Trouble already?

StarscreamG1 · #1 07-10-2008, 02:59 AM

Since getting back into bass a few months back, this time Ive been able to hook up with a guitarist. The guy isn't bad. Hes' only been playing for a couple of years but hes got a lot of potential. He loves my stuff and thats pretty cool.

Well he and I have hooked up with the lead guitarist from a local band and we all jam together from time to time. Its great experience for me as when I played the first time, my exposure to playing with other people was limited. My best friend at the time was a drummer so that helped and thats all I pretty much did before it was over. I was just a solo bassist and worked up stuff just for that. He and I could come up with some pretty cool stuff.

Anyway, we are about to hook up with another guitarist (not the lead from the local band) and from there we get a drummer. Both he and the other guy sings so thats covered.

Now being new to this as far as 'practicing' with others go it took a couple of times to get the feel of it. My playing has gotten the cobwebs blown off a lot faster this way and its helping my creativity a lot.

Thing is...when we practice I want to take a riff we both agree on, and work on it, expand it, add to it, work on perfecting it. No, instead he plays random crap so I will come up with something for it....ok fine, get it out of your system and warm up for a bit but then I try to steer the practice to something more constructive over random and it never seems to work long. I can never seem to get him to stay FOCUSED on anything and what makes it even more annoying is he will come up with something cool and then the next time we play he can't remember it.....

and Ive already had to take my lespaul (that hes using right now) and show HIM

what he played the last time.....

The last straw was when he showed up tonight, stoned.... seems he has to get stoned before he jams... I was ticked but didn't say anything. I can already see where he thinks he can't play unless hes high.... and I know thats part of the many reasons why I can't get him to focus on crap.

When his bud moves back down in our area and joins us this will be fun. I have heard a demo his friend cut with a band and WOW.... I don't think I want to get in the middle of this mess (meaning I don't want to be around when they tie into it as far as commitment and practice 'ethics' go I think you could say)

All I know is I am dead serious about getting something going, so it his friend but I have no idea where HE stands in this.... I am not sure exactly what I should do or say. Well I probably do but I don't want to think about it.

Oh and to add, when the lead guitarist from the local band meets up with us, that guy and I work very well together. But my friend ends up going off on his own little thing.... the two of us let it go and just stay with what we are doing (that probably says something there) but what is annoying is when he focuses for a change on something and we are going tight with it, suddenly HE @#$#@$ changes it and makes ME look like *I* went out of time........

Hes done that twice now and thankfully the other guy saw it right off and stepped in the second time.

Comments?

StarscreamG1 · #2 07-10-2008, 01:05 PM

fretlessman71 · #3 07-10-2008, 01:10 PM

It seems that your guitarist isn't interested in doing anything that involves work at this point. He'd be better off in a jam band - where he'd excel, I'm sure, if he's as talented as you say - and you'd be better off with someone more committed to creating songs. Doesn't mean that one way is better than the other; just means that you two aren't going to get along well in a band situation.

Spinal Tapper · #4 07-10-2008, 01:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fretlessman71

It seems that your guitarist isn't interested in doing anything that involves work at this point. He'd be better off in a jam band - where he'd excel, I'm sure, if he's as talented as you say - and you'd be better off with someone more committed to creating songs. Doesn't mean that one way is better than the other; just means that you two aren't going to get along well in a band situation.

+1

And getting stoned while writing music is a lot different than showing up stoned to practice. Coming to practice high can be really bad for the creative process, but sitting around passing the J'er with everyone involved and certainly release a lot of creative energy - as long as everyone's on the same page with the same goals. Sounds like this guys' on a different level. Talk to him about what he wants to get out of this band - and consider what you would like to get out of this band as well.

DudeistMonk · #5 07-10-2008, 01:35 PM

It sounds like your goals aren't clear here...The guitarist seems to think your just jamming, you seem to think your writing songs.

StarscreamG1 · #6 07-10-2008, 01:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fretlessman71

It seems that your guitarist isn't interested in doing anything that involves work at this point. He'd be better off in a jam band - where he'd excel, I'm sure, if he's as talented as you say - and you'd be better off with someone more committed to creating songs. Doesn't mean that one way is better than the other; just means that you two aren't going to get along well in a band situation.

+1 That sums it up perfectly. He's coming over tonight. I am going to have to talk to him and hopefully get through to him, that is if he isn't stoned....

Its just ironic I guess you could say. I finally find someone to try and create music with and our levels of commitment do indeed seem to be different as time goes on. But yet he talks about recording and stuff....hes not making any sense at this point.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spinal Tapper

+1

And getting stoned while writing music is a lot different than showing up stoned to practice. Coming to practice high can be really bad for the creative process, but sitting around passing the J'er with everyone involved and certainly release a lot of creative energy - as long as everyone's on the same page with the same goals. Sounds like this guys' on a different level. Talk to him about what he wants to get out of this band - and consider what you would like to get out of this band as well.

I don't mind passing the J'er around. I don't smoke anymore (well lets see one time in the past 20 years LOL) but I don't care either way about it. It does release a lot of creative energy for song writing but getting stoned on purpose before a practice so you can be ready to jam?? He made a comment to that effect last night...that is just wrong I think.

