Can this Band be Saved / Changed?

[EddiePlaysBass]

I kind of take a poor view if people dont want or sometimes accept my input. It makes me feel not invested.
If that becomes the norm, I start to care even less and we are getting into a bad position. If I cant be bothered, why continue to bother.

I have that with my current band. The singer has ignored all input I gave. Now he's surprised I don't look for gigs ... Gimme TWO sets minimum, instead of this "50min is sufficient, let them book a second band if they need to fill the evening" crap.

We play covers. He comes from an originals background. I'm the most experienced in terms of playing out with cover bands ...

 

[LBS-bass]

Well, we played at the same place last night, and with the same issues. I spoke to the drummer briefly about playing some newer songs. We talked about a few songs that the venue was playing while we were setting up. So, I may bring up my ideas if and when the band has a rehearsal. I don't thing the guitarists will be interested, though. We had a good 5 or more minute guitar battle on one song. We didn't have a good crowd and didn't hold the crowd we had. My feeling is that I'm just going to have to accept things as they are and not worry much about it,awhile looking at other opportunities.

Part of the problem bands have is that the average person is not all that good at marketing. People think they know what people want, they think people want the same old, same old, so they play it safe, but people don't want that.

What people want when they go out is an experience. They want a solid reason to get off up their butts and leave the house to go somewhere else and spend money. Most bands don't have a clue about this, so they make no effort to deliver it, and your band is a good example of what results in that situation.

There are so many things wrong with this situation, and somebody several pages back gave you a pretty good primer on how to do it right. But I'll take just one example. The music you play on breaks. Why would it make sense to play the same music the band is going to play? All that does is create ear fatigue for the people who might otherwise enjoy what you do. You've got them sick of hearing the blues before your blues band even gets started. Where else do you see this done?

The promoters who do this for a living have this figured out. There's a reason these guys can sell thousands of tickets. Go to any high-level show in your area and listen to the music that's being played when the band is not onstage. It won't sound anything like what the band is about to do. There's a reason for that. When the band starts playing their style of music, it's part of the experience people are there for, and hearing that music coming from that band gets them excited about the band.

Playing the blues on the PA is just reminding your audience that they could have stayed home and heard this music.

There's so much more to unpack but the real salient point is that most musicians are lousy marketers and you probably can't convince them otherwise. If they're really stuck on a way of doing things that isn't resulting in bigger and better audiences, I don't think they're going to pay a lot of attention to the things you have to say. You might be the smartest guy in the room on this stuff, but the stupidest guy can't understand that and he's just going to stick to his guns.

So, long way of saying this sounds like a losing battle to me. If you can't convince them to market themselves better over 17 years, it's not going to change. But there are people out there who do get it, and do a much better job at promotion than this crew is doing. Time to start looking for those people.

 

[Aceman]

I have that with my current band. The singer has ignored all input I gave. Now he's surprised I don't look for gigs ... Gimme TWO sets minimum, instead of this "50min is sufficient, let them book a second band if they need to fill the evening" crap.

We play covers. He comes from an originals background. I'm the most experienced in terms of playing out with cover bands ...

Oh hell yes -


You only want to play two sets? YOU go find that "two set" gig.

 

[EddiePlaysBass]

Oh hell yes -


You only want to play two sets? YOU go find that "two set" gig.

I wish he (and by expansion, the guitarist) would at least agree to TWO sets ... Seriously, they think a 50min set (including one encore) is more than sufficient for a covers band. I've given up. It's not like we're any good to begin with. This just gets me through the pandemic - an excuse to at least practice a wee bit and keep my chops up.

 

[51PRI]

...I'll take just one example. The music you play on breaks. Why would it make sense to play the same music the band is going to play? All that does is create ear fatigue for the people who might otherwise enjoy what you do. You've got them sick of hearing the blues before your blues band even gets started......

The LG does the PA and plays the break music from what is on his phone. I think he only listens to blues. Getting that changed is only ONE of the major hurdles this band needs for renovation.

Something happened the other night, and I noticed it but not enough to comment, or remember exactly what it was, but the drummer DID notice it and make a comment. The BL played a wrong chord, or a wrong part, or somthing (like I said I don't remember) and the drummer said something like 'that's not supposed to go like that" and the BL said "I was just checking to see if you'd know" which to me is a passive/aggressive was of saying f*** you. He's actually done that to me before. He was jamming around on "Midnight Rider" before a gig and going to Bb instead of Gm and I pointed it out and he said "I was just checking to see if you knew" which is basically the same as saying SHUT UP.

 

[Aceman]

I wish he (and by expansion, the guitarist) would at least agree to TWO sets ... Seriously, they think a 50min set (including one encore) is more than sufficient for a covers band. I've given up. It's not like we're any good to begin with. This just gets me through the pandemic - an excuse to at least practice a wee bit and keep my chops up.

Standard gig here is four "45-50" minute sets.

We usually play 3 x ~1:10 and maybe an encore. The encore is 3-6 songs depending on time left/crowd demand.

 

[51PRI]

I made the decision to take a non-confrontational approach:

"Hey, guys, how about we start having regular rehearsals and learn some new songs, songs that will stretch what we do and outside of our comfort zone?"

So far they're all on board. I just hope they (1) actually take time to work on the songs at home, and (2) at least try to nail the signature licks of the songs.

 

[Bass Viking]

I made the decision to take a non-confrontational approach:

"Hey, guys, how about we start having regular rehearsals and learn some new songs, songs that will stretch what we do and outside of our comfort zone?"

So far they're all on board. I just hope they (1) actually take time to work on the songs at home, and (2) at least try to nail the signature licks of the songs.

The cynic in me gives them 3 to 4 weeks tops before they lapse back into their old ways. But good luck!

