Reasons for cancelling Band Practice.

[denhou1974]

Yes, but I think among people it IS the other band members business. You set aside one night a week to rehearse and someone keeps missing...something just happens to come up on THAT night that can't be postponed, but band practice can? Really?

An issue was not made of it. We all expressed sympathy. My purpose in this was to have a discussion about band practice and what events are worthy of a cancellation. We've missed a LOT of band practices lately for ALL kinds of reasons. The death of a dog was just the most recent reason.

I think I might even list them later.

That should be interesting for all of us.

Why so everyone can judge the reason why you cancelled?
I set aside 40 hours per week for a certain commitment that's a whole lot more important than the band and pays exponentially more. Same there. If i can't make it then It's none of their business why. Miss too many days and you won't be there.

 

[mark roberts]

Sorry, I haven’t read all the replies. That get a bit time consuming. However, I have been more on the receiving end of cancellation excuses over time. Not so much when I first got going as a teen, with other teens…like when “dirt” was newer than it is now.

However, now:

1. More band members with experience and local credentials are also members of other bands…like three or four or more. Consequently, trying to plan or participate in rehearsals is extremely challenging.
2. The latter also applies to getting gigs.
3. Then, the latter has a “pecking order per performer”, said: their personal hierarchy of their choice for preferences plays against band expertise development and gig opportunities.
4. Depending on the number of band participants…all of the latter comes to the forefront and each band member has to decide to stay or go when their personal satisfaction levels are not met.
5. All of the latter really pertains to amateur bands at the local level where members prefer to perform much closer to their home, as opposed to touring outfits.
6. And don’t forget about what really impacts #5…musos are likely to go with the following:
a. Cover tunes band…where the money is, for as long as it is.
b. Originals band…until there isn’t enough (or any) money for performing.
c. As an individual player, you realize that, not only are your needs important or considered, but that the band moves in a different direction, expects new tunes for every performance even when there’s little to no practice and the new tunes are not reflective of your personal expectations.

Sorry to be so long here.

But I live this.

 

[KOOL BREEZE]

My guitar player canceled practice about a month ago due to our mutual friend, the bass player in his other band, also a kind, gentle soul, being murdered by police. William Houseworth II was his name. He was shot multiple times and left to bleed out in the back of a police car.

 

[Spidey2112]

Back when I was a supervisor (shudder) I used this technique on an employee who called in and said that he couldn't come to work because of car troube. "I'll be there in 20 minutes." Ha.

People, helping people.

 

[two fingers]

The one I keep getting in an argument about is kid stuff.

I understand parents have an added risk they will need to miss, and I've never given a parent a hard time about "my kid is sick I can't make it." But I have a singer right now who will text the morning of band practice and say she decided to take the kids to the lake and has to reschedule practice and thinks we all have to be fine with it because she said the magic word "kid."

Nope. If you don't have time to play because you want to spend more time with your kids that is a totally acceptable maybe even laudable choice, but you don't get to suddenly decide you are doing something else that day and just because your kids will be there you aren't a flake.

I'd say 15-20% of practices require some form of reschedule, often only an hour or so, because of her kids and it is almost never illness, lack of childcare, etc, it is always because she just decided to do something with them. Hey that's awesome, I'm sure you are a great mom, but you sure aren't much of a bandmate. I like the other band members and I really enjoy myself once we actually do get together, and the stakes are insanely low, otherwise it'd be a deal breaker.

Again, this is simple. Your band is WAY higher on the priorities list for you than it is for her. That's really all there is to it.

And you guys can either live with it or find a replacement. She's not heing dishonest, or making up excuses. She is plainly stating "Today I chose kid over the band." That's where she is in her life. Be OK with it or replace her.

 

[JEDI BASS]

What are acceptable reasons for missing band practice? Is "my dog got killed" an acceptable reason? I guess it is. Just wanting your thoughts.

Oh lord! I can’t imagine leaving my grieving family to go to practice! Much less, I’d be a wreck as well and couldn’t care less to rehearse at that point!

 

[Bill Murray]

Pretty much anything is fine as long as it’s not reoccurring

 

[ELG60]

Is this the same band with two loud, self-indulgent guitarists, no following, and didn't have a gig on Memorial Day? (asking for a friend)

 

[51PRI]

Why so everyone can judge the reason why you cancelled?
I set aside 40 hours per week for a certain commitment that's a whole lot more important than the band and pays exponentially more. Same there. If i can't make it then It's none of their business why. Miss too many days and you won't be there.

If you don't care enough for your band mates to let them know why you are missing practice then I can't see that you would be a good band mate in other situations, either.

