conflicted on badass opportunity

so i've been playing guitar for about 10 years now im 21 years old and i've got an opportunity to move out to san diego to play with a band. i'm conflicted about this decision for several reasons.

first, although the musics good and the bands fairly professional, i won't really have much of a say in the writing(the musics been written already) and i'm not SUPER into it. its good and i can get down to it, but its just not really my first choice. i'd rather be playing something that i've had an equal opportunity to collaborate on.

on the other hand, this is an awesome opportunity for me to move halfway across the country(i live in illinois) and pursue my passion. i have a buddy here that i write music with that i have a 1 in a million type of chemistry with, but he's about to have a kid next month and get married and stuff. I know we could write some amazing music together, but its going to be such a long wait until his family is stable enough that he'll be able to leave to tour and stuff. i don't know if i really want to sit around here for another 5 years and work strictly in the studio, when i have this chance to get out and tour and get experience. the problem is i almost feel like im selling myself out just to get on tour, and this is where im conflicted.

So, I am here to ask you guys your opinion about this. Is playing in a band whose music you are not 100% about selling yourself out? Do you think it's worth it for the experience?

 

I don't think it's selling out to use this opportunity as a stepping stone in your career.

I know artists who work as studio musicians, and artists who work on several projects at once, for various reasons.

One thing is your passion, your baby, the others enable you to work more toward doing what you want more often in the long run.

 

I say go for it! i know it hurts to play something that you aren't 100% stoked on, but if it's still something you can get down to, that's too sweet of an opportunity to pass up. And who knows what touring with a good band could lead to? you might find someone else that you have the chemistry with that has the time to make a legitimate go at a career.

 

Well unless you have a contract with said band, know that it that fickle and flaky world there's no guarantees... your ass could be on the street a week in!

San Diego is certainly going to have more opportunitys for you than where you're at, but it's a tough go no matter what, not as many gigs and a lotta cats gunning for 'em wherever you go.

There's a lot of value to having a great writing partner and that definitely should not be a bridge you want to burn...

what ever you do, don't get too hasty with your decision because you're anxious to get your career going. You're young, you still have time.

ZW

 

thanks for the replies guys i really appreciate it. i feel what you guys are saying. zombiewolf- i won't have a contract, but the drummer is one of my best friends. he moved out there about a year ago to live with his brother, and i know he wouldn't throw me out on the street. and if all else fails i can always come back home and live with my parents like im doing now.

and i definitely won't be burning any bridges with my guy here. i fully plan on coming back at some point to get something going with him, i just feel like this would give him the time to get his family set up and stuff, while at the same time i can get experience.

stilltrippin, for sure i always think about that, who knows where it can lead to and whatnot. if nothing else i will always have the experience of moving cross country and living in california for a while.

i've been thinking about it for a month already, and i have about a month until the drummer and vocalist are going to be around my area(the vocalist is from just north of here). I've sent them an audition video and they really liked it, they offered to take me back out there with them, even tow my car out with them.

it's getting harder and harder to pass up the more i think about it. and since i've been living at my parents house unemployed for the past 7 months its been becoming extremely appealing.

 

One major bonus about San Diego... 'Robertos' restaurantes...I used to eat there at least three times a week!

(It's been so long I've nearly forgotten the taste...)

3 rolled tacos and a carne asada burrito with a side of guac...:drool5:

Good luck on your decision



ZW

 

I dunno, I'd probably go to california, at least for a little while. Just to go to california.

But make no mistake, playing in sleazy bars is NOT going "on tour".

 

You can make being associate with several projects/playing in several bands at once work.

I know a guy who plays for Type-O, Danzig, and another band. I know a guy that plays for Danzig, plus has his own band. I know a guy who used to play for The Misfits who now plays for Doyle's new band, and played for another band during that same time. I know guys who play for more than one band on my local scene.

That part is not unusual.

 

This is definitely becoming the norm. 's why the scene is so tight.
It's analogous to whats happened in the business world with corporate downsizing and what-not. More clubs are closing everyday nationwide leaving fewer people doing more work to get the gigs that are available.

I hate to say it, but average pay for dives has not increased since
I started playing bars in Denver when I was 15 or 16, (in fact around here I'm told they currently pay even less)... It was rarely enough for expenses in 1975, it's a pittance now.


These days it's pretty much 'pay-to-play-and pray', I'm afraid...

ZW

 

for sure the music that i'm into and that i'll be playing is that metal/hardcore/scream/whatever you want to call it. mostly younger kids and stuff so it's not going to be a lot of bars and stuff. it's definitely a big pay-to-play scene. i'm confident that this band has a future though. they tell me they're close to getting signed and i believe that.

and yeah i know a lot of dudes have several projects going at once, i've done it myself, just never over such a long distance before so i don't really know the mechanics of it.

oh and zombiewolf, i'll definitely keep a look out for Robertos

 

I'm afraid the old saying still holds true but not due to lack of talent "Don't quit your day job".

 

lucky for me i don't have a day job! haha. i've been looking for a job around here for the past six months with no luck, and i know california has the highest unemployment rate in the country, but after researching it, its only about 1% higher than it is here, so it really can't be much harder out there. i know its a higher cost of living, but with that there should come some higher paying jobs, and i've got a place to stay rent-free for a couple months while i look.

 

Good luck to you!