Have you ever been fired from a band?

[Pdaddy1978]

I've been fired from a few bands.... But, I've also fired a few guys from bands over the years...so.... que sera, sera.
The first time was my high school era band. We'd played school dances and a few bar gigs when we got a slot playing a March-of-dimes telethon....on TV!
After the show we loaded out, I went home, went to bed. At 1am theres a knock at the door. I open the door, and theres my amp, with 75 dollars sitting on top of it. ( My share of the PA ). The drummers parents were mad because the cameras " stayed on me " too much during the show, and convinced the others I had orchestrated it with the crew. They loaned the band the money to pay me for my share of the PA. I was the singer for cryin out loud! Like I could talk a TV crew to staying on me.
I was crushed..... These were my buds
6 months later, they broke up. The Univox PA was fried. I'm the only one that got his money out of it...I went on to play in a few bands with some of those guys... Such is life

 

[HG1180]

But look at all the fun you're missing out on!

Well, because of my age ive tried out for multiple different bands and even attempted to start my own band and have been turned down because noone takes me seriously...Im 17 with 5, almost 6 years of musical experience and about 3 years of live experience with woodwinds and brass. But noone likes to hear me out when i wanna join a band ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[delta7fred]

Once in 50+ years of playing in bands and that was by proxy. The BL fired the guitarist (the guy who recommended me) by email and told him to tell me I was out as well.

 

[RabidMusic]

As a keyboardist I joined a top working cover band under the promise that every band member is equal and it is all a team effort. I soon found out that the guitarists and singer, who at one time lived together, ruled with an iron fist and insisted on micromanaging every note I played and every sound I used on the synths. I resisted, struggled and fought until they finally told me it was not working out. The next night the bass player and drummer informed me that the manager was in the audience with three potential replacements. "Fine with me. From now on I play the way I want and the dreadful duo cannot tell me anything." After the first set one of the possible replacements came up to the stage and asked me about lessons. He told me that the other two took off after the third song. Three weeks later the singer tells me how great I am playing and it was never mentioned again.

 

[bassicmike]

Yup.

I had the nerve to question the not-so-great chick singers song suggestions for our classic rock covers band. (Pink, etc.)

This was a singer who had never heard of Linda Ronstadt.

My email comment was along the lines of 'i thought we were a classic hits band, not a current hits band?'

Was fired within minutes.

Ah well. Intercourse them. Onwards and upwards. Last time I played rock covers.

 

[Lagado]

No I haven't. I've been in awkward positions where people I have worked with for maybe a few years have been given their cards by the BL, but they have usually done something to deserve that. It always helps to remember, that no one is indispensable.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

Well, the good news is you are still young. Things were a lot different when I was you age. By the time I was 17 I'd been gigging in polka bands, as a solo coffee house act, the high school band, stage band, a community swing band, and not to mention several rock bands along the way.

Seriously in the 60's , either you you were an athlete, scholastic nerd, or you were in a band. It was not unusual to walk a couple of blocks and hear one or two bands rehearsing. It was so ingrained in our culture that retail stores, like Sears, sold advanced hobbiest level musical equipment.

But that was then. Those kind of opportunities I had aren't available for most today.

If I were starting out and wanted to be taken seriously as a musician, the first thing I would do is to make sure I could sight read better that I can, make sure I have good recordings of myself and a current Bio of previous work. A social web site wouldn't hurt either.

Then start networking. Go out and meet some people. Guitar shops are great places to network and meet people. If you do make contact, be honest with yourself and prospect with where you are in you musical journey.

Anyway, best wishes for the future.

 

[Guild B301]

Well, because of my age ive tried out for multiple different bands and even attempted to start my own band and have been turned down because noone takes me seriously...Im 17 with 5, almost 6 years of musical experience and about 3 years of live experience with woodwinds and brass. But no one likes to hear me out when i wanna join a band ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

The best place to start finding other band members is probably school, if you are still in school. (I say IF because I was out on the road touring at 14 - I guess times were different then) If there is a place at school you can post to other orchestra or band musicians (that will put you in touch with other people of about the same age and experience), start asking there. This will have to be started online for now until this 'social distancing' ends. But use this time to find other musicians around your age with the same taste in music. Also, try starting a band where you are the band leader (with people a year or two younger), where you are the experienced one. You'd be surprised how much you will learn and how much experience you can gain by teaching others. If there is a nearby music shop or music teacher, reach out to them and ask if there are others like you, looking to form a new band. During the quarantine they may be hearing that from a lot of people. Most of all, enjoy this time. Because starting out, there are no rules about what direction you can go. Sometimes I think it would be fun to start again.

