Its been almost 3 months since ive picked up my guitar. I have to play a show next week and I do not give a fuck about it at all. My band has more or less stopped talking to each other, and I have not felt compelled to play my instrument in months despite owning thousands of dollars worth of shit.
I hate other musicians, I hate playing shows in this city, I hate all the big bands in this city, this city can lick my taint.
Only thing is, ive been doing this thing for 10 years, official anniversary is this coming july, and i dont know that I want to stop completely. I feel like I would be letting people in my life down outside of the band itself. My partner, my friends, my family, and to some extent myself.
I dont know what to do and I want to cry and scream
You must log in or # to comment.
Corgi I love what I have heard of your music.
I hope you find a way to love it again
Maybe you just need a break? To reset and refind why you liked it in the first place?
I dont know what to do and I want to cry and scream
the tragic irony of this being great song writing material
If it’s not making you happy it’s time for a break. Maybe the break never ends, or maybe you miss it after a few weeks and you come back with renewed interest. Never know till you try. Do something else with your time.
Sounds like you are burned out. An indefinite hiatus might be necessary. Music, like any art, requires your soul to be in it to truly create something great. If your hearts not in it you can’t force it to be. Just lay it all on the table and have a heart to heart with these people by expressing the feelings you mentioned in the post. If they care for your well being then they will come to accept it.
Sorry for your situation Corgi its never easy losing passion for something you love.
There’s nothing wrong with taking a break until you’re happy making music again. Hell, there’s nothing wrong with closing the guitar-playing chapter of your life and moving on.
You shouldn’t be caged as “corgiwithalaptop the guitarist.” Playing the guitar should bring joy and fulfillment to you and those who you care about, and if it no longer brings joy and fulfillment, it should be replaced by something else that would bring the same joy and fulfillment. Don’t think about the thousands of dollars of equipment because you can become trapped through sunk cost fallacy where you have to keep on doing something that makes you unhappy because stopping means you’ve “wasted” thousands of dollars.
Don’t beat yourself up about it. 7-8 years is a natural amount of time to devote to a serious hobby and you are well past that. I thought I would rock climb forever until it became a slog to convince myself to go and then I stopped. Now I have a different hobby and am very happy. Anything you don’t do as a job should ultimately be done for joy, play, and experimentation. You are not doomed to do the same thing for the rest of your life after becoming good at it, and certainly not because you’ve spent a few thousand bucks on it.
if going to band practice / shows is making you feel this way, especially if your band is making you feel this way – its better to stop. You can always make music on your own :)
Fire the band. Start again. Heck, I’ll fix up my thunderbird and come join you if need be.
The James Mercer strat(egy)
And Tuk Smith. And Danzig. And Joe Strummer, but it took him a couple times to get it right.
The reverse Vinnie Vincent
'Tis the season for burnout, and Hellworld certainly isn’t doing us any favors. For whatever it’s worth, you’re talented and you definitely have way more follow-through than I ever did. Take some time to rest and recuperate, and maybe just dabble in a side project or something completely unrelated – something you find fun so that you can unwind without focusing on the social pressures or local music scene bullshit. It’s really up to you whether this somehow ends up involving doing covers of classic Castlevania songs on an autoharp, or stomp-clap-hey renditions of Tony Martin-era Black Sabbath, or just taking a break from music altogether. And hang in there
covers of classic Castlevania songs on an autoharp
Oh fuck I would listen to that. The Minibosses did a good cover.
I found a YouTube link in your comment. Here are links to the same video on alternative frontends that protect your privacy:
You need a break. 10 years is an incredibly long time. Take a few months off to do something new and interesting. Join a roving band of swinging enthusiasts. Take up competitive masturbation. Embrace your inner hedonist and become embroiled in a satanic sex cult. The possibilities are endless!
I’m up for a freaky Friday style swap - I’ve been burned out AF too recently. It’s hard to find that spark (or remember it’s still there) when it gets buried by bullshit. Hope you can
Sounds like it’s time to cut ties. If your band doesn’t even talk anymore they’re only going to bog down any passion you still have left for music. Take a break, explore a different interest a while, and if/when you decide to pick up your instrument again, do it on your own terms for reasons that belong to you and you alone.
fuck the band or whatever but keep playing! my advice, start learning a bach tune. can’t go wrong there.
Instructions unclear, Corgi Skid Row arc unlocked
…Tangential, but apparently Sebastian Bach was a Kamala stan
I always feel extremely demotivated when releasing music, because it only reaches like 3 or 4 people.
And it’s important to ignore this feeling of wanting to give up. The fun in making music is the act itself. And if you don’t like being in a band, don’t be in a band. You can make music all by yourself.
There are still other ways to work with other people if you want the connection to people, like participating in game jams.Since this is a leftist site, I might as well try throwing literature at you, haha
One of my favorite musicians wrote a free short ebook that addresses this kind of feeling. You can get it here (ik the website looks a little sketchy, but I promise it’s legit. You might have to check your junk folder for the email it sends): https://teach-your-knowledge-media.kit.com/b59723ec00
Don’t let the stuffy title turn you away; it’s actually an earnest (and rather rambly) stream-of-consciousness-style collection of thoughts that deals with a lot of the personal and emotional aspects of creative work. I don’t write music myself, but even so, reading this thing made me feel better about my own present lack of artistic output.
