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crappy night

reasonbass

reasonbass

Dec 6, 2002
1,108
4
47
Miami, Florida
#1
well to get to the point. UM lost to lowly N. Carolina. ( i give it to them though they wanted it more) but we had a gig, and when it was time for us to play our singer could not be found. She always decides to show to the gig 5 minutes before we go on. But this time we weren't sure what time we went on. So my drummer told her between 11 and 12...So she tought we played at 12, and left her house at 11:30...but were scheduled to go on at 11!! So we set up and do soundcheck, and then she calls that shes lost. She ended up in another county. So, were like screw it were gonna play instrumental, and she finally made it to the gig to sing the last 15 seconds or our last song. So yeah, that was very irresponsible. I always try to show up to a show, before it starts so I can check out the bands before me. and If its far and I don't know the location, I might get lost. I would like to have some extra time to find the place. Damn singers....Lets just say me and my bandmates were pissed. She must think shes Ashley Simpson or something.
 
#3
We've cut her a lot of slack, but shes very spolied and has no sense of responsability. I think all hell breaks loose next band practice. My drummer and I are chill people, but my guitarists' they have gorrilla tempers.

This isn't the first time either, once my drummer had to leave sound check and meet her somewhere cause she got lost. :-(
 
#5
She could be like my girlfriend, time (or money) means nothing to her. The concept of being on time (or staying within a budget) is just something my girlfriend can't grasp. I mean, she was late to her mother's funeral, for crying out loud, because it takes her hours to get ready to go somewhere. In fact, the more critical the time gets, the more she panics and becomes completely incapable of getting out the door on time. She's running late, but she still wants to spend 2 hours coloring her hair, or spend an hour or two deciding which outfit to wear, or finding matching earrings....jeez, who cares about the *%&## earrings, we're gonna be late, let's leave now without the stupid earrings!!

It's almost pointless to talk to these kinds of people. They might sit there and agree with you, but they can't change their behavior. Or (even more infuriating) they'll blame the rest of the world for their own inability to cope with reality.
 
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#6
Folmeister said:
In my book, if you can't show up early for the gig, you get to break down the PA and load it up all by yourself. Last time I checked, none of the people I play with are rock-stars, so showing up five minutes before a gig is simply inconsiderate egotism.
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You are exactly right! That behavior is selfish, self important, egomania. Dump her and have everyone in the band learn 7 or 8 songs to sing. Do it yourselves, have a better time and cut the money one less time.

This week, me and two old buddies I have played with all my life had an "a- ha!" moment. We have always been limited to where, when, and what we played becaused we always let the singer run the show (several singers over 25 years. )We made a commitment this week to come to practice with a list of songs each of us will be prepared to learn and sing lead on.
We too have experienced that late for setup/gotta split after the gig crap from singers and it sucks. You work just as hard as they do!
 
#7
Heh, harder actually, IMHO because all musicians are singers but not all singers are musicians. Unless the singer has musical talent, a "good" (at least appropriate for the genre) voice, and some charisma, I don't think it's worth it. That or the music you play is too consuming for anyone to sing, but the aux. person/vocalist still must know music as well as the instrumentalists.

This is just my rant. I am just angry with the mentality and actual musical knowledge and talent that most vocalists posses. (or don't posses).
 
#8
Oh man, guess what now? The people that were there at the gig now think shes like a hero cause, initially we had to tell the crowd that she had "car problems" instead of saying the thruth. So when she showed up for the last 15 seconds of our last song. They probably tought she had to brave the elements, and thru hell and high water, make it to the gig to triumphantly sing the last couple seconds of our last song.

This what someone wrote on my MySpace.com profile

"Thank you! It was great seeing you guys last night. I think it was ****ing BRILLIANT the way your singer jumped on stage at the last minute and dove into that song. That was so powerful and the audience's reaction was classic. Everyone was amazed that she made it. You are incredible musicians and I was very impressed by what I saw. Keep up the good work and I look forward to playing more shows with you in the future!"

Funny huh?
 
#9
"So my drummer told her between 11 and 12"

I think everyone missed this. If you are playing at 11 why did your drummer tell her to be there between 11 and 12? Doesn't really sound like you can blame her for getting there late- she could have thought you were playing at 1 if your drummer told her to get there between 11 and 12.

If you guys know she always shows up late- then you need to plan for it and tell her to get at the gig earlier. If you would have told her to be there at 10 she would have showed up at 10:45 and you guys would have been good to go.

