Old band mates.

[Jamestrouton]

I think this is the most appropriate place for this thread, feel free to move it

Anywho, I was in a band about a year ago. It was my first, and to date only, band. We were best mates and I had known 2 of the other 3 members since early childhood. I stayed for around 7 months, but then genre's and ambitions took the band and I in different directions. I am yet to begin another project due to exams and stuff, but should have a few guys sorted by summer though

Back to the story, the band got their first gig at an Easter charity weekend of music "Easter Rocks For Charity". They had offered me a lift up with the band to watch.
I was unable to go because I had to play the final of a football (soccer for those across the pond) tournament, turned out to be a waste of time, as we lost 7:1! There's always next year!
Anyway, I rung the guitarist up afterwards to find out how they got on, apparently well, and promised him I'd go to the next gig!
I guess I'm just pleased that were still good mates

So now to you, wonderful TB'ers. What are your experiences of leaving bands? Any horror stories? Any happy endings?

[Blisterfinger]

I was once in a band with 3 of my mates for years until the drummer and vocalist decided to create a bit of a melodrama between themselves. Things got frustrating, the drummer would play a particular song poorly (off tempo, purposely) if he didn't like it and the vocalist would storm out of the practice. We were quite a heavy outfit and the vocalist would consistently request we play more acoustic, light songs ('we' played an acoustic version of 'Patience' once, live. The vocalist was on his OWN on the stage with an acoustic guitar until he needed backing vocals...).
We released an album but I don't think we could have labeled ourselves as any one genre because of the musical differences even within that album. Also, the fact that we were all childhood friends meant that kicking anyone out of the band or leaving would have been a kick in the teeth for whichever party. It was a bit of a paradox.
We went our separate ways anyway, the drummer is in a new band and the vocalist is not. Obviously my opinions of these guys changed throughout the band's duration but I don't regret being there either. I guess drama is part of being in a metal band, huh?

[Jamestrouton]

During on of our practises, the drummer and lead guitarist ( who wer brothers! ) fell out about something. It ended up that the guitarist, with his £1000+ guitar, booted the drummer on his way out the door. It came to minor blows, drummer leaves band, drummer rejoins in 4 days time.

[Jamestrouton]

And yes, our drummer played the wrong beats when he didnt like a song. Dam them and their power!

[Mike M.]

Last full time band I was in ended in '82. Sadly, our keyboard player passed away in '96. I'm still close to our singer and he and I do some writing together although it's been a while. I talk to the drummer about once every two years. Our soundman and his wife live right down the street from me, so we see each other fairly often. (Might even go over there tonight!) I see our guitar player on occasion as he's my ex-brother in law. No problems with that as he, my ex-wife and I get along good.

Life goes on!

[sikamikanico]

I see people from all my previous bands every once in a while, no hard feelings!
My last band are some of the best people to hang out with and some of the best times we had together were after we already knew we're splitting...

[jetbike]

When I left my first proper band in '94 it was like the end of a relationship. Bitter recriminations and smear campaigns all round. We were all young and thought we were going to rule the world. My leaving the band destroyed all those dreams.

Second proper band I joined ended when I met my Aussie wife and decided to leave London. She has been referred to as the Antipodean Yoko Ono in small circles. She had to go back to Aus and I wanted to go with her. The reaction was still pretty strong, but much more moderate than the open hostility of the earlier outfit. I'm still mates with those guys.

In both sets of circumstances the band had become stagnant and needed a serious overhaul, which I didn't want to provide. I'm now quite picky about bands that I join.

[BryanM]

I live with the keyboard player and hand percussionist from my former band, who is the drummer for my current band. The sax player from my band prior to that occasionally gets together with the 3 of us and the bassist from the band my roommates are in that replaced me to play out on jazz standards (I play guitar and keys so the keyboardist can play his trumpet.)

[knumbskull]

1 case of hard feelings, where i kicked a drummer out because he couldn't keep time. I still feel bad but it was for the best all round.

all others fine.

as a side note, my old guitarist landed a gig in a very famous band (over here) which is a source of much interest/amusement for his extended group of friends/ex-bandmates

[Rockmusician]

I've had some bands that split up good terms and some on bad, but I am still friends with everyone.