Uncharted Territory - Not Looking Forward to Gig Tonight

jaywa · #1 02-06-2010, 08:44 AM

So my weekend warrior cover band played last night after a few weeks off. Was all stoked to be playing again and we were playing pretty well, but zero crowd response. So the drummer and I started telling our co-lead singers to engage the crowd more, and they didn't. People would come in to the club, sit for few songs and then leave. Thankfully new people kept coming in but then others would leave, so we never had more than about a half-full house. We hardly ever have trouble getting a crowd on to the dance floor (much less keeping them in the building) but last night for whatever reason it wasn't happening.

So then our rhythm guitarist kind of says "F it" and starts pulling out songs the rest of the band barely knows. Which pissed off our lead guitarist who has been having a pretty bad attitude about the band for a few months now already. By last set the band was pretty much mailing it in and then to top it all off, after the show our lead guitarist and singer got into a shouting match (visible to the people who were still there) over how the sound system was EQ'd (they each own part of the system and we mix ourselves so this has been an ongoing pissing match).

This is a pretty major venue in town where we've played a few times and done OK but it seems like we're always in "audition" mode with them so if we don't have a huge night tonight I'm pretty sure we won't be back. So my motivation to go back there and play again tonight is very low. This is the first of five consecutive weekends our band is booked at various places so I hope the vibe turns around in a hurry or it's going to be a long and not very fun stretch.

OK, rant over. Thanks for listening.

optikhog · #2 02-06-2010, 08:53 AM

Sorry, man. Been there, it ain't fun. Keep yer chin up.

jaywa · #3 02-06-2010, 08:59 AM

Yeah, there were a few clues this might be a less than optimal gig:

1) At load-in, one of our wedge monitors fell out of the trailer and literally broke into pieces.

2) Also during load-in, someone did a hit-and-run on our singer's pickup.

3) Also at load-in I noticed our band's name wasn't on any of the banners hung around the venue that list the upcoming bands... they had another band listed for this weekend. I told the staff and they went around with masking tape and permanent markers and covered up the other band's name and hand-wrote ours on. Cheeze-o-riffic. And makes it obvious we only got this gig as a last-minute fill-in for somebody else. To their credit, they did get the outside marquee right anyway.

4) Hour and a half before showtime our singer calls and says he'll be delayed getting to the venue cause his girlfriend's grandmother just died.

Oh well. We're still getting paid, anyway.

GreggBummer · #4 02-06-2010, 09:02 AM

Everyone has been through it... you have a bad night. The suck monster come up and bites the whole band. It happens. If you have a tape of the show, have the band over for beers and just listen to it... make a list of things to work on... and move on.

Lady Kayri · #5 02-06-2010, 09:04 AM

Sounds like it may be time to start looking for another band, before your current one breaks up into lots of tiny pieces. Better to be looking BEFORE the current project hits the rocks. From the way you describe the interaction between your bandmates, sounds like that's the direction your band is going. So long as YOU conduct yourself in a professional manner, people will notice and hopefully it will make it easier for you to find a new project to get involved in. Mind, I could be wrong - they may successfully patch up the yawning abyss currently developing between your bandmates - but if not, you'll be better prepared than if you just assume everything will work out all right in the end. (Of course, at this point, it may be better for the band to break up in the long run rather than struggling to keep it together.) YMMV, IMHO, etc.

nortonrider · #6 02-06-2010, 09:10 AM

The rhythm guitarist just started playing songs on stage that none of you guys know?
Arguing on stage?

You guys are PRO!

jaywa · #7 02-06-2010, 09:12 AM

Lady -

Good thoughts. Last year before the holidays I was talking to my drummer (who's one of my best friends and by far my best friend in the band), and he said he was really wondering how much we should be booking for 2010 cause he didn't know how much longer this band was going to hold together. We're booked solid through the first weekend of March so we're gonna have to all be professional enough to fulfill those commitments, anyway. After that, who knows.

It sucks cause for most of the last 4 years this band has been a lot of fun. We have a decent following (though you wouldn't have known it last night), and we are finally to the point we're getting paid good money for this market. I would hate to give that up. I have some pretty good connections on the local music scene from doing sub jobs and side projects so I'm pretty confident I would still have chances to play... I just doubt it would be nearly as frequently, or for as much money.

DeluxeRed · #8 02-06-2010, 09:15 AM

Sounds like rock and roll to me!

It does sound like you could use some leadership, though. Maybe a set list? Man, we NEVER play anything at a show that everyone isn't totally up on and ready to play. We have a set list that is carefully thought-out to move the mood and momentum where we want it to go. Yeah, we leave some flexibility in there to fill a request or catch a wave, but we put on a professional show, not a jam session where someone just starts into some vaguely-known song--that's about as unprofessional behavior as I've ever heard, and no wonder people wandered off. Who wants to watch a bunch of hacks jamming? I want to see a tight, professional show when I'm paying a cover.

Stuff like being on the banners, etc, is earned, by putting on a tight show and keeping the BS off the stage. Why would the venue respect your band? They obviously don't respect the venue...

jaywa · #9 02-06-2010, 09:24 AM

We have setlists, and actually get a lot of compliments on our choice of material. The problem is we have two lead singers but no real "front man" that routinely works the crowd and keeps things going.

