About Us
Old Guys (and Gals) Still Rockin’ is a site devoted to 50+ Active Seniors who grew up loving rock and roll music. We share many common experiences. We know that Wings was not Paul McCartney’s first band. If we were more than five years old at the time, we remember where we were when JFK was assassinated. We remember “Satisfaction,” “House of the Rising Sun,” “Hey Jude” and “Yesterday.”
A “Second Wave” of classic rockers is just now turning 50 and we welcome them to the club. This second wave includes the MTV generation who grew up with such bands as Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, AC/DC and Aerosmith. If you were born in 1969 or before, you’re welcome to become an OGSR member.
I started OGSR because I realized how just getting together with people my own age, playing music and sharing stories changed my life. In a world where I was starting to feel increasingly irrelevant, I found camaraderie, respect and shared experiences. I’ve lived an exciting life and I have no complaints. I didn’t get cheated. I was, and still am, a novelist. While most of my books were novels, I also wrote ten non-fiction books and several produced screenplays (see Bio here). I also directed a couple of feature films, including “Street Crimes,” starring Dennis Farina.
Even though I was pretty happy with my life, it definitely changed for the better when I started playing music again and formed a band, “50 Shades of 60.” We all sing, and Randy Winter (on the right in the photo) plays lead guitar. Jay Rockbank (in the center) plays bass. Even though we’ve gotten better over the past three years, the most important thing has been the camaraderie we all feel. I love hanging out with these guys, joking around, laughing hard out loud. And I love that our families get together regularly and have become close.
Some people play golf or poker. I love playing music with friends.
Music is also a real door-opener with people of all ages. I keep meeting new people and almost all of them love rock and roll. Sometimes you meet someone and you don’t know what to say. But when you ask that person, “What was the best concert you ever attended?” or “What’s your favorite Stones’ song?” things change. Suddenly you’re both standing on common ground.
Music has meant a lot to me my whole life. When I talk to my musician friends we almost always acknowledge that throughout our lives music has provided a place to go when, often, there was nowhere else to go.
In a world where so many things divide us, I have found that everyone I meet has a cool music story. A favorite concert. A favorite song. A favorite band.
Old Guys Still Rockin’ is a safe and welcoming online environment for Baby Boomers and all 50+ Active Seniors who love rock and roll. With that in mind, the number one priority in our “OGSR Community” is CIVILITY. There are literally millions of other sites and social media forums that allow, even encourage, negative, sometimes vicious online engagement. We pledge to do our best to encourage our OGSR Community to stay on topic: Sharing our Rock and Roll experiences, and having fun playing and listening to the music we love.
We lived through the 60s and 70s. Nearly a half century later we’re still here. Still standing–and maybe a little crazy–after all these years.
Recently I told my bandmates that at our age, if the worst problem we have is an issue with our rock band, then life is pretty damned good.
— Stephen Smoke
