TRAINWRECK ALERT(long, sorry)

[bassteban]

Got a gig this Saturday- gtr, me(bass)& drums, covers, local winery.

The Good: GREAT crowd(largely tipsy-to-hammered-but-cordial/no vomit/fights), gtr is a great player and showman & we have much history. He's very ADD & goes off into la-la/jamband land, but I expect that and it *usually(when backed by the regular gang )* works for us.

The Bad: Fill-in drummer- worked w/him before, like him but have had NO success getting him or gtrd * to communicate w/me or each other. WEEKS ago, gtr took gig, after finding out reg drummer & side-vocalist/harpguy(but a very NICE one )were out... I prodded gtrd EARLY for a setlist, sched some rehearsal/practice time & to hammer/firm up a drummer. WEEKS pass, no word from gtrd. Icing on this particular slice of caca-cake: I'll text, email, chat & FB msg/post on dork's wall/TL; no reply, yet he's publicly e-flirting w/bimbos. He likes to tell me he's extremely busy w/his weeks-old baby & looking for a job(more icing- he's recently unemployed )...

Plan: I will invest no more of my effort into this- the gig may suck, but I am DONE attempting to salvage it before it's too late. I'm half-ommitting an entire chapter wherein I had a VERY reliable, communicative & SOLID drummer in, to have DH FINALLY reply to me(after I sincerely told him via text that I was seriously considering pulling out: PANIC- he really cannot do it this late w/o me, and will look the FOOL if he bails. BS aside, I don't want this to happen)- w/ *Oh, hi orig second-choice/non-communicative drummer is in! We will practice Wednesday night at your place!*

For time's sake I won't go into the deets of why everything in me is saying strangle him & have a donut... but trust a brothah- I am showing remarkable restraint/disillusionment in not d-slapping this putz. I am certainly gonna take an EXTENDED break once I get through this swillfest.




*that's gui-TURD. Entirely appropo.

Edit: Not, NOT, NOT soliciting for advice- more ranting; there's SO much more to this that will NOT change that I am through trying. I hope this amuses someone. I'll laugh good & hard later... ATM I'm just shaking my head.

[dbnet03]

Good luck with the gig. Is this in SF bay area? I may drop by to see how this turns out.

[bassteban]

Originally Posted by dbnet03

Good luck with the gig. Is this in SF bay area? I may drop by to see how this turns out.

Winterhawk Winery, 4537 Abernathy Road, Fairfield; 2-5 June 16. ID yourself as a TBer to me(bassguy)& I will buy you one.

Edit: And thank you- I fully intend to enjoy myself.

[bassteban]

OK, I see this got moved to *Band Management* although in this case, I doubt any actual proper *management* will occur.

*NOT COMPLAINING/questioning le mods...*

I will half-heartedly ask though- would YOU attempt to contact guiturd and suggest he arrive at tomorrow night's one & only pre-gig meting w/a pretty solid setlist in hand?
This w/the gut feeling that he will arrive late w/a disorganized pile of ideas and spend a solid hour discussing material, then play for an hour, talk out the A about how great it's gonna be, etc.
Sorry, guess I wasn't done kvetching.

[moten33]

I would. I am all about organization. My band is very disorganized (a lot of uhhhh what do we play next at practice, waiting to set stuff up for gigs at the last minute, etc.). Recently I was approached about two gigs (more I heard about them first before they went to our "band leader" drummer). We would also need a fill-in guitar for both gigs. I gontacted the two possible replacements that made sense, sent out possible set lists for approval, organized practice time....I just have to know what is going on at all times instead of waiting/relyng on others. The "band leader" was al ittle miffed but I did it right and we all agreed to the plans.

[bassteban]

I don't mind doing some or a lot of the organization, musical direction, etc. The issue is a HUGE lack of communication- I pushed to get a practice scheduled a good 4 weeks ago, w/o so much as an *up yours*
All the while, I see the boy on FB- he'll post 12 *humorous* items in a row, check in at a burger/coffee/cigar joint, *like* 20+ dumbass posts... not replying to any of my attempts to contact, various mediums.
If anyone wonders why I stick it out, I love the music, once we get there, AND w/the normal(read *well-rehearsed/accustomed to gtrd's shenanigans*)lineup. After this round though, I really don't know if I can stomache the BS- for awhile at least.
Add in the fact that I'm also involved w/another, sometimes-equally-difficult-to-work-with band who tend to take themselves VERY seriously... all very dear friends but bringing various types & amounts of baggage. I admit to fitting this mold myself sometimes- I will HAMMER them all to get a tune down as well as can be expected; I don't mind being *that guy* if it gets the whole band tight. Oh yeah- gtrd A is scheduled to play the next gig w/band B, in a few weeks. Same story, he doesn't learn tunes, arrives BSing that he'll get it in time, etc...

Edit: OK, I think I wll ask if he has any idea what tunes he wants to do. That way I will be as prepped as possible.

[funkingroovin]

Sounds like a guy I know that gets "Brian Jones'd" out of every band he starts..the icing is that the bands stay established and gigging long afterwards without a hiccup

[onlyclave]

Originally Posted by bassteban

Got a gig this Saturday- gtr, me(bass)& drums, covers, local winery.

