worst bandmate you've ever worked with?

[Mulebagger]

Keyboardist in the last band I played with:

"I don't need any guitar or bass in the monitor. I don't care what you guys are playing, I really would prefer not to listen, I just need lots of me in the monitor."

Kind of summed himself up in that one quote.

[keiththebassist]

I hope it's not me for my band

I am usually the picky one who'll stop songs or something and bring up an issue. Although in fairness I am usually very specific and literal about what I think may be lacking or could be improved upon. All the guys are responsive and we usually go with my suggestion to change something even though I am careful not to push my preferences too hard. I don't think I would ever be so blunt as to say "you're paying that wrong" even if they were, people don't respond well to that kind of persecution, nor should they.

Wow, after reading some of the horror stories in this thread I am thankful to have the guys in my group that I do. Everyone is open with great attitudes and works very hard and all are skilled players in their own way.

[TNCreature]

Did we play with the same drummer???
It's always the drummer...

Originally Posted by ROFLMFAO

mine was an old friend of mine who was the self proclaimed best musician in our band. he thought he was better than both of our guitarists at guitar, me at bass, and our vocalist at singing, but he was our drummer. in truth he was a pretty good drummer, but when it came to anything else he would play variations of a d major scale and call it beautiful. he would constantly try to tell us what to play, and he would stop drumming and take one of the guitarist's guitars and preach to us on what to do. after 4 months I couldn't handle it and quit.

[TNCreature]

Originally Posted by kevteop

One was so angry that we refused to pay his speeding ticket that he ripped the lid off an ice machine and beat the DJ's bike to death with it.

Oh, GOD!!! I can't stop laughing!!!
please let there be video of this!

[gt96g]

I can't even say it was my last band cause we never had a full practice. I was working with a drummer who had a female singer. The drummer was a cool enough guy, solid player. But the singer doesn't show up for like a month from when we were supposed to start playing, when she finally does show up, mediocre at best, I try to convince the drummer to move on without her, he won't, so I do, My time with that group lasted about 5 weeks.

[Gothic]

I could write books on that subject, tons of douchebags...

First off, keyboardist girl. Music diplomas and everything, all psyched up before the "audition". Rehearsal comes up, she's fishing for the intro to "enjoy the silence" by Depeche Mode with only her index finger. Seven unsuccessful attempts till I reached the "stroke" point and kicked her flat out.

Another keyboardist girl, comes up to rehearsal with hand written notes off guitar tabs. Had no idea what that was about and I would have no problem if that... "method" worked for her, but guess what? It didn't. Several botched attempts at VERY simple songs and she was out before the one hour mark.

Douchebag guitard kept grinding about how he wants me to play that, not play that, keep quiet during that, stop playing overall over parts the other guitard told me to play, etc. At one point, he got pissed and left the rehearsal cause me and the drummer were figuring out a rhythm while singer and the other guitard figured out some other lines - while he was just sitting there just looking around. Obviously said guitard had it out for me since I played a guitar solo better than him or something, so I left them altogether. The other guitard was no better at that band either...

Another guitard with the Malmsteen complex kept insisting I play EVERY song in the list note for note. I was down with that, no problem. Thing was, he had the notes wrong, and when I played them right he wouldn't take it. Not even when I played it along the original track in the studio. Still insisted something was wrong... Guitards...

Same band, keyboards girl (guitard's girlfriend) made everyone's ears bleed with the highs on her synth. After about 800 suggestions she should take a look at her EQ I quit.

Same band (again), litter drum-tard was trying to play a double-kick thingy with one kick and the floor tom. Noone even bothered NOTICING the NOISE. All that in ONE rehearsal. Suffice to say there wasn't another one (for me).

A while ago, in an originals band where I wrote everything, we go for a rehearsal and half the people are missing. Keyboard player's a ghost, never talked to him, never seen him again, guitard sent an SMS after an hour and a half into rehearsal that he couldn't make it (ever again, apparently) and singer chick called five days later telling me that we played songs we didn't agree upon (there were four songs agreed beforehand and she never actually showed up!). That band was quickly over, since bass player couldn't play straight 8ths with a pick to save his life and the drummer obviously practiced another playlist!

Another drum-tard, during a gig just drops about five tunes just because he felt he couldn't play'em. Right before we were about to play those tunes, and right after an array of continuous rehearsals on those exact songs, which went quite well.

Another guitard, right before a gig, decides to change up his tuning, and casually strolls in and tells us we're gonna play everything in drop C, just because his guitar sounded more BROOTAL to him that way. Mind you, were were in E standard. I just walked away when the others just said "ok".

Another band, bass player comes in, sets up and gets out a thumbpick and a fingerpick. I'm thinking "cool, an alternative style or something". Boy, was I wrong! He couldn't play a single thing right, half the time he was overly loud (a bass blanket over EVERYTHING) and the other half barely audible. After that, he had the nerve to "school" the rest of us (all of which were regularly gigging musicians for years and playing together a loooong time) that our levels were screwed, and that our (actually perfect pitched) singer was off all the time. He immediately got the boot.

