How To Know If Your dealing With Good People

[bluewine]

The subject of "good people" has come up a few times as one of the criteria we use or think about when making a decision on joining a band, So, I thought it would make a good thread.

At one time I thought this was not really important. I always thought, well I am not joining a band to become friends with everyone , it's just about the music. I was wrong. Your band environment for rehearsals, management, administration, marketing,and gigging are all related to how you can work within in your band

This is really geared toward older players that are auditioning or will be auditioning, not for you guys that are lucky enough to be playing with guys you grew up with or you were friends before band mates.

Let me preface my thoughts by saying there is no magic bullet when it comes to making a call on determining if your dealing with "good people".But it's easy to tell when your dealing with armatures or d bags.


Here are a few personalities to watch out for;

The Know It All;

What can you do with the guy that knows everything and he's never wrong?

The Smart Ass;

Always has an inappropriate comment about you and your ideas.

The Elitist;

The guy that thinks he's better than you and everyone else in the band and treats you like a 3rd class citizen.

Self Centered;

The guy that is only in this for himself and doesn't care about the band as a whole


Any of these types would not be considered good people. At the end of the day, There is good chance that any band with 1 or more of these types is not going to last long.

Try to avoid these types, if you can

[HeadyVan Halen]

'Your my boy blue!'

Were not in high school anymore. I like people who don't lie about money, time or women..other than that, I couldn't care less about their personality.

Don't re-nig on a gig..don't make schedules you can't keep..and please, please don't lie on your unit.
Have fun kids.

[bluewine]

Originally Posted by HeadyVan Halen

'Your my boy blue!'

Were not in high school anymore. I like people who don't lie about money, time or women..other than that, I couldn't care less about their personality.

Don't re-nig on a gig..don't make schedules you can't keep..and please, please don't lie on your unit.
Have fun kids.

So you're cool with being treated like a 3rd class citizen?

[NightTripper]

What's really bad is that some people can be all of those in one.

BTW, I like your band pic. Can't decide which I admire more: your beautiful Club bass or your beautiful guitarist.

[bluewine]

Originally Posted by NightTripper

What's really bad is that some people can be all of those in one.

BTW, I like your band pic. Can't decide which I admire more: your beautiful Club bass or your beautiful guitarist.

Thanks, I always have at least one person at shows ask be about the hofner club bass. And it's not just a pretty prop. The thing has a great classic deep tone.

By the way, our lead guitarist and front person is good people too

[lowfreq33]

Some people do you the favor of being a jerk right up front. Others are a little harder to spot.

Most of the time people with issues will be totally cool in almost every way, but there's one thing that's a deal breaker. Takes a little time to discover sometimes.

Some of my deal breakers:

Funny about money. If I ever have a problem getting paid, or find out I'm being lied to regarding money, I'm gone. Once is all it takes.

Wasting my time. Nothing like showing up for rehearsal, bus call, etc and sitting around for an hour or two waiting on the person who set the time in the first place.

Unpreparedness. If I can take the time to work out material ahead of time, have my gear in order, etc then I expect everyone else to as well. The worst is when the unprepared person is the one hiring for the gig. If you don't care about your own stuff how can you expect anyone else to?

[TBrett]

Originally Posted by NightTripper

BTW, I like your band pic. Can't decide which I admire more: your beautiful Club bass or your beautiful guitarist.

Either way, lookin' good, Blue! Nice pic and good to hear things are going well with this band.

[bassbully]

Whats hard is if you already have a band that gets along, knows each other well and likes each other as people and players but then a member leaves the band.
Now you are looking to fill that spot and it might really take the band down and even require you to cancel gigs if you can't find the right player.

What if you find a good player but the personality and image is not what you really want in a band member? My band is facing this now. We found a good drummer but he is quite different form the other members and we hard trying to find a way to see if he can fit in.
Bottom line is dedication and skill speak for allot when you might not fit in or have a member who does not...time will tell.

[brianrost]

Originally Posted by bluewine

I always thought, well I am not joining a band to become friends with everyone , it's just about the music. I was wrong.

Three things keep bands together:

1. Great music
2. Great money
3. Great people

You need at least 2 out of 3 to keep a band going.

Sometimes you get real lucky and bandmates become lifelong friends.

Sometimes you just have a good working relationship.

Sometimes you end up with a##h*les

[bluewine]

Originally Posted by bassbully

Whats hard is if you already have a band that gets along, knows each other well and likes each other as people and players but then a member leaves the band.
Now you are looking to fill that spot and it might really take the band down and even require you to cancel gigs if you can't find the right player.

What if you find a good player but the personality and image is not what you really want in a band member? My band is facing this now. We found a good drummer but he is quite different form the other members and we hard trying to find a way to see if he can fit in.
Bottom line is dedication and skill speak for allot when you might not fit in or have a member who does not...time will tell.

That's a tough call, though not the worse scenario.

How about the band that finds a really good drummer, singer, or guitarist and after the fact find he has no real job, no car and has several warrants out for his rarest.