 

[51PRI]

The cynic in me gives them 3 to 4 weeks tops before they lapse back into their old ways. But good luck!

So far:
1. The BL posted a song that he wants to learn. It's a blues.
2. The LG posted a song that he wants to learn. It's an old song but one I've never played and it should be a good dance song and it isn't a blues song. So its a +
3. The BL for some reason posted the chords to the song I chose. They're totally wrong, not even in the key of the record, which means he got them online instead of learning it from the recording.

 

[Bass Viking]

So far:
1. The BL posted a song that he wants to learn. It's a blues.
2. The LG posted a song that he wants to learn. It's an old song but one I've never played and it should be a good dance song and it isn't a blues song. So its a +
3. The BL for some reason posted the chords to the song I chose. They're totally wrong, not even in the key of the record, which means he got them online instead of learning it from the recording.

Sounds like your off to a roaring start!

 

[BlueTalon]

So far:
1. The BL posted a song that he wants to learn. It's a blues.
2. The LG posted a song that he wants to learn. It's an old song but one I've never played and it should be a good dance song and it isn't a blues song. So its a +
3. The BL for some reason posted the chords to the song I chose. They're totally wrong, not even in the key of the record, which means he got them online instead of learning it from the recording.

You should post a link to a video of the song you chose, and make a note that in this version, the song is in this key, and these are the chords.

You do it not to start an argument, but to clarify that when you suggested this song, this specific version was what you had in mind. Non-confrontational, and everybody is on the same page regarding keys and chords.

 

[LBS-bass]

So far:
1. The BL posted a song that he wants to learn. It's a blues.
2. The LG posted a song that he wants to learn. It's an old song but one I've never played and it should be a good dance song and it isn't a blues song. So its a +
3. The BL for some reason posted the chords to the song I chose. They're totally wrong, not even in the key of the record, which means he got them online instead of learning it from the recording.

He might have pulled them off a chart with a capo instruction. If the chords are correct relative to the key they're in, that's a strong possibility. Ask him if there are capo instructions on his chart that he forgot to mention. That should be easy to fix.

 

[lfmn16]

It sounds like you have different goals. They just want to play gigs, you want to be in a professional band. It’s tough to change a band that’s getting gigs, because they’ll point to that as reason not to change, rather than realize they could get better, higher paying gigs with a little extra work.

I’d probably stay until I found something better. You can’t change people that don’t want to grow.

I just joined a new band and one of the reasons I got in is that I told them I wanted to challenge myself musically, I wasn’t interested in coasting. I showed up prepared and nailed all the signature parts; the guy I replaced just wanted to do the same tunes the same way he’d been playing them for the last 50 years.

 

[BlueTalon]

It sounds like you have different goals. They just want to play gigs, you want to be in a professional band. It’s tough to change a band that’s getting gigs, because they’ll point to that as reason not to change, rather than realize they could get better, higher paying gigs with a little extra work.

I’d probably stay until I found something better. You can’t change people that don’t want to grow.

I just joined a new band and one of the reasons I got in is that I told them I wanted to challenge myself musically, I wasn’t interested in coasting. I showed up prepared and nailed all the signature parts; the guy I replaced just wanted to do the same tunes the same way he’d been playing them for the last 50 years.

Good points.

And congrats!

 

[juggahnaught]

So far:
2. The LG posted a song that he wants to learn. It's an old song but one I've never played and it should be a good dance song and it isn't a blues song. So its a +

Encourage this as much as you possibly can. Compliments about the song, how fun it is to play, how good it sounds when the band plays it, etc.

Bring your friends to the show and have them do the same thing - "man, we really loved that dancy song", etc.

If you play your cards right, you might be able to influence the band to really step outside of the bounds of what they're currently doing.

 

[DanDBassist]

You should post a link to a video of the song you chose, and make a note that in this version, the song is in this key, and these are the chords.

You do it not to start an argument, but to clarify that when you suggested this song, this specific version was what you had in mind. Non-confrontational, and everybody is on the same page regarding keys and chords.

I discovered this^^^
It makes a big difference the version on YouTube that is shared. The same song played live can be quite different from a studio version.

And some chord charts on line can be scary, then some are very helpful. I always play my guitar along with the songs using an acquired chart to check for accuracy. (I know, not every bassist plays guitar. I am lucky to have played both from my beginnings.)

 

[lfmn16]

I discovered this^^^
It makes a big difference the version on YouTube that is shared. The same song played live can be quite different from a studio version.

And some chord charts on line can be scary, then some are very helpful. I always play my guitar along with the songs using an acquired chart to check for accuracy. (I know, not every bassist plays guitar. I am lucky to have played both from my beginnings.)

I do this, but I played with a drummer that was just a passive-aggressive contrarian Richard Cranium. He'd always show up having learned a different version. We eventually parted ways before we wound up killing each other.

 

[51PRI]

So, the BL texted us "are we still practicing?" and then we had an illness in the band family so we did not practice. Around 6 months ago the BL suggested we start practicing once a week. We practiced once. This time I suggested that we start practicing and learning some new music and we didn't even do it once, so far. The ball's in their court now.

 

[BlueTalon]

So, the BL texted us "are we still practicing?" and then we had an illness in the band family so we did not practice. Around 6 months ago the BL suggested we start practicing once a week. We practiced once. This time I suggested that we start practicing and learning some new music and we didn't even do it once, so far. The ball's in their court now.

I get that a death of someone near the band could put practice off, but everything else about that seems a little weird. The BL comes across as rather weak. I'd expect a BL communication to be more along the lines of
"Let me know if you have a commitment for next Thursday. If your calendar is clear, we're going to practice."

 

[richntiff]

TLDR:

blues+ solos?

BYE