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Bandmate pet peeves

Two come to mind....
1. At bar gigs, when our drummer unrolls his carpet and it is way too far over into my area. We are a trio and there should be equal space on both sides of the carpet. Hello? I think he does this when I am outside shlepping gear in.

And when he goes outside to get one last thing, I drag the carpet 2 feet to the left. He never notices.
 
- Lack of structure to original songs due to other band mates' laziness... To date, it's my biggest peeve. Not knowing where transitions are supposed to happen or how a song is DEFINITIVELY supposed to end drives me up the wall. To have performances in this fashion is ridiculous to me, but nobody else in the band seems to think it's all that important.
I was in a band like this. The drummer was the leader and would come up with "song parts" on bass during his lunch breaks. Then he would literally string the parts together at random with the bassist with no plan or progression to them. As the singer it drove me crazy because it was so difficult to form a cohesive set of lyrics.
 
For me it's a stupid thing I call "the sizeup"

When you meet new players for the first time, and there's this initial period of mistrust and competition to measure everyone up. Like a cocky ritual to see who's got the chops, who's gonna call the shots. It's like a bad 80s high school movie.
 
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i can't believe people are arguing about being late!

there should be no discussion!

when you are late when you said you would be there, you are making people wait and thus wasting their time!

as a person with 2 jobs, 2 kids, 2 bands and a big family, my time is valuable. when you are late, you are telling me that my time is less valuable than yours. YOU ARE SAYING THAT YOU ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN OTHER PEOPLE!!!

sorry, there should be no debate on this - it's just plain rude.
 
i can't believe people are arguing about being late!

there should be no discussion!

when you are late when you said you would be there, you are making people wait and thus wasting their time!

as a person with 2 jobs, 2 kids, 2 bands and a big family, my time is valuable. when you are late, you are telling me that my time is less valuable than yours. YOU ARE SAYING THAT YOU ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN OTHER PEOPLE!!!

sorry, there should be no debate on this - it's just plain rude.
No its not. You're being rude by being so uptight about people being late. It's your issue. Nor theirs.

That was sarcastic- in case anyone didn't see my previous post.
 
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Mine are the same as most of the others:
  • Incessant noodling between songs
  • Lateness (I am tolerant for up to 15 minutes or so when it happens occasionally, but not a continuous thing)
  • Not learning the material
  • Constant tweaking of pedals or amp
  • Stepping on others' sonic space (usually mine!)
That being said, I have been lucky to work and play with many fine musicians and good people over the years, that most of the above points have not been major issues.
 
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Another one is when people refer to speaker cabinets as "amps". :rollno:


No its not. You're being rude by being so uptight about people being late. It's your issue. Nor theirs.

That was sarcastic- in case anyone didn't see my previous post.
I actually sympathize with the other guy in your last post :P Though I'll admit than an hour is pushing it way too far.
 
Think about it, regarding yourself and things that bother you most about people.
Totally cool if it doesn't fit. And I have great respect for the attitude that I see in your posts here, so please don't consider it a personal attack.
For myself - I find that often it does fit. Not always.
I am peeved by people who interrupt me. But (especially when I'm excited or angry) I do interrupt people. Being honest with myself, I do have selfish tendencies that I am striving to change - and blatantly selfish people bother me. People who are convinced of their own rightness bother me, especially when I know I'm right! (see what I did there...). So that's how it works for me.
My personal spiritual path can be described as "working to be less of a dick". So when something (especially something fairly small - not like the bombing of a nightclub or the murder of a child, but rather a person in the grocery line), I try to take it as an opportunity to look at *why* I am upset by it - not what *it* is, but what in me takes on the upset. Sometimes I find it's something I sometimes do (and no not like in) myself.
Just my take.
 
Musicians that(read: guitarist) ruin FOH mix.
Sound tech gets everyone's levels just right for FOH, pre show.
12 seconds into the first song musician excessively cranks up their stage volume.
Rest of the evening is spent with that musician and sound guy having a tug of war or until
sound guy throws up his hands and walks out.
 
I have a friend with a sister who was always late-- a full hour late, every time, no matter what the occasion, nor how many people were waiting. I have no idea how she kept a job (if indeed she did). He finally began lying to her and telling her that appointments were an hour earlier than they really were, so that they had a chance of being on time. It worked for a while at least. Then he got married and moved away, so the problem reverted to being her own.

There may be societies in which punctuality is unimportant (In fact, I know there are...) but ours is not one of them. Everything we do is pretty much dominated by the clock. Entertainment, travel, shopping, medicine, meals, work...you name it. There is a reason why the old saying goes "Time and Tide wait for no man." (among many others)

We only have about a two-foot tide in Portland, but when we go to launch a 500' barge, we need every inch of it. So the launch is timed to correspond to the highest part of the tide, especially in the summer, when the river is lower. We really have no choice.
()

Being on time is a survival skill in today's culture...and it always has been in certain industries and fields of endeavor.
 
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I may be at odds with some but here you go...

