"I had a good time jamming with them."

Says it all. Besides, if you're like any of us, you have some family around. Chances are at least one doesn't agree with your politics. You can't escape it. Don't let that stop you from having fun.

If it stops being fun, quit. It isn't a marriage you know.

sharke
My only worry about joining a band now - and it's been almost 15 years - is perhaps damaging my ears. I hate to say it but I'd be pricing out those fancy fitted earplugs.

I have the same concern. The guitarist was wearing earplugs for last week's practice. I hate playing with earplugs! It throws off your ability to gauge balance and tone and significantly degrades the overall experience. But at my age the last thing I want is to accelerate my hearing loss.
 
If anybody has experiences with earplugs on stage, I'd sure like to hear about them. I know there are products that claim to not warp frequency perception too badly, but they're rather expensive.
 
[EDIT]
I found this great document regarding musicians' ear protectors. Worth a read if you're thinking about starting to use them, or re-evaluating the ones you currently use. I now understand why I've hated earplugs in the past, and how I can get much better results by spending just a little bit more on them. The author places tiny microphones close to the eardrum to measure sound levels and frequency response. He determined that even a solo violinist needs protection to avoid music-induced hearing loss while practicing! Holy crap, what does that say about the rest of us?

Wow! Even I. Old and decreped as I Am got a call to go play with a band yesterday. It was from a drummer I did a gig with 3 years ago. He couldn't understand a word I said to him. I tried to tell him I required a nurse, probably an intravenous hookup, a body sized dolly, transportation, coffee, and a pick, depending on what style music they played. After I tried to tell him all that he said "Great! I'll get back with you." And hung up.  I don't know for Shure but I may be in a band and retired before I got started .....somehow 

what type of music?  Portland has a pretty thriving (paying) musician economy.  You have to be very good, especially if it's jazz, lots of competition.

Be thankful. Some people do not get the luxury. Like me, living in the middle of the woods.

These aren't the same kind of earplugs you get in a 10-pack at Home Depot. They are designed to have a more-or-less flat frequency response (at least above 500 Hz), so that the SPL hitting your eardrum is reduced but everything still sounds the same. This particular model yields a 12 dB reduction. To extend that flatness below 500 Hz you have to go with much more expensive types that are custom-molded to your ear by an audiologist. But those are frickin' expensive.
 
By comparison, the cheap foam plugs they hand out at NAMM drop a good 25 dB in the mids, 30 dB or more in the highs. That nonlinearity is why you can't hold a conversation when they're in your ears. Great for protecting construction workers' ears from chop saws, but terrible for musicians.

It all sounds interesting Dave , I get what you are saying .
You have to do what right for you always . I respect that
 
Kenny

sharke
I wouldn't put too much significance on your initial experience with the singer. She might have felt tetchy for any number of personal reasons (including biological)...

Oh, jeez! Way to perpetuate a stereotype...
 
-Susan

sharke

Susan G

sharke
I wouldn't put too much significance on your initial experience with the singer. She might have felt tetchy for any number of personal reasons (including biological)...

Oh, jeez! Way to perpetuate a stereotype...
 
-Susan

It's not a stereotype, both men and women can experience irritability for any number of biological or medical reasons. My point was that it wasn't necessarily her everyday personality. But if you're talking about PMS, well that exists. 

It's not a question of what I was talking about. Sorry if I misinterpreted what you said, so if you meant that remark equally for men & women, my bad. If you would've made the same comment about "including biological" if the singer had been male, then I apologize. Somehow I don't think you would have, but if I'm wrong, again, I apologize.
 
-Susan

Susan G

sharke

Susan G

sharke
I wouldn't put too much significance on your initial experience with the singer. She might have felt tetchy for any number of personal reasons (including biological)...

Oh, jeez! Way to perpetuate a stereotype...
 
-Susan

It's not a stereotype, both men and women can experience irritability for any number of biological or medical reasons. My point was that it wasn't necessarily her everyday personality. But if you're talking about PMS, well that exists. 

It's not a question of what I was talking about. Sorry if I misinterpreted what you said, so if you meant that remark equally for men & women, my bad. If you would've made the same comment about "including biological" if the singer had been male, then I apologize. Somehow I don't think you would have, but if I'm wrong, again, I apologize.
 
-Susan

Even if I did, I still don't see what's wrong about talking about gender differences objectively and honestly. Variety is the spice of life and all that. 

Susan G

sharke
Even if I did, I still don't see what's wrong about talking about gender differences objectively and honestly. Variety is the spice of life and all that. 

What's wrong is that you suggested (IMO) that she said what she said because of a "biological" reason, and we all know what you meant. Of course variety is the spice of life, but that doesn't mean it's okay to attribute a reaction to anything other than how she felt or what she was thinking at the time, which you have no way of knowing.
 
-Susan

I put it out there as one possibility of many. To be perfectly honest I'm not looking to get into a dispute over anyone's racial/sexual/religious or whatever grievances because it's just totally gotten out of hand over the last few years to the point of becoming a national obsession.

If you wanted to pop in and chastise someone every time a 'stereotype was perpetuated' in the Coffee House, you'd have to give your day job...

bayoubill
Wow! Even I. Old and decreped as I Am got a call to go play with a band yesterday. It was from a drummer I did a gig with 3 years ago. He couldn't understand a word I said to him. I tried to tell him I required a nurse, probably an intravenous hookup, a body sized dolly, transportation, coffee, and a pick, depending on what style music they played. After I tried to tell him all that he said "Great! I'll get back with you." And hung up.  I don't know for Shure but I may be in a band and retired before I got started .....somehow 

You didn't tell him, that you also needed sex, drugs and more rock'n'roll?
 
WOW ... are you from a different century?