While I’m not the most gifted musician, I enjoy it enough and practice enough to play live gigs some weekends if I choose to book something at a local venue.
I don’t mind playing a bunch of cover songs of hits from the 1970s and 1980s, and I also don’t mind doing a full set of original music to an audience looking for that specifically. Since I don’t rely on the revenue from making music to support myself financially, I have the freedom to do whatever makes me the happiest. That means creating Youtube videos when I have the time and doing a few gigs at local venues when it gives me personal fulfillment. Unfortunately, I had to move into an apartment recently and I’m not able to practice with my guitar amp and speakers turned up past the lowest volume settings. This makes it really difficult to rehearse for my live show if I can’t do it with my speakers and amplifiers on. I have to test out the speakers as well, otherwise my music set could get disrupted halfway through due to equipment failure. Rehearsing gives you a chance to find these equipment malfunctions before they disrupt a live set in the process. For months I was practicing my live act at a nearby music recording studio, but their lackluster indoor heating is making me rethink my use of their services. It was okay in the summer when temperatures outside were warm, but it’s the first week of November and we have freezing temperatures daily. Their heat is so minimal that my hands freeze while I’m playing my instruments. It’s really hard to wear cutoff gloves while playing guitar without the fabric constantly muffling the string sustain.