Have you ever been fired from a band?

[WI Short Scaler]

Both times I did the "band purchase" thing I came out ahead. .....we didn't have the funds to pay anyone as they left, the second band I'm not sure why no one got paid out.

When we started the group I got fired from we all agreed to come up with $500 to use as a down payment on a PA system. I found out only later that I was the only one who actually forked over that cash and that was the entire down payment! and than we played gigs and used a majority of all gig income to pay off the PA and a used school bus for transporting it all.

The music store was in a different town from where I lived so the guitar player carried out all the transactions, hence all paperwork was in his name. I had X'd off one Saturday that I couldn't play, they had an opportunity to play and I gave my blessing to having a fill in because I was busy.

They offered the other guy my spot that night, and left me a voice mail that I was out. And since all the gear was in the guitarist's name and it was all in the bus, also in his name, and on his property they'd have me arrested for trespassing/theft if I tried to get any of it back. I not only lost all the $$ I'd invested but also some speakers, stands, and microphones that I'd had before this band but they were on the bus. They kept it all and I was crap out of luck.

Soured me in a big way, all I had left was my bass and my amp. Put the bass in the case and literally didn't touch it for close to 3 years. Slow process to start playing again but glad I eventually did.

 

[lfmn16]

When we started the group I got fired from we all agreed to come up with $500 to use as a down payment on a PA system. I found out only later that I was the only one who actually forked over that cash and that was the entire down payment! and than we played gigs and used a majority of all gig income to pay off the PA and a used school bus for transporting it all.

The music store was in a different town from where I lived so the guitar player carried out all the transactions, hence all paperwork was in his name. I had X'd off one Saturday that I couldn't play, they had an opportunity to play and I gave my blessing to having a fill in because I was busy.

They offered the other guy my spot that night, and left me a voice mail that I was out. And since all the gear was in the guitarist's name and it was all in the bus, also in his name, and on his property they'd have me arrested for trespassing/theft if I tried to get any of it back. I not only lost all the $$ I'd invested but also some speakers, stands, and microphones that I'd had before this band but they were on the bus. They kept it all and I was crap out of luck.

Soured me in a big way, all I had left was my bass and my amp. Put the bass in the case and literally didn't touch it for close to 3 years. Slow process to start playing again but glad I eventually did.

I'm not sure that "that sucks" does justice to your plight. I've been lucky, even when I've worked with low-lifes, I never got screwed that badly.

 

[WI Short Scaler]

I'm not sure that "that sucks" does justice to your plight. I've been lucky, even when I've worked with low-lifes, I never got screwed that badly.

I left out the part that the guitarist who had everything in his name and the sound/light guy who we considered part of the band were both groomsmen at my wedding.

That part increased the "suck" level exponentially!

 

[jeffb28451]

Of course. How many band/reasons given and validity of reasons/excuses given are the interesting part.

Stuff happens to everybody in every band...play on.

 

[J-Bassomatic]

I was fired once after just one show. It was a blessing in disguise as the band went through 100 other members after that.

Had absolutely nothing to do with personalities or dislikes but I didn't fit the drummer's style, not really fired so to speak but knew I was a bad fit. Still on speaking terms with the BL, he was right. Why whine about it? They were a bunch of great people, very dedicated. When I was with them we were a 'power rock' trio. 'My' drummer quit, he and I were a good fit. Tried to carry on with them but they did very well on their own.

 

[robassable]

3 times but all 3 were over 30 years ago and I've been in dozens of bands over the decades. Only one time was totally legit because the guy who replaced me was a really good player as well as singer, but I have improved considerably since then. The other two not because of my playing, but because a former bandmate "friend" became available again so I got the boot.

Happens to most all of us along the way for all kinds of reasons. Of course looking back I wish I wouldn't have gotten as butthurt as I did because I proved to myself that by sticking with it other opportunities (better ones in my case) will open.

