How would you feel about this...

[PauFerro]

How should I feel about this? I know guys play in multiple bands and I'm totally fine with that, but not the same name, genre, and logo of the project I helped start? A project in which I invested a lot of time learning the material I might add.

I'd feel terrible if this happened to me. You cited the reasons -- effort expended, etcetera. Obviously the other two guys thought you were OK because they are still working with you.

They should have at least used a different name, different genre, different spin. That would have made it less underhanded.

From where I stand, Rick walked away from a promising project, so he could play with his buddy John and then recruited Bob and Stu to restart the project without me. I'm not sure I can accept that. Seems pretty underhanded.

Yep, it's wrong. The best thing you can do is go out and make your current band a success. I had a guy who I fired. He started a new band playing most of the same repertoire under a new name, taking key members of the group from which he was fired. One of my key players even said "the band I stay with is the one that has the most gigs, music, and pays the best". So, he even pitted me against his new "lover".

Fast forward 2 years. His band has folded, the members who left my group are back and committed to my own project, but now they are in second call positions -- I found new guys. We still have 20-30 gigs a year and a ton of activity.

Success will ease your pain!

Is this normal behavior or am I over reacting? My impulse is to say screw this and walk away from the current band.

I think it's normal for people to start new bands with existing band members, but not under the same name, and not without the players common to each band being transparent. Not sure I trust the two guys who are still with your band. This is mere interpersonal courtesy.

From their perspective, they don't owe you anything, so you probably won't get too far in holding them accountable.

The best medicine -- go out and make this band a raging success, with or without the two guys common to both bands. Get gigs on the table. Gigs are your birth certificate as a leader!!

 

[Goatrope]

Weasel alert!

Sounds to me like they chose not to fire you directly.

Oh well. Life is too short to stress over it.

 

[oldrocker]

... I would practice, practice like there's no tomorrow so they can see who's a better bass player. Make yourself stand above the crowd. The time you invested in the previous project was not a waste since you learned material that you didn't know, I suppose.
...

What?? why would you do that? Doesn't matter who the better bass player is. The guitar player wants to play in the original protect but but with his buddy as bass player, and the other 2 guys are now playing in that project as well.

Question is whether to continue with the other 2 guys and the recruited guitar player in project #2.

 

[primusfan1989]

Its a cover band...dont take it so seriously

 

[RustyAxe]

The question is do I "accept it" by continuing to play in our current line up with Bob and Stu. Or do I walk away because I feel they did me wrong. I'm strongly leaning toward leaving them all behind. If I just got replaced, ok, but the way this all went down (is going down?) just seems very wrong to me.

What do you think “move on” means? If you can’t find a way to get over being sore about it then quit. If you can, stay ... or not. Either way, no sense in venting your anger ... they obviously don’t give a rip how YOU feel, and holding a grudge against them only hurts you.

 

[DirtDog]

The question is do I "accept it" by continuing to play in our current line up with Bob and Stu. Or do I walk away because I feel they did me wrong. I'm strongly leaning toward leaving them all behind. If I just got replaced, ok, but the way this all went down (is going down?) just seems very wrong to me.

You would be justified in walking away.

 

[Wesley R]

Wow, that is some high-school level pettiness from Bob and Stu. And they'll bail on the 2nd project at some point. It's just a matter of time. I'd walk away before I wasted more of my time with them.

Kids are kids. Age does not necessarily reflect maturity.

 

[Chrisk-K]

I'm not sure I can accept that. Seems pretty underhanded.

What would you do if you didn’t accept that? You’ve been basically rejected. Don’t dwell. Move on.

 

[bolophonic]

This sounds like a bunch of doofuses. There is no way I would be able to pretend that hadn't just happened and continue to treat these dudes like regular band mates. I would be lining something else up.

 

[interp]

I should point out that you said one thing in your original post that is not true: “We’re all adults...”

You are not dealing with adults. Leave it all behind and don’t look back.

 

[Plectrum72]

Tell Bob and Stu that you think they pulled some underhanded poopie with Rick and you'll be departing the band due to lack of trust and mutual respect. Anything suggested by @Biffa also seems quite reasonable to me.

