"Lullaby for the Working Class
Spare, mellow, almost ambient alt-country band from the late 90s.
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A Global Army of Veteran Rockers
What do you think about this? Some thoughts on getting older in the rock scene
Since starting this site, I've begun to take notice of others in the music world who are commenting on how their musical lives change as they move up in years. Saw this from Gerry Hannah of the Canadian punk band Subhumans in the latest (excellent) issue of The Big Takeover:
We were just talking about this...about getting older and how you become invisible. When you're young, you're kind of used to being noticed on some level, and interacted with, but as you get older, you're less and less noticed...you're more like, just a fixture, like a lamppost or something (laughter). It used to be, when we went to shows..it was a community...We're not really in that anymore. We're kind of on the outside looking in.
Interesting stuff. I'm not sure I personally feel that sense of disconnect, but then perhaps I'm just oblivious to it. But Bruce and I did, on some level, know that many people feel that way. I guess that's one of the reasons we built this site -- to address the sense of alienation (or perhaps irrelevance) that Gerry discusses here. (By the way, the rest of the piece is about how Gerry and his crew are still out there kicking ass in front of younger and younger crowds -- so it's clear that he's hardly wallowing in self-pity. He's doing it exactly right: not giving in and always moving forward.)
What are your thoughts about Gerry's comments -- and the issue in general? And how can The Rock and Roll Tribe best be used to improve things?
(PS: if you're not familiar with The Big Takeover, you really should be. Just a superb music mag. See Heroes of the Tribe: 6 Non-Musicians Who Have Inspired Us to Keep Rocking for our thoughts on the publication's main man, Jack Rabid.)
We were just talking about this...about getting older and how you become invisible. When you're young, you're kind of used to being noticed on some level, and interacted with, but as you get older, you're less and less noticed...you're more like, just a fixture, like a lamppost or something (laughter). It used to be, when we went to shows..it was a community...We're not really in that anymore. We're kind of on the outside looking in.
Interesting stuff. I'm not sure I personally feel that sense of disconnect, but then perhaps I'm just oblivious to it. But Bruce and I did, on some level, know that many people feel that way. I guess that's one of the reasons we built this site -- to address the sense of alienation (or perhaps irrelevance) that Gerry discusses here. (By the way, the rest of the piece is about how Gerry and his crew are still out there kicking ass in front of younger and younger crowds -- so it's clear that he's hardly wallowing in self-pity. He's doing it exactly right: not giving in and always moving forward.)
What are your thoughts about Gerry's comments -- and the issue in general? And how can The Rock and Roll Tribe best be used to improve things?
(PS: if you're not familiar with The Big Takeover, you really should be. Just a superb music mag. See Heroes of the Tribe: 6 Non-Musicians Who Have Inspired Us to Keep Rocking for our thoughts on the publication's main man, Jack Rabid.)
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Andy Hartley on -
Crikey, where to start on this one ! I've played in bands on and off since I was 18, I'm now just turned 56 and this is the first band I've been in that does exclusively original material, ( Searching For Sylvia ). I totally agree with Gerry that you tend to become a little invisible as you get older, however the kick and the fun I have playing my own songs and getting a (mainly) good reaction from a crowd is just great. It's almost like you can read a crowd's mind when we get up there, sorta like " right these guys are so obviously gonna do AC/DC, Thin Lizzy, classic 70's rock covers" and what they get is a bunch of quite up-beat, original pop songs !
Or going to gigs and knowing you're probably gonna be the oldest guy there ! So yeah, my hair might be grey and vanishing and various bits of me are starting to creak but what the hell it's only a number and I'm having a great time !
With regard to The Rock and Roll Tribe, it makes me realise there are loads of other people out there who probably feel the same and it's great to connect with 'em and have FUN !!!!
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Permalink Reply by Jon Bard on -
Thanks Andy. our belief is, all along, that there are legions of people "of a certain age" who still rock, but no clear way for them to meet one another. that's the driving force behind what we do here.
I'm often the oldest guy in the room at shows, but I've never felt especially self-conscious about it. In fact, i feed off the energy of a young crowd who have the same connection to music that I still have. When I go to shows that draw an older, more "normal" crowd, I actually feel a bit out of place! On the other hand, when I'm surrounded by people my age who still have a bit of edge to them, I feel gloriously at home. First go to, say, a Fleetwood Mac show and then go see X or The Damned and you'll know what I mean. Same basic age group, way different vibe.
Ultimately, as far as hanging with younger folks goes, I have to flash back to how I felt about this when I was in my 20s. if someone his 40s or 50s was at a show, I didn't think there was anything odd about it at all. In fact, I often enjoyed talking to those people because they always had great stories to tell. Any strangeness one might feel now about going to shows is purely self-generated, I think. The kids could care less.
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Permalink Reply by Mark Wallace on -
I will be 51 in February and frequently attend gigs with my son-in-law and my other daughter's boyfriend who are in their 20's and into all things Metal.I am often one of the oldest in the crowd but I feel very much at home with the younger people as I can leave my inhibitions at the door and headbang with the rest,the atmosphere with a younger crowd is normally much more intense and I feel like I'm 30 years younger.
However if attending a performance where the majority of the audience are my own age I find everyone is much more self conscious and the atmosphere suffers as a result.
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Permalink Reply by Jon Bard on
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Absolutely - I agree completely. I'd generally much prefer to be with a younger crowd than my own age peers.
