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Quit a 'band' tonight

ArtechnikA

ArtechnikA

I endorsed a check once...
Feb 24, 2013
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www.artechnika.com
#1
Not looking for advice, thanks. Deed is done.

Probably hung on too long, but previously committed to our (one) regularly scheduled gig a year, a back yard picnick party mid-August.

I'd said to myself and the drummer, who's been with me through a few projects, that if they didn't get anything booked by then, I'd be out. 2 days before the event the erstwhile BL announces he's booked a 1-hr outdoor gig (this is PA...) for early November. At $40 a person.

So we had The Talk at last night's rehearsal and they said all the usual hobby-band stuff, the essence of which was "we just do this for the fun, we don't care if we ever play out, if you're doing it for the money, you're in the wrong band." (No kidding...) They're perfectly fine with weekly rehearsals for 1 gig a year. They're *starting* to *think about* doing some marketing and promotion - by which they mean they posted an open mike video (which only existed because I set up the cameras and edited the video) to a FaceBook page. I don't see them ever leaving the rehearsal room.

This is a project that cost me $20 a week to rehearse.

It was billed as a 'working band' originally, by which they finally admitted meant "some day we hope to play out maybe every 6 weeks." Hope and $5 will get you a small latte at Starbucks...

I like the guys ('the hang') and the music (classic rock with some new stuff) so that's 2 of the three, but the killer is the cost (all considered) of the weekly rehearsals which they claim they need. Considering lack of progress over the last year, they probably do. They think they need 11 weeks of rehearsal to nail a 1-hr set. (And "learn new songs.")

So I learned a bunch of new material which I'm glad to have in my repertoire, and rehearsal was backlined so it was plug-n-play. No regrets, really.

But my $20 a week can be put to better use. It's just a hobby for them, and I don't need any more hobbies.

I doubt the drummer will stay long, but it's really close for him, so he doesn't have the rehearsal cost issue I do. But he has the same intolerance for no-progress projects I do.
 
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#2
You're in different places career-wise. You want regular paying gigs and the others want to jam and have some fun, nothing wrong with that but I know it can get tiring if you have different objectives.

You did the right thing, they can find other players who have the same outlook and you can find a band that has regular gigs.

I was in the same situation with a rehearsal band that sort of got serious for a while but had limited gigs, some paid some didn't, I enjoyed playing the music but I was always part of another band that had paying gigs and lots of them so I had to set the expectation that if they came up with a gig I may not be available to do it, if I'm free, fine let's go and have some fun, they're all cool with those parameters.
 
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#4
richntiff said:
I’m sorry but you were in more of a suburbanite book club than a band. Good luck to you - go find some serious individuals.
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Thanks. I've been looking for a long time. I do have a working project, but one's not enough yet.
And a nonworking project, but we don't rehearse much, and it's at my place, so the cost and effort are low.
But competition in the Philadelphia area for bassists is really fierce; the area is awash in bass players.
Unless you're a 20-something metalpunk player - there are scads of opportunities for them...
 
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#7
Everyone has different needs/wants from bands to make them happy. Some want money, some just want to play out, some just want to hang out playing songs from their youth while having cocktails. I'm not in it for money as I have a day job, but in the past I have left bands that just want to rehearse. 1 gig = 5+ rehearsals, IME.. Others never add to the set list and that gets stagnant. But in all those cases, we had a free rehearsal space. Had I been paying, my tenure would have been a matter of weeks. You did the right thing, IMHO.
 
#8
I personally am in it for the money and have no issues saying it. If a band can't be gig ready in 2 months....I'm out (also shows the level of musicianship). I hate endless rehearsing just because (if ya ain't got it after a couple go rounds, it ain't gonna happen and you shouldn't be in a band). I hate endless rehearsing and zero progress happens. Just a total waste of time.
 
