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SurfGuitar101 Forums » Surf Music General Discussion »

Permalink Anyone else battle with lack of motivation?

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Bingo!

Most people doing surf,
Do it for the love of the music,
And for the friends and few fans that love it too.

Jeff(bigtikidude)

I was going to post something earlier, but I lost my motivation...

http://www.satanspilgrims.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Satans-Pilgrims/8210228553
https://satanspilgrims.bandcamp.com/
http://www.surfyindustries.com

Lots of great advice and thoughts above, especially by Danny. Let me just add a bit to it:

SamDBL wrote:

I can't say the last situation was entirely rewarding to me. I don't mind not making money. But I do mind no one caring except the dudes in the band. I'm not one of those people that just like to play for myself in a band context. It's just not my thing.

I completely understand what you're saying here. Clearly there are surf bands for which the above is the case, and that must be very discouraging. But then, there are also many surf bands that get a following around the world, even if not very big, but they are still loved and their music definitely means something to a particular group of people - and sometimes it means a LOT. Of course, you can't know which one of those your own band would end up being without actually trying it.

Every time I delve deeper and deeper into the current surf scene, I feel like that's where I'm headed. I love the music more than anything.

I think this is the most important thing. I believe most of us end up playing surf music since we just can't help ourselves, LOL!! It's got such an intense pull on us that it's not really a rational decision - it's a decision made with our hearts, not our heads, kinda like falling in love with a person. Now, it's important to use one's head, TOO, and sometimes we know a particular person is not good for us even though our heart may be pulling us in that direction. Probably best to listen to your head in that case! But the most important thing is really to have that burning desire to play surf music, that it's the only thing that will quench that particular thirst. Let's face it, there's not really a rational reason to get into this music! But there ARE rewards to be reaped. I've been incredibly fortunate with surf music, like Danny. I never, ever imagined it would have played such a huge role in my life when I got into it, in particular in terms of all the places I got to see as a result of it, but even more importantly all the friendships and even brotherhoods I've got to form because of it. And it's been also deeply rewarding to see how much my bands' music has meant to at least some people. Honestly, I never expected that. None of those things can be known in advance, you just gotta jump in, do your best and see what happens. But I've seen it happen to quite a few folks like yourself, people that started popping up on SG101 due to the increasing passion they felt for surf music and then eventually formed their own surf bands - some of which are now also highly respected or even beloved, like the TomorrowMen. It CAN happen - and when it does, it's pretty fantastic!

I suppose it's partially regional, too. Though untested, I haven't noticed much of a surf music scene here. Though I'm in Florida, so it seems it would be fitting. But my friend on the West Coast tells me about these parties that take place in hotel rooms where surf bands play and they are well-attended and everyone has fun. Semi-regularly. That is a goal I could definitely go for. I just don't think they have anything comparable to that here in FL. Maybe I'm wrong.

Actually, there IS something like that in Florida! The Hukilau tiki/exotica festival in Fort Lauderdale every June, going on for years, and always featuring surf bands. https://thehukilau.com/ It's not as big as Tiki Oasis in San Diego, but it's still pretty big! Also, there ARE several Florida surf bands. Two that come to mind are both led by Gary Evans: the Intoxicators and the Disasternauts. Check 'em out.

I don't know. Maybe I'm just being a downer. I get in these moods where I feel like I'm fighting against the world with this stuff.

Well, it DEFINITELY is! Probably playing most forms of rock music today is. But it can still be worthwhile.

Good luck, Sam!

Ivan
Lords of Atlantis on Facebook
The Madeira Official Website
The Madeira on Facebook
The Blair-Pongracic Band on Facebook
The Space Cossacks on Facebook
The Madeira Channel on YouTube

spskins wrote:

I was going to post something earlier, but I lost my motivation...