I was in another band where the guitard was pretty much the definition of "guitard". Dude wasn't actually a "bad" bandmate but he was stupid to the point of retardation! I caught him trying to find the FX loop on his amp under the cabinet for god's sake!!!
Drummer was no better, either. Thought he could outplay Peart and couldn't hold down Pink's "you and your hand".

Another band, we get a girl vocalist. That one's funny. She couldn't quite reach the high notes, so everytime a song called for one of those, she turned on "growl" mode. And I mean death metal screechy growls! Her excuse was "it sounded more -in your face-". We were playing pop-rock.

I got much more of those but I think those are enough for now!

[Davidg]

Every drummer I've ever played with! (Just kidding!).

Don't know about the worst band mate ever but I must say, never ever ever keep the crappy lead singer in your band just because your ace lead guitarist is going out with the singer's sister!

[fourstringdrums]

I was reminded of two that I jammed with:

- One was a 50 something bass player who had been "Playing for over 40 years". He strolls in with an 8x10 and proceeds to damn near kill himself getting it down my basement steps. Once he was set up, the only thing I can say to describe it is that he could play, he just had zero confidence in himself so he was playing with only about 5% energy of what he should have been. So this made it exceedingly difficult to hear him because he was barely attacking the strings. Right when I was thinking that I was going to tell him that I needed to wrap it up, the power goes out...the whole block. So he had to leave his amp because he wasn't hauling it up the stairs in the dark. I had his amp at my house for about a week before he finally came back to pick it up, at which time I told him it wasn't going to work.

- Jammed with a bassist and guitarist who didn't feel it necessary to use a tuner. The bassist was constantly out of tune and then I realized he wasn't using a tuner and instead was tuning to the guitarist who was still out of tune even with a tuner. The bassist couldn't get in tune, and I suggested he try tuning with harmonics..he had no idea. Finally I took the bass from him and tuned it, to which he enthusiastically said "GEE THANKS!"

...oh that and they said that they played funk and blues but only really knew grunge and metal riffs.

[theretheyare]

In general, the ones on their high horse about their fellow band member's abilities. Because they feel they are are so f-----g s----al (fill in Radiohead Creep quote)

[kcole4001]

Had a drummer once who would show up at 10:05 pm when we were supposed to start at 10:00.
He's already liquored, his drums are upside down in the back of his pickup truck full of snow.
He did this quite frequently.

All night we end each song normally, but after a few seconds he throws in a roll and a big band of his own ending.

During breaks he badmouths our band to his friends and suggests getting their band back together.

Once, after we're done for the night, he starts shoving the father of a guy I know from high school.
The father had just undergone some serious surgery and was still recovering, and of course drummer gets a well deserved thrashing from my old school-mate.

I won't even talk to the guy now, and it's been about 25 years.
I've never met anyone else who was that complete of an a$$.

[Ubersheist]

Originally Posted by baileyboy

The worst bandmate I've ever played with was a drummer that could not keep time. I should have known better... the guy had something like a 13 piece set... typical for drummers that have little talent...

Ug. When drummers show up to a simple or small gig with a ton of drums, it's usually time to worry. Any time I've played with killer drummers, they usually show up with a simple 3-piece jazz set with just a high hat, ride, and maybe a cymbal of some sort.

One of the worst band members I ever worked with was a crazy good drummer. Great drummer, but his pathological lying and his OCD issues drove us all nuts.

Then there was the guitarist that was an alcoholic, and would drink a bottle of Jack at every practice, and get throttled drunk at the gigs, too. I didn't last too long in that band.

[powmetalbassist]

My current band has a second guitarist we havn't seen since about January when I bumped into him on a bus. Apparently he had gone to africa for the holidays and had some funky rash up his side. Havn't heard from him since. Great guitarist and guy, just can't seem to show up. Maybe the AIDS got him?

[fourstringdrums]

Originally Posted by Ubersheist

Ug. When drummers show up to a simple or small gig with a ton of drums, it's usually time to worry. Any time I've played with killer drummers, they usually show up with a simple 3-piece jazz set with just a high hat, ride, and maybe a cymbal of some sort

As a drummer who used to prefer a 2 piece kit, and never has more than a 4, I sincerely hope I'm in this category and not the "has a simple kit and still sucks" category lol

[hernameisrio]

I have a list.

1. The self-righteous egomaniac who claimed to have all these connections (especially Moby) and meanwhile, would constantly come up with reasons why we couldn't book any gigs. But the worst of it was the simple fact that he would lie about things like, "Hey, Tony Visconti emailed me and wants to produce our album! Hey, we're gonna tour with Placebo!" It was just...sad. He was a nice guy. He could be very charming and gregarious. But for whatever reason, he was also completely full of himself...and pretty much completely off the deep end.

