Played A Gig With College Kids Last Night...And Had A Great Time

BobC

BobC

Silver Member
A couple of weeks ago, I got an email from a young blues/rock band, two juniors and a senior from Drew University, who had a Feb. 2 gig booked and needed a drummer. I told them straight up that I was available, but was quite a bit older than them. They didn't care. OK, so they sent me their setlist, which was three originals, and covers by Jimi, Creedence, Freddie King, Beatles, Clapton, etc. They also sent me MP3s of the original tunes, and I was surprised that they sounded as good as they did, so I agreed to rehearse once with them. The rehearsal was OK; I had to use an awful Alesis electronic set, but got through it. They sounded totally synthetic and the cymbal pads were awful, which further strengthened my feelings of dislike toward electronic drums.

We did the gig last night. Some of their parents, family and friends attended and it was filmed. I found out it was their second gig! Both guitarists had excellent chops, and one of them did all the singing. They don't own a PA, so they borrowed a big amp from someone and ran the one vocal mic' through it (just like we did in high school). They gave me strong signals, and we pulled it off, so well, that the owner wants the band back. After just one rehearsal, the band sounded good, and occasionally better than good. They respectfully treated me like the wise, old experienced musician I guess I am. The money wasn't great, but in the end, it was musically satisfying, and I was glad I could help three nice kids play music I grew up with. How often do you find college kids interested in blues?
 
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PERFECT !!
I'd love to do this.
Enjoy it.

.
 
Thanks. They told me that all the young drummers they tried out were mediocre, and all the older drummers weren't interested in playing with them, because they were young and inexperienced. I think that's a shame. Talent is talent, and I was glad to help them out. As far as doing anything else, we'll have to see. I told them to introduce me as their hip uncle...not their grandfather.
 
That's the way it's supposed to be. Stick with these guys. There is something good happening here.
 
I heard from them today, and they want to do more gigs, that last night was the best they ever sounded. I told them I'd send my blackout dates. We'll see what happens.

I was frankly worried that some of their friends would give them grief for playing with a senior citizen, but everybody was extremely nice.
 
That is awesome. You enjoyed it, they learned stuff, win-win all around. Let us know if they toss the video up on YouTube or something.

How did they find you?
 
I run a regular drummer for hire ad on Craigslist, and they found me there. Yeah, it was fun. I feel I can help steer these kids in a good direction. I love the idea of young musicians with their heads attuned to keeping the blues alive. I wouldn't want to play in an old man blues band anyway.
 
Damn...wish I could have been there. I'd have walked up to you on break..shook your hand and said hello from Bozozoid. I'll draw energy from you on your outlook on this. I need that as I can have a bit of an F it attitude sometimes. As I'm reading replies to your post I'm gaining momentum. Proud of you drummer..keep rockin! 🎶 😃.
 
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A good jam transcends age, ethnicities, everything.
Years ago, I had the opportunity to play at a church in South Korea.

The best reaction was to a couple songs we did as a blues jam. EVERYONE was into it.
 
If not for playing with younger people I never woulda learned of Goose, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, or never woulda liked playing the Dead.

But as one of the 20 something's said, nobody can teach you more guitar licks than an old guy.
 
BobC said:
I heard from them today, and they want to do more gigs, that last night was the best they ever sounded. I told them I'd send my blackout dates. We'll see what happens.

I was frankly worried that some of their friends would give them grief for playing with a senior citizen, but everybody was extremely nice.
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This is great! One thing I like about playing country music is that the old dogs still get a ton of respect.
 
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PorkPieGuy said:
This great! One thing I like about playing country music is that the old dogs still get a ton of respect.
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That is very true. I've seen it happen. I haven't played many country gigs, but the old timers are respected by all.
 
I've been asked to drum for a Country dude. I'm looking forward to it.

Scratch that. Country guy has bailed.
 
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3 years ago a friend asked if I could sub for their band....outdoor gig in 24 hrs...some songs I knew others never played.

Sound guy was sub optimal, so much so that all we could hear was mush. But we appeared to go down well.

A few months later I was asked to do another with them but this time with a few rehearsals. This repeated a few times & guess what: as from last summer I'm playing full time with them.
 
Great story, OP! Glad to hear even an "age-challenged" guy can hit it off with a younger crowd. It's also nice that a lot of the younger kids are latching on to old classic rock tunes and are fine with sharing the stage with someone a lot older than them.

I'm 59 and retired. Most of my friends are my age, or older. Sometimes I miss being around younger people. Back in my Army days, I was always surrounded by "kids". It's one of the things I liked about military service.

A couple years ago, I attended a wedding and was seated at a table consisting of a group of 20-something US Army lieutenants. After about an hour, we became the loudest, most boisterous table at the event! :)
 
Very cool stuff.

I thought about this thread on Saturday night...our acoustic duo act was playing at a local restaurant/bar, and my guitar players son came in with some friends. His son is a fantastic bass player, and one of his friends is a great sax player. They play in the National Guard band that my guitar player is the leader of, and it was drill weekend, so they were in town and stopped over to see his group.

So of course we got them up for the last half hour. Such fun, those young guys just killed it, everyone loved it. Lots of fun, playing with the young guys.
 
BruceW said:
Very cool stuff.

I thought about this thread on Saturday night...our acoustic duo act was playing at a local restaurant/bar, and my guitar players son came in with some friends. His son is a fantastic bass player, and one of his friends is a great sax player. They play in the National Guard band that my guitar player is the leader of, and it was drill weekend, so they were in town and stopped over to see his group.

So of course we got them up for the last half hour. Such fun, those young guys just killed it, everyone loved it. Lots of fun, playing with the young guys.
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Glad you had a good experience. I did too.
 
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