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Should I join this band?
- Thread starter RandomBass90
- Start date
Lots of valid arguments - for and against. I don't listen to any country music (my listening taste goes more towards german industrial and post bop), but I have played in many a country band cause I rock the poopie out of country, and people seen to like that, and it's fun to play. So, the perspective I'll add is try it you might like it. I've learned that playing good country is fun (and that is where the money is at).
But, I don't like it for listening to.
Edit/disclaimer: I grew up in country music country, so, it's kind of in my musical genes.
But, I don't like it for listening to.
Edit/disclaimer: I grew up in country music country, so, it's kind of in my musical genes.
Two perfect examples of artists I cannot stand to listen to but have actually had a ball playing. It can be different if you can ignore the lyrics, get into the music, and make it yours. I did just that kind of thing (including those two names) for a few years a hundred nights a year. It was actually fun.
That right there. All the reason I would need to do it. Experience while getting paid. You cannot beat stage time for growth.
I'd rather be playing in a working band than sitting by the phone waiting for craigslist hopefuls to contact me with the exact genre I like.
I look at it as a musician. Music is music. It's not so much which songs you play but how well the band plays them.
Funny you should mention modern country pop which is really just 70's Rock with a twang.
I too disliked liked it but recently joined a modern country type band and have come to enjoy playing it.
I'm a dyed-in-the-wool R&B/Funk player but this was a working, paying band and they do multi-genre stuff.
Everyone in the band gets to add songs they like to the set lists regardless of genre.
Surprisingly going from Miranda Lambert to Joss Stone to Carrie Underwood to Aretha Franklin works if you have competent players.
Sure beats waiting by the phone.
I look at it as a musician. Music is music. It's not so much which songs you play but how well the band plays them.
Funny you should mention modern country pop which is really just 70's Rock with a twang.
I too disliked liked it but recently joined a modern country type band and have come to enjoy playing it.
I'm a dyed-in-the-wool R&B/Funk player but this was a working, paying band and they do multi-genre stuff.
Everyone in the band gets to add songs they like to the set lists regardless of genre.
Surprisingly going from Miranda Lambert to Joss Stone to Carrie Underwood to Aretha Franklin works if you have competent players.
Sure beats waiting by the phone.
Sounds like you won't be happy in the band. Stay at home and play along with your records.
Some bass player who wants to keep his chops and loves to play anything will gladly take the gig.
Some bass player who wants to keep his chops and loves to play anything will gladly take the gig.
+a bunch.
Do it and you may just find a few songs you can tolerate and eventually like. Very few songs do I take to right away, sometimes it takes playing them for a year.
There's a difference between experiencing music from the inside or the outside. I do occasional gigs with a classic rock band - a bunch of the songs I like fine but we also do ones I could happily never play again like Brown Eyed Girl, some CCR, a couple of Aerosmith etc.
I never listen to those but when we play them I love the moment when the drummer and I nail the fills in Ever Seen the Rain or the guitar part meshes just right with me on BEG.
And playing in front of an audience is always better than playing at home for me.
I never listen to those but when we play them I love the moment when the drummer and I nail the fills in Ever Seen the Rain or the guitar part meshes just right with me on BEG.
And playing in front of an audience is always better than playing at home for me.
I currently play in a New Country band, yes Jason Aldean & Luke Bryan.
Not my fave music but there is work and it pays well. It has lead to work in 2
other bands that I sub for. Also requires a 5 string low B bass.
If your fussy you stay home.
Not my fave music but there is work and it pays well. It has lead to work in 2
other bands that I sub for. Also requires a 5 string low B bass.
If your fussy you stay home.
I play in a rocking country band, we do not have a fiddle or a steel player. We are all rockers and enjoy the hell out of playing together. I am not very fond of a lot of the songs we do but playing them in a live situation is totally different than sitting in my room learning and playing them. New country is just rock and roll with a country accent. My band rocks up everything we do, we play just about every weekend many weekends Friday and Saturday and sometimes on Sunday. People love what we are doing. I suggest you give it a try even if it is just to get the live experience, and if that is something that if you have never done it may change your mind about playing any kind of music live.
If you don't want to give up your Saturdays, then you don't want to gig. Full stop. Until you get over that issue, genre is irrevelant.
Agree with most of the responses. Do it or don't. But communicate back to the BL. That is a bridge unburned. They may have another project down the line that is more suited to you.
However, I was in a similar situation with my first cover band. I really didn't like to listen to about 3/4 of the set. But, the players were really good players and great to hang with. I got on board. Then I quickly realized how musical and interesting most of the set was to play. I learned a lot of about note choice, chord structure across genres, etc, etc, etc. I am a better musician for it.
Good Luck OP!
