The Bottom Dwellers definitely have a season. During the Spring and Summer, we tend to be a lot busier than in the Fall and Winter. Other bands in our league have told us the colder months tend to be slower for them as well. We’re not a touring band, but most of us place a very high importance on playing music, and we probably would do quite a bit more traveling if it weren’t for family obligations. 

I think one of the biggest challenges of being in a part time band that rehearses once a week and performs once or twice a month is that the monotony to exposure ratio seems to be quite a bit higher than it is with a touring act. We definitely play our songs to each other much more than we play them to an audience. Just like any band, we get burnt out playing the same songs over and over. But unlike a touring band that plays the same songs over and over to an audience who pays them money to do it, the only tangible benefit we get is staying fresh on the songs and our instruments.

Since we have less opportunity to play these songs for an audience, it takes longer to build a crowd of people who have a decent familiarity of and appreciation for our songs. I think this may be a big contributing factor to the feedback loop of burnout, perceived under appreciation, and lack of motivation we seem to find ourselves in from time to time. Another big contributor to this cycle is that all the work that goes into booking, songwriting, and promotion seems to have little payoff.

We’ve come to realize that we may have to work a little harder due to the style of music we play. “Real country music” isn’t very popular in our area. People who like country music, like “new country,” and people who “don’t like country music” have largely only been exposed to “new country,” so there is a large obstacle of misconception to overcome. The majority of people in our area who do appreciate our style of music are either in a “real country” band of their own, or are not the kind of people who will stay up late and come to a bar to see us play.

When things are busy and going good, there’s still a question of how much effort everything is worth for the small amount of return we get. Each one of us has different strengths, weaknesses, and hang-ups. It can be very difficult maximizing our strengths without aggravating our individual hang-ups, and still make sure each one of us is getting what we want to get out of the band.

A constant struggle we have is that the two guys that do the singing, songwriting and take the solos are the ones that book the gigs. Chris and I have tried to book gigs from time to time, and I think a few of them actually happened, but we simply aren’t that good at it. Chris and I also don’t write songs. I’ve tried to write a few over the years, but nothing has been of the caliber Adam and Ivan are capable of. This, no doubt, puts a lot of the weight on Adam and Ivan to carry the band.

When things slow down, we either have to ramp up the effort and risk burnout, or slow down and risk loosing motivation and what little momentum we do have. It’s hard work, and no matter which path we choose, there are real dangers of becoming disenchanted. After six years, it doesn’t seem to be any easier.

My personal struggle is trying to keep the other people happy and motivated. I want to play all the time. I like long rehearsals. I like playing shitty 30 minute gigs in Sacramento. I like playing shitty 4 hour gigs at the indian casinos. I've been playing music for 25 years because I like it a whole, whole lot. It is by far my favorite thing to do. My hang-up is not playing, and feeling guilty about relying on the other guys to make that happen.

Since I’m significantly less adept at booking and songwriting than other people in the band (despite which I’m still actively trying to do both), I try to pull my weight in other ways. I volunteer my house for rehearsals, I handle the web stuff, I make posters and flyers, I get our music into record stores, and I do my part to get us on the radio. Sometimes I’m less motivated to do these things than other times, so I think I can imagine what a lack of motivation to book gigs and write songs can do to your perception of how fun it is to be in a particular band. Thinking of this helps me stay motivated.

In the end, I suppose it has to be each person’s responsibility to keep himself motivated. And just like it’s shitty and necessary to rely too heavily on a particular person’s strength at any given time, it is equally shitty and necessary to accept and understand when that person fails to keep themselves motivated. To me, the music this band produces is worth the effort. I hope the other guys feel that way too.