Yet another band dilemma (choosing between two bands)

walknbluez · #1 03-29-2009, 11:50 PM

Trying to get some outside perspectives here. I've got a family and work and so playing music is for fun and for occasional gigs (like once every couple of months), therefore I can only play/rehearse once a week which is why I have to choose. But I do want to gig and don't just want to "stay in the garage"

Band A

Brief history: We were together about 8 months ago, then guitar player said he didn't want to play music anymore (that was his excuse). Drummer and I think it was because on our last gig we finished a half hour early and guitarist wanted to do some repeats and drummer and I refuse to do repeats. Club owner didn't care but guitar player "was embarrassed". He was also going through a demotion at work at the time as well as an attempt to quit smoking, but regardless of the reason, he wanted to stop. I recently contacted him, he said he missed playing and wanted to get back together. Called the drummer, he said sure. Other than that for the most part we have good chemistry, tight, great vocals, giggable right away, drummer easy to play with, mix of originals/covers, creative opportunities to write more songs. Guitar player occasionally gets passive/aggresive (happened like 3 or 4 times in 8 months). Not my first choice of music, but it does rock and has power (his vocals remind some people of a Paul Rogers/Bad Co type). Its a trio and the other players aren't really open to expanding that, so not as colorful as Band B.

Band B

All covers but usually they choose the not so common, side B songs. Two guitar players, one sounds just like Jerry Garcia and I love the Grateful Dead. Vocals are pretty good, giggable but not impressively powerful. Great, laid back guys and they do consider us "a band" and we're friends. Looking at inviting a keyboardist over. One of the guitar players will probably consistently miss practices (like maybe once a month). Drummer is good but for some reason we don't always lock and I can't figure out why. They aren't on the fast train to gigging and they've brought it up in a "yeah, that would be cool" sort of way. I'd say it would probably take a while before we had enough songs and were tight enough to gig.

I'm leaning toward getting back together with Band A. We got together last week and it was like an old shoe and we sounded pretty good. But then there is the issue of telling Band A.....they will be disappointed and I've never had to do this before.

I'm interested in the thoughts of my talkbass brethren with regard to choosing and how to tell the band you're departing.

BillyRay · #2 03-30-2009, 12:16 AM

I'm very much not a fan of hobby bands having more than 4 musicians. There's really no reason to have 2 guitarist, a bassist, a drummer and a keyboardist on boat if the vocals aren't impressive.

The thing that seperates a decent band from a good band are the vocals. And what is the divider between good bands and great ones ? You guessed it, vocals.

Band A is a no-brainer for me. Band B will probably be drama filled and never amount to antyhing (people missing practice left and right, too much people, etc.) Musicians get together consistently to work for two reasons:

a) Cash.
b) Cash + maybe the hang and music.

Since this will be a hobby band that doesn't gig a whole much, the less people involved, the more ready you are to gig and the more polished you sound/feel, the better. Getting such a band off the ground (informal, yet not a garage affair) is probably tougher than a serious band to play high paying gigs. In such instances, you'll have more people with work ethic and experience because they don't want to hurt their income.

MNAirHead · #3 03-30-2009, 12:32 AM

A sounds like the one that you're leaning toward..

Neither of them sounds overly motivating...

ARe there any other projects out there you're interested in doing?

walknbluez · #4 03-30-2009, 12:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MNAirHead

A sounds like the one that you're leaning toward..

Neither of them sounds overly motivating...

ARe there any other projects out there you're interested in doing?

I was fairly motivated with B when I first started but after a month or two, I wasn't.

A has always been motivating for me because they're committed and want to do some gigs, create etc. This isn't about money for any of us.

In between each of these, I was in another project but it had so so vocals. There is currently nothing on the horizon other than these two.

ChrisB2 · #5 03-30-2009, 06:27 AM

Sounds like the bottom line is, you want to go back to Band A but don't want to quit Band B. I know how you feel. I rarely quit anything because once I get involved with something, quitting becomes almost impossible for me. The few times I've quit something important, I've found you just make the decision and consider it settled (I think you already know what the decision is). Then it's just a matter of going through whatever mechanics the situation calls for, without looking back or wringing your hands over the decision. Good luck!

walknbluez · #6 03-30-2009, 11:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChrisB2

Sounds like the bottom line is, you want to go back to Band A but don't want to quit Band B. I know how you feel. I rarely quit anything because once I get involved with something, quitting becomes almost impossible for me. The few times I've quit something important, I've found you just make the decision and consider it settled (I think you already know what the decision is). Then it's just a matter of going through whatever mechanics the situation calls for, without looking back or wringing your hands over the decision. Good luck!

Thanks, man...I think you hit the nail on the head. The fact that all of the guys in Band B are great guys, talented, etc makes it even harder. I just don't know how to tell them.