Is good enough, good enough?

[Downunderwonder]

If the audience notices it, it's probably a train wreck.

I actually played in a band about 8 years ago where everyone was on the same page. We rehearsed ad nauseum, but when we hit the stage we were so prepared that all we had to think about was making music. You NEVER wondered if someone was going to play a wrong chord, or miss a change, intro or ending. You could just about count the mistakes the whole band made in a whole night on one hand.

That sounds like fun.

But we don't know if the OP is there already and looking for the last 0.005% of mistake free performance.

If people are doing the potential train wreck initiation type of offences as you listed throughout the shows then it's a nobrainer to get tighter.

Once you get past all that it's a continuum from decent band to top notch band. Then it boils down to what they all want to be.

 

[LBS-bass]

I've been involved in a few bands over the past years and one really talented team of people. I am by no means professional and certainly have not achieved perfection. Still, I do take pride in the product I present when playing in any situation. I guess what I am saying is that good enough, is not good enough for me.

The reason I ask this is because I am currently in a country cover band with some very talented people. Awesome players, a great lead singer, and yet there doesn't seem to be any drive to get tighter as a group. No desire to rehearse. We are playing gigs and there are a number in the upcoming weeks. I listen to our recordings and hear far too many mistakes. Again, no ones perfect, mistakes happen live, but little things that should never be acceptable are met with, eh, we will figure it out.

Is this normal? Am I expecting too much?

IMO for most people the juice has to be worth the squeeze. How much are you guys getting paid? How much time does everyone need to carve out of their lives to do the work that's needed? How much fun are you having and what motivates those guys to do this?

Country is awesome but in some ways it can be a low bar, and seasoned musicians aren't always going to be motivated go out of their way to polish up a bunch of easy songs if it isn't worth the effort. This is a question of goals and expectations, and not every member will feel the same way about those.

That being said, I always try to get involved in projects where everyone does want to rise to a certain level of excellence, because what's fun for me is having it be awesome. This simply might not be the right situation for you.

 

[buldog5151bass]

IMO for most people the juice has to be worth the squeeze. How much are you guys getting paid? How much time does everyone need to carve out of their lives to do the work that's needed? How much fun are you having and what motivates those guys to do this?

Country is awesome but in some ways it can be a low bar, and seasoned musicians aren't always going to be motivated go out of their way to polish up a bunch of easy songs if it isn't worth the effort. This is a question of goals and expectations, and not every member will feel the same way about those.

That being said, I always try to get involved in projects where everyone does want to rise to a certain level of excellence, because what's fun for me is having it be awesome. This simply might not be the right situation for you.

Country is no different than any other genre. It has some easy tunes, it has some tougher ones. And vocals (especially harmonies) tend to be very important. No matter what music you are playing, if you aren't going to do it well, don't do it.

 

[MVE]

In my experience, bands get tighter with experience much faster than with any amount of practice.
Stick with it and play as many gigs as you can and after a few months those mistakes will fade away.
Im going to go against the grain here and say, 'talking to your bandmates and telling them you think they should all be tighter' just makes you sound like you're trying to be holier than tho. If there are mistakes, fix yourself first; lead by example.
Professional touring bands are super tight because they are playing shows three or more times a week.
You can't expect a band that plays once or twice a month to meet that level of familiarity. And every single new band I know of that strived for that level of tightness from the beginning ended up playing just a few, usually tight but uninspired, shows and then fizzled out.

 

[LBS-bass]

Country is no different than any other genre. It has some easy tunes, it has some tougher ones. And vocals (especially harmonies) tend to be very important. No matter what music you are playing, if you aren't going to do it well, don't do it.

Yes, that's why I qualified with "in some ways." And I'd take issue with "any other." If you're playing fusion or prog or something with complicated changes, like a Steely Dan tribute, that's a very different game.

It really depends on what your song list looks like. There are plenty of simple songs in country and there are also plenty of more complicated ones.

My feeling is this. I have known and worked with musicians who never practiced anything and could nail most of the standard repertoire to the wall because they were just that good. You might be lucky enough to play with those guys. Most of the players out there aren't in that category. If you are in that category (meaning the OP), you might need to find them. If you aren't, then you might need to find a bunch that's willing to up their game to make it good.

 

[Rib 13]

The answer depends on not only what level of complacency these folks will take a song, but also how much you are microscoping them..............Sometimes slop is slop but there are other times where errs are like a pimple on the nose: negligible-looking to the rest of the planet but, to the owner, it looks like Gibraltar..................

Its kinda like the Vinyl format: its those little pops and crackles of the needle on the record that makes it organic (providing its only little pops and crackles)............