 

[denhou1974]

If you don't care enough for your band mates to let them know why you are missing practice then I can't see that you would be a good band mate in other situations, either.

They don't care to know. We're all grown men with responsibilities and we're all pros with 25+ years of gigging experience. We trust that you'd be there if you could.

 

[ToddB1963]

Slightly different take:

I was recently involved in a project with a singer songwriter S/S to whom I offered my services gratis, along with a guitarist and a keyboard player who did likewise, so the S/S could record his first CD of original material. A genuine favor to help the guy realize one of his musical goals.

Weekly rehearsals were locked in.

After arranging all the tunes for him to his liking, into a listenable format, on the promise that we'd be going into the studio to cut all the tracks live, and then rehearsing them over a period of several weeks to the point we were ready to record, the S/S became over anxious to get things done. As we were not available at the drop of a hat to record, he instead gave the studio engineer his imprimatur to dispense with everything we'd done and to record all the songs from scratch - using the arrangements crafted during the rehearsals.

Forget cancelling rehearsals...had I known beforehand what was about to transpire, I'd have blown off the entire project! LOL.

 

[LBS-bass]

Why so everyone can judge the reason why you cancelled?
I set aside 40 hours per week for a certain commitment

Yep. Because I've set aside several hours a night on multiple nights for rehearsals with other bands and your band, and I would like to know who's flaky and who isn't, so I can adjust my commitments accordingly because your inability to follow through on your commitments has made my life a living hell as I try to figure out what bands I can move in order to accommodate you and the other people in your band, week after week after week.

It's no big thing to you if you're the one who can't keep your promises. But it's a big thing to me if I've moved several other rehearsals in order to meet someone's needs in your band only to have you flake at the last minute for questionable reasons.

I'm just not staying in that band, if that's the norm, I'm just not, and I need to know that this is what I'm dealing with. Everyone needs to take their commitment seriously, or everyone needs to understand that none of this is serious and be ok with that.

 

[LBS-bass]

They don't care to know. We're all grown men with responsibilities and we're all pros with 25+ years of gigging experience. We trust that you'd be there if you could.

You're lucky to be in that band with those people. Don't assume this is normal.

 

[Muttleybass]

Miss a single rehearsal because dog was killed? Acceptable. Miss a gig? There's no excuse good enough.

...although when our guitar player had his heart attack, we did let it slide with a warning.

 

[Acoop]

"Sniffles."

 

[Michael Stanley 2112]

Miss a single rehearsal because dog was killed? Acceptable. Miss a gig? There's no excuse good enough.

...although when our guitar player had his heart attack, we did let it slide with a warning.

I'm guessing this may be a bit tongue-in-cheek, but I actually agree with that. A gig is a LOT different than a rehearsal.

Oh! And I'm in a band with a guy that had a heart attack during our 4th of July gig. We docked his pay and put him on probation for a year.

 

[No Malarky]

A few years ago our drummer sent us all a text stating "Can't make practice - We are getting pregnant tonight" (he and his wife had been trying for a looong time). I wrote back "it better work or you are out".

It worked.

 

[Michael Stanley 2112]

A few years ago our drummer sent us all a text stating "Can't make practice - We are getting pregnant tonight" (he and his wife had been trying for a looong time). I wrote back "it better work or you are out".

It worked.

It sounds like someone had it in for him.

 

[MichelD]

If I get a moose hunting permit in the hunting lottery for a permit, I'm going hunting. They can play without me if they want. Even the bunny-hugging vegetarian who doesn't know I'm a hunter. Yet.

 

[Low Down Brown]

I was briefly in a band where the guitarist was over an hour late because he was washing his hair.

Used to be in a band with a drummer who would show up late for gigs cause he fell asleep in the bathtub. BL gave him three chances before he got canned and replaced. That was two more chances than I would have given him, and this guy was a phenomenal player.

Miss a single rehearsal because dog was killed? Acceptable. Miss a gig? There's no excuse good enough.

...although when our guitar player had his heart attack, we did let it slide with a warning.

I was 5 minutes from the house on my way to a gig once when I was struck with a horrible case of food poisoning. I barfed and dry heaved on the side of the road until I dislocated a rib. Couldn't keep water, Pepto, Imodium, etc. down...and I was throwing off ballast at both ends. Got the fever, chills, sweats, and the general feeling of being run over by a truck and left to feel like a bag of smashed @$$holes. I could barely talk to the BL between shivers and barfs, but he could tell what was going on and that it was the real deal. He and the rest of the band adamantly objected to my showing up to the gig like that. That's the only gig I ever missed in 30 years of playing. The moral of the story is that everyone needs a pair of brown pants.