Worst ways you have been fired?

irishryno · #1 07-14-2009, 10:23 AM

Just found out that my band is seeking another bassist<and drummer evidently> by reading about it on myspace. Not really upset, could care less really. Lead singer is a mook and not really good at giving direction. But I was shocked none the less. So what is the funniest, worst way you have ever been released from a band?

Vakmere · #2 07-14-2009, 10:29 AM

They had me deported to a country I wasn't from.....

electracoyote · #3 07-14-2009, 10:35 AM

I got fired from one of the best bands I was ever in, along with the female lead singer. I was devastated, because I couldn't think of one good reason, and none was offered. I later came to find out the other guys in the band thought I was banging the lead singer (I wasn't), and naturally, if they let her go, they had to let me go too. How stupid is that?

Jared Lash · #4 07-14-2009, 10:46 AM

I've only been "fired" from bands three times. Twice it was obvious it wasn't working out and I was thinking of leaving anyway. Those two were both handled professionally with an open discussion.

The one that wasn't was in high school. I showed up for practice one day and the drummer says, "oh, yeah, so my brother Doug is home from college for the summer so he's going to play bass."

I was already in another band so I wasn't really upset but it was still a crappy way to do things.

Beginner Bass · #5 07-14-2009, 11:57 AM

I got a text message that said "U R FIRED" from the drummer.
Apparently he had heard it from his friend, who had heard it from the lead guitarist, who had heard it from the rythym guitarist, who had been told by the singer 5 days ago, but none of them would tell me because they were too scared to tell me.

RicPlaya · #6 07-14-2009, 12:43 PM

Singer, guitar player and drummer put an ad on Craigslist and formed a new band. They failed to mention to me or my bother they were doing so. So we woke up one morning and our band had left.

But..everything happens for a reason! After we whined about it for about a month, we put some ads out ourselves and we are currently forming a new project. This band has the potential to be better then the old one could ever be!

etoncrow · #7 07-14-2009, 12:54 PM

Was in a band with three guys who thought they were 'stars'. I was a grunt; if something needed doing I did it. Like putting a new clutch in the band truck, handling the payroll and bills or firing somebody. Then we had a band meeting; not unusual. They himmed and hawed around for about an hour while I snickered inside because I had seen it coming. They wanted to replace me with someone just like them. Finally I let them off the hook and asked, "Are you firing me?" They still just looked at me. Then I proceeded to tell them they were cutting off their nose to spite their face because it took different kinds of people to make any kind of business work successfully. Then I told them what I wanted in severence pay. They agreed. Three days later one of them came to me and told me they could not afford to pay me. I had to explain how to do it. The guy has a Masters in Business Administration. Life goes on....

sssmmike · #8 07-14-2009, 12:58 PM

I dunno if this was actually getting fired, but this is the closest I've come to that:

The last band I played in had this "Russian Dragon" drummer, and to top it all off... he was a racist! I brought up my concerns regarding the drummer, to the band leaders, telling them I was uncomfortable around this guy, and he was an awful drummer, to boot. I couldn't believe it, but their response was, "well.. it's hard to find a drummer."

Anyway, I was going on vacation at the time, and I told them I'd think about where I stood with the band, and let them know when I got back (we had a gig about a week and half after I got back).

The guitarist calls me up one day before I get back from vacation, on my cell, and says, "Mike, we haven't heard from you, and we're concerned because we have a upcoming gig. We've been jamming with this kid..." It wasn't my intention to flake on the gig, I was committed to it regardless of the racist a-hole drummer, but my intentions were to quit the band after the show. When he told me they'd been jamming with someone else, I just laughed and told them to go with the other guy.

That was the easiest break-up of my life!

Zuhzuhzombie!! · #9 07-14-2009, 01:04 PM

I was told to either get in line and get ready to play Freebird and the usual bar fair, or to get out.

So I got out.

Lunchbox4u_6 · #10 07-14-2009, 01:09 PM

I checked my email one day to see that the bandleader had decieded to breakup the band. I called him and he said he just didn't feel like doing the band thing anymore. Okay, no problem, it hurts a little, but he was doing the singer/songwriter thing long before we met. Fast forward a few months and see that he's still playing with all the other guys and i'm the only one out. I still don't know why as i could never get a straight answer out of him. He stopped returning phone calls to just hang out and when i asked to get my in ear monitors back, he mailed them to me rather than just dropping them by.

it was all very strange, and the worst part is that i feel like i lost a friend and i don't really know what happened.

cassanova · #11 07-14-2009, 01:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by irishryno

Lead singer is a mook and not really good at giving direction.

If the singer was such a insignificant or contemptible then why did you waste your time jamming with him?

Not for nothing, and I'm not flaming ya here but, the statement you made would have more credibility if you weren't recently fired from that band. It's easy to insult and name call someone after something like that happens. Be professional about it and don't resort to name calling. Even if you could care less or feel you were unjustly let go.