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#9
I've had periods over the years where I was cool with just playing for fun. Specifically when my kids were very young and needy being able to commit enough to gig was difficult. That said, I never called what we did a band. It was just jamming regardless of how often it was or how it was often the same players. Unfortunatel,y I had to remind some of them of what the difference is. Bands play gigs. Bands are a team with a common goal of advancing their creative vision or lining their wallets, or varying degrees of both. If we couldn't or wouldn't collectively commit to that we were not a band.

Does 1 gig a year make a band I would want to be in? Probably not unless it was with really good musicians and had only a couple of practices. I have to agree with others here that endless practicing to no end is not at all fun. Best of luck to the OP in future projects hopefully soon!
 
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#11
ArtechnikA said:
Not looking for advice, thanks. Deed is done.
Click to expand...

Sounds right, and mutually beneficial. BTW, getting paid (or at least fed) to play is important for many reasons. Playing for yourself gets old. Playing for the admiration of your bandmates only goes so far for some of us. Some of us do need the feedback from an audience, even if its bar folk and you are just a background attraction. Being paid is also important feedback or affirmation. Its the binary universal human imperative, to be accepted (and not rejected). Being paid satisfies that. Being ignored or tolerated doesn't for many.

But it sounds like this outfit was functional enough to gig, just not pursuing? Sounds like a good outfit for charity work? And, did you try to book some gigs?
 
#12
All depends on your goals. I joined a band advertised as a "working band". Turns out they USED to be a working band, although they were pretty good. A year (and four gigs later), I politely told them it wasn't what I signed on for, that they could call me if they had any gigs, or could find a new bassist.
 
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#13
Bander said:
... getting paid (or at least fed) to play is important for many reasons.
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It's important for me because this is my job ...
After a 50 year career in computer systems technology, I am out of the professional engineering ratrace and working at something I like for a change.

Playing for yourself gets old.
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That's another part of the issue - the open mike scene here is quite vibrant. I can play for free with others 7 nights a week.
...it sounds like this outfit was functional enough to gig, just not pursuing? Sounds like a good outfit for charity work? And, did you try to book some gigs?
Click to expand...
The usual litany of excuses...
"I sent an email to a place I've never been, but nobody called back."
"We're not tight enough."
"We don't have enough material."
"We don't have enough FaceBook likes."

Even charity work and festivals book a year out. We didn't do that a year ago, and the writing was on the wall for it not happening again this year.
Very naive and inexperienced BL...
I did book a gig at a local-to-me dive bar where I've played before. Got complaints about the distance. All the guys with day jobs promised they'd have 10 friends and co-workers show. Surprise - (not) - no one came.

"We don't have a following in that part of town." We don't have a following in _any_ part of any town...

I was frustrated by the lack of work and the lack of progress, but I quit because it stopped making sense from the business perspective. (This is my business.)
In addition to the time, I was out of pocket $20 in turnpike tolls and gas every time I walked in the door, and they insisted on weekly rehearsals.
(That's why 'Band' is in quotes in the thread title - it was never a 'Band' - it's Ted's Night Out.)
So in addition to the work and the time, I invested over $1000 ( $20 x 50+ weeks ). Got a total $165 return after 18 months. Cut my losses and moved on.
 
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#15
I know a lot of people are not in it for the money, but offering, or playing for $40/man is degrading to the whole industry. Don't be the band that bring wages DOWN. Every region has a 'going rate' and I'm certain it's more than $40.
 
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#20
Paulabass said:
I know a lot of people are not in it for the money, but offering, or playing for $40/man is degrading to the whole industry. Don't be the band that bring wages DOWN. Every region has a 'going rate' and I'm certain it's more than $40.
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That is one of the reasons we should be payed for playing, sans the charity gigs. I keep my pay quiet, to protect the market (whats left of it), and turn down $40 gigs. I also don't help out venues who don't treat musicians with some respect. Word gets out, and it becomes a badge of shame to play those places. Note to venue owners: Don't be the place quality musicians avoid.
 
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