What got you playing...what keeps you playing?

[louderthangod]

I've been thinking about this for awhile. What actually starts people into music (or anything really)? If I don't really think about it, my lazy mind starts to think that everyone comes in it with the same motivations that I had. I was walking through our rehearsal building (3 floors of a gazillion bands from synth, indie, doom (High on Fire and Sleep), rap, reggae) and it's easy to make observations (and generalizations). You get to see a lot of the same people. Some of them never seem to gig, some of them just seem to hang out in their room and talk about music and smoke a lot of weed. Some folks (like HoF) practice 5 days a week and run it like a job. Some bands come and go really quickly. Some play the same damn song or two all of the time. Some seem to talk a big game but rarely make music. Some folks are just jamming all of the time and seem so happy and content to be making any form of music at all, whether it's just a jam with friends or a big show.

I've known some folks that just wanted to be on stage, it didn't matter if it was a play, musical or in a band but they liked to get up in front of people, be ridiculous and have a lot of fun. I've known a lot of people that just loved music and wanted to be apart of it so they started a band that either played covers or wrote songs like the bands they liked and usually had a lot of fun. A few people I've known used it as a form of expression, often their only comfortable of expressing their emotions and thoughts.

For me I always wanted to expression my emotions through music but I've spent a huge chunk of my life really just trying to sound like the bands I like because I just love music so much. When a project breaks up or when I'm considering starting another one, I feel overwhelmed that I want to do so many different things. I've always wanted to be in a surf band, either a straight up traditional surf or a more psychedelic thing like the Mermen. I've always wanted to play in a old school thrash style band. I was never able to fully get a punk project going when I was young. I've wanted to play bass for a progressive hip-hop project. I've wanted to do a Gary Numan, dark, new wave thing. I've had an idea for a singer songwriter sort of thing but like an electric guitar and a small, vintage amp with a lot of quiet/loud dynamics. Of course I've had a ton of different doomtastic band ideas and I've gotten to work most on these. I've also wanted to do an ambient/instrumental/noise like a KTL meets SUNN, Brian Eno, Sigur Ros and GSYBE maybe with a little Chelsea Wolfe thrown in.

It's only within the last 2 years (I'll be 40 in March), since the dissolution of my band of a decade where I feel like I'm finally moving into that third stage of music. I've finally found a musical voice that truly hits a chord with my emotional expression. I've a pretty bottled up guy, so much so that I have no idea what's even in those bottles anymore. I have a hard time doing anything I actually enjoy and I have an even harder time expressing that joy. I assuming everyone I love will leave or die because that's been the pattern of things so far and if nothing else I've learned with age is that I repeat myself in clearly defined cycles and patterns. I'm in relationships just long enough till they get difficult and then I either bail or force them away or they die randomly (my least favorite). I've always been able to throw in little bits of music that really meant a lot to me emotionally but most of the time, they were things I just thought sounded cool. Now what makes something sound cool and what I'm drawn to has an emotional element but I feel like I'm finally getting down through the layers of avoidance, self-pity and loathing and getting real both musically and in my life. Most of the time I play music now I feel like I'm directly in touch with what I'm feeling and I think it sounds like that. That's why I love the Mark Rothko quote so much. I remember seeing a large poster of his on a wall in a shop in Berkeley. I found myself drawn to it despite it having all of the typical qualities of art I usually make fun of. I don't totally dismiss abstract art but to me guys like Jackson Pollock were more of an intellectual exercise in pushing the definitions of what is art. There was something about the Rothko that didn't feel abstract but distilled and pure. It felt like a strong emotion with everything removed and stripped to it's bare essence. Simon Schama did an awesome series about art history for PBS a few years back that is just awesome. I'm not a fine arts sort of guy typically. I hate museums because I think they're the worst possible place to truly see a work of art but his series, especially his Rothko segment is something I think all artistic people could benefit from. I feel like I'm finally there with music and I hope that's where I'm going.

I'm really just looking for a thoughtful conversation and I've probably killed that by over writing, not being clear and generalizing to the point of alienating people but I figured I'd give it a shot. My wife's brother is a writer and I figure that oddly enough I've had better conversations about art with him than any musician I know just because we come from a similar point of view rather than a similar product.

