Being in a band that never rehearses..

[juancaminos]

A friend that I grew up with in California has a band that NEVER EVER rehearses. He surrounds himself with great players and they have a ball. I used to make the drive to play with them on occasion. I'd ask for a set list or song list but never ever got one. Just show up and play.

My band of 15 years only rehearsed maybe four or five times a year to freshen up the set list or to welcom in a new band member. That was it. We were all about playing on stage as a priority.

The first Arizona band I got serious with rehearsed Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 6 to 10 pm. We rehearsed hard too. When we started playing out we would call off rehearsals during the weeks he had a gig. For the weeks that we had no gigs we would rehearse Friday or Saturday night. That was a very tight band.

The BL I'm with now calls rehearsals at the last minute with a list of 15 songs (too many). The other guitar player will be prepared for maybe 6. While the drummer got to 10 and the other singer only had time for a few but not all of them match. Even the band leader didn't get to all of them. On top of that we may only get two of them good enough to play live. We all express our concerns that we should just pick two of three and nail them. But to no avail.

So quite a contrast here...

 

[Beej]

I may have missed whether he's throwing out songs you all have never heard before or are not familiar with, versus songs that you all know, but were not expecting to play.

If no one knows the song except the BL calling them, that's a bit weak unless the keys are known and the songs are basic. How would he like it if someone else in the band called out a tune he didn't know, and he was expected to just wing it? Could he do it happily with no concerns? If the answer is no, he could not, then in my view he simply doesn't respect you or what you bring to the table. If he could do it no problem, then you have work to do.

 

[Smooth_bass88]

Yup, have done this quite a bit. Did it this past Saturday night. Usually I tell them that I probably won't come in until after they've played a verse or something, so I hear the chord changes, then I just go for it.

 

[ZedLepp]

I played for a while in a 3 piece band that never rehearsed, but about 95% of what I played was a 12 bar blues progression. The BL just shouted out the root note before the song and away we went.

 

[2strings2frets]

No rehearsal can get to be a chore. I was in a church band that never rehearsed. We would set up for the service , the Pastor would call out the name and page number of the hymn , the key to play in and we were off and running. We didn't have a set list but most songs were repeated thru a cycle of around 40 numbers so we did ok. Lots of 1 ,3 ,5 ,b7 in the beginning , however it taught me to sight read really well and over time I did learn the actual bass lines. Stayed with that band almost 6 years.

 

[Gravedigger Dav]

Not sure if any of my fellow keepers of the low-end experience this.

Last August, I filled in for a band, ended up becoming the permanent bassist.

Great group of guys. Easy-going, good pay, most songs aren't that complex.

However, the BL (Guitarist/singer) throws us all curveballs each and every show. Songs we never played before. No setlists, he just calls them out.

It can be challenging because since I've been with these guys, we have never rehearsed. Just show up and play.

It's exciting to a certain degree, but I also feel that we can be more cohesive if we rehearsed even 2 times a month.

Honestly, I don't know how our BL does it. He plays solo gigs most of the week, works 60 hours as a mechanic, has a family.

So it's tough to suggest the idea now because of how busy he is. I'm thinking during the winter months it could be beneficial to rehearse.

The rest of us work normal 9-5 jobs, with the exception of the keyboard/harmonica player.(Happens to be the BLs father)

I'm not complaining as this is the most playing I have ever done in my life. Probably played about 40 shows since I joined, and we have 23 more on the books this year. I truly am grateful, just hope that the guys and I can convince him to at least entertain the idea on a weekend where we aren't playing.

I certainly understand your frustration. The bad news is you will not get the BL to rehearse. But, there are a couple of good things about your situation. First, you don't have to spend the time and gas to rehearse. And, it will actually enhance your musical skillset. When you have to use your ear and experience to know where you are and predict where the song might go. You will even develop tricks to handle a situation where the song may go different ways.
You guys are getting an enviable number of gigs, so the band can't be bad and you're playing what the people want to hear. The BL has to be happy; otherwise, you wouldn't be there.

So if the money is good, the hang is good, and the music is good, what's to change.
Enjoy the ride.

 

[jmattbassplaya]

We have practiced probably 10-20 times total since 1995. Played literally hundreds of shows with those guys. That is that band. I've been in others where we rehearse at least once a week with no shows on the horizon.

Given the two choices, I'd go with the former. After awhile, your ear adapts and you can learn to fake most any pop song. Do it long enough, and you'll get them memorized with the correct parts. That said, the ideal is knowing everything ahead of time.

