Aaaaaarrrrgh! My guitarist is an idiot!

Now he wants me to play some of his lead guitar parts -- "cuz they're too hard!"

I can't stand it anymore!

 

I am going to address as many of your replies as I can:

No, I am not young -- I am 27 and have been in a band for about 4 or 5 of the seven years that I have been playing. Part of my income comes from the band that I am currently in.

No, I am not just now finding out that my guitarist is an idiot, it's just becoming increasingly intolerable.

No, I don't mind playing lead guitar stuff on my bass -- except for the fact that if I have to play the bass parts and the guitar solos, why the hell do we even need a guitar player? Also, it boggles my mind that no one but me (within my band, mind you) has a problem with it when my guitarist says, "Why don't you play that part since you already know it and I don't." The only reason I know the d*mn part is because I had to learn it in order to show it to his dumb a*s! How much is a lead guitarist worth when the bassist has to work out his solos for him?

Not that I am a glory hog by any means, but I will end up playing his parts for him and he will still have half the crowd and most of the chicks over on his side screaming, "Woo hoo! Dude, you rule!"

Lastly, it is not as easy as simply finding another band. IT IS NOT EASY TO FIND BANDS AND/OR SERIOUS MUSICIANS IN MY AREA and a move is not in the cards right now.

I just needed to vent before I exploded. I apologize if I got any on you.

 

I made a decision this afternoon about my band, after attending our annual Octoberfest street celebration in my city and watching a "party-type" band perform for about fifteen minutes. My decision? That is what I want to do. My guitarist and drummer call it "pimping yourself," but I am too good and have been playing too long to still be where I am today.

I have said it before in some of my posts: If you are not in a party-type cover band, you can't make it around here (where I am). The same two or three bands get all of the radio support (promos, remotes, airplay) and media attention* and the local bands are left to do their own thing. There is one bar (inside of a handful of neighboring cities and towns) that caters to original bands, but they put restrictions on those bands as well. You want to be a successful original band? Put together a list of about 35 or 40 covers and then throw in 5 of your own. If your 5 songs get over, you're a successful original band.

Anyway, call it pimping myself, call it being a musical whore, call it a sellout, call it whatever you want -- I love seeing people out and dancing and having fun and singing along with the band and I am going to concentrate my efforts on finding or assembling a band with the same goals and ideas as mine, even if it takes me another seven years. Eventually I do want to concentrate on my own original songs, but in the meantime, I want to have fun and be gigging regularly. Plus, the original songs I have written aren't fitting into what my current band wants to do, because they are not all "doom and gloom," they are actually somewhat "musical" (even though we are a cover band called Brass Munkey, everyone insists on being as dark as possible).

*www.vicferrari.com, www.fortunetalent.com, www.yoyoz.com

 

I agree with you munj -- I didn't say I thought being in a cover band and especially catering to the audience was pimping myself, that's what the rest of my band thinks. They want to play covers, but they don't want to play the covers that the audience wants to hear. Rather than take an original song and put our own spin on it, they would prefer to do what I call covers of covers (example: Creed's version of "I'm Eighteen" or MM's version of "Surrender"). IMO, there is a proven formula for being successful in a cover band and at this stage in my "career," there is no excuse for a band that has been around as long as we have and doing what we do, not being more popular than we are.

 

UPDATE: I have put together an ad and a possible set-list, in order to pursue starting a "party-type" band. In the week since my ad went up, I have had one call from a guy that "really wants to start a heavy metal cover band" and one guy that says, "When I walk into a room or a restaurant, everyone tells me I look like Brad Pitt."

I guess I'm in for a long, bumpy ride.

 

Today I heard through a rival band that I have been fired from my current band (actually, I heard that they are looking for a replacement -- I haven't been outright fired). If this isn't the absolute sh*ts! Yeah, the guys I am with suck and will never, ever be more than a piss-poor cover band, but to be fired because I want to do more than we're currently doing? And to find out I am fired through another band's singer? Damn I'm mad!

Well, I guess I can pursue my new band without any fear of repercussions. I've got an interested drummer and an interested singer. Now, if I could just find a decent guitarist...