Reasons for Band Practice Cancellation, Part 2

[51PRI]

If this band is rehashing the same material you've been playing for 18 years then why are you trying to rehearse? I rehearse to polish up new repertoire, not to go over old stale stuff. ............

Well, we had 20 months off because of the pandemic and finally got started again but after only a handful of rehearsals these cancellations started. We're basically an all originals band so rehearsal nights are often spent writing/tweaking original songs. If you've watched any of the clips from "Get Back" you should know that that is a slow tedious process.

Now, in addition, the other guitar player and I want the band to learn covers and start booking gigs, so that's a order of discussion for the next rehearsal, whenever that is.

First off, it's weird that you've kept up with the dates and excuses. Do you literally have this in a calendar somewhere?

No, just undeleted phone texts.

 

[two fingers]

Well, we had 20 months off because of the pandemic and finally got started again but after only a handful of rehearsals these cancellations started. We're basically an all originals band so rehearsal nights are often spent writing/tweaking original songs. If you've watched any of the clips from "Get Back" you should know that that is a slow tedious process.

Now, in addition, the other guitar player and I want the band to learn covers and start booking gigs, so that's a order of discussion for the next rehearsal, whenever that is.


No, just undeleted phone texts.

Ah. That makes more sense.

 

[Hoyt]

I was in a band years ago where this kept happening. I worked nights and couldn’t rehearse during the week, and the drummer was a school teacher/coach who had to work the team games a lot on weekends during the school year.
The guitar player got frustrated and wrote a 3 page legalese document full of standards that “MUST BE FOLLOWED”.
One of the new “standard operating procedures” was that practice would be held at 7pm every Thursday “without fail” barring a family emergency.
Essentially, he wrote me out of the band. Mind you, we served in the USMC together, and started two bands including that one together. I had written probably 30% of the music, much of the arrangements, and about 70% of the lyrics.

Fast forward past the nasty long winded statetment on our website about my departure, and they got a new bassist. Talked him up as their “savior”, then promptly kicked him out when they found out he was cheating on his wife. Later, the band dissolved and he (the guitarist) went on to form a fairly locally successful metal tribute band.

A few years ago I joined a 60’s cover band. The drummer was the BL and a former Pro touring musician. We only rehearsed for new material, and I enjoyed playing with everyone in that band for a few years. It was nice to see how laid back you could be and still be a pro about things. They didn’t sweat the small stuff and everyone acted like adults and did their homework. It was refreshing. We played all the big town festivals, had fun, AND got paid.

 

[Hoyt]

One more thing I might add: in another band I was working in, things weren’t working out with all the members. I got the offer to play a fill in gig (something I had never done before), and decided to take it. Spent some time learning the set for two days and showed up at the gig as prepared as I could. I was nervous, but all of the players in that band were pros. The guitar player would lean in and give me cues like “we’re just gonna vamp on *A* for a few bars” and ended up making me sound better than I was
It was then that I realized that making music shouldn’t be that difficult a process if everyone is up to the task. The fact that I had been trying to make my band work for a year with no progress seemed even more frustrating.

I ended up forming a band with just the guitarist, found new members who were competent, and was gigging within a month.

There’s nothing saying you can’t play with other people if your needs aren’t being met in your current situation, and only you can decide if it’s worth it to continue the effort.

 

[LBS-bass]

Well, we had 20 months off because of the pandemic and finally got started again but after only a handful of rehearsals these cancellations started. We're basically an all originals band so rehearsal nights are often spent writing/tweaking original songs. If you've watched any of the clips from "Get Back" you should know that that is a slow tedious process.

Now, in addition, the other guitar player and I want the band to learn covers and start booking gigs, so that's a order of discussion for the next rehearsal, whenever that is.


No, just undeleted phone texts.

Ah, ok... so this is the other band, not the one I was thinking of.

Agree on the originals thing. I am recently in a weird cover band that is comprised mainly of people who come from an originals background. Rehearsals with them are tedious; they do not know how to settle into an arrangement and spend far too much time tweaking arrangements rather than just practicing material as it was learned. Took me a while to realize this is happening because they don't know another way to do it. They approach learning covers the same way they approached writing originals.

It's also a band that has a hard time finding mutual rehearsal times.

