Going Nowhere Fast

[inthevelvet]

[quote=bluewine;13764837]Getting out of the bedroom is probably the hardest thing to do.

QUOTE]

Especially if there's a female in there....

[Marty Forrer]

Play in more than one band. Play in more than one genre.
I play in three bands, plus I am a bassist for hire. I play rock, blues, jazz, country, Irish, musicals, reggae, nostalgia rock n roll. The regular bands I play in are a country band, a rock covers band and a rockabilly band.
Playing in different bands and different genres keeps you fresh, makes the BS in a band less important, improves your playing, gets your name around, and in a small town like I live in, gets you gigs that just one band would not get.
Worth thinking about.

[rainbownorth]

I've been there, just coming out the other side in fact. I was in a covers band that was going nowhere, choosing the wrong songs to learn and generally just wasting my time. Poor organisation, getting stoned every practice to great detriment in musical terms and lived on the other side of town but never willing to come to me. I've only just managed to convince them that "yes I am serious about quitting" and they have stopped contacting me to any great degree to cover bass duties. I miss their company because they were nice guys, but I'd rather get drunk with them than play with them.

The only real downside is that now that I'm free, I'm sort of directionless. I wanna set up a small studio space at home to just jam with my comp and a DAW but there's no room until some of our stuff finds a new home, and until then practice is way too hard. It's starting to get me down, because patience is a virtue I do not have in spades.

[JohnMCA72]

#3 may be the key to fixing many of the other issues listed. Coming up with a vision of what you want to be, and how to get there is something that I don't see a lot of people (in general) doing much. If you can nail this one down, paths to solving the others may become apparent.

[jonas_24112]

I'm in category 5 & 6.

5. Bands run its course. Need to get better talent in rhythm guitar and lead vocals. May be replacing lead vocals very soon, band leader won't get rid of his best friend/rhythm player though. Also, both guitars will not switch up their tones to match cover songs. They use the same 2 or 3 tones for every song.

6. I'm ready to move to a higher caliber band. Well, I just am. I think I've got what it takes. I recently auditioned for an A level country band and they seemed really keen in me. Word is they won't replace their current bassist till he is ready to go. He says he's burnt out, but no indication of when he's planning on leaving.

[bluewine]

Originally Posted by Marty Forrer

Play in more than one band. Play in more than one genre.
I play in three bands, plus I am a bassist for hire. I play rock, blues, jazz, country, Irish, musicals, reggae, nostalgia rock n roll. The regular bands I play in are a country band, a rock covers band and a rockabilly band.
Playing in different bands and different genres keeps you fresh, makes the BS in a band less important, improves your playing, gets your name around, and in a small town like I live in, gets you gigs that just one band would not get.
Worth thinking about.

At 60, it's a one band proposition for me. One band that provides everything I need to fulfil my requirements.

I don't have the energy or desire to be in multiple bands. However, I know it works for some.

Blue

[hrodbert696]

Starting to wonder if this applies to me. I like my cover band, we play well together and get along. It's the first group I've been in over 3 1/2 years to actually get off the ground and gig. But the guitarist's job has forced us to have a long hiatus, and the emails as we get ready to go again aren't too encouraging to me.

He's the BL, and basically as we talk song selection, I'm trying to push what-will-go-over-with-crowds and he wants to push what-I-feel-like-playing. He said so explicitly in his last email; he picks songs based on whether he personally likes them, and he assumes that we have a "special appeal" and can get away with playing songs other bands can't. I personally haven't seen evidence that we're as special as all that to any audiences. I have a feeling we're going to limp through a few more gigs over the next few months, not get invited back anywhere, and fizzle out.

[the yeti]

Originally Posted by hrodbert696

He's the BL, and basically as we talk song selection, I'm trying to push what-will-go-over-with-crowds and he wants to push what-I-feel-like-playing. He said so explicitly in his last email; he picks songs based on whether he personally likes them, and he assumes that we have a "special appeal" and can get away with playing songs other bands can't. I personally haven't seen evidence that we're as special as all that to any audiences. I have a feeling we're going to limp through a few more gigs over the next few months, not get invited back anywhere, and fizzle out.

i think i played w/that guy several years ago...

[dminer]

I have no relevant information to add, just that I like the title of your thread Blue and I think I'll use it as a song title. Thanks

[smogg]

Sounds to me like you got a pretty good grip on the reality of the situation. Who's to say you can't start prepping a new project now and when the current one fizzles out it should be an easy transition. Worst case is you may end up juggling two bands for a while. Just keep a pocket calender with you at all times to keep track of it all.

