Jeff Martell 

For Musicians Only


What do you get when you cross a banjo with a mandolin?
An instrument that even the bass player can tell is out of tune

What do you call a good musician at a banjo contest?
A guest

You Might Be Too Old to Gig If ---

-- before each gig, you find yourself warming up parts of your body that are
stiff and the right part never does.

-- it becomes more important to find a place onstage for your boxfan, than
your amp.

-- during the second set, you scream for the drummer to please stop
hitting those annoying cymbals anymore.

-- you refuse to play out of tune and you stop in the middle of the song to
tune up*

-- your gig clothes make you look like george burns out for a round a golf*

-- your fans have left by 10:30

-- all you want from groupies is a foot massage.

-- you love shopping the dollar store because you can sing along to most
of your playlist.

-- you hire band members for their values instead of their talent.*

-- instead of a fifth piece, your band wants to spring for a roadie with
the extra money .

-- First you lose the directions to the gig, then you find them but they're
still no use to you because you forgot your reading glasses.

-- prepping for the gig involves plucking hair from your chin or nose

-- you need your glasses and help to see your amp settings*

-- you've thrown out your back stepping off the stage

-- you're thrilled to have new year's off*

-- the waitress is your daughter

-- you stop the set because your bottle of ibruprofen fell behind the
speakers

-- most of your crowd just sways in their seats

-- you find your drink tokens from last month's gig in your guitar case

-- you refuse to play without earplugs*

-- you ask the club owner if you can start at 8:30 instead of 9:30 so you
can get to bed sooner.

-- you check the tv schedule before booking a gig

-- high notes make you cough and gasp for air

-- your gig stool has a back

-- you're related to at least one other member of the band

-- you need a nap before the gig

-- during the breaks, you now go to your van to lay down

-- you prefer a music stand with a light*

-- you don't recover until tuesday afternoon

-- you can't operate without a setlist

-- you discourage playing longer than contracted*

-- you have a contract*

You'd rather play at the same crappy club for 6 months instead of facing the
night you have to pack up
-- You have to pee before and during every set

-- Between sets you ignore the women, you just want to kick off your shoes
and relax

--Your gig bag now includes cough drops, ibuprofin, aspirin and Pepcid
complete

--You print your set lists in Arial size 48 so you can see them

--You' re glad you wear a guitar or sit behind the drums because it hides
your gut

___________________________________________________

A young child says to his mother, "Mom, when I grow up I'd like to be a

 musician."She replies, "Well, honey, you know you can't do both."

               

               Q: What do you call a beautiful woman on a trombonist's arm?

               A: A tattoo.

               

               Q: What's the difference between a banjo and an onion?

               A: Nobody cries when you chop up a banjo.

               

               Q: What do you call a drummer in a three-piece suit?

               A: The defendant.

               

               Q: What do clarinetists use for birth control?

               A: Their personalities.

               

               Q: What did the drummer get on his IQ Test?

               A: Saliva.

               

               Q: What do call a guitar player without a girlfriend?

               A: Homeless.

               

               Q: What's the similarity between a drummer and a philosopher?

               A: They both perceive time as an abstract concept.

               

               Q: What is the difference between a drummer and a vacuum cleaner?

               A: You have to plug one of them in before it sucks.

               

               Q: Why do some people have an instant aversion to banjo players?

                A: It saves time in the long run.

               

               Q: What's the difference between a folk guitar player and

a large pizza?

               A: A large pizza can feed a family of four.

               

               Q: What's the difference between a jet airplane and a trumpet?

               A: About three decibels.

               

               Q: What's the latest crime wave in New York City?

               A: Drive-by trombone solos.

               

               Q: What's the definition of a minor second interval?

               A: Two soprano sax players reading off the same part.

               

               Q: What is another term for trombone?

               A: A wind-driven manually operated pitch approximator.

               

               Q: How do you get an oboist to play A flat?

               A: Take the batteries out of his electronic tuner.

               

               Q: What is the dynamic range of a bass trombone?

               A: On or off.

               

               Q: What's the difference between a SCUD missile and a bad oboist?

               A: A bad oboist can kill you.

               

               Q: Why do clarinetists leave their cases on the dashboard?

               A: So they can park in the handicapped zones.

               

               Q: What's the difference between an opera singer and a

pit bull?

               A: Lipstick.

               

               Q: Why do people play trombone?

               A: Because they can't move their fingers and read music

at the same time.

               

               Q: How does a violist's brain cell die?

               A: Alone.

               

               Q: What do you call a guitar player that only knows two chords?

               A: A music critic.

               

               Q: How do you keep your violin from being stolen?

               A: Put it in a viola case.

               

               Q: What's the difference between a saxophone and a chain saw?

               A: You can tune a chain saw.

               

               Q: What will you never say about a banjo player?

