I disagree. I’m 52, and most if not all the bands I’ve played with have been the democratic model. We’re all adults with our own talents and skills, and we’re all responsible for outcomes.
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Band leader
- Thread starter GeorgesEric
- Start date
Every good band I’ve ever played with has had an effective bandleader. And I’ve also played for at least one lousy band leader - but not for long.
There are different levels of membership in bandcraft. Creative is one thing. But the extent to which a member wants to be considered ‘bandleader’ depends on how he/she handles the business end of things: bookings and the associated negotiations therefor. The member who wants control of creative decisions but does not negotiate and secure gigs works at the pleasure of the member who keeps the band busy playing good gigs. Period. A working arrangement between the two must be established if the band is to be successful. A real BL finds gigs.
Everyone can get gigs.. everyone suggests numbers, everyone runs a diary.
All thats left is any get togethers.
How hard can it be... electonic communication is quite a thing these days.
However, the worse experience was a guy from New York, great singer but what a tool.
He thought he was the bandleader too but he zero skills outside of vox..
his gtr playing was awful but he tried to teach basslines..lol
All thats left is any get togethers.
How hard can it be... electonic communication is quite a thing these days.
However, the worse experience was a guy from New York, great singer but what a tool.
He thought he was the bandleader too but he zero skills outside of vox..
his gtr playing was awful but he tried to teach basslines..lol
Every band I've been in has had some sort of leader. Most have been pretty democratically minded and serve more as a cat herder and tie breaker than a despot. I just don't think it can work out if someone doesn't take responsibility for the direction of the band. Without some sort of ultimate decisionmaker, it's easy for "I thought your were taking care of that" to happen.
If you have people who want to play and gig, its easy. The song choice is offered by the singer and if they sing them well, they likely get passed.
You have picked the players because they are into the musical direction that is on the table.
Everyone pitches in.
You have picked the players because they are into the musical direction that is on the table.
Everyone pitches in.
Always remember this: If you can’t sing it, you can’t play it.
Well, that's all motherhood and apple pie, but who decides which person is responsible for which outcomes? If you finish the gig and it looks like the bar owner isn't going to pay you, who goes after the money you're owed? If one person consistently screws up and makes no effort to fix the problem, who tells him he's fired? When the trailer carrying all your equipment to an out of town gig has a wheel bearing seize up, who arranges for the gear to get where it needs to go? Who arranges the repair? Who writes the check out of the band checking account?
If you're playing and the ASCAP rep finds out the bar didn't pay their fee, who puts together a public-domain set list on the fly and gets it done? If one person thinks such-and-such a tune ought to be a slow funky tune and another one thinks it ought to be a medium tempo swinger, who decides how it's going to be performed? If the audience one night wants to dance dance dance to up tempo tunes and shows that they hate your slow tunes, who edits the set list on the fly to drop all the ballads and pull some more hot dance numbers out of the book to make up the set?
Yes, you can settle these kinds of things in the "democratic" model, but it takes many times longer and doesn't guarantee better results.
I'd like to hear if anyone has good examples of commonwealth bands that have been successful at the highest levels, without breaking up or transitioning to a strong-leader model.
That's BS. Do you REALLY think everyone who plays Donna Lee at tempo can sing it?
Talking about a band in general, mate. Moreover, classic jazz, classic rock, classic R&B, and classic pop answer to completely different audiences. If you can’t sell whatever it is you’re doing, you’re in over your head anyway.
I've been in all three situations.
1) Band leader - Don't want that job again. It's a thankless endless sea of complaints.
2) Worked for band leaders - If the BL is a good one, this is actually my favorite scenario. I don't have to handle anything and get treated well. The pro band I was in for a decade had two co-owners. They were awesome to work for. I would do that again in a minute if I ever get hungry enough to need to play for a living. I've also worked (briefly) for weirdos. No fun.
3) Democracies- It's nice to "rank equally" with everyone from a pride standpoint. But this has its drawbacks as well. Even in the best of situations there are disagreements over everything from music to how much we'll play to how far we'll travel to how much we'll charge to how often we'll rehearse. I'm currently in the best democratic band I've ever been in. I love my band mates like family. But even we get into it over some stuff. It's not bad arguments or anything. But we're all passionate about where we stand. Sometimes I wish anyone but me was just "in charge".
Fortunately, we don’t have to agree here, friend. I was discussing a practical matter regarding the development of band repertoires. It has been true enough for me over many years. I encourage you to do it any way you please, because why should I care?
I play in a 19 piece big band. We have one person who manages the band, meaning they're ready to take care of everything that nobody else volunteers for, including:
* Running the rehearsals
* Sending out scheduling announcements
* Section leaders find players for their section
* Choosing charts for each gig, with plenty of input from the band
* Managing the library (thousands of charts)
This guy is the reason that rehearsals and gigs all run smoothly. He's a retired high school band director. Most of the players experienced school band ourselves, so we have a shared set of expectations for how a band works. We come together and do it. Rehearsals are collegial, but very little time is wasted. It has to be efficient, we have 2 rehearsals to prepare for each gig, and about 1/2 of each gig's sets are new material.
Some tasks are handled by other band members, such as the PA, and additional publicity. Anybody can book a gig for the band, but we have an expectation for pay.
I've told people: Everything I know about being a professional musician, I learned in middle school band.
There are bands that naturally divide "artistic" and "business" leadership. There are bands whose only permanent member is the bandleader. There are "pick up" gigs, where the band plays standards, and the gig pretty much plays itself.
Wedding and corporate gigs require a bit more interaction with the client, including a contract, all handled by the bandleader.
* Running the rehearsals
* Sending out scheduling announcements
* Section leaders find players for their section
* Choosing charts for each gig, with plenty of input from the band
* Managing the library (thousands of charts)
This guy is the reason that rehearsals and gigs all run smoothly. He's a retired high school band director. Most of the players experienced school band ourselves, so we have a shared set of expectations for how a band works. We come together and do it. Rehearsals are collegial, but very little time is wasted. It has to be efficient, we have 2 rehearsals to prepare for each gig, and about 1/2 of each gig's sets are new material.
Some tasks are handled by other band members, such as the PA, and additional publicity. Anybody can book a gig for the band, but we have an expectation for pay.
I've told people: Everything I know about being a professional musician, I learned in middle school band.
There are bands that naturally divide "artistic" and "business" leadership. There are bands whose only permanent member is the bandleader. There are "pick up" gigs, where the band plays standards, and the gig pretty much plays itself.
Wedding and corporate gigs require a bit more interaction with the client, including a contract, all handled by the bandleader.
So in a "democracy" band what do you do when a guy staggers up to the bandstand waving a fistful of money and offers to pay you to play another set? Who decides? Better decide quickly and definitively, the drummer's already taken his cymbals off. No time for three rounds of debate and a vote.
15mins max extra. no other set option.
The vox are done anyway and the set has been geared to build to a finish.
Any extras are adhoc so a quick discussion on the number or 2 and thats it.
Well, the singer and the lead guitar player are looking at those 20s and 50s and drooling. "Why the heck CAN'T we play another set?"
Anyway, it's just another in a long list of ways that having a single band leader with the power to make decisions is, in my opinion, far more functional for a band that actually plays paying gigs and is composed of adults who have other things to do than sitting around arguing. Just my opinion.