[bluewine]

Originally Posted by brianrost

Three things keep bands together:

1. Great music
2. Great money
3. Great people

You need at least 2 out of 3 to keep a band going.

Sometimes you get real lucky and bandmates become lifelong friends.

Sometimes you just have a good working relationship.

Sometimes you end up with a##h*les

I think you need a lot of great gigs on the books too.

Show me s local level band that has 2-3 month stretches in between gigs and ill show you a band at risk for breaking up.

Unless it's a band that only wants to do 6 shows a year.

[bluewine]

Originally Posted by lowfreq33

Some people do you the favor of being a jerk right up front. Others are a little harder to spot.

Most of the time people with issues will be totally cool in almost every way, but there's one thing that's a deal breaker. Takes a little time to discover sometimes.

Some of my deal breakers:

Funny about money. If I ever have a problem getting paid, or find out I'm being lied to regarding money, I'm gone. Once is all it takes.

+ one

[viper4000]

I find the the issues usually come out when the honeymoon is over. You know, once they get comfortable, know they are a member of the band. This happened with my keyboard player. Took about 6 months before he really started to show his true colors (hard to hang out with, horrible humor, never prepares, late to gigs, etc). Proficient on the keys, horrible with people.

[Tampabass]

Originally Posted by bluewine

At one time I thought this was not really important. I always thought, well I am not joining a band to become friends with everyone , it's just about the music. I was wrong. Your band environment for rehearsals, management, administration, marketing,and gigging are all related to how you can work within in your band

+1,000, Blue. I'd say this is particularly good advice to younger, less experienced players, who may have the idea that talent trumps all.

For short-term bands, or subbing situations, that might be okay. But if you want to build a band that has a chance to survive past 1 or 2 gigs, the "getting along" ability is supremely important.

And I'll add this: You're more likely to find the above kind of situation if you put together a band through word of mouth - friends, or friends of friends. Why? No guarantees, but at least you will already have a general idea of what those folks' personalities are like.

Whereas going blind into a band that advertises on Craigslist or some other public forum is a total crapshoot, a place where anyone can say anything about their abilities/background and anyone can make a good first impression, only later to turn into one of the types that Blue mentioned -- or, even worse, as I discovered a few years ago with a nutball I met through CL.

[bassbully]

Originally Posted by bluewine

That's a tough call, though not the worse scenario.

How about the band that finds a really good drummer, singer, or guitarist and after the fact find he has no real job, no car and has several warrants out for his rarest.

You never really know a new person or band and I have been there before. I was once in a band where everything was fine and then at a practice the lead guitarist threw a kick at the singer during a song he messed up and started a fight. He had a bit of a temper but nothing like this, I quit soon after this and other issues.
Another band had a drummer who went off for no reason at a practice on our singer and the guitarist developed a pill addiction which we found later he hid well. Band blew up and I walked.
Today I am picky about who I play with and that's why the new drummer has us worried. He can do the job so we shall see for now but I have a gut feeling about him.

[etoncrow]

I would llike to add:
The Noodler: The guy who is constantly playing (or trying to figure out what he should have figured out before he got to practice) while others are trying to communicate; the one who won't stop playing until he hears, "One, Two...."
I wanna bitch slap him...

[WalWarrior]

How about..the Neglector?

I like to call this term "Veto by Neglect".

Everyone decides on a tune, or so you think, then you get to rehearsal and one cat ( let's call him the Guitard ) always says, "ah I didn't get a chance to work that one up yet."

When he does start work on it he half asses it, doesn't rehearse his backing vocals...song ends up sounding like crap, causes disinterest, song finally gets dropped from list.

[etoncrow]

Originally Posted by bassbully

...then at a practice the lead guitarist threw a kick at the singer during a song he messed up and started a fight....

Playing in a band with a married couple. Doing a USO show at a military base in Turkey. The woman hauled off and sucker punched her husband right in the middle of the show. A few months later we had to fire her. Turned out she had a tumor on her tyroid that aggravated an already total "b*t*h" personality.

edit: word corrrection

[bassbully]

Originally Posted by etoncrow

Playing in a band with a married couple. Doing a USO show at a military base in Turkey. The woman hauled off and sucker punched her husband right in the middle of the show. A few months later we had to fire her. Turned out she had a tumor on her tyroid that aggravated an alright total "b*t*h" personality.

Wow! How did the people watching the band react?

[Edward G.]

I look for humility, skills, forthrightness, and professionalism.

Humility: Nobody likes an egomaniacal arsehole. Confidence and competence stand completely apart from that. A humble soul respects others and is never too good to improve.

Skills: You have to be able to play whatever the music requires, with a palpable sense of groove.

Forthrightness: You must keep your commitments to the band and be clear in your communications with the band.

Professionalism: Preparation, punctuality, and conduct. This means basically avoiding anything that reflects poorly on yourself or the band.

These traits in one individual usually add up to a pretty good bandmate. I don't have to be in love with you, but I DO have to be able to depend on you, because I am prepared to do all these things myself.