 

[bondibox]

I got fired last week from a cover band because I wasn't learning their 40 song setlist fast enough (not like they will be playing gigs for a couple months anyway). I should have known what was to come when they gave me 3 days to learn 10 songs for the audition.

I was not crestfallen in the least - the first thing I said when I saw the setlist was that I wasn't gonna play 867-5309 ... not only is it campy but it didn't fit in at all with the rest of the set that included BB King, ZZ Top, Clapton and Cocker. When that damn song kept showing up on revised setlists I said I wouldn't be able to get it out of my head - the BL said "you need it in your head to play it."

 

[oldrocker]

I got fired last week from a cover band because I wasn't learning their 40 song setlist fast enough (not like they will be playing gigs for a couple months anyway). I should have known what was to come when they gave me 3 days to learn 10 songs for the audition.

I was not crestfallen in the least - the first thing I said when I saw the setlist was that I wasn't gonna play 867-5309 ... not only is it campy but it didn't fit in at all with the rest of the set that included BB King, ZZ Top, Clapton and Cocker. When that damn song kept showing up on revised setlists I said I wouldn't be able to get it out of my head - the BL said "you need it in your head to play it."

The firing may possibly have been more due to your refusal to play 'Jenny' than taking too long to learn the set list.

For me, when I'm a new guy joining an established band with an established set list I don't refuse to play any of the songs. If there are songs on the set list that I absolutely don't want to play - and I can't name any right now - I would just pass on the opportunity.

Later on, when I am part of the band I would have an expectation to have a some say when adding new songs to the list.

YMMV

 

[bondibox]

The firing may possibly have been more due to your refusal to play 'Jenny' than taking too long to learn the set list.

Understood, and yeah I was probably overstepping my bounds. But... it was the very first thing I said to the BL when I saw the set list. Yet he still gave me the audition, and kept after me for about 6 weeks while I learned the set list. Maybe he thought I was joking the first time I brought it up, IDK. It's not like he didn't hear me - it was written in a text. But it was a bad sign that he wasn't "listening" the first time I mentioned it, especially if it's as you say and the reason for letting me go. But honestly, I think it's because I muddled through the audition since I barely had time to learn any of the songs I came to play much less was able to master any of them.

 

[MichelD]

When we started the group I got fired from we all agreed to come up with $500 to use as a down payment on a PA system. I found out only later that I was the only one who actually forked over that cash and that was the entire down payment! and than we played gigs and used a majority of all gig income to pay off the PA and a used school bus for transporting it all.

The music store was in a different town from where I lived so the guitar player carried out all the transactions, hence all paperwork was in his name. I had X'd off one Saturday that I couldn't play, they had an opportunity to play and I gave my blessing to having a fill in because I was busy.

They offered the other guy my spot that night, and left me a voice mail that I was out. And since all the gear was in the guitarist's name and it was all in the bus, also in his name, and on his property they'd have me arrested for trespassing/theft if I tried to get any of it back. I not only lost all the $$ I'd invested but also some speakers, stands, and microphones that I'd had before this band but they were on the bus. They kept it all and I was crap out of luck.

Soured me in a big way, all I had left was my bass and my amp. Put the bass in the case and literally didn't touch it for close to 3 years. Slow process to start playing again but glad I eventually did.

That sucks. I lost a Shure SM58 and a microphone stand in a group break up once.

 

[TheOxRocks]

Fired once. BL was the "perfect" rock star who was great at blaming others for her mistakes. I was having none of it, wouldn't kiss her butt - or the lead guitarist's, her husband, who was frequently drunk at shows. When I dared to cross off a song she'd insisted we had to play even though we'd train-wrecked on it at EVERY rehearsal, I suddenly became a liability. A few months later, they fired the drummer as well because he told them the new bass player wasn't as good as me and maybe they should hire me back. In ten years of the band, they've had six bassists (I was #3) and eight drummers (I played with #2).