The Good: GREAT crowd(largely tipsy-to-hammered-but-cordial/no vomit/fights), gtr is a great player and showman & we have much history. He's very ADD & goes off into la-la/jamband land, but I expect that and it *usually(when backed by the regular gang )* works for us.

The Bad: Fill-in drummer- worked w/him before, like him but have had NO success getting him or gtrd * to communicate w/me or each other. WEEKS ago, gtr took gig, after finding out reg drummer & side-vocalist/harpguy(but a very NICE one )were out... I prodded gtrd EARLY for a setlist, sched some rehearsal/practice time & to hammer/firm up a drummer. WEEKS pass, no word from gtrd. Icing on this particular slice of caca-cake: I'll text, email, chat & FB msg/post on dork's wall/TL; no reply, yet he's publicly e-flirting w/bimbos. He likes to tell me he's extremely busy w/his weeks-old baby & looking for a job(more icing- he's recently unemployed )...

Plan: I will invest no more of my effort into this- the gig may suck, but I am DONE attempting to salvage it before it's too late. I'm half-ommitting an entire chapter wherein I had a VERY reliable, communicative & SOLID drummer in, to have DH FINALLY reply to me(after I sincerely told him via text that I was seriously considering pulling out: PANIC- he really cannot do it this late w/o me, and will look the FOOL if he bails. BS aside, I don't want this to happen)- w/ *Oh, hi orig second-choice/non-communicative drummer is in! We will practice Wednesday night at your place!*

For time's sake I won't go into the deets of why everything in me is saying strangle him & have a donut... but trust a brothah- I am showing remarkable restraint/disillusionment in not d-slapping this putz. I am certainly gonna take an EXTENDED break once I get through this swillfest.




*that's gui-TURD. Entirely appropo.

Edit: Not, NOT, NOT soliciting for advice- more ranting; there's SO much more to this that will NOT change that I am through trying. I hope this amuses someone. I'll laugh good & hard later... ATM I'm just shaking my head.

After trying to read this I believe communication within your band is broken in both directions. Your English needs translation.

[bassteban]

Originally Posted by onlyclave

After trying to read this I believe communication within your band is broken in both directions. Your English needs translation.

Wow- thanks..? I'm fairly confident I can clearly state my case to the guitarist in question, once I corner him. Sorry if all this confuses you.

Edit: Pardon the side-track- just popped in to say I asked the lad about the plan for tomorrow via text, chat & FB. Any bets I won't hear a word..?

[SoCalBassman]

I understand his english perfectly.

I prefer structured gigs myself but I can also add lib if I prepare myself mentally and don't mind playing imperfect music. You just gotta decide if it's worth it to you.

And if you play the gig we'll be here next week to hear you rant some more.

[bassteban]

Thank you, SoCal- if I may call you that?
And for those who cannot decipher my gibberish, try this: I'm dreading an upcoming gig. I will do it, but I just need to say:

[winndaddy]

Sadly, your situation is all too common. There is a guy like that in almost every band. Your problem seems multiplied x2.

I hate it just as much as the next guy.

P.S. Don't you dare forget to include us on the outcome!!

[bassteban]

Yeah, I have been largely successful in avoiding drama so far, but it's now so deep that the waders ain't getting it. Might need a snorkel.
That said, he(gtrd/bandleader/flakey confrontation avoider)told me today, in reply to my request for a setlist, that he is trying to reschedule the gig altogether. I think the drummer(only 1/2 as loopy as him but able to talk to him)rattled the boy's cage. I told HIM(gtr)that would be extremely wise.
There was another incident- just this afternoon(!)- involving scheduling for a video shoot & a fill-in drummer- not worthy of a full description, and not any fault of said guiturd(although we are all now waiting on a confirmation from him/AYFKM?!?).. but these guys are making me crazy. I am SO glad I have a new thing in the works...

[gfaulkner]

Good luck with that banana fest,brother man.By the way,I could decipher everything as well,and I live on the other coast.

[bassteban]

Thank you sir. I do not claim to be a master of ANY language, and trying to straddle my inner, 17-yr-old mindset & my chronologically 48-yr-old reality while trying to talk to the hordes of diversity that is TB will doubtless result in some shaking of the head. Enjoy!

[oldrocker]

Originally Posted by funkingroovin

Sounds like a guy I know that gets "Brian Jones'd" out of every band he starts..the icing is that the bands stay established and gigging long afterwards without a hiccup

"Brian Jones'd" out of a band - Nice

[bassteban]

Originally Posted by oldrocker

"Brian Jones'd" out of a band - Nice

Yeah, I made it halfway through *Stone alone* so I kinda get this.

[bassteban]

Gig cancelled, last-minute practice unneccesary.
[voluminous sigh of relief]
Thank you for your support and/or derision.

[winndaddy]

Even though I'm pretty sure what the outcome would've been if y'all had gone threw with it, something inside of me would've loved to hear about another train wreck..haha

[AltGrendel]

Originally Posted by bassteban

Gig cancelled, last-minute practice unneccesary.
[voluminous sigh of relief]
Thank you for your support and/or derision.

Glad to hear it, hassle you don't need is gone.