A Just Cause or Unprofessional?

This Thursday will make the 4th week that Ive been jamming with an oldies band.

I hooked up with these guys while networking at an open mic night. At the time, I thought they were pretty decent.

When they told me they wanted to play car shows, coorporate gigs, & make the A circut list, and would be ready and booked in 8 weeks, I bought into it & agreed to give them 8 weeks to see how things go.

What I hadnt known was the songs I sat in on were the same ones theyd been doing for 2 months.

So far in the time we've been playing the sax player has missed 2 rehearsals. Yesterdays was because he had a headache. I simply said "thats inexcusable." The drummer has missed one. Ironically it was one with the sax player. They showed up for 30 minutes sayin his breaks went out. I suggested that we at the least work on some harminazation, but that was to no avail either.

The other guys arent doing thier homework either. Seems like Im having to teach them what to do. You can just tell because theyre not playing the songs proporly. Leaving out certain things or just playing wrong rhythms, wrong intros and outro's (is that a legit term?) great example is tryin to do My Girl. I have to play the guitar line and the guitarist strums it very wrong. (Sorry James! I know James is gotta be sooooo pissed at me for that)

I was asked last night, if I thought we were making progress, I said no, and that people need to start doing their homework.

Ive been playing long enough to know that these guys arent going to be ready to play out anywhere at the end of 8 weeks. I know the right thing to do for my career would be to move on. But I did agree to give them 8 weeks. So a part of me thinks it'd be unprofessional to quit after only four.

Me quitting is the right thing to do yet at the same time I feel its not the right thing to do.

 

You're right I should've but I didnt this time. Im usually good at weeding this type of stuff out too.

 

Con

Like I said, Im usually good at picking up on the bull****. Ive done corporate gigs before, but they were sub work for me. So Im still a little bit in the dark about certain aspects of that market.

Im also sorry if I implied they were going to book corporate gigs at the end of 8 weeks. I can see how that was implied after rereading all of this. That wasnt my intention.

They want to start doing car shows and clubs in 8 weeks and work their way up to coorporate gigs.

But none the less, they wont be ready to play a house party in 4 more weeks let alone a car show or club.

Ive got my mind made up. Im gonna do rehearsal this Thursday with them, and that night tell them that I dont feel that this project is going to be ready in the time they specified and when they get it together and have booked gigs, Id be more than happy to learn the material and jump right in if the gigs meet my financial requirements.

Im not worried about the rep thing. Talked to Muji in a pm and he gave me some really legit reasons why it'd be worse/wrong to stick it out. Much along the lines of what anbassist and a few others have said too.

 

Well I told them last night (Sunday) that I wanted out of the band. Henry wasnt too happy about it.

Of course he tried talkin me into staying. He told me that they picked up a really good keyboardist on Thursday night and he'd be ready to play with the band in 3 weeks.

I was polite, and told him that would put us at the 7 week mark, there would just be no way even with him that we'd be ready to play out in 8 weeks.

I also then told him that Id be more than willing to play with them once they compiled a song list and got it down, as well as obtained gigs then Id be willing to jump back in.

He couldnt fathom this idea. He asked how would I get the starts and stops right if I wasnt there from the get go. So I explained to him how. He still said I wouldnt be able to. SO I ended it all and said if you really want me like you say you do, then get all that stuff worked out and then Ill be more than happy to join again.

Funny thing was as soon as I quit I heard Himey bashing me to Chad & Kim (the host of open jam) Chad even told me I did the right thing cause he knows they aint gonna go anywhere.

I cant help but question my decicion even though I know I made the right choice.


On a side note the cheap bastid wants the cd's he burned for me back. Ive been in many bands and none of them ever asked for that stuff back. I seriously doubt Im gonna give them back. After all they were after all a gift to me.

 

Im not too worried about things being smoothed over. Chad was tellin me they aint gonna go anywhere, my brother whos a very talented musician passed them by for the same reason, and quite a few of the better musicians there have all said they have no future in this buisiness, so the cd's are going to be my compensation for 4 weeks of dealing with them.