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Rock of Aged


bobsessed

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I just turned 50 last Sunday!

One of my first Lp's was Deep Purple in Rock; now I listen mostly to the swedish progressive metal band Opeth !! So guess what style of rock I play!

Keep it up - your own way is the right way!

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After reading all these responses, I gotta say THANKS! I was feeling more than a little old yesterday, for some reason, and this gives me a renewed vigor. I love this place...

I'm 38 and I'm the youngest in my band. And these are the finest players I've ever played with. I was a smokin teen, but I'm far more experienced now. I'm doing a broad range of stuff more easily now than I ever would of back then. I also think it's a helluva way to keep yourself fit, healthy & the best you can look at your age. I'm not getting up there and look like an accountant (not that there's anything wrong with that!) or some slob. I have a 17 year old daughter and most people think we're siblings. It's funny how many guys her age that she knows who play like a lot of the same players that I did when I was their age! Back when guitar heros were just that! Hey look at George Lynch! He got buff after 40!

Art

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I'll be 53 New Years Eve. Just seen the last Who show of North America. (Saw them the last time in 1975) I know many friends who went the "turn it down, Country style" route. I still rattle the windows whenever I can with a few friends my age who still like it loud. We play Trower, Bowie, AC/DC, Queen, Montrose, etc...

Is there something genetically wrong with us "older" guys still wanting to rock...?

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47 and rockin' more now (not in a chair, either :ph34r: ) than ever - in a COUNTRY band!

There's been a sort of resurgence of country music in these parts, and we just happened to be somewhat on the leading edge of it.

Now, I'm NO fan of country music, but that seems to help when it comes to tearin' it up. I learn the progression and the hooks, but after that, it's a free-for-all baby! I'm doing to country music what VH did to 'You Really Got Me' and people are diggin' it. Damn hicks! :ph34r:

We have a younger (32) metal-type drummer who gets to play with his dad (bass player - 56) and 2 fair guit players (the other guy is 50 and (if he had hair) you'd never know it).

I'm having WAY more fun now than I ever had (as far as playing goes), and even in a genre I don't like, I've stayed pretty true to my roots.

Turning it up to 11 and giving you a loud 'AMEN!!', brutha.

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Oh heck, if I didn't pick up the guitar again - and electric at that - at 42 I wouldn't be HERE or having any fun rocking out with both old and new music. I may not be doing this with a band, but the playing keeps me listening, keeps me learning, keeps me happy :ph34r:

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I'll turn 67 on Dec.31 and up till a couple weeks ago I was wrestling with the mentality of "these kids don't want to hear an old guy".

I host a weekly open mic and usually open with a short set.

I was in the middle of a slow ballad when a cute lady in her mid 20s moved up to a front table and sat there all stary eyed and smiling for three more songs which resulted in her and her boyfriend having a big spat and leaving. As they went out the door she looked back and smiled leaving my ego in pretty good shape.

I am not a rocker but I think the bottom line is "if you feel good about your music, present it honestly and still connect with an audience, AGE IS JUST A BUNCH OF IRRELEVENT NUMBERS.

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49 and I still rock out! AMEN!! Been back in the game for about 2 years. Trust me I look my age, but when I pick up a guitar my hair grows back, the belly disappears and I'm 18 again. The only problem is by halfway through the last set it really becomes work. I'm exhausted.

My singer and drummer are in their mid 40's and the bass player is my son in law.

We play loud classic rock and some oldies that we rev up. People seem to enjoy it. I think our most current song is from the mid 90's. I keep getting comments that they enjoy our stuff because we don't play the "same old" classic rock....no Skynard The one rule in the band is that we don't play any obscure or deep cuts. Much as I'd love to do a Tragically Hip song or 2 .

Last weekend I said to hell with it and took my Marshall stack with my Genz Benz head to our gig.

Got flashed by the girls for the first time. Maybe it is a size thing.

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rocking is one thing, being believable at your age vs. the genre is entirley a different story .

I love metal, ...I have no problems cranking that at home or in the car, pontoon boat....pissing off one of my lake prick neighbors jamming with old buds/bandmates that come to town,

even pulling some wild assed tunes out of the closet in a rehearsal/sound check setting for grins.

I still wear my hair long...well longer than most...

I've been blessed that at 41, I really look young for my age [at least for now & fingers crossed]

unless you are some working metal novelty act,or in one of the pro bands that made that music famous, "hey spare that stuff live today."