The demo I mentioned that I heard the other day of the other guy was really awesome. Had that band stayed together Id have their CD in my collection for sure. That band had a female bassist (I am female as well) and she was pretty good but she started sleeping with the lead guitarist

and before it was over the band was split .....that singer/rhythm guitarist founder of that band is dead serious about getting something new going. He was thrilled when his friend told him he had found a bassist and it was a chick to boot LOL You'd think he'd shy away from female bassists after what happened to his band but he was like GREAT.... I know that guy and I are the same level regarding this 'project'.... I will talk to him tonight and hopefully his bud can get it straightened out if all else fails....

Then to add to the mix is the lead guitarist from the other band. He wants to get something together on the side and wants to get it going with me holding down the low end (I commented on another thread he was into extreme speed metal....Im getting my speed up there but dayummm LOL). Now he and I can communicate and have discussed what we both want out fo this. He wants a bass player that plays more then one string riffs and extreme speed. Thats fine but I told him what I wanted and said the two of us would have to come half way since the music we both want is a bit different. He is willing and for it. I thought that was cool. But then the leader singer/band 'leader' came to one of our jam sessions once afternoon and now is trying to keep /his/ lead guitarist from practicing with me.....I can't win for losing here....

I use to say that if I ever got into a band it was going to have to be ME as the founder/leader because I know what I want to do and the sound I am looking for ..... I am beginning to think that off the cuff remark was closer to the truth then I ever thought.....

StarscreamG1 · #7 07-10-2008, 01:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DudeistMonk

It sounds like your goals aren't clear here...The guitarist seems to think your just jamming, you seem to think your writing songs.

Well he thinks we are creating stuff because the way he talks and the way he approaches the 'practice' sessions are two different things. As for as me thinking we are writing songs? No, not yet but it is what I want to do. It a pain, when he can focus we sound good together and our timing with each other is pretty good for being 'raw' still (I feel). I think we could make a tight rhythm section but hes obviously not going about it as seriously as I want to....

PaulFredricks · #8 07-10-2008, 01:56 PM

Just remember what you want to do. Don't try to change the other guy. Even if he says OK, it probably won't last and you'll spend countless practices banging your head against a wall.

The fact that so many bands are able to stay together just amazes me. People are different and most aren't very tolerant of those who are different from themselves. For good or bad.

fretlessman71 · #9 07-10-2008, 01:59 PM

Situations like this are why I gave up on the idea of "being in a band" about 8 years ago and decided to go the "hired gun" route. You don't HAVE to worry so much about the ideals and goals of the other players so long as they play well at the gig and you get your money. It sounds harsh, but it's true...

DudeistMonk · #10 07-10-2008, 02:00 PM

Ohh yeah also one thing I find is that the cheebah in large quantities turns you into an idiot during a jam, you get lost in your own lines and can't pay attention to changing rhythms and such. However a wee lil bit of it can open your head up to a lot of new lines without you getting too distracting.

jgroh · #11 07-10-2008, 02:12 PM

Now lets all forget our troubles with a big bowl of strawberry ice cream

StarscreamG1 · #12 07-10-2008, 02:14 PM

Getting lost in your lines is EXACTLY what he does sometimes. It what caused ME to look out of time there a couple of times. He decided after a few times through this one rythm to drop a note and do something else and well here I was still doing the same pattern. There is a slide up and a 3 note run ending in a string pull on the 3rd note then back (that probably sounds dorky in description but it sounds really cool when its played LOL). Needless to say when he dropped the one note he hit that part a beat before I did

It didn't sound pretty and Im sitting here thinking 'Is it me??Naaaaa it can't be' so I paid more attention to what he was doing and he did it again. I stopped cold the same time the other guy did and the other guy was like *** are you doing [to him]?

I don't want to continue to be a solo player. I was happy with it for years then even after the way these practice sessions are turning out more times than not, I want to be in a band....

StarscreamG1 · #13 07-10-2008, 02:17 PM

mmmm strawberry icecream... hey I have some cookies and cream in the freezer.... bah..now I want some icecream LOL

StarscreamG1 · #14 07-10-2008, 07:30 PM

Well he just left after coming over for some practice. Before I said anything he apologized for last night and I will be darned if we didn't pick out one thing and work on just that. O_o He's about to pick up some recording equipment and a better rig.... I think its all up in the air at this point where hes at in this but who knows, I hope he proves me wrong.

IanStephenson · #15 07-11-2008, 02:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spinal Tapper

sitting around passing the J'er with everyone involved and certainly release a lot of creative energy

Maybe I "broke the magic" by "not being involved" (I don't smoke), but in EVERY case where I've been at a rehersal/jam where people smoking they set around THINKING they've got so much creative energy, when in fact they're playing two notes over and over and it sounds aweful. It seems that a tape recorder can also dampen the magic, as jams which sounded fantastic to them at the time were somehow inaccurately captured on tape, and sound bad played back the next day.

If you want to enjoy the odd splif then thats fine, but don't waste my time by expecting my to jam with you. As the old joke goes "What did the deadhead say when he ran out of drugs? What's that awefull noise man!".

Ian