Approaching 1 year since completing B2B and being 58 I have been happy to be a solo Man Cave bassist thinking the days I would play with others are long gone. So practicing does require motivation. Up pops on Facebook ‘The Rock Project Encore, adult classes, play in a band every week, all levels, all ages 20 30 40 50 60 70’ and its just a 15min drive away. So Iv’e bitten the bullet and I’m going for a taster this Thursday. One part of me is excited about playing live music the other a little uncertain as it will probably mean dedicating time to learning songs I wouldn’t normally choose. Any of you had a similar experience?
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What a great opportunity @alexmorrison14 ,
I suggest you should head on down with no expectations, everyone else there will be feeling the same way as you 
not sure?
Just remember root’s fifths and octaves, you can’t go wrong
But most importantly have fun😎
Cheers Brian
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you’re gonna have a blast. Been playing bass rolling up on two years and at 62 I’m enjoying the band thing. I’m not doing weekly shows if we do one show a month thats a plenty but we rehearse twice a week. Band practice ends up being music, talking about work, the drummer talks about homework and prom (she’s 16…LOL), and its the best part of the week. Playing with these guys has the potential to be the best part of your week too. I’m excited for ya!
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That’s Awesome! Please keep us posted.
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@alexmorrison14 Congrats
Have A Blast And Simply Enjoy The Moment - There Is A Reason Why You Found This Group - And Yes, Keep Us Updated
Yahoooo00000
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Enjoy
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Everything that the others before me wrote
And don’t forget to smile, bob your head and put on your best bass face… even if you make (or you think you made) mistakes, it does not help to show it more than necessary with a negative body language, or at least that’s my feeling when playing outside the Bass Cave
Bring a drink for the drummer, so to start off on the right foot 
(I actually did it on my second rehearsal with the band, the first time I was too shy to consider it)
Have fun and let us know!
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EXTREMELY COOL AND GUTSY! Keep us posted. 
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And support the lead guitarist even when he’s drunk and knocking things over😁
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I kind of forgot this part of the message, and nobody else picked it up too, so I’ll add my two cents. I understand the lack of excitement to learn stuff you might not like or care much about, and I definitely considered that too when searching a band to join. However, since beginning B2B and now with irl lessons, I also embraced the diversity of all kind of music styles that were proposed in/as exercises. As much as I like to play AC/DC, there is a very interesting world outside and beyond the pentatonic scale
I would say, take this occasion as an exercise, see what you can do and can’t do well, and learn from that. You might even enjoy to play music you usually don’t listen to. In the worst case, when the motivation drops you can approach another group or band in the future with some good practice under your belt.
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Update. First night at Rock Project and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I was 1 of 7 new people. 5 were drummers (newish wanting to start), a guitarist (12 months) and me. Daft Punk Get Lucky was the song we were practicing so we split into instrument groups and I basically had a one to one for an hour as the other bassist there was more experienced and then we all came back together for a 1/2 hr jam for Get Lucky and a Stevie wonder song they had been practicing from last week. 7 Drummers (not all at the same time thankfully) 2 bassists, 3 guitarists and 2 vocalists. No booze though. I work shifts so a couple of weeks before I can go again but I will definitely be returning.
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FInding others to play with is a blessing (often in disguise). It’s an opportunity I hope to have later this summer or fall when campong fishing and motorcycles aren’t the prority.
SOme years back I was exposed to friends who played together - after a football game we went into their “basement” where there was a complete band setup - minus a bass player. So long story short (and at this time I hadn’t played in MANY years). The lead was a “Stevie Ray” fan and I had never played that but learned at least 15 of that Texas fanatic. We had a blast, practised at least every week in a space we later referred to as “The Sanctuary” becasue we blocked out our work and problems and just had fun playing and learning new songs every week.
I am now back in B2B after a 10 -year dry spell. HAd to buy another bass, etc and my fingers are slowly comong back to life. A long way to go before I’m to the Juke Box Hero.
Your posts about playing with others have prompted me to look harder for a similar opportunity.
PS: 4 of the 6 members of the band I played with were family. Drummer was 24, DAd played rhythm & lead, etc. We all sang (but I could not play and sing at the same time).
Still can’t (yet).
Thanks to all of ya and to Josh.
PPS: I’ve been trying to play with bass covers wth tabs to lots of rock and am seeing more pick use than I remember…
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This sounds like a ton of fun, what an awesome event! Seems like it takes the fear/ego out of situations like that since everyone is kind of on the same page. Hopefully it’s the first of many!
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I’m sure you won’t have to look far to find good folks to play with, then let the games begin.
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Knew you’d have a blast. It has always been more enjoyable for me to play with others like this.
With all those drummers I hope you have ear plugs.
Remember hearing damage is permanent.
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If you can’t find one you could always start one.
I live in a rural area and that’s what I did. We had zero jams in my area and now there are three every week. Of course Covid has put quite a damper on that but it looks like with summer here they will be starting up again in June in outdoor settings. It’s all good
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@Celticstar Funnily enough I bought some as I didn’t know how loud it would be. It wasn’t too bad as we were in a rough rectangle rather than cosied up on stage
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There are free apps for phones that work quite well.
It is amazing how loud it can get in jam sessions.
Ear plugs are one thing I would not go cheap on.
Also, I found it best to get ones that only activate on loud noises ie. you can hear other people talking when there is no loud noise. That way you are not constantly taking them in and out.
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This week will be my 4th time and we are prepping for the end of term gig on 3rd July.
So far the song list is a varied mixture, T-Rex - Get it on, Daft Punk - Get Lucky, Blur - Song 2. The other bassist at the sessions will be playing Kaiser Chiefs - I predict a riot and Stevie Wonders - I wish as I missed those as they were covered before I joined so I won’t get those nailed in time. First couple of weeks were challenging as it takes me a while to get to grips with a new song but loved last week as I was confidently playing along with the other band members and was the only bassist on that occasion.
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So last night was the gig. What an experience playing in front of a live audience. I managed to learn I Predict a Riot in time. It just flew past and I could do it all again. Hope to post a bass face pic soon 
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