• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Band Commitment

#41
current band practices 1x a week. We have 6 gigs booked over the next 6 months. The Goal is to get 2-3 gigs/month and we are always adding new materiel to the set list.

I am the last man in. The rest of the guys go way back (cousins and such). Since they are family, they get along very well.

Learning new stuff can be rough. No one likes to spend a whole night at practice working on just 2 or 3 songs, but that is how we get them down.
 
#42
Band has gigs; practices 1x/week with hopes to add more gigs & material.

My initial goal was to form a band and become rock stars.

Years laterand some maturity...

My histotry decades back was with a "serious" all-originals band. Started at 1-2 x per week..ended up 6-7 days and still; wan't enough. Great songs and talent very few songs. We rehearsed them to death over 6 months.

As I did not write tunes, own P A nor own practice house, I had few "rights" within the band. Eventually, all my spare time after working a labor intensive full-time job, was spent with this band. I misssed a beautiful Spring and Summer as well as precious time away from my family and friends..even off-time was expected to be spent clubbing with band members.

I was proud of this band, our sound and THEIR songs. After a brief positive visit from my former band and ocassional visit from co-workers and friends, I was informed that I had no right to invite anyone and that all future practices were CLOSED to anyone except immediate family and girl friends..I had no GF..SO.... There I was with the band exclusively after work and each weeknd after 12 noon.

After several intense months of reharesing these great originals, suddenly we began to include covers, as at that time there were essentially no venues for originals except for full arena pros.

In short time wewent from all originals to all covers. After a few gigs..a couple of weeks at original Underground Atlanta,
I was told band was ready to hit the road. I was given the ultimatum: Either I quit my job or quit the band.

I had expenses and nothing to fall back on..so I quit... cut my waist length hair.

I will NEVER COMMIT TO A BAND WITHOUT $$ BEING THE SHORT TERM GOAL AND QUICKLY.

Years later, I joined a country band...casual..as needed practices. We learned over 400 songs..Rock band cover -perfect..NO.. but we played out and made $$$.

Anyone who wants "commitment" from me better offer a contract.
 
#43
zon6c-f said:
Band has gigs; practices 1x/week with hopes to add more gigs & material.

My initial goal was to form a band and become rock stars.

Years laterand some maturity...

My histotry decades back was with a "serious" all-originals band. Started at 1-2 x per week..ended up 6-7 days and still; wan't enough. Great songs and talent very few songs. We rehearsed them to death over 6 months.

As I did not write tunes, own P A nor own practice house, I had few "rights" within the band. Eventually, all my spare time after working a labor intensive full-time job, was spent with this band. I misssed a beautiful Spring and Summer as well as precious time away from my family and friends..even off-time was expected to be spent clubbing with band members.

I was proud of this band, our sound and THEIR songs. After a brief positive visit from my former band and ocassional visit from co-workers and friends, I was informed that I had no right to invite anyone and that all future practices were CLOSED to anyone except immediate family and girl friends..I had no GF..SO.... There I was with the band exclusively after work and each weeknd after 12 noon.

After several intense months of reharesing these great originals, suddenly we began to include covers, as at that time there were essentially no venues for originals except for full arena pros.

In short time wewent from all originals to all covers. After a few gigs..a couple of weeks at original Underground Atlanta,
I was told band was ready to hit the road. I was given the ultimatum: Either I quit my job or quit the band.

I had expenses and nothing to fall back on..so I quit... cut my waist length hair.

I will NEVER COMMIT TO A BAND WITHOUT $$ BEING THE SHORT TERM GOAL AND QUICKLY.

Years later, I joined a country band...casual..as needed practices. We learned over 400 songs..Rock band cover -perfect..NO.. but we played out and made $$$.

Anyone who wants "commitment" from me better offer a contract.
Click to expand...

Red flag, more rehearsals than gigs.

Blue
 
#44
Again.. another poster Bluewine said in one sentence what I illustrated in paragraphs.

Felt good to vent, though..LOL..

Importantly for newbies following this:

As Bluewine posted: If more rehearsals / Practices than gigs..RED FLAG...Move on..better yet RUN before too much time is wasted.
 
#45
zon6c-f said:
Again.. another poster Bluewine said in one sentence what I illustrated in paragraphs.

Felt good to vent, though..LOL..

Importantly for newbies following this:

As Bluewine posted: If more rehearsals / Practices than gigs..RED FLAG...Move on..better yet RUN before too much time is wasted.
Click to expand...

I think newbies should be aware that there are some BLs out there that want nothing more than to play "Rock Star Band Leader" in their basement.

These are usually the guys that run when a real gig turns up and they will turn it down and tell you the band isn't ready.

Blue
 
#47
We practice twice a week, and if everyone can't show up to a practice that's life, we take time and write more stuff without them and then get em up to speed at the next one. We used to play out a lot and write infrequently and play the same tired setlist and our shows started to suffer for it. So we kicked out the least dedicated member (our rhythm guitarist who never practiced outside of the band) and started making our practices really regimented and focused, going through our older material and tightening up the parts we always took for granted as sloppy and putting our newest stuff under a magnifying glass to bring it up to the level we want it to be. Having been in this band for three years I can honestly say this is the first time we've started taking all this stuff super seriously. None of us care if we make any money or not, this is entirely for the love of the art and the betterment of the band as a whole.
 
