I've only recently in the last year started playing music consistently, and I honestly don't know how I lasted so long without doing it. It has become possibly my favoutite thing to do, get in the prac room with 3 (sometimes 4) of my best mates, drink some beer and make some noise. Personally, I think it's an interaction thing. Non-verbal communication and all that. There's nothing more satisfying than coming up with something we're all into. We really couldn't give a flying fuck if anybody else likes it.

I guess most of you know this already, but I'm kind of evangelical about the whole thing.

kerble wrote:to be happier than I am when I'm not playing or writing music.

everything else (shows/touring/proper records) is a gift.

This makes, how you say, 'hellasense'.

I do it because it makes me feel approximately 99.6354% happier about myself than say, when I'm on a conference call with my US counterparts discussing the ins and outs of internet ad trafficking.
It pleases me greatly, and I like to share my music with people (even though what I make is pretty ugly by definition) knowing that if I like it, at least one other person out there will (this person is obviously brilliant). It's always nice to have people indulge you.

I do it because it's a stress reliever and a great excuse to hang out with friends.

I hope to some day get some original material down on tape and have it be a proud creation by all involved.

for the kicks.

for the chicks.

and to get into shows free and meet cool bands.

but mostly cuz it is fun.

I just like to create a really loud BANG!!! There are many ways to accomplish this, beside turning your amp up to "slay", and I'd like to explore them all.

So, that, and then I have a real interest in freaking the fuck out/tearing it up/The Works. Playing music with my mates, on a stage or in the practise room, takes me to a place that is like nothing else, and I have a hard time imagining a world without it.

So many reasons, some of which have been touched on.

kerble wrote:to be happier than I am when I'm not playing or writing music.

Christopher J. McGarvey wrote:The belief that maybe your music can touch one other person besides yourself is what drives me more than anything.

Also, i'll man up and admit that it's an ego thing. (I know that'll come as a shock to the "you post about your band too much" crowd.) But fuck it, i like attention. I like knowing we've just totally killed in front of a room full of people while opening for a band we admire. I love meeting and pal-ing up with bands from other parts of the country, making new friends and occasionally hearing "you guys are our favorite band that we've played with on this tour." And i love it when some random person comes up to me and says, "hey, remember that show you guys played in Manitowoc four years ago when that kid made out with that robot onstage?" It's pretty awesome when someone thinks about your band when they haven't even seen you play in a while. So yeah, that shit keeps me playing music. If there weren't any ego attached to it we'd just stay in the basement, never play out, and never release CDs.

So, along with the noble shit like "it makes me happy" and "maybe it'll make a difference" and "maybe it'll get me laid:" ego.

Cure cancer

I'd like to change mine to: "Cause Cancer"

i think i would die or kill myself if i couldn't play music

Adam CR wrote:...my wife (for example) cannot stand my music. Come to think of it, she's not alone in this!

Same here. Which is why I can say with confidence that I create music solely for myself. I don't give a shit about money, women, or fame. Faiz summed it up nicely...

kerble wrote:to be happier than I am when I'm not playing or writing music.

I've been in a couple of bands where I all of a sudden realized that I wasn't happy...that I wasn't having fun anymore...and so I quit. Once mid-song!