I vividly remember walking into clubs around the country as a young player/listener thinking what the f^ck are these old guys doing here playing.. !!!!!!

its not that you may not be good at what you do... its the clubs youre gonna play that type of material in are simply geared for a younger crowd...

"most" kids in general dont care to hang around with ,muchless watch some guy old enough to be their dad jamming some rock tunes recorded prior to their birth.

and do you at whatever age it is,wanna hang/bang with

a young rowdy drinking crowd in a club ?

we all do it from time to time of course... but when that crowd starts shouting for

green day, nickelback,or tool.....

and youre bringing, sabbath, thin lizzy or bad company ,billy idol,cheap trick or whomever it is you do...

its time to redefine where and what it is that your doing.

I may be looking at this from a players point of view rather than from a hobbyists,

and am not saying hang up your guns and start chicken pickin or moaning the blues... though not a damn thing wrong with that at all !!!

but there is definately a difference between keeping the home fires burning for the music you grew up with/love, and becoming a sad parody of your past playing it out.

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"its time to redefine where and what it is that your doing.

but there is definately a difference between keeping the home fires burning for the music you grew up with/love, and becoming a sad parody of your past playing it out."

I guess I better start learning some "modern rock" then. Young folks love to hear "old guys" playing their music! While I'm at it I'll learn that dope Bow Wow rap I just heard to it's phat - the kids'll love it!

I hear what you're saying peenedmark but you gotta just play whatever it is you like and can do with sincerety, but great songs are timeless.

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I am the youngest in our band too 34 (am I a fossil too), sometimes I am thinking of starting a country band, but that is because there are so many nice instruments needed fot that. On the other end I still wanna rock 'til I die!!! and I don't give a shit about wearing leather pants and doing some weird stuff with that lovelly guitar..people say that I look like an 70's 80's rocker....well thats me!!!

Jeroen

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I can see what Peedenmark is getting at but maybe your looking at it as 80's hair metal is the only loud/rockin music. I like it loud and a little on the heavey side but I also realize that I don't have the "LOOK" but then again I'm not trying to play hair metal.

We play working class music in working class bars for working class people. Born to be Wild is a requirement by law! Jeans and workboots are required attire. These are middle aged factory and construction workers at your corner bar that I play for. They want to drink beer play darts and maybe get laid and a band may increase their chances of the latter so they tolerate us being there.

But seriously I play in a BAR band, were not the hottest band in town but in some towns were the only band in the only bar and these guys like to rock and the owner doesn't care what we play as long as he sells booze. If we played a "Club" I guarantee the crowd would just look at us and think......What the F#*k?

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I'm not too old to play our stuff, but I AM getting too old to put up with bar owners that try to screw me, bar owners who double book, booking agents who try to limit my exposure so they can book their boyfriend's band more frequently, book agents who have rooms tied up so tight you can't get in the room, bar patrons who believe a bandstand is very much like a music store in that you should have free access to mess around with the band's instruments, and bar managers who rank us lower than delivery men in their priorities.

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I'm 57 and am now playing bass in a blues band, I'm the oldest but the rest of the guys (except for the 40-something singer/songwriter/bandleader) are in their 50's also. We do about 80% originals and 20% covers and we've been doing quite well. We have found a niche that allows us to do what we want to do and still get our fair share of gigs. Except for carrying gear (2 displaced vertabrae), I don't have any problems. Age is just a number.

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I am definately pointing more to the '80s hair metal than at the '70s rock genre, though there are definate parallels.

I know first hand that there are folks out there that do wanna see older players doing what they enjoy... but I believe those folks are the minority today.

again its a matter of how believable you are doing it...

and that was more the point than anything.

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36 here, but looking forward to be rocking like my older pals here who still rock. So, yes, AMEN!

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Oh, boy ... a big 48 here. I'm just hoping to become a really good geetar player before I die

but yeah... I'm rocking pretty hard, and looking pretty good, more so than anyone else I know (my age :ph34r:) . However I think it would be weird to attempt to sell "pop" records or appear sexually attractive on stage.

That's for the youngsters

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Hadicus Road is 45 - 53, I think. We do Classic Rock, a little blues/R&B, and some new stuff that seems to 'fit'.

We'll stop when they stop coming out to listen. This past year has been pretty damn good, thank God. We've worked every month at a minimum..... and that's enough for me these days.

Oh, boy ... a big 48 here. I'm just hoping to become a really good geetar player before I die

but yeah... I'm rocking pretty hard, and looking pretty good, more so than anyone else I know (my age :ph34r:) . However I think it would be weird to attempt to sell "pop" records or appear sexually attractive on stage.

That's for the youngsters

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