Why do you do it?

[Banned]

Do you play for fan adulation and strutting your stuff in front of an audience (some people are born hams)or mostly because you love sound of your own instrument?

[Colton]

free beer

[Bassguy1967]

Do you play for fan adulation and strutting your stuff in front of an audience (some people are born hams)or mostly because you love sound of your own instrument?

Yes

[RobTheDrummer]

I play because I love to play.

[Banned]

I'm a Leo = Straight Attention Whore

[bassist_25]

I'm a Leo = Straight Attention Whore

Are you still a Leo? I was a Leo too, but I guess I'm a Cancer now. Good thing I didn't live my life according to astrology before.

BTW, best piece of musical advice I ever recieved was from my father: "Don't play music just for praise." I've known people who play simply to be the center of attention and it always leads to negative things in the end.

[ToonaRockGuy]

I play because I exist. Pure and simple.

[Killjingle]

I like writing music. I always have and always will. No better feeling putting your thoughts into music and playing it for someone else.

[lynch1]

I play because I love the sound of a screamin guitar (quoting Clapton). but I have to say, being in front of a crowd, playing like you can do no wrong, people cheering, there is nothing like it. I miss it.

[Hawk]

I do it for the natural high: Endorphins !

Endorphins ("endogenous morphine") are endogenous opioid peptides that function as neurotransmitters.[1] They are produced by the pituitary gland and the hypothalamus in vertebrates during exercise,[2] excitement, pain, consumption of spicy food, love and orgasm,[3][4] and they resemble the opiates in their abilities to produce analgesia and a feeling of well-being.

[bassist4life2004]

I play for boobies.

[KeithReynolds]

I dont play anymore, Im sick of the whole thing.

[Banned]

free beer

I've heard this rumored, is it really true you get free beer AND paid?!

[Banned]

I dont play anymore, Im sick of the whole thing.

You sick of playing gigs or just sick of playing period?

[Slothkill]

When I was 8 I did it cause my cousin could play "Smoke on the Water" and that looked easy.
When I was 12-? I did it because it looked like it would entice woman who where "Easy".................. Seems to me if you play the right song on the perfect night it all works out.
Now, after 15 years of the above mentiond reasons and eight years of mariage, I am now just playing for ............ well O.K. I'm not playing for the above mentioned reasons....I did see alot of boobies. Too bad Most of the time most of them were over 60...................I love Classic Rock!

[mjb]

I play because I exist. Pure and simple.

This.

[P MAC]

For me there are many reasons I suppose. I enjoy the connection / brotherhood with fellow musicians. Many of my closest friends are also musicians. I also find that performing music, wether in private or in piblic, is theraputic for me; helps to put other aspects of my life into perspective. I also believe that performing for others is a way of giving of myself in an intamate way, and as such I have a degree of responsibility to the audience to be the best I can be. I try hard to play with the same level of focus and emotion wether there are 10 people or 200 in the audience. There is joy in being able to put a smile on someone's face or to help them step away from the stress and challenges in their lives even if only for a short while. And finally, I have found that music is a tremendous bridge between generations. I have good friends through music who are as much as 20 years older or 20 years younger than me, and these relationships are reciprocal in terms of teaching and learning.
Wow! Sorry for rambling a bit.

[MOONDOGGY]

I play not for the whores, but because I AM a whore- a bass whore! I got hooked on the basses and gear.

[songsmith]

I play because, at the end of each song, I don't have to guess what people think of me, I can see it in how they react, immediate feedback and validation... or not. Playing songs is like a social transaction for me.
I play because I'm the kind of guy who tears up listening to a song, or laughs, or smacks the dashboard of my car. I connect profoundly.
I play music because as soon as the PA comes up, I can't remember my mortgage, or day-job, or anything else.
I play because my heroes, the people I look up to, are also my peers in a way, especially locally. This is the crowd I choose to run with, and I've never had a single regret in my choice.
I play because people who came before me saw something in my heart and hands, and encouraged me to play.
I play because, ultimately, it's the only thing I've ever been acceptably good at, period.

[Dark Soul]

An appreciative audience is great, but the reason I play is because I love music. No other reason.

~Max

[Banned]

I play because, at the end of each song, I don't have to guess what people think of me, I can see it in how they react, immediate feedback and validation... or not. Playing songs is like a social transaction for me.
I play because I'm the kind of guy who tears up listening to a song, or laughs, or smacks the dashboard of my car. I connect profoundly.
I play music because as soon as the PA comes up, I can't remember my mortgage, or day-job, or anything else.
I play because my heroes, the people I look up to, are also my peers in a way, especially locally. This is the crowd I choose to run with, and I've never had a single regret in my choice.
I play because people who came before me saw something in my heart and hands, and encouraged me to play.
I play because, ultimately, it's the only thing I've ever been acceptably good at, period.

that's great i'm tearing up too

let me ask another of you, at end of a tune do you critique yourself something like"wow i nailed that one!" or, "messed that up hope they didn't notice"? do you talk to yourself on stage?

Or do you have it down so pat ...

[todd17063]

I play because music is my life ! Even if its just practice or a gig i do it to take everything away, and listen in amazement how you can take as little as 3 different instruments and make something so sweet that just puts a smile on your face.. Its the feeling of rehearsing a new song for the first time together and you nail it. MUSIC IS JUST PLAIN FUN !!!!!... OH AND BOOBIES ROCK !

[songsmith]

I critique myself and the overall band nearly constantly. I can honestly say I mess something up (to me, anyway) on every song, so there's always room to improve. That rare song that I think is nailed happens MAYBE once in 5 gigs, and even THAT'S usually overturned once I hear the show tape.
That said, I don't lay awake at night obsessing on it, because as Felix once told me, "If you don't make a little mistake on every song, you're not playing hard enough." Some of the best advice ever. Give yourself permission to mess up, so you can stay out on the edge of what you're capable of. "Happy accidents" are often how innovations are made.

[joltinjeff]

I play because music is my life ! Even if its just practice or a gig i do it to take everything away, and listen in amazement how you can take as little as 3 different instruments and make something so sweet that just puts a smile on your face.. Its the feeling of rehearsing a new song for the first time together and you nail it. MUSIC IS JUST PLAIN FUN !!!!!... OH AND BOOBIES ROCK !

First of all i love boobs!!!!
Second, I am totally 100 percent in agreement with this statement. I was conflicted about adding to this thread for a couple of different reasons, but after reading this, I changed my mind.
I also agree with Johnny (songsmith) and his comments. Improvement can always be made. But let me take this a little further.....

Improvement, corrective criticism, feedback (pos. or neg.), crowd reaction (a drunken crowd tends to be the best) and most of all enjoyment. We are are singing, playing, being part of a band, being part of a music scene that is so diverse all kinds of music are being played in local clubs and bars.
Also like John, when I was singing I forgot about my personal life, with the exception of one time and it was the shittiest show I have ever done...it also led to my firing...oh well Ive moved on.

Music makes us all do what we do...that is why we do it. We do it for the self-satisfaction that somewhere in a crowd of 100 or 10, you connected with someone even if its just for 3 hours or just one song.....you see it in their eyes and you know that person may not say anything, but they found a brief twinkle of happiness.

"I do it for drugs! I do it just to feel alive"
I may not do drugs...but i do it to feel something that in a couple of years I may never feel again

[felix'apprentice]

i play because the world needs more blues music. amen.

- kayla.