Hi all. I've been playing electric bass with a "traditional" jazz band that started as a favor to a friend that had been filling in. This started in July of last year. I've been playing music since age 9, guitar almost 40 years and electric bass 2 years. I read music and charts in treble and bass clefs, I've been playing a long time, most of it jazz but some rock and I'm game to try just about any style as long as everyone has a good attitude.
This started originally as a fill-in gig for a music teacher that was playing with this band as a favor and um, couldn't make a rehearsal. Since I'm still learning the ropes on bass, he asked me to cover the rehearsal. I came back, not terribly impressed with the band - its mostly hobbyists who have some talent but... they're not very good as a group, although there are some good individual musicians - and I said to my friend "You want me to take this over for you to get out of it?" He laughed and said "Yes" and I have continued to play with them and they've slowly started gigging...
I play for fun, this is the only band I'm in right now and would like to play in a band again - I played a lof of guitar in jazz groups in high school and college - so I've not done a lot to seek out other opportunities to play, but, I stuck with this band from July until Feb, quit because I wasn't having any fun, didn't get paid for the last gig... and also because the rehearsals and gigs have been a disaster of disorganization. The band leader is overloading people with sheet music that's way outside the capabilities of the band, and has had issues securing rehearsal space. So much discussion and screwing around takes place between songs that typically in 2-3 hours of rehearsal we might play 6 or 7 songs, so the set list isn't filling up nearly fast enough.
The band generally has 8-10 players for rehearsals and gigs - depends on who can make it - and has a regularly monthly gig that kills a weekend afternoon. Anyway, after leaving in February, I found out via the drummer they were still having trouble filling the bass player spot with a competent player, so I caved and asked if they'd like me to help them out again, and went to rehearsal this weekend at a "new spot..."
Which turned out to be a non AC'ed light industrial garage space on a day it was in the 90s when the rehearsal started, dirty, dusty. I'm in my 50s and have played in a ton of places for rehearsals and gigs and this was by far the worst place I've ever played in. To top it off, we spent so much time (I record the rehearsals and gigs) screwing around again that in the 2 hours I was there for rehearsal that again 5 songs were played in 2 hours of recording. Just ridiculous.
I told the leader when I arrived the practice conditions were deplorable. I wasn't nasty, I was just straight forward. (I'm really not trying to sound like a prima donna). I didn't want to be a jerk, though, so I stayed for the actual 15 minutes of playing that was done in 2 hours of rehearsal. I know they don't have a bassist for next week's gig, and I won't be a jerk and do that one as well, but I did mention to the band leader it was this kind of crap that led me to quit in the first place. Even if something is for fun - and this band is - it needs to be something that acts somewhat professional - and this band has potential to improve if the set list is dialed back to something less ambitious and less practice time is devoted to learning new material and instead improving on the set list we have.
So, part of me wants to run screaming from this again but... I don't look want to look like an ass. I also have talked about doing a thrash metal project with the drummer and I don't want to leave him or a couple of the other musicians in the band that I really like in the lurch.
So, what would TB do? Here are some options:
1) Do the 6/1 gig and quit, and politely explain the reason I quit is because the disorganization issues have simply gotten worse.
2) Hey, its a band. Look at it as practice and nothing else.
3) Work on getting into another band that knows what its doing - in the meantime, give them a deadline for things to improve, and if things don't, leave.
I do enjoy playing and playing with this group at times but I'm already just as aggravated as I was at the end of February...
This started originally as a fill-in gig for a music teacher that was playing with this band as a favor and um, couldn't make a rehearsal. Since I'm still learning the ropes on bass, he asked me to cover the rehearsal. I came back, not terribly impressed with the band - its mostly hobbyists who have some talent but... they're not very good as a group, although there are some good individual musicians - and I said to my friend "You want me to take this over for you to get out of it?" He laughed and said "Yes" and I have continued to play with them and they've slowly started gigging...
I play for fun, this is the only band I'm in right now and would like to play in a band again - I played a lof of guitar in jazz groups in high school and college - so I've not done a lot to seek out other opportunities to play, but, I stuck with this band from July until Feb, quit because I wasn't having any fun, didn't get paid for the last gig... and also because the rehearsals and gigs have been a disaster of disorganization. The band leader is overloading people with sheet music that's way outside the capabilities of the band, and has had issues securing rehearsal space. So much discussion and screwing around takes place between songs that typically in 2-3 hours of rehearsal we might play 6 or 7 songs, so the set list isn't filling up nearly fast enough.
The band generally has 8-10 players for rehearsals and gigs - depends on who can make it - and has a regularly monthly gig that kills a weekend afternoon. Anyway, after leaving in February, I found out via the drummer they were still having trouble filling the bass player spot with a competent player, so I caved and asked if they'd like me to help them out again, and went to rehearsal this weekend at a "new spot..."
Which turned out to be a non AC'ed light industrial garage space on a day it was in the 90s when the rehearsal started, dirty, dusty. I'm in my 50s and have played in a ton of places for rehearsals and gigs and this was by far the worst place I've ever played in. To top it off, we spent so much time (I record the rehearsals and gigs) screwing around again that in the 2 hours I was there for rehearsal that again 5 songs were played in 2 hours of recording. Just ridiculous.
I told the leader when I arrived the practice conditions were deplorable. I wasn't nasty, I was just straight forward. (I'm really not trying to sound like a prima donna). I didn't want to be a jerk, though, so I stayed for the actual 15 minutes of playing that was done in 2 hours of rehearsal. I know they don't have a bassist for next week's gig, and I won't be a jerk and do that one as well, but I did mention to the band leader it was this kind of crap that led me to quit in the first place. Even if something is for fun - and this band is - it needs to be something that acts somewhat professional - and this band has potential to improve if the set list is dialed back to something less ambitious and less practice time is devoted to learning new material and instead improving on the set list we have.
So, part of me wants to run screaming from this again but... I don't look want to look like an ass. I also have talked about doing a thrash metal project with the drummer and I don't want to leave him or a couple of the other musicians in the band that I really like in the lurch.
So, what would TB do? Here are some options:
1) Do the 6/1 gig and quit, and politely explain the reason I quit is because the disorganization issues have simply gotten worse.
2) Hey, its a band. Look at it as practice and nothing else.
3) Work on getting into another band that knows what its doing - in the meantime, give them a deadline for things to improve, and if things don't, leave.
I do enjoy playing and playing with this group at times but I'm already just as aggravated as I was at the end of February...
