What do I do?

Shaun_Bass0 · #1 03-19-2009, 04:27 AM

Hey everyone,

Right i'll keep this short and sweet....do I stay with a band that i'm growing more and more unhappy with stylistically but has a deal and is starting to get national recognition, or do I walk away and risk missing out on any success that may come when the material is 70% mine?

I won't go into all the intricacies, but what would YOU do?

cheers......

QORC · #2 03-19-2009, 04:38 AM

well national success is very VERY elusive and rare, so that's not really a reason to stay with a band.

You play because you love it. If you aren't loving it, it's not worth it.

besides, if you wrote the material, and by some weird quirk the band made money after you left with that material, you'd be due royalties.

but I go back to my first point. Lots of bands are signed. All the time. Most of them don't see profit of any kind and end up in debt. Becoming a big success in today's market is almost as likely as winning Powerball. So it's not a reason to stick with a band.

Shaun_Bass0 · #3 03-19-2009, 04:55 AM

All good points, thanks.

I'm not sitting here dreaming of millions or anything, I just don't wanna walk from something i've worked so hard for but has gotten so far removed from what I got in it for in the first place. Songs I have either written or had a major part in writing have got us this far and, maybe selfishly, I think I deserve a piece of that in terms of decent gigs and coverage, however small on the grand scale of things.

I know theres only one obvious option, and if i was a hired gun i'd be out the door, but something about this ain't that easy!

QORC · #4 03-19-2009, 04:58 AM

I've sort of been where you've been. It's not easy to be in a band with popularity that is beginning to get on your nerves!

But at least for me, it's a hobby. It's a release. It has to be FUN.

If you're not having fun, make a change - either of people in the band, or the band entirely.

If you're not embracing it fully, why bother?

Good luck

subfeeder · #5 03-19-2009, 06:11 AM

Very few people end up doing exactly what they want to be doing either in music or any other kind of work. If you are doing this professionally then keep doing it and hopefully get some recognition, which will later allow you to do more what you want to do. If you are not doing this professionally then it's a different question. I worked for years playing music I didn't really enjoy just because that was my profession. Now I do something else for money, but guess what - I don't enjoy that! Sometimes just having to do something makes it dull.

blubass · #6 03-19-2009, 11:44 AM

I'm in sort of the same position you are. My band is signed, and has just recorded a video that will be one of the featured videos on Myspace Music, we tour nationally, have many endorsements, and things just keep looking up. Unfortunately economy has hit the national band market the hardest. Because CD's, MP3's, and concerts are a luxury, people don't pay to go to shows, if they can't afford gas to get to work, so tour packages are getting larger, and guarantees are getting smaller. Even if you were to enjoy your band, and the music you are playing, if your band really takes off, you have to compete with already established bands who have tighter connections and bigger draws at venues. Bottom line is, you have to REALLY love your band, to put up with everything else that you will battle through with a band. You incure just as much debt as the rest of the band members, and if they can't pay it off, or the band folds, you were left with a band you didn't enjoy, and debt you didn't want. If you don't like the band, save yourself the time.

Stumbo · #7 03-20-2009, 12:22 AM

Do you have the copyrights on your songs? If not, I suggest you get them asap. If you walk away, will you leave your tunes for them to be played by the band? Be sure you get a signed royalty agreement. If they won't sign, take your songs with you.

That being said, many bands morph into something different from what they started with. Look at the Beatles: started as a skiffle band and morphed into a whole bunch of different things. If your band is having a chance at making it, it's with what they are doing now, not with what you thought they should be. Maybe it will change into something else later, especially as your song writing grows. Really up to you.

Good luck.

Shaun_Bass0 · #8 03-20-2009, 03:25 AM

Nice one guys, you can always get some good sense on these boards!

I should point out that the limited success we've had was due to a very hard rock orientated sound, which was largely down to my writing.

The reason i'm having trouble is now we've got recognition for that, my bandmates are actively discouraging that label and doing everything they can to now sound to "eighties", "dated" or whatever because one review stated we were part of a a "revivalist" movement. In the same review it listed some touring bands a few levels above us who we would "give a run for their money", and listed metallica, whitesnake etc as bands we sounded like. Might just be me, but I consider those compliments?

It's kinda funny when you think about it like that actually...

#9 03-20-2009, 07:00 AM

I think you should figure out what parts of the day to day band work you're doing that you could hand over or just let be, to free up some personal time. Then you should have a break and allow some musical desire to enter your subconscious. Then you should try and meet other musicians who are more like minded. If anything comes of it then it comes but I think you should follow positive instincts when approaching big life changes like leaving a band you've been in for a long time. Otherwise it can feel destructive. It's important to stay in touch with your most innocent or unconditional desire with music, because it colours all your other behaviour. If your bandmates have started writing material in a certain way just because a reviewer said it would be the next big thing, then in my opinion the band will lose all credibility, which is a difficult thing to define but the audience can smell it.

3wavylines · #10 03-20-2009, 03:09 PM

In my youth, I was a principal songrwriter and/or band leader for a few bands. For each band, I eventually got frustrated with our lack of recognition and the interpersonal band stuff and ended up quitting the band.

Looking back, I think if I had been more patient, I would have been more likely to have been successful. It wasn't easy starting from square one over and over again.

On the other hand, if I had stuck with one band, I might not have had some of the opportunities to experiment and try new things musically that I did have.

Overall, I think I regret not having stuck it out longer with one or more of those bands, but who knows how would I feel now if I had....

xgator4u · #11 03-20-2009, 07:24 PM

Dude, who cares what some bozo review writer said? If they said you suck would the band just quit?, It the guy had said you sound like Culture Club, or Prince, would the members of the band be happy? Any way the point is DO NOT SELL OUT... you guys sound like you, and what kind of musician would discourage a label? remember reviews will come, and go, and always remember, bad publicity is better than no publicity at all.

Shaun_Bass0 · #12 03-26-2009, 06:00 AM

Quick update, I left last night and it's like the weight of the world has been lifted off my shoulders!. Guess I just needed to hear it from other musicians for it to make sense, once again nice one TB!!!

Now to find me a bad-ass rock 'n' roll band....