Singers can be tough to deal with but if she:

1) Is way hot and has great sex appeal.

2) Has a powerful voice and great stage presence.

3) Puts effort into your practices-

then you probably need her more then she needs you. From your myspace comment she has a dedicated fan base.

I am going to say something right now that no one that reads these forums wants to hear- but it is the truth of any band:

THE SINGER IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PERSON IN YOUR BAND

If you never realize this then you'll never be successful in a band. You won't ever get fans to come and see the bass player, drummer, or guitarist play- every new fan you get goes to a show to see the BAND play- and the front man/woman of the band is the one with the voice. The singer is the most easily accessible person in the band- and although you may not like it- no one in the crowd cares about anything more then the vocals. Your only goal as a bass player is to listen to the drummer and lay down a fat line so the singer sounds good.

So if you are looking for a reason to fire her do so because she isn't hot, can't sing, doesn't have stage presence, and never rehearses- not because your drummer told her the wrong time and she was late.

Fix your myspace sig link- it doesn't resolve.
 
#10
I should have been more specific. My drummer told her we were scheduled to go on between 11:00 and 12:00. So I think we can blame her for what she did. Heck I didn't even know what time we went on but I knew the show started at 9:30. So I got there at 8 and the other guys not counting our singer of course got there at 9:00. Also the last band practice our guitarist said that WE should all be there no later than 9:30 at the gig.

About the 3 things you mentioned
1. Shes good looking but not way hot
2. She has a powerfull voice, her stage precence is lacking compared to the other bands we've played with. But this is her first time that she plays live. So thats something we've been working on. And I know that takes time.
3. Honestly she puts the least effort out of all of us, but we can't really blame her, cause she works late and has martial arts yoga thing that she does. Most of the time it's the us the musicians practicing our set. But hey, we all make sacrifices to make the band work.

And I don't think we need her more than she needs us. We've all been playing in our local scene for a while. And we are all well respected as well rounded musicians in our scene. In this band we are all equal parts. No one is above one another no matter what. But there are cases where what you said maybe true. But not in this band.

I can also agree with what you said though, that the singer is the most important person in the band. Well most of the time. The only example where the singer is not as important is Dream Theater. And we are not at level yet.

I wrote this not as a reason to fire her, this was just a rant on a crappy night just like the tittle that I wrote. Were gonna have practice tonight and were gonna talk about it and try to fix the situation. We all have our problems, and the best thing we can do as a band is to right our wrongs, so we can continue making music that we love.

Oh yeah, I do have to fix that link. Thanks for letting me know.
I hope I cleared it a little for you. I also appreciate your advice.
 
#12
reasonbass said:
I should have been more specific. My drummer told her we were scheduled to go on between 11:00 and 12:00. So I think we can blame her for what she did. Heck I didn't even know what time we went on but I knew the show started at 9:30.
Click to expand...

Again this seems kinda fuzzy to me (you weren't even clear about what time you were going to be going on at). You guys should probably make sure that it never happens again. Who ever sets up the gig needs to be very clear about what time you perform and what time every one needs to be there.

About the 3 things you mentioned
1. Shes good looking but not way hot
2. She has a powerfull voice, her stage precence is lacking compared to the other bands we've played with. But this is her first time that she plays live. So thats something we've been working on. And I know that takes time.
3. Honestly she puts the least effort out of all of us, but we can't really blame her, cause she works late and has martial arts yoga thing that she does. Most of the time it's the us the musicians practicing our set. But hey, we all make sacrifices to make the band work.
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Well it sounds like you guys are making sacrifices to make a band work with a singer that isn't really worth it. Most of the time she doesn't make it to pracitce? Sorry man but unless she has a lot of other things going for her (which you said she doesn't) you need to draw a line in the sand and let her know that you won't tolerate the behavior any more.

I wrote this not as a reason to fire her, this was just a rant on a crappy night just like the tittle that I wrote. Were gonna have practice tonight and were gonna talk about it and try to fix the situation. We all have our problems, and the best thing we can do as a band is to right our wrongs, so we can continue making music that we love.
Click to expand...

You may not want to fire her- but unless you nip things in the butt at the start you'll have an even harder time later when she hasn't changed and you do want to get rid of her. If you are serious about your music and the fans you will want to put the best show on. You don't nessacarly have to have the best musicians with the best musical skills, and the best looks. But you need to have people that have good attitudes that come to practice- or you'll never get any better.
 