You should have read the one I was going to post- It had love, beauty, tragedy and was a rip roaring reverb drenched diatribe on the business and everything. Then my computer said 'not so fast ace frehley' and ate my homework. I may never be motivated again. Crying

Da Vinci Flinglestein,
The quest for the Tone, the tone of the Quest

The Syndicate of Surf on YouTube

http://www.syndicateofsurf.com/

http://sharawaji.com/

http://surfrockradio.com/

Here in Phoenix, I find the fan base/potential audiences can be fickle. When the weather sucks, nobody wants to go out and when the weather is nice, there's a thousand other things going on to compete with. The key factors for us to get a big turn out are:
1) Furiously self promote through social media.
2) Get the club/venue to promote the show(you'd think this would be obvious for them, but a lot of club owners/managers don't have a clue).
3) Try to play gigs with other bands that have a decent fan base. I've found that the aforementioned fickle audiences may or may not go see one band they like, but if there are two or more bands on the bill that they like, they'll come out.

We've seen significant gains in turnout when we've done this.

Scott
http://thesurfsideiv.com/
https://www.facebook.com/surfsideiv/

Some really good posts on this topic here

Everyone has there own motivation for playing surf music, that just life, everyone is different. My motivation to play surf music is that its different and hardly anyone else is playing it (at least around where I live).

How may times you gone to a local venue and there is the 'standard issue' cover band doing the millionth version of 'Mustang Sally' or 'Superstition', it does my head in! OK, so there are often people there at these type of gigs enjoying that type of music, good luck to them, but if you can present to them something different, like instrument surf music, then most time they get it and appreciate it.

Whatever all the other bands are doing, then I'm motivated to do the opposite

'Surf Music Lasts Forever'

Ocean Men play for free beer and a few hundred bucks. We all have day jobs that we will not be quitting.

The shows are each an experience which has huge value for me. Most of the time the inner circle fans carry all our heavy shit to and from gigs and our set-up is quite streamlined. We can nail all our songs but I still get butterflies right before going on stage.

That's the fun part. and playing with my surf brethren. Audiences like to see the band interact with each other. Remember most people can't play like we do and are very envious of both the individual skill but more that we have the headspace to work closely with our bandmates. They like watching the machine operate particularly if it looks like we all like each other.
Many people in the audience no matter how many- wish they were in the band so keep that in mind. They think we are rock stars.

Just last week a friend of a friend came up at the break and asked if she could sing with the band during the second set. After a long pause I said

"We are an instrumental band".
Undeterred, she said
"Do you know any Indigo Girls?"
"No".

I was more polite than that it may sound be I realized she had grand dreams of singing on stage and was envious of what we had put together.

Bands come and go, band members come and go, guitars come and go and fans come and go. It all seems to cycle. ride the highs and ignore the lows.

RobC

Last edited: Sep 08, 2017 13:46:10

+1 for RobC.

The woman who screamed at us "You're my new favorite band!!!" and then bought a t-shirt (at cost) and then asked if she could sing with us. ("No.")

That's why my buddies and I play instrumental surf rock.

We ARE rock stars.

Jonathan the Reverbivore

The Reverbivores

Please check out our latest album The Reverbivores Watch TV!

www.thereverbivores.com
Facebook
YouTube

All my (long) life I've been listening to The Ventures, The Shadows and various less famous instrumental groups, wishing that I could write and play songs as they do. Well, I worked hard at it and now I feel that I do and have. I get to be the judge of this for myself and I enjoy my recordings enormously. If you like my recordings too, that's great for you too. The latest was just released this week, "Guitar Fun Version Two." (Why Version Two? Because it's even more fun than Version One).

This is a money-losing proposition, always has been. So I won a national songwriting competition for one of my songs, and the song and the CD it's on also won national awards and (here's the punchline)...total sales of the CD are less than twenty (20) CDs. I'm fortunate enough to be able to see the humor in this and laugh freely. My expectations were way too high, I was hoping for 50.

Insanitizers! http://www.insanitizers.com

RobC wrote:

Ocean Men play for free beer and a few hundred bucks. We all have day jobs that we will not be quitting.

The shows are each an experience which has huge value for me. Most of the time the inner circle fans carry all our heavy shit to and from gigs and our set-up is quite streamlined. We can nail all our songs but I still get butterflies right before going on stage.

That's the fun part. and playing with my surf brethren. Audiences like to see the band interact with each other. Remember most people can't play like we do and are very envious of both the individual skill but more that we have the headspace to work closely with our bandmates. They like watching the machine operate particularly if it looks like we all like each other.
Many people in the audience no matter how many- wish they were in the band so keep that in mind. They think we are rock stars.