 

[Killing Floor]

It's part of being in a band. You get the best and worst lessons about working with others.
I got fired the day we returned from a meeting with a label. The band hired another bassist who didn't know the material so they tanked in a showcase situation and broke up after that. Karma!
Situation was hard to process but looking back it is one of the best things that could have happened. Spared me from what could have been a series of worse experiences. I joined a better situation anyway and don't look back.

 

[Eric Huber]

Fired well yes but no loss jumped in with a much better group then before. Now I just play for me. My beer consumption has also dropped as a result.

 

[RabidMusic]

I have to tell this story, about the singer in the band that I mentioned above.

She built a reputation as a black widow, real cold hearted user that could split a band faster than a bad manager. She finally decided that her quickest way to stardom would be to hook up with the drummer of a one hit wonder that was touring the country. She weaseled her way into a background singer position, then started pushing for a duet. After a show she spent a little too much time in the dressing room. When she went out to get on the bus there was a security guard standing next to her suitcase. The bus was gone. What a way to get fired.

 

[Ruben1973]

I've never been kicked out of a band.
In the previous two bands I was in, the band always split in half.

In the first, one of the guitarists and the other bassist left (we were two bassists) and we only had to find a singer. There were no fights or discussions, they just wanted to go for other paths. In fact we were all friends of the neighborhood and we continued going out on a spree together.

In the second group, which is actually part of the first, the drummer and the singer did not agree with the guitar and with me in musical matters, and the band split up again.

In the band that I am currently we have been together for 18 years and we have never kicked anyone out, they have always left for different reasons not related to the band.

 

[4stringfarley]

As a side item question maybe we should add: "Have you ever gotten so angry that you've killed a fellow band member?" I've been pretty close at times.

The late 90s early 2000s Black Metal scene was interesting.

I had a vocalist / rhythm guitarist that kept trying to kick me out because I didn't like his favorite band. Same guys wife was trying to be the manager but would only set up gigs at the local MC club houses, where I was getting some pretty good stuff lined up with national bands. We dissolved shortly after that because the same vocalists MC didn't like us. They did a show not long ago with a replacement bassist and It went horrible.

 

[LBS-bass]

Never fired but was in a band that dissolved. So carrots, I guess.

Never fired, quit a few (see other thread) and was in one band where the BL got paranoid fantasies that the guitar player and I, who were good friends, were making fun of him on stage (we weren't). He made a rule that we needed to be in front of him at all times so he could see what we were doing. Even then, he couldn't get his paranoia in check, so eventually he dissolved that band over imagined stuff. He's still out there playing and has never spoken to me since in some 35+ years. I never had anything against the guy. People are weird.

 

[jdh3000]

sure.

but being fired is good when you deserve it (my example) because it's something to build upon (as a life lesson or a music lesson, etc.). and if you think about it: you'd probably rather be fired by good people, doing a good job, who know their stuff! who wants to be fired by an idiot...what does that say about the cat who's fired?

if you're in a band that's led by an idiot = that's on you!*


* i've been in a couple of bands that were led by idiots.

Sometimes idiots aren't obviously idiots until well into the game, even up and to the point of being fired. We don't always know what were are getting into. Hardly the fault of one being fired. One cannot account for every scenario, I only expressed that sometimes it's not one's fault for being let go, other times it is.

Some people are clever and hide their real nature well... this goes for human behavior in all. relationships; work, marriage, etc...

The "deserving" to be terminated is relative. Of course to those doing the firing deem that person deserving of such a dismissal, they one being let go may see it as unjust.

I haven't had it happen but couple times.