We've heard a few times that we're all good players and we play great together, but our show isn't up to par. By "show" meaning things like flow, working the crowd, minimizing dead air, etc. I have been pushing for us to hire-out sound and lights for about a year now to get rid of that piece of angst but no one else seems to want to give up $$ to do that. It frustrates me to see bands with half our musicianship playing better venues to bigger crowds (and for more pay) cause they're so much more together with their presentation and marketing.

Lazylion · #10 02-06-2010, 09:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaywa

We're booked solid through the first weekend of March so we're gonna have to all be professional enough to fulfill those commitments...

For your sake, I hope the rest of them feel that way! Good Luck.

nortonrider · #11 02-06-2010, 09:29 AM

"Oasis" made a fortune crashing and burning on stage. That was their stage show!

Maybe you guy might wanna take a page from their book. I mean, since your band doesn't seem to want to polish up your act.

jaywa · #12 02-06-2010, 09:34 AM

BTW the shouting match didn't happen during the show. It was afterward, with P.A. and lights off ... but there were still people in the club. Not that it really matters cause it shouldn't have happened at all.

MysticMichael · #13 02-06-2010, 02:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nortonrider

The rhythm guitarist just started playing songs on stage that none of you guys know?
Arguing on stage?

You guys are PRO!

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaywa

We've heard a few times that we're all good players and we play great together, but our show isn't up to par. By "show" meaning things like flow, working the crowd, minimizing dead air, etc. I have been pushing for us to hire-out sound and lights for about a year now to get rid of that piece of angst but no one else seems to want to give up $$ to do that. It frustrates me to see bands with half our musicianship playing better venues to bigger crowds (and for more pay) cause they're so much more together with their presentation and marketing.

Excuse me, but with all due respect - and reading between the lines here just a bit - it would seem that the issues with your band are just a little more deep-seated than mere lack of "presentation" and "marketing".

What I perceive is a fundamental lack of unity, an unwillingness or inability to work out compromises to resolve minor conflicts and to work together for the good of the band as a whole, perhaps a certain degree of stubbornness and/or selfishness on the part of some members...and definitely a readiness to resort to childish, unprofessional, passive/aggressive behavior when one doesn't get what he wants.

So what else might be lurking just beneath the surface of this particular iceberg?

Acknowledging the situation for what it actually is, is the first step to finding a real solution - if in fact there exists a real solution in this case...

MM

Jim Campbell · #14 02-06-2010, 03:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaywa

So my weekend warrior cover band played last night after a few weeks off. Was all stoked to be playing again and we were playing pretty well, but zero crowd response. So the drummer and I started telling our co-lead singers to engage the crowd more, and they didn't. People would come in to the club, sit for few songs and then leave. Thankfully new people kept coming in but then others would leave, so we never had more than about a half-full house. We hardly ever have trouble getting a crowd on to the dance floor (much less keeping them in the building) but last night for whatever reason it wasn't happening.

So then our rhythm guitarist kind of says "F it" and starts pulling out songs the rest of the band barely knows. Which pissed off our lead guitarist who has been having a pretty bad attitude about the band for a few months now already. By last set the band was pretty much mailing it in and then to top it all off, after the show our lead guitarist and singer got into a shouting match (visible to the people who were still there) over how the sound system was EQ'd (they each own part of the system and we mix ourselves so this has been an ongoing pissing match).

This is a pretty major venue in town where we've played a few times and done OK but it seems like we're always in "audition" mode with them so if we don't have a huge night tonight I'm pretty sure we won't be back. So my motivation to go back there and play again tonight is very low. This is the first of five consecutive weekends our band is booked at various places so I hope the vibe turns around in a hurry or it's going to be a long and not very fun stretch.

OK, rant over. Thanks for listening.

i think you might be best looking for another project.....i don't know if what you have now is worth the aggravation...... running around doing damage control and making apologies is way less fun than playing and it would seem that the prima donna element in your band might force you into that role

jaywa · #15 02-06-2010, 04:19 PM

Yeah I'm pretty sure one of two things is gonna happen within the next few weeks. Either we're going to part ways with the lead guitarist and try to continue (which would mean replacing him as well as his P.A. equipment), or I'm going to give notice myself in which case the drummer would likely do the same and that would basically be the end of the band. I really don't want to audition guitarists and am not sure how much legs this band has left even if we did find someone else.

The best scenario I could think of was if there was a band with a great front line who had a great show and gigs but wanted to upgrade their rhythm section. Then the drummer and me could plug into that as a package deal. But this is a small market... not a lot of places to play, ergo you don't have bands starting up every week.

invader3k · #16 02-07-2010, 01:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaywa

We have setlists, and actually get a lot of compliments on our choice of material. The problem is we have two lead singers but no real "front man" that routinely works the crowd and keeps things going.

Inexcusable. Do either of them play an instrument? If not, that's even worse.

A lead singer HAS to engage the crowd, otherwise the band will never rise above the average run of them mill garage bands. It doesn't matter how good the musicianship in the group is...the average person is going to pay attention to the lead singer, and that's it.