When are you ready as a band?

[SchizoLucy]

Well, I hope this is the right place to put up this topic.

I'm new here, and rather new to the bass as well (hello!). I play in a three-piece band with a guitarist and a drummer, and somehow I got delegated to vocals as well. The three of us are ex-colleagues (we've all left our old job) and the drummer and I are both relative beginners to our craft.

However, we have a wicked guitarist who is willing to put all into the band, but even though he sounds good, somehow I personally feel that the two of us are holding him back with our mediocrity. We have discussed this issue with him before but he says that it's fine as long as we practice.

So far we've managed to write 3 songs, somehow, although our demos are of really crappy quality. The guitarist wants to quickly record them in a proper studio, along with another song, so we can release an EP. I still feel that our sound is not polished enough, though.

So my question is, how do you know and when can you tell when you're ready to release your music to the public?

[Jim Nazium]

Do it whenever you want. What's the harm? The only thing I would caution against is spending a lot of money making the recording, because you probably won't get it back in sales. That's true for almost any band, even if you are experienced and skilled. Record it at someone's house, have fun and use it as a learning experience.

[morgansterne]

If the drummer can record to a click, do that, fix your mistakes in Pro Tools. When this is done well, it really does sound good. the slick production fixes get a bad name because people overdo it or just don't do it right.
If you can midi program, you can get midi drums to sound really killer IF it's done right.
It will sound better than real drums that are recorded cheaply/poorly.

don't believe me? here's a sample -- my old band. I'm not in the video but it's my backup vocals on there still, woot. Not a single acoustic drum in this song, it's all programmed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMQWQZg9ftQ

The only reason I would suggest waiting to record is if you think the right personnel aren't there. Don't record with people who aren't committed/aren't on the same musical page.

EDIT: might be considered not safe for work I guess.

[jmattbassplaya]

I never suggest doing 'pro quality' work until things are 100% ready to go. You will also need to factor in the costs, which tend to be pretty high for anything decent.

[Kubicki440]

I agree that holding off may be a good thing for now. Recording, mixing, and mastering can be rather expensive. If you don't feel confident then don't record just yet.

[drpepper]

Originally Posted by SchizoLucy

Well, I hope this is the right place to put up this topic.

I'm new here, and rather new to the bass as well (hello!). I play in a three-piece band with a guitarist and a drummer, and somehow I got delegated to vocals as well. The three of us are ex-colleagues (we've all left our old job) and the drummer and I are both relative beginners to our craft.

However, we have a wicked guitarist who is willing to put all into the band, but even though he sounds good, somehow I personally feel that the two of us are holding him back with our mediocrity. We have discussed this issue with him before but he says that it's fine as long as we practice.

So far we've managed to write 3 songs, somehow, although our demos are of really crappy quality. The guitarist wants to quickly record them in a proper studio, along with another song, so we can release an EP. I still feel that our sound is not polished enough, though.

So my question is, how do you know and when can you tell when you're ready to release your music to the public?

I think you should try to lose the pessimism and self denigration...or at least set it aside and chose to trust and go with the guitarist's outlook.

It can be difficult to hear yourself and to hear the potential that an outsider or an insider with a more positive outlook does.

I don't have a situation that matches this, but I do tend to be more critical than reality seems to bear out. I've gone into situations (one, not thinking a band was ready to play out) where my pessimism turned out to be way overblown.

[bolophonic]

I wouldn't waste the money trying to record unless you are at the point of nailing the songs in one or two takes. The first couple of do-overs don't feel like a big deal, but then they REALLY start to get annoying in a hurry when you are paying for studio time.

[Stewie26]

"When are you ready as a band?"

When the drummer can play to a click track.

[Bassist4Eris]

You've only written three songs. Unless you're rocking a bunch of covers, you don't have the repertoire to start gigging. A proper "release to the public" would be a waste of money at this point, IMO. It's tough enough to sell these things when you have shows to promote them at. Keep making your demos, no matter how "crappy". The main thing you need to be doing at this point is hearing the music played back so you can identify what's working and what's not, so you can hone your collective craft as a band. Once you've got 10 or so tunes, you can start to think about recording a high-quality "studio" demo for gigging purposes.

[RaginRog]

When you can play at least a 1/2 hour of mistake-free/minimal mistake music...And have fun doing it. It's always great to see a band that appear to be bonding onstage.

[mjac28]

When you're walking in the mall and the crowd leaves the Justin Bieber cd signing and starts to congregate all around you screaming and crying, then and only then are you ready my young Jedi.

[oniman7]

Originally Posted by RaginRog

When you can play at least a 1/2 hour of mistake-free/minimal mistake music...And have fun doing it. It's always great to see a band that appear to be bonding onstage.

This.

It depends on a lot of things. What your goals are, what the gig is, how much material you have to have, etc. But this is a good guideline for a minimal gig

[SchizoLucy]

Thanks, guys. I guess I already know we have a lot to work on, and now it's just a matter of some guidelines to my guitarist based on your suggestions. I definitely don't want to jump the gun and end up embarrassing ourselves, putting off any potential fans. Thanks again for your input!

[Exploiter8]

Maybe the guitarist is just rushing this along to end up with a demo showcasing himself to other musicians. Then it's "Adios!"

Like I said, it's late/early and I'm feeling rather negative.

X8

[lfmn16]

If you can afford it record early and often. I have one recording of my early days and I wish I had a lot more. I don't know about next year, but in 30 years you'll be glad you did it.

[RaginRog]

Originally Posted by oniman7

This.

It depends on a lot of things. What your goals are, what the gig is, how much material you have to have, etc. But this is a good guideline for a minimal gig

You concur... :thumbup:

[Nev375]

You are never ready the 1st time.

Sometimes you just have to take a leap of faith and trust others around you and do it.
It will either be a learning experience or you may surprise yourself.

[Edward G.]

Originally Posted by SchizoLucy

So my question is, how do you know and when can you tell when you're ready to release your music to the public?

When you can back it up with a compelling public performance.

[Bassist4Eris]

Originally Posted by Nev375

You are never ready the 1st time.

I'm half tempted to sig this. It just applies to so much of life.