#48
Tensions are starting to run a little high in one band. With the exception of our very good lead singer who is in his late 20s, everyone else is in their mid-50s to 60-ish. We are booked 'til the end of the year with at least 1 gig a month, which is perfect for most of us. The BL/LG and 1 or 2 others (we're an 8-pc band) want to gig as much as possible, every weekend if they could. He can't understand why we don't want to gig all the time and has started making waves about finding other members that are on the same page. To which, we've said, "go ahead". One of "our" guys is responsible for the best-paying gig(s) in our regular rotation, so we could survive a shake-up. One of the others on the BL's side is the back-up singer, who is terrible. As far as LGs go, the BL isn't that good, either.

I've told my co-worker, who brought me into the band, that I know of 2 guys who can both sing & play lead. We could re-form the band with either of these guys, reduce down to 5 or 6, thus improving our $$ cut, and be a better band in the end.

Problem is, this co-worker is a life-long friend of the BL/LG going back 50+ years, so I don't think it'll come to that. This despite the fact that he agrees the back-up singer (another longtime friend) & the BL/LG are probably the 2 weakest links in the band.

Those of us on the "infrequent gig schedule" side are still committed. We take our music responsibilities seriously. With spouses, partners, children &/or grandchildren, other interests, etc., we don't want or need to be out gigging every weekend.

Ironically, despite his level of "commitment", if someone is going to miss a chord change during a song, it's *usually* not one of us, but the BL/LG!
 
#50
bluewine said:
Unless you guys are still in your teens and trying to make it, who would practice twice a week if your not making any money.

" It's art when the check clears"
Andy Warhol


blue
Click to expand...

We're all in our early to late 20s. we do this because we love it and like pushing ourselves musically. We make enough money to put back into the band merch and occasionally pay for gas. This is DIY so while the financial aspect can be frustrating sometimes it's ultimately rewarding because we get so much else out of it.
 
#52
Duckwater said:
Not at all. My band is just full of not very serious musicians, they are all very talented but it is more of a fun experience than anything. I like to practice a few hours a day where as they like to practice a few hours a week.
Click to expand...

I don't know if you have this option, but wouldn't a band experience be better if you were playing with serious players with your level of disipline?

Blue
 
#53
Caeros said:
We're all in our early to late 20s. we do this because we love it and like pushing ourselves musically. We make enough money to put back into the band merch and occasionally pay for gas. This is DIY so while the financial aspect can be frustrating sometimes it's ultimately rewarding because we get so much else out of it.
Click to expand...

I may have felt the same way when I was that age. That was well over 30 years ago.

Now, I like all the rewards, all the "so much else" stuff, the opportunity work and collaborate with 3 other talented musicians but also getting paid.

Blue
 
#55
This, and usually they have spent an insane amount on equipment they will never use outside there basement, tightening up songs for a gig they will never play, because "It just isn't tight enough!" ;-) - 5 guitars, brand new PA's, 3 guitard amps, etc... if you see it RUN.

Usually real gigging bands don't have all new equipment, because they actually USE it, so some of it will be beat to SH*t. Matter of fact the best bands I played with had the crappiest equipment.

In fact any band that wants to practice more than 1x a week is a HUGE warning flag in my book (for cover bands at least). Good players should be able to settle on a list, rehearse it 3 times and then gig. I kid you not.
bluewine said:
I think newbies should be aware that there are some BLs out there that want nothing more than to play "Rock Star Band Leader" in their basement.

These are usually the guys that run when a real gig turns up and they will turn it down and tell you the band isn't ready.

Blue
Click to expand...
 
#57
obimark said:
In fact any band that wants to practice more than 1x a week is a HUGE warning flag in my book (for cover bands at least). Good players should be able to settle on a list, rehearse it 3 times and then gig. I kid you not.
Click to expand...

Couldn't agree more. I'm at the point where I just won't have it any other way if its a cover band. It's really not that big of a deal.

I just quit a band that promised 3 rehearsals and a gig, but then when you show up ready to go, its one song after another breaking down with someone saying, "Yeah, I guess I need to work on that". What a bunch of BS and a waste of time and effort.

One rehearsal like that is enough for me. When I was younger I put up with it for some reason, but not anymore.
 
#58
I don't like the word "Committment" because it means different things to different people.

I was in a trio, playing classic rock, blues standards and a few country songs. The lead vocals for most of the night were handled by the drummer, but he was a terrible singer. I mean, cringeworthy. But he refused to even try to work on it, and wouldn't agree to look into bringing in a real singer. He even denied that his singing was anything less than "good", using the argument that he'd heard other bands on the local circuit and "I know I'm better than them". He even recorded one of the worst performances on DVD, and gave out copied to club owners as if it was a press kit, evidently oblibious to the fact that it was really terrible.

To my way of thinking, his bad singing and his counterproductive attitude were signs of a lack of committment. Likewise, he thought I was uncommitted because I saw the band as my second band, which he didn't like (my main band at the time was paying actual money and didn't sound like junk).

Anyway, he and I saw "committment" differently. Talent-wise, this was a hobby level band, but admitting that would have been a blow to someone's ego - someone who was committed to self delusion and being creatively stagnant.
 
#59
Ha ha....

I have a gig this Saturday night with a new band (I'm just filling in for the regular guy)...and it will be preceded by two practices only. All 70's classic rock and some 80's/90's rock.

I'm not worried. The lead guitarist is also the lead guitarist in my Country band. The hardest song I have to play is Hit Me With Your Best Shot so it's gonna be a cruise control night.

But I would agree, if you're all familiar with the songs it shouldn't take more than a handful of practices before you can get out and play a show. It's when you're going into a completely unfamiliar genre or you're dealing with rookie players that you need that boot camp practice schedule.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back