, 'who are all these kids and what are they doing out on a school night?' Normally, when I was playing a lot, I could go into any bar in Geelong and quite a few in Melbourne and I'd know most of the punters in there. Because most of the punters who went to shows when I was playing, also played in bands. And a lot of bands shared members and we all pretty much played together, so we had a nice little clique going on. Now I recognise no one. I don't even know any of the bands around town. And I liked having that. I liked that I recognised people, that I could talk to them about mutual interests and that it felt like a little family. Now that family has gone their own ways and I feel like I'm rattling around in a fifteen room mansion by myself, wondering who's going to vacuum the carpets. It takes no time at all to be out of the loop.

3 comments:

Eric said...

Yeah, it's hard to completely leave music behind though, always there.

Anonymous said...

I went to see !!! last Friday and felt very much out of the loop. Not so much with the band, but with the crowd. I've been knocking around the bars and venues in downtown Orlando for over twenty years... and while I knew some faces, I realized that my days at these events were likely numbered. I was just waiting for someone to ask me if I was someone's dad there to collect them. Getting old is a nefarious business.

tennysoneehemingway said...

Eric: you're telling me. I got rid of ALL my musical equipment towards the end of last year, only to buy all new stuff about a month later. I just couldn't give it up.

BD: know just how you feel. This is my thirtieth year of playing and, while I still feel young enough to keep going, I also feel suspiciously like I should just quietly crawl away. The fact that I can't isn't helping.