Has Your Overall Band Experience Been Good?

[bluewine]

I have read comments from some Tbers that don’t like the experience of playing in a gigging rock band. There’s all sorts of reasons. I am wondering if there is a consensus.

•Just not your thing.

•Life Style change , for example family obligations or day job
•Health issues

•To many experiences with bands that went nowhere

•Treated poorly in bands,(drama, creeps, pay ect..)

•Did it for too many years, age issues, burnt out and lost interest

•Lack of bands that share your direction

•Made some poor band choices

•I don’t like being in bars or clubs

No hidden agenda here. While I’m still “gig crazy” even I have some Friday & Saturday night when I don’t want to leave the house.

Blue

[bassgod0dmw]

Overall, it's been great!

I wish that I was in a band that was gigging/recording/etc more when I was in my early 20's. That's about it.

[the yeti]

sure has. i've been pretty fortunate... usually the flakiest person in the band has been me.

[Stewie26]

I have always been in weekend warrior bands so I never had to make a living from playing. With that said, it has been fun and rewarding for me.

[AuntieBeeb]

I guess I've been quite spoiled compared to some of the players on here - London has a very busy music scene and everyone seems to need a bassist!

So overall, I'd say my experience has been good. I've ended up with a band that I think is going somewhere, in which all four members are committed to trying to get set band to go somewhere, and making music that I'd be happy to go somewhere with.

I have, however, found myself in bands where I've quickly realised I was wasting my time and was better off out. That's when "the band experience" can quickly become unfulfilling. Fortunately I've not encountered any band members I've wanted to kill, but I've had
- band members who've been difficult to work with
- bands I could clearly see were never going to get beyond a couple of good gigs
- bands who just wrote the most depressingly uninspiring material or
- insisted on playing an increasingly dire selection of covers

The worst one, however, is a bit hard to explain without sounding arrogant, but I'm sure some of you will have thought, at some point, "I'm wasted on this band. (And not just because I find myself drinking heavily at rehearsals)" - what I mean is the realisation that, actually, maybe you are the best musician in the band...maybe by quite a long chalk, in fact...and actually, you turn up and spend 3-4 hours being buried under a wall of guitar and drums and wonder why you're doing it. And they want to rehearse two or three times a week. Then it's time to get out, sharpish.

[Bert Slide]

No complaints here. It is what you make it.

[bluewine]

Originally Posted by AuntieBeeb

I have, however, found myself in bands where I've quickly realised I was wasting my time and was better off out. .

Been there, usually at the audition where I realized I was not a match.

Guitarist taking an hour to tune and the band didn't know the songs they wanted me to audition,

Blue

[bluewine]

Originally Posted by Stewie26

I have always been in weekend warrior bands so I never had to make a living from playing. With that said, it has been fun and rewarding for me.

Im also a weekend warrior, so I have never had enough skin in the game for any big problems to arise.

Right now I'm more than happy.

Blue

[Kentucky Ryan]

the band i am in now has been nothing but a great experience. and to top it off, we are starting to make some steps in the right direction, and getting noticed by some people.

[zachoff]

My last band broke up because the guitarist and I were sick of looking for a replacement for our drummer that moved to Phoenix. Plus the fact that the guitarist took on a new job that worked him 60 hours/week. Our drummer was awesome though. His kit was awesome. He brought a ridiculous amount to our sound and nobody we tried out seemed to be able to match it. He brought almost a jammy/swing style to what we considered metal and "metal" drummers just couldn't do it for some reason or another. Plus we didn't ever play blast beats and he didn't even have a double bass pedal. I miss that band.

The new band is good. I've only been a part of it for a couple months so the growing pains are still apparent sometimes but I'm getting better. The other guys in the band have been playing together for 5 or 6 years. I dig the music we're writing and we're recording a 3 song demo next weekend. Hopefully comes out good.

I was in a band for about 3 weeks before these. Guy said he was into writing originals. We practiced 3 times... All covers.

The ska/punk band I was in in college was fun too. The birth of my daughter ended that one.