With my last band, the rhythm guitarist and I found out that the drummer (a narcissistic psycho who thought of himself as the band leader, where the rest of us did things by committee) and the lead guitarist (who'd played with the drummer in a prior band) were auditioning people to replace us, behind our backs - and on our equipment, no less. The other two guys were shocked when they arrived at the rehearsal studio and found that RG and I had emptied it of our equipment, which included the PA, microphones, mic stands and cables. So instead of them firing us, we effectively fired them.

Every other band I've been in, I quit.

 

[Dorado Pulido]

Been dismissed from 2 different bands where I was the singer for over a year in each after they decided they "want a different sound" whatever the hell that means.

 

[OldskoolRic]

Getting fired, a blessing in disguise. I have had musical endeavours with the same 2 people since 1978, so we have probably been closer than most groups, a lifetime since we were 16, one of the members since we were 12. In 2007, I was approached by the other 2 members, to once again reunite. My only condition was that we write and record our own music. After a long grind we had put out an album in 2015. After that, emphasis on writing went out the window. I also feel that I was

 

[rickwebb]

Yeah. Because i had the audacity to tell the rest of the band "Maybe we should concentrate more on playin in time and singing in key, instead of letting our egos run rampant?". Death To Rick Webb for that one...

 

[delta7fred]

It sounds like you were as well out of that one.

 

[mstillman]

Yeah. Because i had the audacity to tell the rest of the band "Maybe we should concentrate more on playin in time and singing in key, instead of letting our egos run rampant?". Death To Rick Webb for that one...

Reality can be most unwelcome to some, usually of lesser talent.

 

[mstillman]

That sucks. I lost a Shure SM58 and a microphone stand in a group break up once.

You just reminded me of the Beta57a I left behind when I bailed after 4 months rehearsing with 0 gigs. Nice guys and some talent, but the band wasn't going anywhere.

Ah well...

 

[74hc]

No, but thinking more on OP's question, how would I know for several band where we just drifted apart? Maybe me and a few others were actually fired without saying a word.

 

[BassDad1964]

Guitar player friend of mine and I were in a cover band that played pretty regular back in the 80's. There was this guy who played piano as a single act who was pretty damn good. He had gotten a good bit of exposure through a weekly radio show that broadcasted out of Wheeling, WV and he approached us to come play with him as he was putting a band together. He had a financial backer and through the radio station he was getting contacts for showcases.

We knew we could easily be replaced in the cover band and we were open with them about it and all was well. Started rehearsals every day for about 3 weeks. Everything was moving right along. Then my guitar player buddy finds out that the piano/frontman was skimming cash from expenses the backer was paying. Oh well, we figured it was all over but the drama at that point.
Two days later, on New Year's Eve I get a phone call from the frontman saying that this band had cancelled a big club 2 hours away because of the snow storm and that he wanted us to get there in 2 hours. 8 inches of snow (which he knew) and still coming down so no roads were being cleared yet. I told him the obvious issue with the time limit and was told that if we didnt make it there in time we were fired. He had a guitar and bass player hired 2 days later.So that was that.

But not quite. My guitar playin' buddy set up a meeting with the backer and brought with him the actual invoices for the equipment that was purchased with the backer's money.

I don't know what exactly happened after that but the band never played. I didn't see the piano player until about 10 years later when I was playing at some festival near Wheeling. He came up to me, put out his hand and said, "no hard feelings."

I didn't shake.

 

[QORC]

hell, yes, I have. more than a few times over the decades. its part of the business. you deal with it. it's like dating - you can't expect "fairness", almost everyone gets blind-sided and crapped on at some point, and its just not always going to be a fit.

and I've been on the other end and had a hand in firing other band members. it happens.

it's HOW you do it (or how it's done to you) that matters as to whether you can separate on good terms or there is bitterness that can last for years or forever.

reputations get around. Local guy here - very talented guitarist and singer. but keeps churning through bass players. I've ignored all of his emails via craigslist. I'm not going to be the next abused and misused bass player, no matter how many gigs he has