Can you be in too many bands???

[Mike Flynn]

As bass players I guess we are all in demand to a degree - I have found since moving to London that there are a tonne of bands looking for bass players - and having joined three, with the prospect of a few jazz jams on the side, I am starting to wonder if I'll be able to keep up the pace - and if anyone has any tips for changing gears from gig to gig?

One little footnote to that is that I auditioned for a new funk band on Saturday, I played really well and got the gig. One thing that I made a mental note of though when I met the band last week for a pre-audition chat, was that these were all extremely nice people that I felt completely on the same wavelength with. Compared to this fusion keyboardist and drummer I have been having a couple of sessions with - the latter two guys were very hard to work with, managed to piss me off and give me a hard time simultaneously, and as a result of them being dicks, I called them to say I can't do their little project - due to "other commitments". In short I think getting on or being friends with, your fellow musicians, is as important as being on a similar musical level...

Ok that's enough - your thoughts as ever are much appreciated, Munki.

[Edwcdc]

As long as you have the time to be in 3 or 4 bands I say go for it. You may run into problems if all of these bands are gigging. There are only so many weekends. If you are doing this for a living then I say you should do whatever keeps the schedule full. If you are playing music for fun then I wouldn't put up with anybody being a dick, unless the pay was good!

[Mike Flynn]

I hear that Mr Walken! The last part that is - and yeah, I kind of play music for fun but I play to a relatively high standard and I'd like to start earning some cash from it as well - especially as I don't own a car, I'm going to be doing a few taxi rides to and from gigs - so I'd like the hobby to pay for itself as it it were, but if a fulltime musical opportunity arrises - I'm completely up for it. The good thing is I work freelance - so I can always take my work with me shoud I need to travel or work odd hours etc.

[dirtgroove]

If you're doing originals you may find it hard to find the "practice time" for the band- as oppose to practice time for yourself.
I find it hard to keep up with two gigging bands and a full time job.
- Girlfriends aren't really an option as I only have one or two free nights a week, and it's something to bear in mind- It's good to be busy but as soon as some pretty young thing comes along it can be hard to keep up the same level of commitment.
On the other hand if playing bass is your job then I you may have enough time to fit it in. Most bands will want to tour to some extent though, How will you cope with that?

[Mike Flynn]

Originally Posted by dirtgroove

If you're doing originals you may find it hard to find the "practice time" for the band- as oppose to practice time for yourself.
I find it hard to keep up with two gigging bands and a full time job.
- Girlfriends aren't really an option as I only have one or two free nights a week, and it's something to bear in mind- It's good to be busy but as soon as some pretty young thing comes along it can be hard to keep up the same level of commitment.
On the other hand if playing bass is your job then I you may have enough time to fit it in. Most bands will want to tour to some extent though, How will you cope with that?

I hear all that too |DG, I have a long term girlfriend of over three years now and we are very solid as a couple, we live together so we do see each other everyday, even if it's only in the morning should I get home late. I think that if and when I go on tour it won't be for a while, and I doubt we'll be doing any really long trips, but we'll see - and yeah the bands I'm working with are playing all original stuff, but luckily for me, i have a very good memory for music, so once I learn something, I don't to forget it. Thanks for the advice.

[rickbass]

At one point, I was in two bands that supplied me with no less than 4 gigs a week regularly...usually 5 and sometimes 6 during holidays when the college people were on breaks.

The only thing tougher tahn being in two-hard gigging bands was long ago when my one & only band was on tour and we were hitting a different city every night. When you ride in a bus all day with the same people you are going to be working with all night, you just wish you could see & talk to someone else once in a while.

The hardest part, in either situation, was "getting up," mentally for the gig each night. I kept all the songs/sets straight but mustering up the intensity and professionalism every night was really tough.

To me, to do the job right, you have to focus like nothing else in your life is going on for that night you're playing and give it what you got. That's damn tough.