[heynorm]

I was busy in my mid-teens to early 20's, slowed down, then got out of gigging to begin raising a family. Had a re-start in my mid 30's. Now, I'm busier than ever in my 60's. Finding a much bigger demand for bassists these days. Wish I'd kept up better on tunes in those younger/middle years when they were easier to retain. I have no problem remembering how to play and sings those songs from my youth. Newer ones require my 'book.' I played 16 gigs in January this year! (and, still working a full-time job)

[zfunkman]

My current band situation is good; my last band situation was horible.

[azureblue]

for me,it's mostly a case of constantly herding cats.... I have no idea why rock / bar / soul / R&B bands bring so much personal stuff into the band.

[Marial]

I've been in bands off and on since middle school, some were great, some not so much. I've been playing consistently for the past eight years, seven in an indie rock band that I left last year and about two in my current gig, an alt country band.

I was in both for about year, I want to say, and at the time I was working the east coast shift so I was up at 4:30am Monday through Friday. The weeknight rehearsals between two bands really began to wear me down and by the end I was also just ready to move on from the indie rock band. We gigged plenty but never really generated much interest around town outside of our friends and a few 'stranger' fans. Seven years into the band I was also just tired of playing that style of music.

The alt-country band, on the other hand, was doing quite well (and continues to do so) pretty much right away and I felt to meet my remaining musical goals (put out vinyl, get played on the radio, maybe do some kind of tour, if only for a week) it was my best bet. And, let's face it, selling a place out is a lot more fun than playing to half-empty rooms. And while it's a booze-fueled community, it's overall a LOT more positive, supportive, and joyful than the indie rock scene.

[zachoff]

Originally Posted by Marial

The alt-country band, on the other hand, was doing quite well (and continues to do so) pretty much right away and I felt to meet my remaining musical goals (put out vinyl, get played on the radio, maybe do some kind of tour, if only for a week) it was my best bet. And, let's face it, selling a place out is a lot more fun than playing to half-empty rooms. And while it's a booze-fueled community, it's overall a LOT more positive, supportive, and joyful than the indie rock scene.

Rad. I've been kicking around doing this as well but the only ad I responded to did covers & didn't care about playing shows.

[phillybass101]

There has to be a good chemistry and focus among the players. If the band is full of weekend warriors and all have decent day jobs, the band can be a blast. Thia is because the music is a release. As soon as you start bringing more serious type musicians (that's all they do and depend on playing for thier livelyhood and take themselves too seriously) I've seen characters like this suck the joy out of playing for me with their holier than thou attitudes, and intolerance for mistakes etc and bragging about being a professional. My first real funk band was a blast. 8-12 HS kids playing Kool and the Gang and the Ohio Players, and Larry Graham stuff. We had a pimp for a manager, didn't make much money but it was blast all the way around. If playing in a band is not fun that's not the band for me or for you. My most recent experience started out just fine and then we started to get more professionals in the band and of course they brought their BS with them. The leader of the band lost his job, and became an instant B-hole and too damn serious. he was jacking us by keeping most of the pay for himslef and his volvo. I felt like some of my cut was supporting his way of life and it was true. I just used to laugh inside and say to myself about these so called small time pros, if you're that great, or that special what are you doing playing gigs with me, on the same stage. The reason is simple despite whatever tour they just came off of they still need to eat and pay the bills, thus they're right beside me at the neighborhood bar/grill. One guy chastised me for making a mistake and don;t you know it two songs later he made a bigger mistake than I did. And he was the Musical Director for a well know (National Act)Singer/Artist who I won;t mention but I thought there, take that you big A-hole.

[Phalex]

I've always had long running bands. I seem to spend a good number of years playing with the same core group of people, and then taking a fairly long break before moving on to the next thing that seems to last forever.

I've been "retired" for almost exactly a year right now. I've been talking to some folks about getting stuff together, and odds are that sooner or later, something will come together.

[DwaynieAD]

the scene and it's nepotism is wearing me out. but I love the guys in my band and love being on stage.

it's a tug of war for me.

[jive1]

I'm still doing it. I'm either having fun or just don't know any better.

[gjbassist]

Overall I have enjoyed it. Last month I left a band because the BL was a total pain to get along with and had ideas that were way out in left field. But I still enjoyed the experience of playing some music I had never played at venues I had never played before.