Lead guitar player leaving for college
 

Hello, TB

I'm the bassist and primary vocalist for a band that I've formed with three other close friends. I'm a college freshman and the other guys are all currently high school seniors. I am attending a college that is not far from their (my former) high school. The rhythm guitarist and drummer are all going to go to school where I'm currently at, but our lead player will likely be leaving for somewhere a few hours away.

My question is: would a trio that is primarily oriented on playing covers and some new material work? Our rhythm player is a great guitar player, no doubt, but I don't know if he would want to be the sole guitarist. I'm a fairly competent guitarist, so we could always find a new bass player as well.

What would you guys do in my situation?

Hold tryouts for a replacement once you get settled at school. There has to be a ton of players at any decent sized school.

This^^^^^^

Yeah, this doesn't sound like a major problem. It will be a problem (emotionally) if the lead guitarist doesn't actually want the band to move on without him. So, get that out of the way first.

Then its on to rockstar supernova for you. In today's world, you can even make it an entertaining thing on campus and potentially fund an EP after you pick the new one.

That's a dream, since I don't know the rules in schools over there. On the other hand you need to Casey Kasem and reach for the stars.

I'm not really sure how he would respond. I think he would probably be okay with replacing him, but at the same time I don't want to step on his toes. It would be so much easier if my bandmates weren't all very close friends before we formed a band.

Friendships should be cherished in general, I think. Best thing is to talk to the guy and just be honest. IF he doesn't mind then great. Better that than for him to find out that the inevitable has happened. It does not need to end in drama.

The lead guitarist will move on when he gets to college and discovers the music scene there. Don't be shocked if he joins a new band and even falls in love with a different genre.

If you absolutely don't want to replace the guy don't. Keep the old band the same and start a new band with the remaining guys in the new city and find a lead guitar.

Nobody got replaced. You get to be in a band.

Talk to the guys in the band and see what they think.

I'm in a power trio playing covers and it's great. For me, it gives a lot of room to do whatever I want to as a bassist as long as it sounds good. It's also nice when playing gigs as we only need to split the take 3 ways.