There is one big exception though (and it's kind of the genesis of this site): when I go to shows that are filled with "veteran rock fans" -- i.e. people who have never stopped going to shows and who are completely at home in their own skin -- I feel great. If I go to see, say, Motorhead or X, the 40 and 50 year olds there are exactly on my wavelength and I feel a strong kinship toward them. This site was created, in large part, so that people like that can meet each other and become friends.
When we of the Tribe all finally do get together, I expect it to be a pretty cool occasion -- and no self-consciousness will be allowed! :)
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Permalink Reply by David Bailey on -
I am also 56, and I'm a high school teacher so I have been fairly knowledgeable about what the young'uns were listening to. I found that around the time I hit 30, I no longer liked what was popular with my students. I was OK with that since it had become too expensive to try to listen to every new band that came out. I was however, horrified at the hatred with which they viewed any music but "theirs". The divide between the "rednecks" and the "metalheads" was quite an angry divide.
I remember the day I realized i was old. One day in 1989 (?) student carrying a discman ran up to me and told me I had to listen to something. I put the headphones on, met N.W.A. and joined the older generation. My students today, the children of the children of the '80s, can appreciate a much wider range of music than their parents.
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Permalink Reply by MzAmar on -
I dunno, when I was a kid I was all interested in those Nuggets compilations of obscure 60's bands - Chocolate Watchband, Love, Count Five, etc. I often have conversations with young hipsters where they are interested to find out about 70's and 80's bands, but I see this as similar to how I was infatuated with 60's when I was 20. No?
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Permalink Reply by David Palmer on -
Maybe it's not about age. Maybe its about attitude. Our generation had music that meant something because of what it said. There is no reason why our music cannot still be relevant to us. Don't remind me of my D.O.B thats not important. It's the age in my mind that counts. I never got round to making music when I was 18 - I started when I was 28 with a record contract with MCA. That fell apart and life went back to normal. Last summer (22 yrs later) I started again. This time without an established record label. This time I would create the channel and broadcast my music for me and my generation. Hey and if the kids want to listen then great. Welcome to your middle-youth where there's more time behind than in front. Try The Browns - they're demos and need headphones but its a start. Aiming for gigs at Christmas. http://www.youtube.com/user/FUMP3films
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Permalink Reply by Jon Bard on
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yep, agreed. In fact, a big part of our plans going forward will be to serve as a central spot for "middle youth" musicians to distribute their stuff and be heard. Bruce and I met today to finalize plans for something really, really cool along those lines.
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Permalink Reply by David Palmer on
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Sounds interesting. Will be watching. Nite Nite.
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Permalink Reply by Mike Fitzpatrick on -
What a great discussion topic. Being 44 I do find myself being as in love with music as I've ever been - including searching for and enjoying new artists in just about any genre you'd care to name. I find that as I get older, my social circle has become smaller and smaller as it relates to being able to have a decent conversation about music (Thank You for this site!!!). I'd love nothing more than hanging out on a Sunday morning with a cup of coffee and discussing the merits of the new Massive Attack or a great book I just read... Most of my friends have abandoned music altogether, and those that still hold onto some semblance of fandom typically reach no further than what is played on the radio or they read about in People magazine (or if I'm really lucky Rolling Stone) to inform their twice annual pilgrimage to FYE to pay way too much for something that has been recommended by OK! Magazine. Then there's the other angle - those (and this is not meant to be a blanket statement, but it seems to have manifested itself as my reality) that are into music - tend to be much younger than myself (did I mention thanks for this site?) and more often than not (again, maybe just me) tend to be the WOOOO!!!!!!!!! HOOOOOO!!!!!! DUDE!! GIVE ME A HIGH FIVE! YEAH MAN! THIS SHIT ROCKS! DUDE! HELLYEAH! DUDE! DUDE! F****** YEAH!!! DUDE! I'M SO WASTED! DUDE! variety.... not exactly the person I care to have a conversation about whether or not Band of Horses sound more like the Jayhawks doing Shins covers or vice versa or reminiscing over the first time I heard Jellyfish or Metallica.... then there's the live shows. I still go. not every week like I used to, but often - and now it's about standing at the back, having a good view, avoiding the pit, making sure i remembered my earplugs, wondering whether or not i should spend 30 bucks on a shirt or buy the kids some new books, leaving before the after-encore rush to beat the traffic and be home in bed by a decent time so that i can make it to my 8:00am meeting on-time - with a scheduled stop for a cup of over-priced, over-marketed coffee ..... yeah, I remember my first concert - but don't ask me what they played or any cool quip from the stage that has lasted the test of time (for the record it was Styx - Paradise Theater at Wembley Arena in 1981) - my memory's just not what it used to be. Sure I recall the day of the album - and sitting for hours on end reading the liner notes, 'thanks lists' and memorizing the lyrics... now music is what I listen to on the commute to work and on the weekends as I mow the grass, do dishes, laundry and generally lead a respectable mid-life in suburbia.....to me music and life are interchangable, one in the same, inseparable.... it's just that now the volume's a little lower, the headbanging a distant memory and balanced with bathtime, bedtime, storytime, helping with homework and providing for an amazing family. I'm honored to be a part of a growing community where there's not such thing as "too old", but speak up... I can't quite hear you! toodles, fitz
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Permalink Reply by Jon Bard on
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Great post -- you nailed many of the things that we've were thinking about when we created this site.
One thing though -- before we're done with you, you WILL be headbanging again and the volume knob WILL go back up! :)
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Permalink Reply by Andy Hartley on
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Nice one Jon ! Great post Mike.
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