               A: "That's the banjo player's Porsche."

               

               Q: What do a viola and a lawsuit have in common?

               A: Everyone is relieved when the case is closed.

               

               Q: Why are harps like elderly parents?

               A: Both are unforgiving and hard to get into and out of cars.

               

               Q: How many trumpet players does it take to pave a driveway?

               A: Seven, if you lay them out correctly.

               

               Q: What's the difference between an oboe and a bassoon?

               A: You can hit a baseball further with a bassoon.

               

               Q: How are a banjo player and a blind javelin thrower alike?

               A: Both command immediate attention and alarm, and force

everyone to move out of range.

               

               Q: What's the best recording of the Walton Violin Concerto?

               A: "Music Minus One"

               

               Q: What's the difference between a Wagnerian soprano and

a baby elephant?

               A: Eleven pounds.

               

               Q: Why are violist's fingers like lightning?

               A: They rarely strike the same spot twice.

               

               Q: How many guitar players does it take to screw in a

light bulb?

               A: 13 - one to do it, and twelve to stand around and say,

"Phhhwt! I can do that!"

               

               Q:Tuba Player: "Did you hear my last recital?"

               A: Friend: "I hope so."

               

               Q: What's the difference between alto clef and Greek?

               A: Some conductors actually read Greek.

               

               Q. What is a glissando?

               A: A technique adopted by string players for difficult runs.

               

               Relative minor: A guitarist's girlfriend.

               

               Q: How does a young man become a member of a high school chorus?

               A: On the first day of school he turns into the wrong classroom.

               

               Subito piano: Indicates an opportunity for some obscure

orchestra player

               to become a soloist.

               

               Musica ficta: When you lose your place and have to bluff

until you find it

               again.

               

               Vibrato: Used by singers to hide the fact that they are

on the wrong

               pitch.

               

               Did you hear about the tenor who was so arrogant the

other tenors noticed?

               

               Q: What do you call a hundred conductors at the bottom of

the ocean?

               A: A good start.

               

               Q: Barenboim, Levine and Mehta all went down in a plane

crash. Who survived?

               A: Mozart.

               

               Q: How can you tell when a singer is at your door?

               A: They can't find the key, and they never know when to

come in.

               

               Q: How do you get two bass players to play in unison?

               A: Hand them charts a half-step apart.

               

               Q: What's the difference between a dead chicken in the

road, and a dead trombonist in the road?

               A: There's a remote chance the chicken was on its way to

a gig.

               

               Q: What do you call someone who hangs around with musicians?

               A: A vocalist.

               

               Q: How do you get a guitarist to play softer?

               A: Place a sheet of music in front of him.

               

               Q: Why can't voice majors have colostomies?

               A: Because they can't find shoes to match the bag.

               

               Q: What do you do if you see a bleeding drummer running

around in your back yard?

               A: Stop laughing and shoot again.

               

               Q: How many 2nd violinists does it take to change a light bulb?

               A: None, they can't get up that high !!!!!!

               

               Soprano Sofege: do, re, mi, me, Me, Not You, ME!!

               

               Q: What's the perfect weight of a conductor?

               A: Three and one-half pounds, including the urn.

               

               Q: What do all great conductors have in common?

               A: They're all dead.

               

               Q: What's the definition of optimism?

               A: A bass trombonist with a beeper.

               

               Q: What do you do if you run over a bass player?

               A: Back up.

               

               Q: How do you reduce wind-drag on a trombonist's car?

               A: Take the Domino's Pizza sign off the roof 

               

               Q: How do you get a clarinetist out of a tree?

               A: Cut the noose 

               

               Q: What do you throw a drowning bass player?

               A: His amp.

               

               Q: How do you get a three-piece horn section to play in tune?

                A: Shoot two of them.

               

               Q: What's the difference between a bull and a band?

               A: The bull has the horns in the front and the asshole in

the back.

               

               Q: How many vocalists does it take to screw in a lightbulb?

               A: None. They hold the bulb over their head and the world

revolves around them.

               

               Q: How many drummers does it take to screw in a bulb?

               A: None, they have machines for that now.

               

               Q: How can you tell if the stage is level?

               A: The drool comes out of both sides of the drummer's mouth.

               

               Q: How do you get a trombonist off of your porch?

               A: Pay him for the pizza.

               

               Q: What's the last thing a drummer says before he gets

kicked out of a band? 

                A: "When do we get to play MY songs?"

               

               Q: What's the difference between a tuba and a vacuum cleaner?

               A: You have to turn one of them on before it sucks.

               

               Q: How do you define a perfect pitch?

               A: When the saxophone lands in the MIDDLE of the dumpster.

               

               Q: What do you call a musician with a college degree?

               A: Night manager at McDonalds.

               

               Q: Why are violas larger than violins?

               A: They aren't. Violists' heads are smaller.