One time in particular the guy I had played for several years started having back trouble, and got hooked on pain killers. This wasn't a drug using kind of guy, but it really changed his personality in a short amount of time. This was someone I never hand an issue with, but almost overnight he turned on me amd gave me the boot... eventually firing and replacing everyone in the band one at a time, until eventually not being able to find players.

Life happens... anyone can fall into a position where they either have to quit or get fired. If they need the gig and can't quit until they find something else, it might come down to being fired.

 

[JRA]

sometimes it's not one's fault for being let go, other times it is.

yep, i agree.

 

[john_g]

Only once...it was an originals band when I was 22. The band had been around for years before I joined, and they were all much older than me. But, they had a manager that just left Capitol Records and set up a huge industry showcase for this band in NYC, and they were pretty good. The drummer quit right before the showcase so we had to get a last minute replacement, it went ok but no deals. Set about looking for a new drummer and they found some guy 1.5 hours away who was in a signed C-level hair metal band and put all his yearly earnings (over $100K a year according to him) up his nose. Nice guy but I couldnt afford the gas driving up to his place to practice twice a week.

Then they announce the manager put together a cross-country "college tour" and was buying a converted school bus. They wouldnt give me any details. Just kept telling me it will be ok, just get ready. It all seemed a bit sketchy to me at the time. The others got mad at me when I was hesitating. I was literally on the phone with my friend and he just asked me how the band was going and I said "Im thinking about quitting..." when the call waiting beeped. The singer called and said "youve been replaced". I was like..."woohooo!". Dude was confused, i think he expected me to be devastated lol

 

[HG1180]

The best place to start finding other band members is probably school, if you are still in school. (I say IF because I was out on the road touring at 14 - I guess times were different then) If there is a place at school you can post to other orchestra or band musicians (that will put you in touch with other people of about the same age and experience), start asking there. This will have to be started online for now until this 'social distancing' ends. But use this time to find other musicians around your age with the same taste in music. Also, try starting a band where you are the band leader (with people a year or two younger), where you are the experienced one. You'd be surprised how much you will learn and how much experience you can gain by teaching others. If there is a nearby music shop or music teacher, reach out to them and ask if there are others like you, looking to form a new band. During the quarantine they may be hearing that from a lot of people. Most of all, enjoy this time. Because starting out, there are no rules about what direction you can go. Sometimes I think it would be fun to start again.

The only problem with finding people of a similar age as i, is that, the grand majority of them are highly immature. Starting a band with people that are akin to 99% of people at my school would end in a glorious disaster. And theres also the fact of my taste in music and what i would want to play, not too many teenagers are deeply engaged to Doom/Stoner Metal, Psychedelic Rock, and Progressive Rock. Im thinking putting an ad on the my local music store's bulletin board may be a good idea. I could also feasibly find a cover band to fill in for, theres loads of those in my area, im sure one of them has a need for a bass player, and they make good income as far as bands go because of the amount of restaurants and local music events around here.

 

[Mike N]

Yes.

Five piece band, two guitar, lead vocals, drummer and myself. Guitar 2 (newest member to the band) decides he's the BL, he fires the singer at rehearsal one night and 20 minutes after fired singer leaves, several others show up to audition....... seems the "BL" ran an ad in the local rags for a singer, no one else in the band had any idea this was going down.

I voice my disapproval to the BL and by the next rehearsal, I'm informed that they hired a new singer and along with him was a Bass player..... seems they were a package deal and I'm out.

So, in true TB form, I stole the other guitar player and went on to bigger and better things.

 

[osv]

In a round about way, yes. I was the last person to join in '88, and when I did, I pushed for change in the music direction (go heavier) due to poor reception at a couple of gigs. Our reception much improved, but the guitar player quit a year later saying he wasn't happy with the new direction, and was immediately followed by the drummer who was his best friend. That was pretty much the end of the band at that point. A week later, they were all back together again without me doing the music he liked. I wish they would have fired me directly, but I guess they "didn't want to hurt my feelings". It was the only band I have been in where we did stuff together outside of music. We really had fun and enjoyed hanging together. For them, it was a hobby. Me, I wanted to go somewhere. I'm really sorry I messed up their band.