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Bizarre things people say during practices

#83
tbirdsp said:
Drummer in another band goes to count off the beginning of a song - that is in 3/4 time ("Can't Change Me" by Chris Cornell) - and goes "One, two, three, FOUR". I protest and get this look like I am being silly. Someone else in the band says (about me) - "Oh he's kinda funny about stuff like that"...
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I'd like to hear them come in after a four-count and go right into 3/4, that would be different! Not doubting that they would do just that, of course. I play with a woman who always comes in two beats early on one of our song's intros. She does it every time. We all just gave up and went with it. Easier for all of us to change than her. Besides, if you make the same mistake more than twice, it becomes part of the arrangement.:roflmao:
 
#87
My wife was learning fiddle, had maybe 6 months of lessons and no prior music experience at all. (She finally got good, but listening to a beggining fiddle player is not fun). She wanted me to put on an album and play along with her. I would determine the key and tell her what it was, then we would try to make it through the song. We hit one that was in Bb. She flipped the pages in the material she had and announced, "There is no key of Bb."
My brain overheated. I tried to explain keys to her, but her response was, "It is not in the material my teacher gave me, and she gave me all the keys."
If you have been married more than a week, you know this is when you just give up and find something different to do.
That weekend, I dropped her off for her lesson. As I was pulling away, she came out and asked me to come in. Her teacher had explained iy to her and told her she had given her onlyt the keys for the material they were covering. she wanted to apologize. Funny how a husband (even if he has been in some music class or performing group for over 40 years) knows nothing, but an external source is believable.
 
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#88
This happened Sunday - new female singer, 2nd rehearsal with us. We are all discussing inserting a new song in the set list, and which song to remove. Everyone gives their input, and then I, as the BL, make the decision. When I do, she stands up and says "this isn't working for me". I said "What?" She said, "I feel like my input is being ignored". So she walks out and quits.

I told the others, "Better it happens now then 2 months or 6 months or during a gig".
 
#94
Singer: "Anyone know any Coldplay?"

I know, on it's face, there's nothing funny or strange about that question. But, it came at the lowest point of two really awful rehearsals, and to me, it just summed up the whole experience.

The story: I have a guitar player friend named Bill. We do a lot of dinner music and corporate party gigs, mostly playing soft jazz, and sometimes we back an R&B singer. He called me a couple of weeks ago and said he knows a woman singer/songwriter who has a lot of gigs at local beach bars. Imagine a female Jimmy Buffet. She usually performs solo, playing acoustic guitar and singing, but she'd like to have a band. OK, I say, let's try it.

The first gig is 10 days away, and we schedule two rehearsals. The first time we get together we try to go through her original tunes. Bill has some chord charts, well not charts really, just some chords scribbled on pices of paper with circles & arrows indicating verses and choruses. We'd play through a song, ask questions, fix the mistakes, play through the song again, and then she'd say "I don't really do that song any more". We did that for two hours. I left kind of scratching my head. What songs DOES she do? Can she send us a list for next time?

She sends an e-mail the next day saying,"You guys just play your best songs and I'll just fit in to that." Huh? How is that going to work? We get together for the second rehearsal, two days before the gig, and she asks what songs we know. Jazz standards - she doesn't like those. Bossas - she doesn't like those. Motown - ditto. Do we know any Joni Mitchell? Um, no. Cat Stevens? Crosby Stills and Nash? Jim Croce? No, sorry. If I'd had a list last week I could have learned some of those ...

We all throw out random songs for an hour and a half without agreeing on anything, finally stumble through "Heard it on the Grapevine", and then stare at each other in silence for about two minutes. The she perks up, gets this big smile on her face, and says "Anyone know any Coldplay?" I look at my watch. I gotta get going ...
 
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#99
I was in an all original band in the 90s. And had this conversation with our Drummer.
Me--.we are a three piece and it is a little hard to write new songs when you miss practice. If you need to reschedule let us know.

Drummer-- well I am busy. I do not need to practice

Me-- how are we going to write new songs?

Drummer- write the songs and describe them to me before the show, I will be fine.
 
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