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Adding a member

S

Script3d Mus3

Apr 2, 2012
77
1
Oklahoma City, OK
www.facebook.com
Disclosures
Local Hero: MTD Kingston
#1
So, I'm so mad I'm shaking.

Me and the guys had been batting around the idea of bringing in a full time keyboard player, freeing up our lead screamer to just scream and work the crowd and not have to go back and play the keyboard parts that we have interlaced into our songs.

My only stipulation to doing this : It cant change the chemistry we have now.

Simple right?

So the Singer and drummer meet with the guy, and I get a super excited text from the singer (who is usually very impulsive) about how cool this guy is and how this guy is excited to join us and yada yada yada....

Another little ripple in this hole thing, we just finished an album, we have a whole media campaign coming up that involves videos, pictures, and a social media blitz. The photoshoot was booked two weeks ago, and now I am being told that this guy is going to be there at the shoot, and we are going to take some pictures with him in them and some pictures without him.

This was not run by me and I vehemently oppose this. To me it seems like we are already admitting this guy into the band and we haven't even played together yet. I feel like my stipulation about the chemistry and all that has been completly shelved. I mean ***?

This can't be fair to him either, what if we decide not to use him...I feel like it would be like saying "Hey, you're awesome and you're in the band now!", then after a practice with him "Psyche! we don't need you."

I'm I off base here?
 
#7
I don't know, dude, but I feel your pain. Just a couple days ago the drummer decided to invite some friend to play guitar with the band, and I was like "what? Now?".

I know the main thing about this band of mine is jamming and have fun, but I'd also like it to be a bit more formal, you know, with us actually rehearsing and writing songs. The drummer himself is pretty new to the band, and yet he wants to add an extra guitar player? We already have a lead guitarist, and the singer plays some rhythm guitar sometimes. Why do we need another guitar player for? It will sound crowded (probably messy if the new guy is not more musically advanced than us), not to mention the rehearsal space is good enough for four people, but it will be crammed with a fifth one.

Perhaps this is a sign that maybe I should move on and find a band a bit more focused on actually playing live than just jamming aimlessly and adding new members out of the blue.

Pity, because overall all the guys are pretty awesome, and fairly good at their roles.
 
#9
In my group, the core of the singer/guitarist, keyboardist, and myself has been steady since we started. In the meantime, we've had three steady and three sub drummers, a couple second guitarists, and now a second keyboard player.

There's always been an understanding - our group IS the singer/guitarist, keyboardist and myself, and everyone else is a musician playing with us. Other players come and go depending on what the situation needs.

The reality is that adding players typically doesn't work out, and it might take six months to find out. Even then, we might not want to use them in the studio, or include them in the songwriting process. So permanently making someone a full member is not a great idea for us, especially when we have nothing but an audition or two to go off of.
 
#12
Icey101 said:
dude....trying to keep everything just like it was, isnt really possible if your adding new members, its about evolution, you can fight it or go with it and help it grow better, whats the end goal, to keep everything the same or become a better band?
Click to expand...

Okay you sir have missed the point...I have already said that we had been batting the idea around, I'm okay with it, problem is he hasn't auditioned, has never played with us, and they are including him in the photo shoot as if he was already a member...which he is not
 
#13
They're taking photos at the Scheduled shoot, some with him, some without. Correct?
That is good, either way you're not wasting the shoot.
Your bandmates are enthusiastic about the new keys. I suggest you get on board with it and give it a fair shot.
Adding keys was agreed to by the band.
Sorry dude, but it comes across that you're upset somebody else found him first.

Again, just give it a fair shot. He could be brilliant. And if it's horrible, well there's no point being the first to point it out. It'll be obvious to everyone.

I fear you may alienate your bandmates otherwise.
 
#16
It's going to be tough to "fire him" if it turns out that he fails the audition, & he's already been included in band activities (like the photo shoot). Basically, from his point of view, he's being told that he's already "in". So, if it later turns out that he's not really in after all, it's going to be awkward.
 
#17
JohnMCA72 said:
It's going to be tough to "fire him" if it turns out that he fails the audition, & he's already been included in band activities (like the photo shoot). Basically, from his point of view, he's being told that he's already "in". So, if it later turns out that he's not really in after all, it's going to be awkward.
Click to expand...

Yea that's a majority of my protests...but whatever...I'll leave it to the super impulsive singer to tell him his services are no longer required
 
#18
Exactly. It won't be your mess to clean up. Impulsive people have the same right as the rest of us to make mistakes, and even then sometimes they make the right call. And if they choose not to learn from past errors, well that's their right as well.

Good luck with it.
 
#19
I agree with the others that say the dynamic will change regardless. However the onus lies with you as well to at least give the guy a shot. I understand your hesitation, and the upcoming crunch of album releases and media blitzes doesn't make it easier.

I think that it should be made clear to him that he is on a tryout basis and that his inclusion in the photoshoot is a best case scenario. If things don't work out, that's the way the cookie crumbles.

On the upside, you can hit him up for a portion of the costs of the shoot.. Just sayin'..
 

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