 

[CoffeeLove]

I've been involved in a few bands over the past years and one really talented team of people. I am by no means professional and certainly have not achieved perfection. Still, I do take pride in the product I present when playing in any situation. I guess what I am saying is that good enough, is not good enough for me.

The reason I ask this is because I am currently in a country cover band with some very talented people. Awesome players, a great lead singer, and yet there doesn't seem to be any drive to get tighter as a group. No desire to rehearse. We are playing gigs and there are a number in the upcoming weeks. I listen to our recordings and hear far too many mistakes. Again, no ones perfect, mistakes happen live, but little things that should never be acceptable are met with, eh, we will figure it out.

Is this normal? Am I expecting too much?

Was it like this before Covid? In California there is no live music, so no gigs to speak of. Without gigs, many people lack the desire to practice, and I get that. Well, if not already mentioned, I would find out who else feels the same way you do (be certain). Is it only 1 person sucking and doesn't want to practice, or is it everyone? If you are the only one interested in improving, then it is what it is. And yes, I have played with very talented people that could care less about getting better, and too frequently forget their parts or lose their place in songs (I avoid playing with those people despite how good they are). Perfection is not my goal, too stressful. But making it through 3 sets with only a few noticeable-to-the-crowd mistakes during the show is how it should be. And it is important to determine if the mistakes are minor and unnoticeable to the audience vs real mistakes that sort of derail the enjoyment of a song to the audience. The latter must be dealt with if consistently derailing songs.

 

[Renaissance]

I am a firm believer that "good enough" kills bands!

"I don't get paid enough to care". "We're only playing for a bunch of drunks". "I get paid the same if I play good enough or great". "Our last album sold just fine". "We're selling tickets". "The audience can't tell".

No matter your position in music when you accept good enough - you have peaked. We all have our point of good enough.

The trick is to find other musicians who care as much - or as little - as you care. Let's be honest here, we're not all headed for Madison Square Garden.

 

[Rock Salad]

That was spot on! We killed it again!!
I hear that a lot and just laugh it off. I don't ever want to dampen the enthusiasm.
I bring up the trouble spots as my issue, which it is. "Can we go over that change again a few times? I'm not sure if i'm feeling it right."

 

[Nephilymbass]

I've been involved in a few bands over the past years and one really talented team of people. I am by no means professional and certainly have not achieved perfection. Still, I do take pride in the product I present when playing in any situation. I guess what I am saying is that good enough, is not good enough for me.

The reason I ask this is because I am currently in a country cover band with some very talented people. Awesome players, a great lead singer, and yet there doesn't seem to be any drive to get tighter as a group. No desire to rehearse. We are playing gigs and there are a number in the upcoming weeks. I listen to our recordings and hear far too many mistakes. Again, no ones perfect, mistakes happen live, but little things that should never be acceptable are met with, eh, we will figure it out.

Is this normal? Am I expecting too much?

Some people just take more pride in their playing than others I think. Some times there are confidence issues. My current band is pretty good about it. One member in particular I'd say is a little nuts about being well rehearsed to the point that I'm often sick of playing the song by the time we eventually throw it in the live set list. I can forgive minor mistakes at gigs Especially if it's a trade off of being energetic and putting on a show vs just standing there but I don't want to be involved with anything where catastrophic mistakes are being made Onstage because of lack of preparation.

I've been in other bands in the past where some people pretty much just wanted to play gigs and rarely rehearse at all. With many of the people involved in those projects I eventually came to realize they were more so in it for the attention of being onstage than passion for the music. Some people oddly enough are in it for money to a point where they don't want to rehearse because they see it as costing them money for gas. I don't know the people you play with so I can't really say. But I've seen it all over the years.

 

[Son of Wobble]

 

[dkelley]

Led Zeppelin made LOTS of little mistakes constantly in concert, yet were 4 of the greatest musicians to form a rock band together in history and certainly are legendary.

It sucks... but sometimes it's just how some musicians are.

They wouldn't make it in some styles of music, but if it's good enough, and fun, then it's ok.

If you can't handle them, there are musicians who are way more accurate that you could find.

 

[kmon]

Why don't you pick up some Texas bourbon. Can you get Garrison where you live? Don't settle.

Pour a round and have a playback party with your band and talk through it. Don't dog anybody. Even start with yourself if that breaks the ice. Say "I'd like to work on the whole performance, not just my bassin'."

Isn't that one of the reasons y'all record the set?
Don't make it a complaint session. Make it like film study in football. It is a team product after all.

Not to derail anythind but damn Garrison Bros is some solid bourbon. Head out to the distillery if you get a chance...head west toward Fredricksburg...