 

[rtslinger]

Yup the normal for us classic rock cover band. We all learn the song version from a posted You tube set list and rock the house when we get together. Other than that I do not see any of them till the night of the gig. It has work for us since 2003

 

[kesslari]

I'm currently in a band like this. It's pretty much a psychedelic/jam band, so it more or less works. The BL has a huge repertoire and tosses in whatever.
I've realized and set some boundaries for myself.
1. Don't end the show (or sets) with songs that people in the band don't know. It's a way to end on a sour note and casts the whole gig in a kind of sickly green light, at least for me.
2. I don't need a set list (this BL is sufficiently OCD that creating a true setlist is a major thing for him) but I do need a *song list* - any order, but "here's what I'm planning on playing" so I can suss out any tunes I don't know ahead of time. And I need this a few days before the show, not the morning of.

 

[Dirk Diggler]

I was in a no rehearse cover band for several years.

We used to pass around mp3's of songs we wanted to add to the playlist, as long as the players do their homework it worked out great. Never a major train wreck, and long a couple members are strong with a song, the rest will fall in line.

Embrace the challenge of it all, never a dull moment and all.
It would be so boring to do the same setlist and songs over and over.

 

[bolophonic]

I cannot even imagine trying to get up and play a song I've never even played before without any preparation. Some people like that, I guess.

 

[jdh3000]

I've been in bands like that... The last one I've been gigging with as a matter of fact.

Some would call or text a few songs to work on then we'd run over them after setting up at the next gig, tgen pull them out later that night when the crowd was in a more receptive state of mind(drunk)... but most would just throw songs out without warning, keys, anything... many I didn't know.

It's not as comfortable as being rehearsed, but it's a good learning experience in teaching you how to wing it.

Not my favorite scenario but some folks don't want to put in the time effort to work out a food performance, and it shows.

No matter how great the players are, there's no comparison to a band with great players who rehearse, at least in my experience.

Of course I've known some bands who practice all the time and don't sound as good as some throw together groups I've been in. It all depends on the players...
I always feel better with at least some sort of song list up front.

 

[stigbeve]

However, the BL (Guitarist/singer) throws us all curveballs each and every show. Songs we never played before. No setlists, he just calls them out.

Sounds like a nightmare. Definitely not for me.

 

[Hasty]

This is not a band that never rehearses, it's a band that never prepares.

This is spot on.

I'm in a band that never rehearses but we have regular weekly gigs (sometimes two a week). There's no specific setlist, but a list of 100ish songs that we might pull from depending on the crowd. Sometimes we'll throw in something new on the fly if there's a request from the audience that seems fun and interesting to us, but that's not a regular thing.

 

[Biggbass]

OP, here in these parts we call that a 'jam band'. it can be fun if the players are up to it.

 

[bradd]

What I've done in this situation is build a playlist after the fact and work out the tunes for the next time it gets called. Your ears will get much bigger in the meantime.

 

[Killing Floor]

That could be a tricky situation because I know you don't want to shank notes or landings. BUT if you have 23 more gigs booked out then you are not disappointing your host venues or your audience. So maybe just roll with it.

If you need peace of mind message the BL and ask what they're going to drop on you next gig. If the BL is calling songs they know the songs. So ask for hints in the days before the gigs.

 

[bassopotamus102]

Last band i was in, the lead guitar player was reluctant to rehearse and ONLY learned songs by using his smart phone. so, we'd get to souncheck to run the new songs (i know, i know.....) and i'd have to teach him the damned progressions. we then got a megalomaniac singer (who ended up running the drummer and i out of the band with a month of each other) who insisted on rehearsing. boy, was i glad until he screwed me.

 

[BtaylorTheRogue]

Are you in my band? We do this, and like your band, we're booked solid. I'm never for want of a show or a crowd. I'mma be honest, there's 3 ways (or a mix of 3 ways) I see it shaking out.

• You're good, so it doesn't matter. This is me, and likely you. The audience and venues are clearly happy, or you wouldn't be working..
• You're good, but you're a perfectionist and can't turn it off. You will hate your gigs, and may get burned out. Ride the money train till you like the perks less than you hate the gigs.
• You're bad not good yet, and so you don't have the skill to be in one of these bands. It's not hard to play songs you've never heard by bands you've never heard of to the degree that it pleases drunk people or a crowd of mostly non-musicians; I do it twice a week. But it takes a specific set of skills you may not have developed yet, plus I lean slightly on the guitar pro app for more complex songs.

I'd just enjoy the fact that you've found easy work, but so much of this depends on the quality and accuracy needed.

 

[HardNHeavy]

"He plays solo gigs most of the week"

He is use to being a "one man show" and can belt out tunes on a whim, which doesn't often go well for other members..I atleast like to know which songs and prep beforehand. Best to have "that talk" with him...So ya'll are on the same page.