#13
Since a band is a team effort, you need to help out your team-mates. If you see problems, then help her with it. Just as well, have her help you out.

If she has problems with getting lost, use Mapquest to get her directions and e-mail them to her. If she get's lost, then it's not because you're not helping her out.

I agree with MichaelScott said, and tell her what time to be there. Don't tell her what time you start your performance, tell her what time to be there. That should make things clearer.

As far as helping with setting up the PA, load-in/load out, I give female performers a break. I don't think that a 110lb woman breaking her back with an Ampeg HLF410 will help the band much. Sometimes, I just want people out of the way and off the stage so I can do what I need to do. All I expect is that she carry her mic and stand.

But just because she can't help you with load in, doesn't mean that she can't help the band in other ways. Let the fact that she is a female help your band. She can still promote your band, network, book gigs, develop promotional material. For some of these things, being female can give you an edge. Use that to your advantage.

But I have to admit, a female performer willing to help out with load-in increases my respect for that person and their seriousness and commitment to the band. I'll usually decline the offer though.
 
#15
jive1 said:
But just because she can't help you with load in, doesn't mean that she can't help the band in other ways. Let the fact that she is a female help your band. She can still promote your band, network, book gigs, develop promotional material. For some of these things, being female can give you an edge. Use that to your advantage.
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This is great advice.

Every time we set up at a new show we let our singer go out and mingle, give out flyers, and talk to the other bands while the rest of us set up the drum set and amps. I'd rather have him out promoting the band while we are setting up then have him standing around asking what he can do next every 5 seconds.

Thanks for the compliment Reason. I was in a very similar position as you- my singer has a great voice but would come to rehersal late and never work on his vocals outside of practice. He has been a friend of mine for about 10 years so it was hard to say anything. But evetually we told him that he needed to put more effort in or we would have to find another singer- and he changed. Talking to him about it worked out for us because we were ready to fire him if he didn't change. We didn't just talk with him in hopes that he would change- and if he didn't we would keep asking him. Don't be a begger pleading with someone to change their behavior.

If you are a good bass player you have pretty good leverage in a band. Bass players are hard to come by and good ones are like hen's teeth. But singers, guitarists, and drummers are all common. Make sure you remember that when you negotiate behavior with your bandmates: If someone isn't giving 100% and has a bad attitude there are a thousand other people out there that will have a good attitude and give 100%
 
#16
MichaelScott said:
THE SINGER IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PERSON IN YOUR BAND

If you never realize this then you'll never be successful in a band. You won't ever get fans to come and see the bass player, drummer, or guitarist play- every new fan you get goes to a show to see the BAND play- and the front man/woman of the band is the one with the voice. The singer is the most easily accessible person in the band- and although you may not like it- no one in the crowd cares about anything more then the vocals. Your only goal as a bass player is to listen to the drummer and lay down a fat line so the singer sounds good.
Click to expand...

That is not true, and I have 4 words to prove it:

RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS.
 
#17
Disco_Gee said:
That is not true, and I have 4 words to prove it:

RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS.
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I agree! Kiedis sucked both times I saw them live :( (it has to be his more-singing-less-rap approach in newer RHCP records).

By the way, I have the same constant complain with our singer not working on his vocal lines/lyrics other than at practice spoiling some gifts God gave him such as amazing timbre and good intonation. I hate that!

ANDRUCA
 
#18
There's a big difference in a "singer" and "frontman." You can be successful at one or the other or both.

Anthony Kiedis isn't a great singer, but he's a great frontman. The average bear is not going to come up with any of the other band members' names other than Flea (how can you not know that name?) and Kiedis.

I was in a band that for all intents an purposes was crappy. We sucked. But we had a phenomenal frontman. He couldn't sing in key to save his life. We had a strong draw, and even though the band broke up in '96 I occasionally still see people wearing our T-shirts.
 
#19
Disco_Gee said:
That is not true, and I have 4 words to prove it:

RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS.
Click to expand...

You can disagree (and I said that most of you would- since you're bass players) but my girlfriend's sister is a big fan of RHCP (or so she says).

Across the walls of her room are posters of Anthony Kiedis.

I asked her once: "What do you think about Flea?"
She said "Who?"
"The bass player"
"Oh, well he isn't very good looking- but I guess he plays okay."

Everyone looks at the singer- You can be the most outragous bass player/performer in the world but the average Joe/Jane connects with the vocal parts the most- if you singer sucks and has no stage presence your band won't go far.
 

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