I'm noticing this is a problem with lead guitarists. I'm in a band situation with two guitarists, a drummer, a singer, and me. We've got 3 originals and a couple covers, and we're about to start some small gigs and a school Battle of the Bands.
On the one hand, my guitarist is a great guitarist with a huge knowledge of theory. He listens to a lot of classical, but his heroes are Satriani and Vai. He can pull of most of their licks, but... he's sloppy some times. We were recording a ballad type instrumental earlier, and he was playing lead. He's running through a marshal cab with Evolution pickups (used by Steve Vai to play harmonics with his tongue... that sensitive) and a boss overdrive. We couldn't even get the amp to stop buzzing when his guitar was muted. Then he was very sloppy in his playing. To be honest, the rhythm guitarist is cleaner and better, though not quite as fast.
Also, he causes conflict within the band. The four of us are rock/metal/ punk players. When alone, we play in the vein of bands like Avenged Sevenfold, Foo Fighters, Tool, etc. Drop D tuning where the guitar goes from clean licks and arpeggios to room filling chords and the bass adds a lot of depth. The singer likes to play things like My Chemical Romance, as well as what we like. So we make it work. But he's a very blues/80's inspired player. Of course this is great to have. But it's hard explaining to somebody that Joe Satriani and Himi Hendrix isn't our thing. He doesn't want to hear it. He thinks the songs we play are boring and often refuses to play them, or embellishes them and adds solos.
Him and I both like to be leaders, and not to toot my own horn, I'm much more suited to do so. I have a knack for handling people psychological (that said, I shouldn't be having this problem). My name is on the list for all the booking, the management, and everything. I set up all the sites. I do the recording. I do the mixing. I contact agents. I even do most of the tech. All he does is play and compose, both of which he does pretty well. But not for us.
All signs point to him leaving, but there are two problems. First of all, when we can concentrate his energy into our style, he does great things to fill out our style. I have a feeling our rhythm guitarist could take over, or we could bring someone else in.
The only other thing is convincing everybody else. They recognize that he's been a jerk, but they all pretty much tolerate it. I don't want to be the public enemy because of it. In addition, there's a loyalty factor. he first invited me to join the band and gave me several tries, as my mom has health issues, and I hadd to miss everyone of the original dates he gave me. He created the band to play a party once and it took off.
So TB, do I have to make the hard decision, and how do I have to handle it? What are other thoughts?
On the one hand, my guitarist is a great guitarist with a huge knowledge of theory. He listens to a lot of classical, but his heroes are Satriani and Vai. He can pull of most of their licks, but... he's sloppy some times. We were recording a ballad type instrumental earlier, and he was playing lead. He's running through a marshal cab with Evolution pickups (used by Steve Vai to play harmonics with his tongue... that sensitive) and a boss overdrive. We couldn't even get the amp to stop buzzing when his guitar was muted. Then he was very sloppy in his playing. To be honest, the rhythm guitarist is cleaner and better, though not quite as fast.
Also, he causes conflict within the band. The four of us are rock/metal/ punk players. When alone, we play in the vein of bands like Avenged Sevenfold, Foo Fighters, Tool, etc. Drop D tuning where the guitar goes from clean licks and arpeggios to room filling chords and the bass adds a lot of depth. The singer likes to play things like My Chemical Romance, as well as what we like. So we make it work. But he's a very blues/80's inspired player. Of course this is great to have. But it's hard explaining to somebody that Joe Satriani and Himi Hendrix isn't our thing. He doesn't want to hear it. He thinks the songs we play are boring and often refuses to play them, or embellishes them and adds solos.
Him and I both like to be leaders, and not to toot my own horn, I'm much more suited to do so. I have a knack for handling people psychological (that said, I shouldn't be having this problem). My name is on the list for all the booking, the management, and everything. I set up all the sites. I do the recording. I do the mixing. I contact agents. I even do most of the tech. All he does is play and compose, both of which he does pretty well. But not for us.
All signs point to him leaving, but there are two problems. First of all, when we can concentrate his energy into our style, he does great things to fill out our style. I have a feeling our rhythm guitarist could take over, or we could bring someone else in.
The only other thing is convincing everybody else. They recognize that he's been a jerk, but they all pretty much tolerate it. I don't want to be the public enemy because of it. In addition, there's a loyalty factor. he first invited me to join the band and gave me several tries, as my mom has health issues, and I hadd to miss everyone of the original dates he gave me. He created the band to play a party once and it took off.
So TB, do I have to make the hard decision, and how do I have to handle it? What are other thoughts?
