Have You Ever Left a Successful Band?

[pablomago]

I did due to health issues. They were a real good original world fusion band. I sat in with them at local shows a number of times. The replacement bass player and I became good friends. They ended up breaking up after a few years. The original drummer was married to the female singer and left when they split, then they went through two other drummers before the co-founder and female singer co-founder had a falling out that I don't even know what it was about. They had run their course.

 

[THUNDERGODX]

Just left a band that I helped start. It was too BL-oriented. I grew tired of the playlist,of which about 50% had absolutely no attraction or interest to me, but was thought to be the absolute "thang" by BL and his wife, the singer.
I respect their talent and ability, as well as their work ethic to promote the band, etc.
The loss of interest was the main factor in my leaving.
Im sure they will continue with success as far as the market will permit, and I dont begrudge them any success in the future.
When we started, there was often comment about a previous bassist who often questioned the choice of material for the playlist. Not wanting to be "that guy", I learned every song that was thrown out without comment or objection, although I often didnt see the value of much of the material. Wasnt danceable, wasnt crowd- appropriate, etc.
Too many "cute" ideas. (KAZOOS??)
A set list with Alice In Chains and Justin Bieber?
MAybe Im a "Heavy" fan, but Im not a fanatic about it, but sometimes, enough is enough.

 

[City]

Hey Folks,

Curious if anyone here has left behind a drama free, successful gigging band, and why. Recently i put in my resignation for what is really my primary group(but i am not the BL). The band has been getting better and better gigs and has good booking potential. The group is generally drama free and everyone acts professional. Seemingly a great situation all around.

So why did i resign? The music and concept. Joining the band was always an artistic compromise from the start. The music played pretty much never intersected with my own tastes. The concept of the group is confusing...some sort of show tune/novelty jazz/20's/30's/40's/world group with no drummer. The BL was also really trying to use the band as a vehicle for his own originals, which didn't always suit the rest of the material or came left of center. Ultimately playing in this group was starting to drain me and become a chore, regardless of decent gig pay.

Why have you left a successful band?

It was the "No Side Projects" rule that was suddenly imposed on the band. It was time to go.

 

[MrLenny1]

I left a very busy popular country band.
I wanted to Rawk. Rock band fell thru 6 months later.

 

[Russell L]

Yeah, coupla times. Left the first due to too many gigs and the fact that they were anal. Left the second one due to style and went to join another band more my style.