I get frustrated at bands that are put together for fun...hobby projects...where there is a member that feels like we have to be 100% prepared when coming to rehearsal. I could understand if the same issues keep coming up but hobby projects are just that...fun things to do when we have a break from kids, work, life.

Feel free to bash me now ;-)
My pet peeve is based on this: the "professional" musician. I use quotation marks because he's not a pro, but thinks he is. He's condescending and his suggestions are in fact demands. A band meant to be fun becomes not fun.
 
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i can't believe people are arguing about being late!

there should be no discussion!

when you are late when you said you would be there, you are making people wait and thus wasting their time!

as a person with 2 jobs, 2 kids, 2 bands and a big family, my time is valuable. when you are late, you are telling me that my time is less valuable than yours. YOU ARE SAYING THAT YOU ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN OTHER PEOPLE!!!

sorry, there should be no debate on this - it's just plain rude.

This is I think a majority within musicians. Pro and amateurs alike. They don't get it that the BAR OWNER, or the ones who provides you with gig, cannot maybe accept anyone being late, because otherwise there's absolutely no reason to set a time that we should a) play b) rehearse c) drive to another location 4-5 hours away. d) train, public transport stops to run. I was in a band where one of these tardiness people existed and he was mad about people thinking such things matters one hour here and there. The audience sure think it matters if you're one or two hours late. If anyone feels stressed and not relaxed about having to keep time (whatever, in music or everyday life) then music isn't a thing for them. Period. Now, this guy got sacked, due to this, and started a band of his own where ALL MEMBERS in the band was like that. One hour here and there didn't matter, and guess what? If ALL of them are like that, sure enough, they got mad at each other, because no one showed up in remotely appropriate time, and didn't think they had to communicate with cell phone and give them a call that "hey I am a bit late". Because that one seemed to made them stressed out and nervuos and heart rate going ballistic. Now, that band didn't last for more than a weel, because everyone was like that. No one gave a f*. Of course, they couldn't get gigs at all, since bar owners where mad at them. They don't seem to get that they're just taking advantages and parasites on all the others that makes it on time. Mostly, when regarding gigs, they deliberately show up late, so they don't have to haul gear, which will probably make them have a heart attack. They don't think they're making use, impoe on, the rest of the people that pulls weight. They don't get that a band full of tardy people just will not cut it, and it's no reason for them to have band at all. They should just sit right home in their bedroom and do music on their DAWS, and do an occasional jam at a rehearsal space/party that is open 24/7 for everyone to invite.

This is an example of why "professional" reggae acts are not likely to tour the circuit. I've only experienced Scandinavian venues, when they hired bands like "Black Uhuru" and such. They even missed their flights from Jamaica and didn't turn up for the European tour. They thought they could skip the first few gigs, and just carry on, when the 3-4 gigs. The managing and tour company didn't want this, so they were sent home instead, again, and cancelled concerts and paid money back. Those reggae acts that actually makes it for some strange reason, are starting their shows way late. They wait until they're bonged out totally, and just waits for the "right feel" to entering the stage, and keeps the audience waiting for hours on end. That's mainly why tour promoters have not taking on them, and bring them on tour or any concert alike. The audience detects this, and when they finally enters the stage, the general vibe of the audience has soured so much, no matter how much the acts has waited in the wings to get bonged out and waited to the "right feel" in them to occur, so they can go on stage. That feel hasn't turned the audience from being soured, to a wowed audience, at no time.

There are numerous professional acts (Chris Squire and Axl Rose) that has a infamous reputation for lateness. Me myself doesn't play to impress other musicians in the band, and no one can come across with that towards me either. There's absolutely no one that has had so many advantageous traits as a musician, that I would keep him, but with that tardiness intact. I have no problem with musicians trying to get better at it. It's all part and parcel of the rehearsal practice anyway.


- - - - - - -

Mind you, this is most important. Not ever once has one of these people complained to me (and no one else, as it is) that I've been on time.

Suck on that for a while.
 
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At packup time: When the first thing they do is spend ages coiling leads, because they have to drag the leads out from under amps and cabs; and toppling things over as they again drag a lead that's coiled around drum stands.

Here's what we do now at pack up time:
1. Van owner goes and gets the van and backs it up as close to the gig as possible. Seriously, close-enough isn't good enough. 5mins manœvering of a powered vehicle is worth every second spent and step saved.
2. Meanwhile, the rest of the band disconnects everything. Everything!
3. Everybody lugs the big stuff into the van.
4. Over a round of drinks, everyone coils the leads. An easy task now there is a completely clear stage.
 
My list is too long to post here.

My biggest issues have been with leader-less bands, or bands with someone who claimed to be the BL but did little to back it up.

Without standards and expectations, people tend to do whatever they please, and that leads directly to most of the "pet peeves" being expressed on this thread.

Chaotic undisciplined bands seem to suck the fun right out of it for me. I'd rather work with someone who held people accountable and kept everyone focused on shared goals.
 
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