A common cause of band failure is lack of direction and clear goals when first forming.
Two musicians meet and have a good vibe, so they recruit 2 or 3 more band members and everyone assumes this automatically constitutes a functional band where a working democratic process has spontaneously materialized. It rarely works that way.
What usually happens is everybody has their own ideas about band direction but the 1 or 2 band members with the most aggressive personalities dominate the process while the rest become increasingly frustrated.
To be successful, the rules need to be determined from the beginning, and every member has to understand and agree with them.
Even so, successful bands that are functionally democratic, where everybody has equal input, are relatively rare, although they're really cool when they do work.
Human nature being what it is, any band with 3 or more members will usually function better when there is a de facto decision maker and the other members accept their roles as perhaps providing creative input, but not really having an equal say.
Once this C-19 **** is in the rear view mirror, I'll be actively looking for a new band. One of my "must haves" is a band that has a clear and coherent direction and the ability to achieve our musical goals.
If I'll be joining an existing band, it means I'll be paying attention to their current decision making structure, and if it isn't functional, then I'll pass, no matter how talented they may be.
I'll also consider forming my own band, with myself as leader. I've done it before and it worked well for its purpose at the time. But to make it work, everyone who joins will need to understand what they're signing up for.