I was once let go from a paying church gig. Long story short. I played the Wednesday & Thursday night sermons and when I got there for Sunday's, my rig was off the stage by the 1st set of double doors leading from the lobby into the worship hall.

ric stave · #12 07-14-2009, 01:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by electracoyote

I got fired from one of the best bands I was ever in, along with the female lead singer. I was devastated, because I couldn't think of one good reason, and none was offered. I later came to find out the other guys in the band thought I was banging the lead singer (I wasn't), and naturally, if they let her go, they had to let me go too. How stupid is that?

I really hope you banged the singer after that, you know, just so BOTH of you could teach them a lesson. (At least, that's the line you could've tried on her...)

Redeye · #13 07-14-2009, 01:41 PM

I ended up working away from home, but traveled over 200 miles on a Thursday night for band practice and pub gigs each week. I'd leave work at 2 ish in the afternoon, drive about 120 miles to get home have me tee, kiss the wife, go practice or gig, go home kiss the wife, drive back to work about 2 in the morning for work at 7am on Friday. I had the call at work after I had been doing this for about 8 months, apparently I wasn't getting home enough for band practice. Bas*ar!s. Thought that they would get another bassist but no the whole thing fell apart.Wan!!rs.

Shawman · #14 07-14-2009, 02:28 PM

this one was quite funny, it was my first real band i had joined, and i was playing guitar for it (so it was bound to end badly!)

so anyway, we had a gig on the saturday night, but the thursday night before it i dislocated my knee at work so gave the singer a shout to say i wasn't sure if i'd be able to make the gig, the response i got was "its cool, we were going to have someone else play guitar anyway"

totally casual, which i was fine with me because i wasn't totally comfortable playing guitar anyway

SpecialEdd · #15 07-15-2009, 05:16 PM

Just recently we had picked up a new guitar player, he's a really cool guy, and very good at guitar. So as initiation we all just go camping with the other band mates on some of my drummers property out in the boonies. We wake up the next morning and on my guitar players phone there are three messages about 6 minutes long a piece. Turns out it was his old guitard drunk dialed him, trying to sweet talk him back by saying stuff like "You're a $#@!ing piece of %^$@, I ^*(&ing hate you" and the second one was the same except racists, the third time it was /sob "Man, I'm sorry, come back dude! We have all these shows lined up." etc, you get the picture.
We had a long hard laugh at his ignorance (we listened to it at least three times until we couldn't breathe from the laughter), and now we're using his voicemail as the intro to one of our demos. The funny thing is, my guitard told us when we brought him on that he was going to finish out the shows they had booked, but not anymore with a message like that. Hahaha, it wasn't me getting fired, or him quitting just a funny story.

QORC · #16 07-16-2009, 05:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by irishryno

Just found out that my band is seeking another bassist<and drummer evidently> by reading about it on myspace. Not really upset, could care less really. Lead singer is a mook and not really good at giving direction. But I was shocked none the less. So what is the funniest, worst way you have ever been released from a band?

I was done by email. Very cowardly. yours is worse

electracoyote · #17 07-16-2009, 05:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ric stave

I really hope you banged the singer after that, you know, just so BOTH of you could teach them a lesson. (At least, that's the line you could've tried on her...)

Yep, I should have given that a try. Hindsight is 20/20.

Krause · #18 07-16-2009, 08:55 AM

Back in 95, the band I was in decided to take a break so the vocalist can work out some issues he was having with his wife. He was missing allot of practices because of it. About a month latter I was in a record store with my girlfriend, and she was in the local music section and she says to me "Hey, when did you guys record an album?" I walk over thinking "What are you talking about?" They recorded a record during the break without me. The guitar player did the bass tracks and used my gear to do it. No wonder every time I called to pick it up he told me he was busy and he would call me when I could come down and get it.

When I called him asking about the recording he just said they decided to go in a different direction.

Not a big deal though. The band fell apart a month after that anyways.

MatticusMania · #19 07-16-2009, 12:19 PM

Well my band is on the verge of breakup right now. Actually we'll most likely be splitting into 2 bands. The drummer, lead guitarist, and keys player had formed a side band together. Me & the other guitarist had arranged a band meet for tonite to finally bring things to an end. Last night I got a text from the keys player (most likely intended for the lead player and not me) saying that he has found a few bassists who might be interested in their side project. Tonite their side project will become their main project.

wildhorse · #20 07-16-2009, 12:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lunchbox4u_6

I checked my email one day to see that the bandleader had decieded to breakup the band. I called him and he said he just didn't feel like doing the band thing anymore. Okay, no problem, it hurts a little, but he was doing the singer/songwriter thing long before we met. Fast forward a few months and see that he's still playing with all the other guys and i'm the only one out. I still don't know why as i could never get a straight answer out of him. He stopped returning phone calls to just hang out and when i asked to get my in ear monitors back, he mailed them to me rather than just dropping them by.

it was all very strange, and the worst part is that i feel like i lost a friend and i don't really know what happened.

I wrote a song regarding this same type situation: It's called Egotistical Mother Trucker. It seems verses keep coming as life goes on.