Band Advice please
 

Hi
I've been In a band for a couple years now with the same group of people. We contain me on bass, a drummer, a keys player, a lead guitarist and singer who also plays rhythm.

As a band we sound absolutely phenomenal, most people actually love our music :).

But now we have some issues
1. Besides the drummer, keyboardist and myself. No one turns up for practice. The guitarist always sleeps in. and our singer is always making excuses.

2. The band really wants to get gigging and to do a record session (pro or at home) but we don't have enough material yet cause it's very rare now, that we have a full band practice. So now a couple of them are getting upset with me cause of this. :(

3. Besides the drummer, no one pitches in to help

I now have thoughts of pulling out of the group,it's been two years and we have got no where, but when we are together I have the greatest time. Can anyone advise any alternatives

Please :help:

Two years of this should tell you it is what it is - it will never be anything more than it is right now. Enjoy the time you have together with these guys, but don't expect anything else to come from it - you'd be kidding yourself.

Thanks, it's just becoming a commitment now, more than the love for it...
And it's been mostly the past year, that this is happening

If possible join another band that may be more ambitious without quitting this one.
This keeps options open.

I was actually thinking of doing that. Do a side project

Definitely do a side project. Actually, make THIS band your side project. Join another band that has better aspirations...

This ^

Ok thanks

what about finding replacement guitarist and singer?

I don't know if the others would agree to that, but maybe (if everyone turns up) we should just have a talk

My band has a rule. Everybody chips in. So far it has worked well. Each member knows the expectation. I used to be in a band where 2 of 5 did all or most of the work, from booking to set up. The rule in that band was, equal work, equal pay. It was amazing how much more motivated the guys got when their pay got "adjusted".

Yeah, I have tried bringing things like that up with them, but it's all forgotten by the next practice

sounds like they have commitment issues. Every drummer I've ever had has had the same issues. You could try to motivate them or give them a talk saying "if you're gonna do it, you have to be committed" or something, but that could turn them off altogether. Perhaps once you get more progress they will be more motivated. but in the end, if they aren't committed, there's not much you can do.

I think that's what me and the drummer have been waiting for

You've been with the band for several years and you don't have enough material to record? One song is enough material to record...but you probably mean that you don't have enough material for an album, yeah?

If that's it, I find it odd... the originals band I helped to form just under a year ago already has enough original material to record an album and we have begun recording at a professional studio.

So, if in several years, you guys just aren't producing enough material, I would say there's an issue that must be resolved, with the easiest solution being that you just go find another band that has things more together.

Good luck with it all :)

Nah it's been only two years, we don't have enough material to do even small gigs. Recording would be nice, but yeah we want to do an album

What are your own goals for a band? Let everyone know. And find out what their goals are. You want more. Maybe they are completely satisfied. If not, ask them what they are willing to do to achieve more.

Basically I just want us to start gigging. And that's a good idea

And to start working together instead of against each other

I sense some internal/personnel "issues" that smell like strong poison. I'd get out at once, make a clean break, don't waste another minute with these guys. If you hang around and treat this as a side project, you won't have the drive to go out and find anything worth your time -- because the safety net of the dead band will always (and indefinitely) provide you a nice cushy fallback. You quit that band, though, and you'll be far more motivated to find something serious, because deep down you'll know the alternative is nothing.