 

[SactoBass]

I spent a number of years in the late 90's and early 2000's playing bass in a YES tribute band. We played mostly their 70's era music such as the entire Close to the Edge album, plus stuff off of Fragile and The Yes Album. I'm the guy who put that project together from the ground up (I've been a die-hard YES fan since 1971). It took a whopping *two years* to find the right people for that project. Why did it take so long? Because of the excessive number of average (and below average) players roaming the Earth. There are many players out there who fancy themselves as "accomplished" players who in actuality are sub-par. Oh, they talk up a storm on the phone, but when the rubber hits the road and it's time for them to audition, they fall short. The good thing is, I set my expectation appropriately at the beginning of the audition process, and I told myself that it was going to take a long time to find the right people for that project. Patience and perseverance finally paid off after a two-year search and we ended up with a kick-arse five-piece band that played the material correctly. We had an absolute blast playing that material, and the crowd response was awesome (lots of Yes-heads in the audiences I presume!) I'd have to say that out of all the bands I've been in since the early 70's, the YES band was the absolute funnest! Plus, as a result of being in that band, I got to live out my lifelong dream of meeting YES in person in 2000 and talk with each of them separately (btw, Jon is shorter than I thought, and Chris was taller than I thought).

My point is, there is a plethora of mediocrity out there. It abounds. But there are diamonds in the rough to be found if you have the patience. Just don't expect it to happen quickly or easily.

 

[Hummergeist]

I like to play live, and sometimes I do music based presentations for work. What makes it rewarding for me is putting in the hours ahead of the gig, so when the date comes round I'm confident and relaxed. There's an obvious pay off for doing the ground work. I don't like working with people who can't see that.

 

[Blaze Barlow]

I've been involved in a few bands over the past years and one really talented team of people. I am by no means professional and certainly have not achieved perfection. Still, I do take pride in the product I present when playing in any situation. I guess what I am saying is that good enough, is not good enough for me.

The reason I ask this is because I am currently in a country cover band with some very talented people. Awesome players, a great lead singer, and yet there doesn't seem to be any drive to get tighter as a group. No desire to rehearse. We are playing gigs and there are a number in the upcoming weeks. I listen to our recordings and hear far too many mistakes. Again, no ones perfect, mistakes happen live, but little things that should never be acceptable are met with, eh, we will figure it out.

Is this normal? Am I expecting too much?

Whats "good enough" in relation to anything in life is a process of the individual imagination and thinking..each of us has our own life experiences..and our perception comes from that..where you put the balance of your life is a result of "your" surrounding world and how you perceive things and how you react..and therefore results in the things that are within "your" box..material things have never meant much to me..its someones time..attention..honesty..loyalty and effort that are the gifts that no money can buy...anyone can love you while the sun is shining..in the storms is where you learn who truly cares about you..anything less is unacceptable.........to me..

 

[murph7489]

my answer is no...good enough is not good enough..for me..I look at this from another perspective..I am not considering weather or not the crowd likes us or management brings us back ( dont get me wrong thats important) what drives me is to be the best band in this area..and personally best bass player in this area..I'm a competitor, I played sports in school and I always wanted to be the best...

Finally this is something my dad told me when I young and started in the electrical trade ( he was a carpenter) he said billy this is my advice and you need to listen and follow this; always leave every job site clean, as good as you found it or better. the second thing is; always do your best work, your name is on everything you do and you want your customers to visually see the quality also other tradesmen may come into a place you have done work and you want them to see high quality work because if they don't they will ask who did it and you don't want people talking S*** about your work, because word of mouth is powerful....

 

[2112]

I'm blessed to be part of a covers project in which *everyone* is on-board with making the show as tight as possible. The result is that we always get several folks from the crowd telling us how much better we sound than the "other bands", and that we sound "just like the 'real thing'". This grabs and keeps people's attention from the start. This opens the door to putting together songs that are different than the dive bar standards being played by everyone else, and also taking on more challenging pieces that nobody else is playing. All of this sets us apart from the others, allows us to punch above the noise floor, and creates a demand for our product.

So, yeah... there's definitely value in getting things tight as possible. But, the problem is, as it always is.... musicians gonna musician. To solve the former problem you must first solve the latter.

 

[nilorius]

A lot of expects much, but only 1/100 gets that. As to me - i have allready everything i wanted and doesn't expect anything and doesn't (sorry - there is one thing - new strings ).

 

[troy mcclure]

It depends on your expectations. If you just want to gig and your market is not competitive for country acts, that perhaps being good enough is enough. If you want to grow musically, I would say no. One of the least talented , worst sounding bands in my area plays every weekend (pre-covid) The crowd is either clueless or doesn't care because they enjoy the song selection. They hack through songs, dumb down parts and will even cut out a part of a song that is musically too difficult for them.