Just last week a friend of a friend came up at the break and asked if she could sing with the band during the second set. After a long pause I said

"We are an instrumental band".
Undeterred, she said
"Do you know any Indigo Girls?"
"No".

I was more polite than that it may sound be I realized she had grand dreams of singing on stage and was envious of what we had put together.

Bands come and go, band members come and go, guitars come and go and fans come and go. It all seems to cycle. ride the highs and ignore the lows.

RobC

And if that don't say it all. It's like you remember seeing bands at say a high school dance and EVERYONE wanted to be in that band. The band was THE BAND and nothing could be cooler than being in it (this was all before kids carried gats).

But that's all you are. You're in a band. There are a million of you out there. High school was oh so long ago. And what the HR Puffinstuff are you and your BAND doing?

1st I hope you are playing music you love. I mean once we realize that we have to PLAY and it takes all this work I mean, if I don't love what I play I'm just not doing it. Why would you?

Conquering the music scene is hard. I gave it up as a kid. It was no more than a safe daydream. I mean that will never happen. Let's be grownups. Music- seriously? And popular music at that. Even I was not so gullible to think that could be anything but soap bubbles out of Patrick Star's ass.

The thing is, I signed a record contract 2 years ago . The owner/producer is thrilled with the songs I'm providing. I have a small fanbase and my YouTube account which I built from nothing into the tinkertoy empire it has become blew through 4000 views last month. I had to take down a bunch of songs that are coming out on future albums.

And I own about 20 guitars, 3 studio recorders, drum set with alternate snare, keybords, 2 kazoos and a bugle in a pear tree.

This is all quite unexpected. But all true.

So I'm doing it. Pretty badly most of the time since it's just me. That's all right. I have never experienced a cordial breakup with a band. It was all-

"Man they stole all our equipment!" Bandmembers showed up at my house in a van to show me that it was empty and that they had not stolen the shit themselves. It was a 40 mile drive to my house.

I show up for practice and some new guy is in my spot playing guitar. "Yeah, We're going to have Eddie play with us instead of you. Too bad." Lost a wah pedal in that one.

Then I'm in the best band ever. We play total garbage. Almost nothing that ain't 3 chords. Punk. Elvis. Bubblegum. Did I just repeat myself? Johnny Cash and the train to Fulson Prison. Buddies from high school and comin together baby!

It all went to shit over an alcohol related incident where we are playing at a perfectly fine gig, drunk, and suddenly the singer has my mic and is hammering the stage with it. He didn't care for my backup vocals. Well. Do tell.

So I quit that band after my buddy would not fork over $30 for a new mic (total junk like I said) and now I am a one man band. Yeah, I Just Wanna be your 1 Man, Your One man band.

And I Love my own music. What? You're not supposed to say that? If you don't absolutely love it, why are you wasting your time? There are other things to do. I was just settling down to doing nothing and then the surf bug struck and now I'm acting almost like a sentient being. So go forth and sow that seed seed-sower. You got one sack- empty it. You don't know what will grow and what will not. The life you save may be your own.

image

Da Vinci Flinglestein,
The quest for the Tone, the tone of the Quest

The Syndicate of Surf on YouTube

http://www.syndicateofsurf.com/

http://sharawaji.com/

http://surfrockradio.com/

Post deleted by author.

Last edited: Mar 10, 2020 14:49:37

Delrin99mm wrote:

I just stumbled across this thread while I was looking for something else.
I'm 55 years old. I have one acoustic guitar, one electric guitar and one small amplifier. I have surf music. I now also have this community. Thanks to this music and this community I'm trying my hand at an electronics project for the first time in my life. Thanks to this music and this community I'm in the process of starting a band with an old friend that I played with in a couple of bands when we were 17-18. I have no expectations and no idea where any of this is going, but playing this music and being part of this community make my life better and my days more exciting. So no, lack of motivation isn't a problem for me. Lack of time and money are problems for me, as is the daily hazard of trying to cross busy roads while rehearsing new tunes in my head. I hope this doesn't sound glib or trite, it's just the way it is.

