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My ideas always seem to be bad ideas unless
- Thread starter Metalbasspro
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- ideas
When I know I'm going to meet resistance on a new idea, my MO is to start planting the ideas well ahead of time and in somewhat of a offhand/subliminal manner - never proposing my idea as "the next big thing we've gotta do" but rather: "I wonder what would happen/what it would be like if we.....", and let the consensus come around on its own. doesn't always work, but the success rate is high enough to be a viable strategy.
I'll never be a hardcore closer salesperson, though.
I'll never be a hardcore closer salesperson, though.
I disagree. Planting the seed is a pretty sophisticated sales technique!!
It will not happen with that crowd because they're stupid. Welcome to planet earth. It's full of stupid people.
Sometimes I'll noodle bass lines and melodies when we're setting up, to plant the seed of a song in everyone's head weeks ahead of me actually suggesting it.
Besides being "just the bass player", I mostly play with players who are considerably better and more accomplished than I am. This puts me so far down in the pecking order that I have to look up to see the bottom of the Mariana Trench. Regardless, I still speak my mind despite the extreme rarity of any of my ideas getting traction with the band.
I think that the issue may be that you are the new guy and they just need to get to know you better before they start judging your ideas on their own merit.
- Jan 1, 2014
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- Decendant from the Clovis culture. "Emitting that wonderful bass effect since 1970".
Give it awhile and see if it continues.
You're the new guy so there's a tendency to sometimes not be taken as seriously by the more long-term stakeholders in the band.
If it continues - and it still bugs you - then it's decision time. And you'll know when that time comes - if it comes.
But be forewarned, it's not an uncommon thing you've run into. George Harrison once said when talking about the Beatles that, as far as John Lennon was concerned, "The Beatles" were John and Paul. Period. Harrison said he felt that attitude coming from Lennon from the day he first joined the band, right up until the day the Beatles finally broke up.
Same deal with a band I was in. The singer and one of the guitarists (who were both songwriters) had known each other since they were kids and had already been in several bands together. And to a large extent, they considered themselves "the band." The drummer, the other guitarist, and myself were slightly on the outside when it came to decisions, direction, and bringing some of our own songs into the band.
It finally reached the point where we (and a good number of the band's fans) started referring to the three of us as The Rhythm Section.
The singer and guitarist thought that was hysterically funny.
They didn't laugh quite so much when "their" Rhythm Section split to form the nucleus of their own band about a year later.
You're the new guy so there's a tendency to sometimes not be taken as seriously by the more long-term stakeholders in the band.
If it continues - and it still bugs you - then it's decision time. And you'll know when that time comes - if it comes.
But be forewarned, it's not an uncommon thing you've run into. George Harrison once said when talking about the Beatles that, as far as John Lennon was concerned, "The Beatles" were John and Paul. Period. Harrison said he felt that attitude coming from Lennon from the day he first joined the band, right up until the day the Beatles finally broke up.
Same deal with a band I was in. The singer and one of the guitarists (who were both songwriters) had known each other since they were kids and had already been in several bands together. And to a large extent, they considered themselves "the band." The drummer, the other guitarist, and myself were slightly on the outside when it came to decisions, direction, and bringing some of our own songs into the band.
It finally reached the point where we (and a good number of the band's fans) started referring to the three of us as The Rhythm Section.
The singer and guitarist thought that was hysterically funny.
They didn't laugh quite so much when "their" Rhythm Section split to form the nucleus of their own band about a year later.
It took me a lot of years to learn (still working on it, I guess) that you can't feed people who aren't hungry.
There can be any number of reasons they are not hungry:
There can be any number of reasons they are not hungry:
- Genuinely no felt need
- Resisting change of ANY kind
- Resisting ideas from YOU, specifically...
My wife's in your band??
Where I worked there was a pecking order for management and employees.
A really good suggestion by an employee could not be tolerated because that makes the management looks stupid. They are management and should already have thought of that before
you suggested it.
Therefore the employee suggestion had to be carefully reworked to make it look like management thought of it first.
A really good suggestion by an employee could not be tolerated because that makes the management looks stupid. They are management and should already have thought of that before
you suggested it.
Therefore the employee suggestion had to be carefully reworked to make it look like management thought of it first.
I put together a bill with my band and three other bands. All bands had at least one employee from the same workplace (a Guitar Center, if you must know). Since I booked the show and was assembling the line-up, I had the option of putting the bands in any order I wanted.
I told the guys in the band that we should play next-to-last. This would allow all the employees at work time to close up shop and get over to the club. The other band members said we needed to go on first because of work the next morning, long drive for them to and from the venue, etc...
Guess what happened. Go ahead.
We had about 10 people in the venue for our set. The third slot? Over 50. For an all-originals night in Los Angeles, that's a relatively good turnout.
Everyone acknowledged later that they should have listened to me.
A rare win for the bass player!
"It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit."
Harry S Truman
Harry S Truman
story of my life.... band, wife, children...
i am a worrier and always over prepare and think of every scenario possible and research whatever info i can find on the subject. i am well-prepared for most situations before they happen (or don't). And when preparing with others, I am met with resistance...
i just have to go with the group..... then when i predict what is going to happen happens, i just smile to myself and move on.
good luck
i am a worrier and always over prepare and think of every scenario possible and research whatever info i can find on the subject. i am well-prepared for most situations before they happen (or don't). And when preparing with others, I am met with resistance...
i just have to go with the group..... then when i predict what is going to happen happens, i just smile to myself and move on.
good luck
This is the BL's personal "Not Invented Here" syndrome. If you have a good idea, drop it on him in a way that it can morph into being his idea. Just don't expect to ever get any credit for anything.