Originally Posted by hrodbert696

Starting to wonder if this applies to me. I like my cover band, we play well together and get along. It's the first group I've been in over 3 1/2 years to actually get off the ground and gig. But the guitarist's job has forced us to have a long hiatus, and the emails as we get ready to go again aren't too encouraging to me.

He's the BL, and basically as we talk song selection, I'm trying to push what-will-go-over-with-crowds and he wants to push what-I-feel-like-playing. He said so explicitly in his last email; he picks songs based on whether he personally likes them, and he assumes that we have a "special appeal" and can get away with playing songs other bands can't. I personally haven't seen evidence that we're as special as all that to any audiences. I have a feeling we're going to limp through a few more gigs over the next few months, not get invited back anywhere, and fizzle out.

[bluewine]

Originally Posted by hrodbert696

It's the first group I've been in over 3 1/2 years to actually get off the ground and gig. But the guitarist's job has forced us to have a long hiatus, and the emails as we get ready to go again aren't too encouraging to me.

I am thinking you do not want to be on hiatus. Sounds like the perfect time to leverage your 3 1/2 years of experience with another band.

blue

[bluewine]

Originally Posted by the yeti

i think i played w/that guy several years ago...

We all have. lol

blue

[bluewine]

Originally Posted by dminer

I have no relevant information to add, just that I like the title of your thread Blue and I think I'll use it as a song title. Thanks

Heres another,

"My Protection from Rejection"

Blue

[Mugre]

I'm going to ask you a question about what you think so I can tell you what I think.

[hrodbert696]

Originally Posted by smogg

Sounds to me like you got a pretty good grip on the reality of the situation. Who's to say you can't start prepping a new project now and when the current one fizzles out it should be an easy transition. Worst case is you may end up juggling two bands for a while. Just keep a pocket calender with you at all times to keep track of it all.

Originally Posted by bluewine

I am thinking you do not want to be on hiatus. Sounds like the perfect time to leverage your 3 1/2 years of experience with another band.

blue

Yeah, that's what I'm thinking. Actually when I launched the 420-at-audition thread, that situation was a response to this one. The thing is that we're thinking of moving next summer to be closer to my wife's and my jobs, about 45 minutes from the current domicile, so I'm holding off on aggressively pursuing new options till then. This band's practice space is halfway between where we are now and where we would be then, so if I feel more confident in it by then, I can just carry on, or not.

[Big Brother]

I was in an undesirable situation with a band recently.

They had more experience playing live than I and I can't say I was a better all-around musician, but they ignored the small things in the music that could have made such a big difference ini our sound and it drove me nuts.

A big issue was dynamics and tempo. No dynamics -- lots and lots of tempo. We could perform a one hour set in about 45 minutes, and impressively all at the same volume.

But the deal-breaker was song selection. Our BL did it backwards, he would decide we needed to cover a certain band, then he set out to pick the most boring or stilted-rhythm song they did. No sense of a crowd whatsoever, just what he considered to be 'rocking.'

I resolved it by essentially stating the above, which immediately got me a "Oh, well I must be a bad band leader...' response at practice, followed later by a "Thank you for your contribution but we have different musical goals and have decided to..." email.

[Bert Slide]

I find as I get older I need to go #1 more often and #2 has become a morning ritual I look forward to. It sucks when I get on the potty and then realize I left my reading glasses in the other room. Then I have to squint hard to read whatever novel I have left in the bathroom for casual reading. I can get through most novels in less than a month of morning poops! Ain't multi-tasking grand!

[lfmn16]

Originally Posted by Mugre

I'm going to ask you a question about what you think so I can tell you what I think.

This happens a lot with a certain person; start a thread, stir the pot, put up 90% of the posts. Some people think any publicity is good publicity.

[bluewine]

Originally Posted by lfmn16

This happens a lot with a certain person; start a thread, stir the pot, put up 90% of the posts. Some people think any publicity is good publicity.

I see it differently.

I see lots of stories and circumstances here that might help someone.

I've certainly learned from threads like this.

And nobody has to agree with me or my opinions on anything.Thats why it's called an open forum.

Respect

Blue

[longfinger]

Don't forget # 8.

8. Going nowhere fast because I spend too much time reading about other peoples' problems on Talkbass instead of devoting time to my own musical pursuits.

I am an offender. Must log off now.