[Derelict78]

When I heard pink Floyd Animals at the end of 5th grade I decided I wanted to play music and it took a couple years to realize it was the bass I was hearing that I wanted to play. Since I started actually playing its just whatever sounds interesting to me. I love all kinds of music but the common thread in it has always been that an album or song sounds interesting, different, and new to me. I have not ever had any delusions of being famous or anything I just love the creAtion of something I find interesting.

[fishtankdork]

music is in the family. almost every male in my family dabbled in guitar, so it seemed logical to me. i was about 13. 15 years later what keeps me going is passion and love. playing guitar is a spiritual release to me. on my arm i have tattoo'd music is my religion. when everything in the world seems pointed against me and everything is crumbling apart, my guitar never adds to the stress. she helps when i pick her up. only guitars, my cats and dog have had that power in my life.

[louderthangod]

One thing I forgot to mention (if that's possible) is that I also make music because as a fan, there are things I want to hear that I can't currently find. Some of my music is solely to fill a void in my listening options.

[AxAxSxS]

One thing I forgot to mention (if that's possible) is that I also make music because as a fan, there are things I want to hear that I can't currently find. Some of my music is solely to fill a void in my listening options.

Thats a wonderful reason.

I picked up guitar because of hendrix, gilmour, then Nuclear assault, Suicidal tendencies etc. I wanted to be able to make those sounds.

Nowadays it's a meditative thing and getting other people to play with on an almost telepathic level is incredible. We just started playing shows a few months ago and thats been very fufilling as well. getting people engaged and excited and just being a part of making memorable evenings and good times happen is a beautiful thing.

[HeavyXIII]

This is something I struggle with daily. I love music and art, so much so that I have been studying art through college and will graduate this year with a degree in Studio Art. My biggest struggle is with motivation. I have trouble seeing the journey between where I am and where I want to be, that I often don't get off my ass and just do something. I've been waiting for my friends who play and are interested in making the creative effort with me to create something we all love, but I've been waiting so long and making so little headway by myself that I often find myself playing guitar less and less. Motivation is becoming hard for me to find nowadays. Compared to a lot of you guys and my family friends who are musicians and artists, I'm relatively young. I fear that my opportunity to do something with my art and music is going to pass me by and before I know it I'll have a family and too many other responsibilities to ever do anything.

That fear ought to be a powerful motivator, but it's just not. I can't be a one man band, and I've never wanted to be. Giving up the waiting game on my friends always crosses my mind, but in the southeast here, everyone wants to be in classic rock cover bands and play country music; which is great, but leaves me little room to find people to write with. I almost can't remember why I picked up guitar anymore, I just can't put it away. It's as much a medium to me as a pencil, a brush or a piece of charcoal. I've invested so much time, effort and money into my rig that it would be a waste to just quit. It's hard for me to understand what keeps me going.

It doesn't help that I'm generally complacent and lazy either.

If nothing else I'm pretty sure that I've got my dirty sound dialed in right where I want it.

[Achtane]

^Dang, we're so similar.

[AxAxSxS]

At one point I came to the realization that I was fucking lame. I'd skip out on stuff cause I didn't feel like going and stay home and get stoned and drunk. After I realized this I decided that I would always make the effort to get involved , do things, go to shows, meet people, agree to do things and then follow up and actually do them. It's so much better. even when I sometimes am just not in the mood or fucking tired but I get out there anyways, some of the best experiences I've ever had where things I almost didn't do. Self motivation can be a bitch but it gets to be a habit after a while.

[louderthangod]

Some nice real talk on here so far. I like it.

This is something I struggle with daily. I love music and art, so much so that I have been studying art through college and will graduate this year with a degree in Studio Art. My biggest struggle is with motivation. I have trouble seeing the journey between where I am and where I want to be, that I often don't get off my ass and just do something. I've been waiting for my friends who play and are interested in making the creative effort with me to create something we all love, but I've been waiting so long and making so little headway by myself that I often find myself playing guitar less and less. Motivation is becoming hard for me to find nowadays. Compared to a lot of you guys and my family friends who are musicians and artists, I'm relatively young. I fear that my opportunity to do something with my art and music is going to pass me by and before I know it I'll have a family and too many other responsibilities to ever do anything.