 

[Joe Nerve]

Is this normal behavior or am I over reacting? My impulse is to say screw this and walk away from the current band.

I'm with you on the screw them. I got tired of wasting my time with people who weren't worth me wasting my time with, and things started going a lot better for me.

I'd recommend auditioning for established bands and saving yourself a ton of BS. Leave amicably from these guys, and just write them off. Thats creepy stuff. Backstabbers will continue to stab us in the back if we dont wall away.

My opinion.

 

[charlie monroe]

I’m not sure. I think you dodged a bullet. Getting fired by pRick allowed the band to pull together and play a gig with another on the books.

You have already said you never liked the guy. He probably smelled that on you.

What does pRick have to show for it? Back at square one.

My money is on Bob and Stu being Switzerland.

 

[moogieotter]

I’d stick around. I mean John probably knows more hot chicks than you?

 

[BassplayinBob]

I'll try to make this as short and to the point as possible.

About 6 months ago, I was in a start up project - 4 piece rock covers. The sub-genre was actually quite specific and the name and logo were unique. We rehearsed a couple of months but it never got off the ground as the guitar player, "Rick" suddenly bailed, out of the blue saying he had no time for the commitment. I will also mention that Rick's good friend, "John" plays bass and they were in a former project together.
The vocalist "Bob", drummer "Stu", and I recruited another guitar player and retooled to go in another direction. Changed up the sub-genre, new songs, new name, and basically started over. We're still trying to get off the ground with this project too. We've had one gig and one more scheduled for next month, after a couple months of rehearsing. Things seem to be on track and going ok.

Today I learned that "Bob" and "Stu" have rejoined with Rick and John and are promoting their "new" band. The band is the same project we had originally started 6 months ago with Rick. Same sub-genre, same name, same logo. So, in other words, they re-started the same project only with "John on bass and not me. And I might add, never mentioning anything to me, despite the fact that I'm still in a band with "Bob" and "Stu."

We're all adults and good players. I can hold my own and always show up as the most prepared at each rehearsal. So it's not a case of being the weak link or anything.

How should I feel about this? I know guys play in multiple bands and I'm totally fine with that, but not the same name, genre, and logo of the project I helped start? A project in which I invested a lot of time learning the material I might add.

From where I stand, Rick walked away from a promising project, so he could play with his buddy John and then recruited Bob and Stu to restart the project without me. I'm not sure I can accept that. Seems pretty underhanded.

Is this normal behavior or am I over reacting? My impulse is to say screw this and walk away from the current band.

This sounds like Band101 to me, so common it's cliche'. Musicians are a very passive-aggressive bunch.
Go through your process and when that's done, move on. There are plenty of good groups in need of low end, go find your people.

 

[HardNHeavy]

Not cool, sound like flakes...who knows what their gonna pull in the future...If they weren't adult enough to tell you, then go elsewhere...... a trainwreck waiting to happen....Let them know how you feel professionally with respect and move on.

 

[sr900guy]

I honestly wouldn’t have time for them and wouldn’t help be feel hurt by it. I’d walk away from them

 

[lokikallas]

Yeah, not cool. Not your friends, and not people I would have any faith in moving forward.

 

[Oddly]

Tell Bob and Stu that you think they pulled some underhanded poopie with Rick and you'll be departing the band due to lack of trust and mutual respect. Anything suggested by @Biffa also seems quite reasonable to me.

All of this.

 

[tr4252]

Instead of my usual flippant comments about murdering their puppies and saran-wrapping hornets to their sensitive parts, I really must say I despise the behavior you've described, o.p.

On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd give "I'm sorry but the band just can't go on the way things are". an 8 or 9, and rate "Let's just ignore him, maybe he'll go away" somewhere below the scum line.

So, forget them.

I've only been fired from a band once, but only because I was an egotistical, uncooperative, loose cannon kind of guy (guitar player, but it was the 60's, what more can I say?). The band gave me every chance, and finally one of the members told me the news face to face, after they'd reached a decision. I appreciated the forthrightness, and learned a valuable lesson. (I hate valuable lessons)

To be ignored to death as you seem to have been must be awful.

Tom