However, I was in a similar situation with my first cover band. I really didn't like to listen to about 3/4 of the set. But, the players were really good players and great to hang with. I got on board. Then I quickly realized how musical and interesting most of the set was to play. I learned a lot of about note choice, chord structure across genres, etc, etc, etc. I am a better musician for it.
Good Luck OP!
Yep. Also, like the artists of the 90's (Garth, Alan, Joe, Kix, Ronnie etc all), in a few years Jason, Brad, Carrie and the rest will be "old country " and there will be a whole new batch of youngsters to dislike. (FYI- my understanding is that the first time Hank Williams went to perform at the Opry, they wouldn't let him in because he brought a drummer and a trap set- guess the guard didn't like new country. "Drums. That's not country!")
First, I like old country better than new, but I like new country better than others.
Money good, experience good, music bad. How are the folks in the band? I would probably do it, but I would also be looking. I'd seriously need to consider if that was fair to the band.
Money good, experience good, music bad. How are the folks in the band? I would probably do it, but I would also be looking. I'd seriously need to consider if that was fair to the band.
You probably know by now you have to be more specific about your hrs, type of music, goals, money, distance and experience etc to help refine your search. In this case more is better.
When I was young, I hated the Grateful Dead. I was a metalhead/punk with a strange fascination for Neil Young's music. Then I fell in with a Grateful Dead cover band. I learned quite a bit playing in that band - it helped my playing and gave me a newfound appreciation for their music. Ironically, I have played in more bands that cover the Dead than metal or punk. I'd do it - locking in a groove is locking in a groove no matter the type of music.
If you're talking about the band that I think you're talking about, I played bass for them for three years and quit two years ago only because I couldn't stand the long drives to and from gigs. I'd never played country before and never listen to country music for pleasure, but that was a great, rocking band, and I had a lot of fun playing in it.
I suggest going to one of their gigs to get an idea of what their shows are like. If you decide to audition, better be on your game. The keyboard player is a professional with a low tolerance for mediocre musicians. (The drummer told me that when they auditioned the last guy before me, the keyboard player stopped him in the middle of the second song and said, "What are you even doing here?")
Isn't new country just like playing in a rock band? I'd much rather play that than that old time country twang stuff. In any case, if you're not feeling it............Pass. I've done it. I've placed ads with specific genres and still got replies from bands playing the exact genres I posted I will not play. I just tell them, thanks but no thanks. How about trying to form a band?
It sort of comes down to "How much do you HATE country?" Last year I was in a sort of similar situation. I'm not getting any younger and, though I have never stopped playing bass at home, I'd really never been in a proper band since my 20s. My favorite music tends to be top 40 stuff from the 80s and 90s. (Yeah, there had to be one of us!). But I decided one day that I would really like to play again and found a band nearby looking for a bass player on CL. Bonus - they didn't need me to sing! (good thing that!)
So I met with them and we hit it off pretty good and I was in. But the music they play is definitely not my favorite style. 70s rock, southernish and a bit of downright country thrown in. But, because I get along well with them, I decided to give it a go. A year later I realize it was the best decision I ever made. I'm not going to BS here - I still don't much like the style of music, and I get paid squat. But I have FUN playing in a band again. Hell, I enjoy practicing almost as much as playing out! And while I don't love most of the songs, some I've come to rather enjoy playing and I find I'm pretty good at it.
So while your mileage may vary, answering a CL listing worked out extremely well for me. We don't play out much, and mostly for tips. No $ in it at all. But I'm having a lot more fun that sitting at home, I can tell you that, and made some good friends to boot. So, at least for me, I'd go for it.
Funny thing though, I was originally going to say "No - you'll quit when you find another band and they'll be pissed." But no one knows the future. Maybe no other band will come along. Live experience is unlike ANYTHING else if you haven't got it and slogging through one more rendition of Love Me Two Times is a small price to pay for that.
So I met with them and we hit it off pretty good and I was in. But the music they play is definitely not my favorite style. 70s rock, southernish and a bit of downright country thrown in. But, because I get along well with them, I decided to give it a go. A year later I realize it was the best decision I ever made. I'm not going to BS here - I still don't much like the style of music, and I get paid squat. But I have FUN playing in a band again. Hell, I enjoy practicing almost as much as playing out! And while I don't love most of the songs, some I've come to rather enjoy playing and I find I'm pretty good at it.
So while your mileage may vary, answering a CL listing worked out extremely well for me. We don't play out much, and mostly for tips. No $ in it at all. But I'm having a lot more fun that sitting at home, I can tell you that, and made some good friends to boot. So, at least for me, I'd go for it.
Funny thing though, I was originally going to say "No - you'll quit when you find another band and they'll be pissed." But no one knows the future. Maybe no other band will come along. Live experience is unlike ANYTHING else if you haven't got it and slogging through one more rendition of Love Me Two Times is a small price to pay for that.