2. The one-legged drunk who couldn't hit a note if it stood right in front of him naked, talked to us like we were five, and repeated himself all the time. I mean like, he repeated himself all the time. All the time! It got really annoying. The last straw was when he went to pay the studio and began counting out $20 bills thinking they were hundreds...that's how drunk he was. I guess this wouldn't have mattered if it were a big-budget label funding/babysitting us and/or if it were still the 80's, but neither of those things were the case and it was really pretty ridiculous. He would fall down in rehearsals, a lot. I am not trying to make any sort of politically incorrect statement about disabled people. I'm simply saying that when you only have one leg because you lost the other one in a [presumably drunken] accident involving the L train, you should probbbbably not drink.

3. The temperamental drummer who obviously had some major psychological issues and was just kinda "off," both in timing and personality. The worst thing is that he wasn't always like this...sometimes he was totally fine to hang out with and sometimes he came up with great ideas. But then, guess what, he would drink...and suddenly all these issues would arise; tempo issues, scheduling issues, just...social awkwardness. Every single person I ever introduced this guy to, has told me that he's "...just...weird." It would've been one thing if he could actually play, but he can't.

4. One of my best friends who, despite this, is one of the flakiest, most unreliable people I've ever worked with. He's impossible to reach by phone, he's often late, he's always making excuses...it's incredibly frustrating.

5. Did I mention drunk drummers? It just usually doesn't work. God bless you if you can play when you're plastered, but I have a feeling that most of us can't...we only THINK we can!

6. The socially awkward cover band leader who could not accept the idea that it's okay to learn a song by ear instead of searching for- and sticking to- the charts. And furthermore, asked one of my friends if I had a boyfriend. Which, given that he's married, was like, "Um...??"

I dunno. Everyone else has been cool though. I'm basically nitpicking 6 water-under-the-bridge scenarios out of probably twice that amount, if not more. I am very grateful for the band I'm in now. We aren't perfect, but at least for now, we all get along!

[iridiumrocks]

Originally Posted by hernameisrio

5. Did I mention drunk drummers? It just usually doesn't work. God bless you if you can play when you're plastered, but I have a feeling that most of us can't...we only THINK we can!

This! Our drummer was always drinking too much at practice. This finally escalated into him getting a DUI on the way home from rehearsal one night on a weeknight when he had to get up early for his day job. After he finished his court-ordered counseling classes, he invited all of his rehab buddies to the next gig. Since he wanted to drink but didn't want them to see him with a beer bottle, he filled a sports bottle with straight vodka. We thought he was drinking water too until his playing started getting really strange. Finally, he gets up from his drum kit in the middle of the set and just walks away with the dance floor full of people and announces "I have to take a leak". Apparently, the vodka had kicked in and he had a case of the spins. He smokes a cigarette and then comes back and we finished the worst set we ever played. He was so trashed that he could barely hang on to his drum sticks. He fell over one the floor monitors while he was trying to pack up his drums after the show and wrecked part of his drum kit. It was the most embarrassing gig we ever played

We have a new drummer now

[BluesProgMetal]

Actually the bass player in my Psychedelic/Hard Rock band!
Ive already found some replacements for him. Hes either shown up late or not shown up at all. He has the only Ampeg stack within 50 miles of the town I live in and cant play or sing at all. And he always trys to show off on stage which i hate. Hes like the Sid Vicious of our band!
Maybe if i give him some smack and a Ramones album at night he'll know
how to play the next morning!

[The Owl]

Originally Posted by hernameisrio

3. The temperamental drummer who obviously had some major psychological issues and was just kinda "off," both in timing and personality. The worst thing is that he wasn't always like this...sometimes he was totally fine to hang out with and sometimes he came up with great ideas------------

Brings to mind one band I was in, the first lineup (there were two, the second was a far better version), but anyway, this guy ould not only play drums, but a multiplicity of other instruments with varying degrees of skill. He actually was very creative, but yet, had issues upstairs, prone to erratic behavior on or off stage (once slapped a female band member onstage), occasional delusions of grandeur and the like. When he put his mind to it, he would be so on, but others, his drumming became so erratic and tempos would just fly out the window some days, many times he just couldn't focus o make a firm decision on much of anything. Finally had to give him his walking papers. Some years later, he was in a band that actually had a hit single back in the 90's, go figure.

[baileyboy]

Originally Posted by Ubersheist

Ug. When drummers show up to a simple or small gig with a ton of drums, it's usually time to worry...

+1

[Old Fart]

I have never had a more frustrating experience than the one I am having now. I suspect my days with this band are numbered. The biggest problem: The 'lead' guitarist is arrogant and critical. Negative. Tries to pretend he is the band's musical director. Doesn't smile, doesn't move. Just stands there with no expression. Sings off key. He's one of those guitards who still believe "more is better." More volume (he is always WAY too loud), more chords, more notes.

He said some things at our last rehearsal that REALLY pissed me off. Round 2 of that discussion will occur at our next rehearsal where I will clarify that if he launches one more personal attack against any band member, I will be gone. This band went through SEVEN bass players in just over one year. Soon to be eight.

[Jason P Bass]

I've played in a lot of bands.

The only thing they had in common was me.

And they all broke up.

So I guess it's me?

Nah, I don't think so. The worst bandmate I've ever had has a wikipedia page all about him.