Which band should I quit?

pklima · #1 05-18-2006, 04:08 AM

I need some advice. I've got too many bands and not enough time - I'm sure some of y'all would love to have that problem. I also work a full-time job and am moving into a new house. I started looking for a band about a month ago, got a couple offers, accepted them, figured that most of the bands would probably fall apart. But they haven't so now I have a decision to make. I've got it down to two bands.

Band one plays blues-rock covers. They're all good, all know the songs and should be ready to gig by July. The big problem is that learning the material will take effort - I've never played any of these songs and have heard maybe 1/3 of them in my life. Not that they're obscure songs, I just haven't been living in this country for the past 17 years and never have been into blues or rock. I figure if they've got any brains they're looking for a bassist who has at least heard this stuff before and can get ready to gig faster so the risk of getting kicked out is high. The other problem with this band is that blues-rock isn't that popular here and they won't be able to get many better-paying gigs - just the "rock" bars and filler slots at civic festivals.

Band two plays traditional folk from various countries. The leader is an accordion player who plays everything by ear and has difficulty making the most basic charts. Often he doesn't even know the titles of the songs he plays. He's also not terribly well-organized, partly because his day job eats up a lot of time. The rest of the band is some young women who aren't very experienced or confident but have the skills needed to play all this stuff. The major problem is that the leader wants to enter some folk music festivals which basically would mean having to take a day or two off work, travel very far and play one or two songs for free. Winning first prize in one of these would be good but I'm not sure it's worth it. There is some upside: the leader's got a station wagon and is willing to drive the other bandmembers around as needed and the music is lowbrow enough for weddings, we could also throw in some pop or jazz standards and play corporate parties etc.

I've also been asked to audition for a black metal band that's been around for well over a decade and has something like eight albums but I don't think they make enough money to be worth it. (Yeah, blues-rock, trad. folk and black metal... pretty good variety!)

My instinct is to stick with the first band till I either get the two-dozen song set learned or they replace me. Either way I'll know in a few weeks. They're the most professional and probably have the most useful contacts. The working bands around here find members mostly by asking people they know so this would be very valuable if I want to jump ship for a poppier band at some point.

Advice would be appreciated. And, yeah, I'm keeping my eyes open for something that suits me better but I'm not counting on it.

i_got_a_mohawk · #2 05-18-2006, 04:26 AM

Id stick with the blues band too, just because band number 2 would annoy the hell out of me with the accordian guy not knowing anything and at that rate it sounds like they'll sound crap at best

Dont worry about not knowing much of the songs, all blues songs are the same on bass! (not really, but its usually a simple 3 chord progression

)

guy n. cognito · #3 05-18-2006, 06:43 AM

I would stick with band #1. What songs are you covering?

Thunder Lizard · #4 05-18-2006, 09:07 AM

I'd go with the one you enjoy the most. If you're up on your chops, the rock gig won't stress you too much on learning songs, and you will stay in the band. The other one might be more diverse and interesting as a bassist.
What's more FUN? That would be my personal #1 criteria.

MakiSupaStar · #5 05-18-2006, 11:01 AM

It depends... Are the chicks in the second band hot?

No seriously. Band one. Sounds like they're the most together. A disorganized accordian player. Sounds like a movie character.

pklima · #6 05-19-2006, 02:38 AM

I think I'll quit band one, actually. It requires a lot more time, more work and more stress and all I'd really be using them for is a jumping-off point. It's not worth it, especially since time is a resource I'm sorely lacking right now.

whitedk57 · #7 05-19-2006, 01:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pklima

I think I'll quit band one, actually. It requires a lot more time, more work and more stress and all I'd really be using them for is a jumping-off point. It's not worth it, especially since time is a resource I'm sorely lacking right now.

Sounds like you answered the "Are they hot" question...

pklima · #8 05-22-2006, 01:28 AM

Hahaha... well, one of them is pretty good-looking but married. The other one is definitely very hot! We found a third one yesterday but she's still a teenager and I may hire her father to do the roof on my house so... I'm not gonna comment on her looks.

By some odd coincidence, though, they're all almost the same height - right around 175 cm barefoot. And folk bands around here often wear matching outfits... they'll look really matching!