That fear ought to be a powerful motivator, but it's just not. I can't be a one man band, and I've never wanted to be. Giving up the waiting game on my friends always crosses my mind, but in the southeast here, everyone wants to be in classic rock cover bands and play country music; which is great, but leaves me little room to find people to write with. I almost can't remember why I picked up guitar anymore, I just can't put it away. It's as much a medium to me as a pencil, a brush or a piece of charcoal. I've invested so much time, effort and money into my rig that it would be a waste to just quit. It's hard for me to understand what keeps me going.

It doesn't help that I'm generally complacent and lazy either.

If nothing else I'm pretty sure that I've got my dirty sound dialed in right where I want it.

I think we all feel like we're lazy even if there's no logical reason for that. Sometimes were are just lazy but it's a tricky thing. Sometimes I can power through a writing slump by playing through that slump and just forcing something to happen and at other times I need to take a break and when I come back I've suddenly got ideas. I've also had the idea for years and years to have a solo recording project and yet I've done absolutely nothing except buy shit I don't use. I've also never found a powerful motivator. I've had a lot of shit fall through and I've tried being positive, I've tried negative motivation. Sometimes you just need to do it whether you feel like it or not. I'm definitely guilty of over thinking things to the point where nothing gets done and all I have remaining is regret because I have a lack of memories that I should have. We've had offers to put out our records, to book tours for us and we never did any of them despite all of us having the means and interest to do so. Sometimes it's just hard to put yourself out there and push through. I definitely have a part of me that feels like if I'm not trying then I can't fail but logically I know that's bullshit especially when it is something I do actually want to try. One thing I know is that I have to make music. There was always a part of me that felt crazy that I didn't have a musical outlet as a kid and yet I had a ton of musical ideas. I grew up around guitars but I was never allowed to play my step-dad's guitars. I had to save my sanity by finally playing guitar. I don't have a choice but to keep going through all of the complaints and all of the great moments...sadly, they'll both pass.

[More_Divebombs]

Slayer.

[louderthangod]

How are those angry Slayer girls working out for you guys?

[NoLA-Riffft]

.

[More_Divebombs]

One thing I forgot to mention (if that's possible) is that I also make music because as a fan, there are things I want to hear that I can't currently find. Some of my music is solely to fill a void in my listening options.

#

That's a great point. I love to write and record music on my own sometimes "just because". I'll program a drum track, and record over it and often not really do anything with it other than listen to it, add to it, tweak it, deconstruct it and start again, etc. It's an incomparable accomplishment to piece together a finished product whether it's a song or a collection of songs, then to sit back and hear it, and think "I did that". I've been involved with alot of bands, projects and solo things, and I really dig just listening to alot of stuff I've been involved in.

[NoLA-Riffft]

.

[ridingeternity]

My dad was a guitar player, so I guess one might say I was conditioned...but it was always clear that it was my choice and I was never taught a thing about playing, all knowledge imparted was purely setup, maintenance and tone which I have found to be far more valuable than any theoretical lessons...he was always very adamant on if you learn it your way from the start you will come out with a style your own...and im not sure if I have or not, but I like to think so and occasionally people see that.

The first guitarists I remember that instilled in me that I needed to dedicate all within me to it were Iommi, Hendrix and Townsend. Much of that is lost within memory, but I still remember clearly the first time I heard the opening riff to Electric Funeral, I mean Hendrix and Townsend got me excited to play and about different things one could achieve in their playing with a guitar, but that riff just sang to me...the PERFECT TONE.

What keeps me going is the constant evolving state in music, no matter what there will be people pushing its boundaries and there is something to learn or a new band to discover. I find comfort in this vastness and knowing that neither I nor anybody could ever hope to achieve an all-encompassing understanding of it no matter how much time is spent immersed within any aspect of it, and that the most rewarding aspects can be found by totally forgetting everything you know about it. The community of the down to earth DIY side of music really helps as well, I won't say that I would be lost without, but it sure makes my obsession a hell of a lot more fun and rewarding.