Sorry gang... I need to vent to folks who will listen and understand. I've always prided myself on being a professional who does his homework in getting things done for a gig. I get (or make demos), write charts, and help with arrangements, and practice as much as possible on my own to get things worked out. I try to leave as little to chance as possible. Case in point... I recently started working again with a lovely singer/songwriter that I recorded a CD with last year. She did the Nashville thing for a while and has a great work ethic as well... we work well together and play well, and I have learned the quirks of her writing and style. She always wants to have other folks play with us on the gigs to fill out the sound, which I am all about, but I'm getting tired of folks being picked that can't deliver the goods and who fall short of the expectations I have for an ensemble player when they come highly recommended. I don't want to be a control freak, and I have trust in others to find acceptable players for a group, but I have found that in this particular situation unless I pick the musicians, the element of surprise is always there for something to go wrong. I'm tired of her picking musicians who are supposedly great players and then finding that they can't remember arrangements once the gig comes along, and who don't practice the tunes between rehearsals. I went to the trouble of writing charts, lugging my gear to record rehearsals, and then RE-RECORDING my bass parts on the demos of the tunes in question so that everyone would have something solid to learn from on a CD... and it made no difference except for ME learning the songs and making sure things were tight. If it had just been she and I doing the gig, it would have been great, but the wandering, aimless drumming on the gig ruined the vibe and there was no connection onstage. Does anyone have any advice, other than putting my foot down and insisting I pick the musicians for the project?