At the moment I am on the fence about this band. The players are top-notch, the best I've worked with around here. The methods are not what I'm used to, but maybe this is an opportunity to learn how to work in a different way. I've been in originals bands too, I know how that works, but this band is bringing some wacky methods to the process of doing covers. At the moment they have until the end of the year to get it together in such a way that I'm no longer worrying about train wrecks at shows. We'll be bringing in a new LS in a few months who is someone I've been working with for years and hopefully he can help us whip this thing into shape.

Anyway, sorry to go off on a tangent. I guess the point I'm bringing up for you is that groups have a "flavor" and sometimes it's frustrating. I think these sorts of problems are not peculiar to originals groups, but they do seem to come up a lot with the originals mindset.

 

[basseux]

I got a complicated one : the singer won't attend our usual rehearsal on wednesday, despite we need to prepare with her for Friday gig, because she wants to attend the rehearsal Thursday of her replacement, that we need to do for the Saturday gig that permanent singer doesn't want to attend.

She is 4 months pregnant, so not wanting to do two night in a row is fine, but penalize the whole band by removing needed rehearsal time because of her own jealousy, this is not fine.

The rational thing is her coming Wednesday and gigging Friday.
This way that's not two days in a row ...

 

[truand85]

I got a complicated one : the singer won't attend our usual rehearsal on wednesday, despite we need to prepare with her for Friday gig, because she wants to attend the rehearsal Thursday of her replacement, that we need to do for the Saturday gig that permanent singer doesn't want to attend.

She is 4 months pregnant, so not wanting to do two night in a row is fine, but penalize the whole band by removing needed rehearsal time because of her own jealousy, this is not fine.

The rational thing is her coming Wednesday and gigging Friday.
This way that's not two days in a row ...

Pregnant.... And rational.... In same post... Can't compute...

My advice? Give her some leeway.

 

[basseux]

Pregnant.... And rational.... In same post... Can't compute...

My advice? Give her some leeway.

A few month ago when BL said a female percussionist showed mutual interest in joining the band, main singer said she wasn't agreeing and wanted to be the only girl in the band.
I mean with #meetoo and everything, having a girl preventing another girl an opportunity, we were like wondering not even what year are we, but which planet are we on ??
We are 8 in the band, if we are not expected to discriminate on sex, she will not either.

I am fine to cancel saturday gig with replacement, and the rehearsal that goes with it, the gigs will be at the end of the month and I am not the one booking it and would have not attempted booking it.
But I won't give her leeway on the fact we need a full rehearsal with each of the singer for each of the shows, if they are both maintained.

 

[truand85]

A few month ago when BL said a female percussionist showed mutual interest in joining the band, main singer said she wasn't agreeing and wanted to be the only girl in the band.
I mean with #meetoo and everything, having a girl preventing another girl an opportunity, we were like wondering not even what year are we, but which planet are we on ??
We are 8 in the band, if we are not expected to discriminate on sex, she will not either.

I am fine to cancel saturday gig with replacement, and the rehearsal that goes with it, the gigs will be at the end of the month and I am not the one booking it and would have not attempted booking it.
But I won't give her leeway on the fact we need a full rehearsal with each of the singer for each of the shows, if they are both maintained.

Up to you, but it won't end well.

 

[basseux]

Up to you, but it won't end well.

Yes, but we will have to replace her at some point since she is pregnant.
And it looks like there is big wall waiting for us not far ahead on the road.

If she is scared we won't take her back, she is definitely shooting herself in the foot here.

 

[Marko 1]

We're basically an all originals band so rehearsal nights are often spent writing/tweaking original songs.

Now I understand...

, the other guitar player and I want the band to learn covers and start booking gigs,

Yes, do this.

 

[Marko 1]

I'm in a newish project, we do covers, variety, it's a blast.

Rehearsals are at my house, so I can't get away with much. Of the four of us, one is not retired, and he'll be in two years. I think my buddies would reschedule heart surgery before calling off.

 

[pepj]

Hooking up with the gtr to do covers sounds like a way to possibly breathe life into a stale environment...my interpretation...

I have a singer/songwriter who must have 200 plus songs in his pad...so he gets about 5 bands out of that.
Thats good for him, but opens up other problems though, but thats another Thread.