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BL Tried To Fire Me And Got Fired...

Eilif

Eilif

Grooving under the MDW runway.
Oct 1, 2001
9,756
9,645
Chicago
#1
UPDATE 2/9/26: Going to continue to update this thread periodically as "Wonderwall" Oasis tribute band progresses.

I feel like a bit of a unicorn today as I just experienced this mythical happening.

Last night at rehearsal there was some disagreement between BL and singer about how much the singers facial hair should match the the actual lead singer in the band we are a "tribute" of. I saw both sides of the issue. BL wanting accuracy, singer not wanting to give up his beard for a one gig a month band to meet a standard he didn't feel he had agreed to. An agreement wasn't really reached other than what I put forward which was to see how our first show went, get some feedback and revisit the issue.

I had specifically agreed to the standard when I came onboard earlier than the singer, but that night I sent the BL a message letting him know that with 2 (the rhythm player was wearing a cap unlike the actual player) of the 5 members now not adhering to the hair standard, I was probably not going to buy a wig to meet the look either, but I was willing to cut off my Mohawk and make my goatee very short. I put lots of encouragement in there about the the quality of the musicians he had brought together, how accurate our outfits would be, how fast we'd all put the tunes together (17 songs stage-ready in 3.5 rehearsals) how glad I was to be in the group and how much I was looking forward to our gig on the 9th. Ended with a note that I was open to discuss it the next day.

Heard nothing back. The next morning at 11, the second thing in my feed is a public Facebook post from the Bandleader looking for a Singer and Bass player for the band with specific mention of clean shaven and hairstyle. I post a link to that post in the band chat with the subtitle "Is there something you'd like to tell us ...."

Confusion ensues. Neither of the other members knew a thing about this, nor do they like the idea of booting us. BL offers his feelings about the direction of the band but no explanation about why he proceeded without discussion, compromise or even telling us.

I take the high road. At this point my reputation is on the line since I booked our debut gig for 8 days away at my favorite local venue where I have a very good reputation. I suggest we at least play the gig to meet our obligations and then I'll respect BLs wishes and bow out.

Simultaneously, however, another member had started a group chat without the BL. Both of the non-fired members are pissed at the BL for the shady way he's handled this and the singer doesn't feel comfortable enough with the situation to want to do the gig with the BL.

So, somehow I end up being the one to extremely politely let the BL know that the four of us would be forming our own tribute band and playing the gig without him.

More details tomorrow....
 
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#4
I did a similar thing. We put together a rocking band backing a female singer who was so so. Our first gig was so disastrous because of her inexperience and fear that the entire band wanted to quit. I salvaged it by floating the idea of firing her, which we did. We went on to be very successful for another three years.

To this day I feel badly about firing her, but there was nothing else to do.
 
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#5
bdplaid said:
I did a similar thing. We put together a rocking band backing a female singer who was so so. Our first gig was so disastrous because of her inexperience and fear that the entire band wanted to quit. I salvaged it by floating the idea of firing her, which we did. We went on to be very successful for another three years.

To this day I feel badly about firing her, but there was nothing else to do.
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That's the right choice for sure. The one who can't cut it gets cut.

The difference (and disappointment) here is that the BL was fantastic musically and knowledge wise. All his guitar parts and his vox were on point. He knew the other guitar parts as well and was a font of info about the band. I liked him.
 
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#6
Eilif said:
That's the right choice for sure. The one who can't cut it gets cut.

The difference (and disappointment) here is that the BL was fantastic musically and knowledge wise. All his guitar parts and his vox were on point. He knew the other guitar parts as well and was a font of info about the band. I liked him.
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It's a shame, but IMO he deserved to be let go.
 
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#7
I guess I don't get it -- if you're arranging the gigs, why do you need a BL anyway? You may need another musician to take the ex-BL's place, but you probably don't need someone to tell you how to wear your hair.

I've been in a 4-to-5 person band since 2008 and there is no BL. We respect each other, and we all share in the gig (and pay) decisions and in the musical direction decisions equally. We've done thousands of gigs including a number of festival venues and produced 4 albums together. We have had some amicable personnel changes over the years but still the band goes on, with the same leadership void. It seems to work.

I'd wish any band this level of interpersonal respect and success.
 
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#9
Eilif said:
The difference (and disappointment) here is that the BL was fantastic musically and knowledge wise. All his guitar parts and his vox were on point. He knew the other guitar parts as well and was a font of info about the band. I liked him.
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That's a pity, but his behaviour really didn't have any excuse. He was very disrespectful, whether he was right or wrong in his ideas.


It doesn't matter here, but personally I don't like tribute bands mocking the appearance and stage behaviour of the originals. I think it makes them look like clowns and possibly even detracts attention from the music. At best, it could be fun at the moment when the band comes out to the stage, but if I see e.g. the guitarist in a Who tribute band do Townsend's "windmill move" more than a couple of times, I probably want to kill him. But that's me, someone who grew up hating Elvis Presley music and refusing to listen to it for decades because of his endless lame impersonators.

I only judge a tribute band based on how they sound.
 
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#13
Actualy, Oasis tribute is a good move, from a business point of view. Big and famous band, with lots of hits, not hard to play. And they are back again so timing is great.
It doesn't matter they are polarizing, as they have a strong fan base (only fans come to show, not people who dislike it).
If your show's good, you'll do great. Good luck!
 
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#17
liam gallagher's been through several bearded phases, so a beard is not completely inauthentic..

27947382-0-image-a-98_1588502881102.jpg
 
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