Thanks for sharing your story. I am in a similar situation as you. I just turned 52 and I'm just getting started. I decided about a year ago I was going to start creating surf music for my own enjoyment. Recording on my PC in my spare bedroom / "studio". Maybe my friends might like it maybe not. I had no pressure and no boundaries to limit what I could do. I just created and amused myself and if my wife liked it, then I was good. In the last few months I've been a bit more proficient is recording new music. My friend, Kevin, who plays drums, was digging what I was doing and wanted to add drum tracks for me. It's picked up a little steam and I've actually had a few songs played on radio (Thanks Clint and Hunter) and North Sea SR. That completely blew my mind. I never would have imagined that anybody would find what I did worthy of that. SO for me it's already been successful. But the best part has been becoming part of this cool "little" community via the forums and website. It's been fun and rewarding. So I guess it's really where you are in life and what your goals are with your music that may or may not lead to your motivation or lack there of. Just keep rockin in your own way. If people dig it, cool. If not, that's ok as well.

Listen to my band The Surfusions on our Bandcamp Page Link
Like The Surfusions on Facebook ... Link
Follow The Surfusions on Twitter ... Link

Last edited: Jan 18, 2018 08:04:19

Motivation is not the challenge for myself and the guys I play with, but more the vast number of avenues you can use/take to expose your music to an audience. Like a number of other musicians I do play in various musical projects, some more successful than others (by $$$ standards), but the surf/instro world for myself personally is a selfish endeavor. I find this genre to be significantly greater in scope and allows for individual interpretation of what this genre should be. So, for me it is the art/creative aspect that drives me. In regards to return on investment, we are still sorting through that. Playing out? I agree, its not as important as it once was, but if that is your thing do it, regardless if there is three people in the room. Become skilled at social media and video posting. I can say we operate in the black after recouping our initial investment into gear, etc. and we are comfortable with our place. Now if we were to jump in a van and start playing everything/everywhere, that would change. That is not a decision we have made at this time. It ultimately comes down to can you find an aspect of the surf world that you can hold onto and draw motivation from? Glad to see a lot of positive input here!

The Me Gustas
https://themegustas.com

stratdancer wrote:

I guess I was busy when this thread was created. It's a great read by the way! After spending my life absolutely driven by all forms of rock music I have always been motivated. This started when I was about 6 or 7. It was at a very early age that I wanted to impart the same feeling on somebody that the great bands were imparting on me. It goes way beyond money, it's about connection. Money is a great score card but "connection" for me has a reward that money can't buy. When you hear a great piece of music, do you ask yourself how much the band or musician makes? The sound and melody of a piece of music that sinks to a deeper level for the listener is the motivation.

Across the ages of humanity that connection has been made repeatedly. I'm at the age where surf music is my vehicle and I spend many hours searching with my guitar for the next melodic road to make a connection. That motivates me!

The Kahuna Kings

https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Kahuna-Kings/459752090818447

https://thekahunakings.bandcamp.com/releases

Most musicians, myself included, struggle with lack of motivation at times. If you have not been there yet strong chance you will be. However experience has taught me that the fire will reignite itself and I'll be back to it at some point.

It's changed and changed dramatically. Most of my instructors were professional musicians. This is to say that they made a living from music whether performing or teaching. When I was in my early twenties, I did the same thing. It was challenging, but at least possible.

We battled disco in the '70s and thought life was hard. Then the eighties came and the whole game was changed. Music itself changed, the business changed and musicians paid the price. Steve Miller has been quoted as saying that the industry was taken over by thugs.

One thing that I think hurt the music business was the unrealistic expectations of wealth that followed the success of the Beatles. Up until that time, very few musicians got truly rich from their music and the foot-soldiers, the guys traveling in bands, tended to lead a nearly monastic existence. The guys in big bands were doing good to do much more than survive.

For myself, I see music as a secondary vocation. It's greatest value is that it allows me to have an interest that seems to be an antidote to the stress I feel in my job. I can be dog tired from a day in the tech biz, and plugging in my guitar refreshes me.

My membership in Clutch Draggin' & the Lug Nuts has social benefits, along with significant satisfaction which comes from working out arrangements, etc. I think I'm safe in speaking for all three of us and saying that the band adds a lot of meaning to our lives. Money just isn't in the picture and if the audience is large enough that we can hear them clap, that's good enough.

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar.

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