Getting your butt out there and playing…

I agree with the get out and play philosophy. No shortage of pros out there saying a 30 minute gig does more for you than a week’s worth of two-hour practice sessions, and there’s a lot of merit in that – gigging is sink or swim.
When I started gigging (1989) the 21 drinking age was already in full swing. The NY area had a number of hybrid clubs, where you had to be 18 to get in and 21 to drink, and the scene did well. I had no issue getting rock gigs, even as an original band, up until I stopped gigging in 97.
After a 21 year hiatus, I am rehearsing with my first band since then, a Stone Temple Pilots tribute (I’m really not a fan, but I was surprised at how many of their tunes I recognized) and we’re just booking our first gig now for some time in May, most likely.
That’s also why I tell people all the time to not always play sitting down. No one’s going to see a rock band sitting in chairs, except maybe the Stones.