Nothing Personal

Kenny Allyn · #1 06-01-2009, 08:56 PM

Nothing personal

We as a band had to make the painful decision to let our singer go.

She had been with us for the long haul, so it was not a personal thing, as we all like each other on a personal level. It came down to work ethic and performance level issues. The opportunity to get a really talented and dynamic new singer presented itself, so it had to come to a vote.

We rehearsed the new singer for a couple of weeks to be sure it would work and today made the official change, I had to break the news to our now former singer, kept it short upbeat (as possible) and it went well, if you can call it that. The Myspace and website were changed over within an hour of the conversation and I called our agent and all interested parties.

How many of you have had to do this kinda thing and how did you handle it and how did it go?

dhomer · #2 06-01-2009, 11:28 PM

About 15 years ago that same kinda thing happened to me. I was hooked up w/a blues outfit of which they were quite the traditionalists... "de-rockification" was a term heard often in the rehearsal room...lol... To make a long story short, I was too much "on the one" for these guys, and they found someone a bit more suitable. They had a couple of gigs on the short calendar, and they asked me to play those while the new guy was getting up to speed.. In fact the guy who replaced me tried to hook me up with a couple other bands....

QORC · #3 06-02-2009, 05:59 AM

Had to do it with the long-time lead guitarist in January. He lives far from the rest of the band (2 hours), so doing it in person wasn't feasible. We had a conference call among the rest of us and decided that, yes, a change was imperative and unavoidable (performance issues, work ethic, personal conduct at gigs). It wasn't easy. We all liked him. A lot. but he was hurting our performance.

The lead singer was the instigator of replacing him, so he then called the guy up after our conference call and broke the news to him. We all then either emailed and/or called the guy within the next few days.

These things are never easy.

pbd · #4 06-02-2009, 06:18 AM

I've had mixed results, it mainly comes down to the personalities involved. No matter how you handle it someones feeling normally get hurt. Sometimes change is good and sometimes its not. I hope this one works out for you guys.

Todd

Phalex · #5 06-02-2009, 06:38 AM

We just went through the exact opposite thing. We let the mellow talented singer that busted his ass loading in and out go in favor of the stage diving crowd pleasing jackass we let go last year because he didn't do a G-D thing but show up with his microphone and sing.

I have remorse.....

Kenny Allyn · #6 06-02-2009, 06:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pbd

I've had mixed results, it mainly comes down to the personalities involved. No matter how you handle it someones feeling normally get hurt. Sometimes change is good and sometimes its not. I hope this one works out for you guys.

Todd

Agree ...

This not the first change we have made, it's had a long a varied history. I actually was co-founder some 8 or so years ago and at that time found myself in the position of "firing" the other co-founder. Then I left for personal needs ... two of the other members kept it going in various forms for about 3 years, and I was asked to return. She was with the band when I re joined. Since then we have been through 4 drummers 2 other guitar players (always had the original) and a keys player.

The lineup has been stable for two years until this change, and as always there are risk involved. In this case however the new singer has a following but has had some "iffy" bands behind her ... our band has a sound that is a cross of traditional groove with jam band freedom. We have actually played dates with Tiffs former band so we know how she sounds live.

The former singer had fallen into the habit of just "cruzin" and it was showing ...

In the final conversation she even said Tiff should work out well, and wished us the best.

... I seriously hope it works out best for all involved

Vakmere · #7 06-02-2009, 07:02 AM

that's showbiz

Tampabass · #8 06-02-2009, 07:10 AM

I had to do the same thing to a saxophonist who was part of a jazz quartet - I was the leader. He just wasn't up to the musical level, or ambition, of the rest of us, and, worse, wasn't interested in working to improve (not that I'm a brilliant player, or anything, but ....).

Hardest part was that he was a friend, and someone I'd worked with previously in another band (and sometimes gig with, on occasion). So I took the chicken way out, I guess, and attributed it to the fact that we were wanting to work as a trio, which we actually did for quite a while. A year or so later, we started working with another saxophonist, a high-level guy who has since moved to NYC and is hooked up with a jazz label. And after that, we connected with a pianist, making it a quintet.

I'm still friends with the original saxophonist. And that band is no more.

I've been on the receiving end, too. A regionally popular jamband I was co-leading essentially broke up when two of the members decided their ambitions, and talent, I guess, were greater than those of myself and another band member. One of the departing members went on to greater, uh, glory, in cover bands, while another started a new jamband, had modest success with that and then moved to another state.

And then, seven years after the breakup, we reunited for a show that created a nice stir locally and probably broke recent attendance records for the club we played.

I'd say, "it's all good," but it's not, really. The cliche is true: Being in a band is like being in a marriage - when times are good, it's a fantastic experience, but when things go sour, and bandmates "separate" or "divorce," it can be pretty painful.