MetaChat - Musicians - what are you doing here?

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03 October 2007

Musicians - what are you doing here? →[More:]Is it just me or does it seem like there is a disproportionate amount of musicians on MeFi? Especially since it's not a music-oriented site. AFAIK, Matt's not even a musician. I've participated in several other non-music-related sites, and I've never run into this many musicians.

So, musicians, what is it that draws you to MeFi?

post by: desjardins at: 10:07 | 23 comments

Coincidence.

posted by Hugh Janus 03 October | 10:17

It must be the pancakes.

posted by bunnyfire 03 October | 10:24

It's a good venue for passing (and collecting) notes. Duh.

posted by Smart Dalek 03 October | 10:50

The groupies? (Not a musician.)

posted by rainbaby 03 October | 10:54

I can't fiddle about with music sites too much from work. I just tend to like mefi because it's the best at what it does... I've actually been reading for several years.

posted by chuckdarwin 03 October | 11:03

Maybe there are just a lot of musicians around in general, but MeFi encourages 'outing' oneself more than other places do.

posted by chrismear 03 October | 11:15

I don't know that it's a disproportionate number. There are a lot of musicians in the world, and 60,000 members on MeFi.

posted by Miko 03 October | 11:44

Or, what chrismear said.

I think there's an illusion that happens if you don't happen to know any musicians, or have them among your friends -- you begin to think they are somewhat rare. But they're all over the place. And once you get to know one or two musician friends, you basically know 100. Musicians do tend to form networks.

So I think people who don't know many musicians think there are no musicians, and people who are musicians sometimes feel like everyone they know is a musician.

posted by Miko 03 October | 11:46

true enough, Miko - I went for dinner last night with someone who doesn't play an instrument (though she does sing a bit) and I reflected that I couldn't remember the last time I had done that.

I don't know if I'd call myself a musician, as it's not how I earn my living, and I don't really come here to talk about music (the classical scene here and on Mefi is very small as far as I can tell). But I do spend most of my free time IRL with musical people.

posted by altolinguistic 03 October | 11:50

But I do spend most of my free time IRL with musical people.

I am a complete creature of habit in this way, and never choose to hang around with a non-musician/non-artist/non-creative type. I can't remember the last time I called someone or went out with someone who doesn't play or create. Every time I go out, it's to play music, to hear music, or to hang around with musicians. It's the way I've always been, and probably the way I'll always be.

I have been 'out with the boys' (guys from work or my BIL/FIL) once or twice, but they tend to talk about football the entire time and invariably end up in some shithole club (lapdancing, etc). If there's no live music, I don't want to go.

Sightseeing/photography with the fam is a close second. Going to a good film comes in third. Anything involving 'the boys' comes a very distant fourth.

posted by chuckdarwin 03 October | 12:08

(my BIL and FIL have just gone to Spain and France to watch Rugby; they didn't even bother to invite me)

posted by chuckdarwin 03 October | 12:09

I'm sort of a musician, and it was the pancakes.

posted by drezdn 03 October | 12:13

What they said. Also, musicians tend to be a bit exhibitionistic, so if someone is musicially inclined and likes to perform, he'll more often than not tell you about it.

posted by mrmoonpie 03 October | 12:40

I'm in a band, not much of a musician, but it's only 3 chords so I'm down. :)

I came to mefi for askme and stayed for the meta. I came to metachat because taz and dodgygeezer opened the doors, I stayed because its not meta.

If we weren't talking about other people's music and art or what we're doing in the evenings or on weekends or having three point status reports on what we're up to in general then I probably wouldn't bring it up, but sometimes it is relevant to the topic at hand.

posted by safetyfork 03 October | 12:48

safety's just being modest, he rocks!

I tend to think that creatives (or at least people with open minds) tend to flock together. Besides, playing in a band is relatively easy, compared with most of the other arts...

posted by black8 03 October | 15:11

What black8 said. I don't think there's that many PRO musicians on MeFi, IE, it's their trade and bread and butter - not a pasttime.

However, MeFi is just soaking in broad-spectrum creative types that dabble in everything. I've posted to Mefi Music, as have many many others. It's not my primary interest, and I doubt it is for others as well.

posted by loquacious 03 October | 15:49

I don't make much distinction between pro and non-pro musicians. The idea of a professional class of musicians is kind of a historical anomaly anyway; musicianship has more often been a role rather than a job. In the set of musicians, people who make their entire living from music - wihthout even depending on an SO for benefits or additional income - are a very, very small subset.

posted by Miko 03 October | 15:59

yeah, I was referring to anyone who picks up a guitar once a month as a "musician" - not just the people who get paid for it.

posted by desjardins 03 October | 17:08

It's much easier to be a musician in a socialist country... but I'm not allowed to mention that here.

posted by chuckdarwin 03 October | 18:24

Shut up, pinko.

:P

posted by desjardins 03 October | 19:06

People don't have a problem with socialism. People have a problem people who think they have discovered [blank], or need to "spread the good news" or educate the masses, because people don't generally want to be preached to about things that have been better expressed in more appropriate setting ages and ages ago.

People who like music tend to congregate around music and music related things. It's like seeing the same people at concerts when you might never see them at any other place.

posted by ethylene 03 October | 19:28

People don't have a problem with socialism.

I disagree, LOTS of people have a huge problem with Socialism (they're called Republicans) but I was only kidding with that comment (to bug taz).

People who like music tend to congregate around music and music related things. It's like seeing the same people at concerts when you might never see them at any other place.

Like, every Thursday at music night.

posted by chuckdarwin 04 October | 03:37

I just heard there were a lot of hot chicks.

posted by cortex 04 October | 09:55

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