should I take the gig?

[DanBass]

just drink beer and stare at you.

I found that funny. Been there, done that. But the money was green, so.... As long as there was no chicken-wire bottle barriers and Roadhouse antics, all good.

At the end of the day, you have to decide if this venture is fulfilling for you, satisfying for you as a musician. That is what it is all about. Talent surrounding you is important.. If you are far and away more capable, the gap in expertise will wear on you in time. Pay is subjective, but important. I thought when I joined my band that low pay wouldn't bother me. "I'm not putting food on the table with it.." I thought. But that wore thin FAST. My time is valuable. Shows with the band mean time away from my family, my home, my dogs, myself. That time has value as we only get so much of it. (and it seems as though you have other things going on that take time as well.. that needs to be considered... spreading yourself too thin is never good. Things suffer. Believe me, I know and that is why I put the brakes on it. Life is entirely too short.)

All my rambling aside, you have to determine what works for you and what you are willing to deal with.

 

[ElectroVibe]

Could it make you feel burnt out?

 

[Hurricane Jimmie]

So Anyway, present-day me would say no. A younger me with some spare time might do it once to see how much fun I had.
Playing a bar gig and have to play at church the following morning is not much fun (I did that for about 10 years).

Remember the gig trifecta of Money, Fun and Music. It takes a lot of one if the other two a missing.

 

[Koog]

I would not be satisfied with, nor accept, a musical association that promises to be mediocre. I don't want that stain on my reputation.

I voted pass.

Koog

 

[Bunk McNulty]

Well, I think grinding it out in bars is good experience for a young musician. You'll learn stuff you didn't know. Most of it not directly musical content, but related to professionalism. But not if you see the whole thing as a heavy lift and you really don't want to be there the whole time.

I'm glad I did that scene. I'm glad I don't do it any more. But I'm over 60. I reckon you're on the other end of the scale.

This is a good point. In my experience, nothing improves your playing as powerfully as doing it in front of an audience. Then again, I also make a point of playing with musicians who are better than I am*. That doesn't sound like the case here. And ultimately, if you can't go into it with some enthusiasm, let it pass. Something better will show up.

*I remember when that was easy. After umpty years, it's a bit harder. But just a bit.

 

[Killing Floor]

I like cover bands that start writing their own original songs by satirizing cover bands--when they were kids in middle school (they hated), at their first practice session in the drummer's parent's living room.


In Surf Green

One of the all time greatest punk-adjacent bands.

 

[HardNHeavy]

well its something to do, if anything...beats the winter blues so to speak.

 

[fjbolebruch]

Some of the best advice I got (from Felix Pastorius) was never turn down a gig. A decade later I’ve taken that advice and things are good. Everything is a learning experience and will only make you a better more versatile player.

 

[Slade N]

Think about what you will get out of taking the gig. There are more potential cons and pros, weigh them out, dont be lazy but also dont a sucker…and if you try you can always quit if it doesnt suit you

 

[Five or Six]

Sounds to me like the guys you would be playing with are below your musical ability. Not sure how you know things to be a crappy bar gig? But, they can be a riot! As you described this whole scenario in your post, I believe this isn't for you.

 

[GreyBeard]

Depends on how much you like crappy bar gigs. Some of the most fun I've had in my long career have come from this type of gigs.

 

[Smooth_bass88]

Pros= rehearsal is a close drive, less than 15 minutes. Easy set/up tear down, I only bring my bass. Songs are easy to learn. Musicians are good not great.

Cons= Gigs will be bars only, possibly an hour away. Pay will be low. Songs people dont dance to, just drink beer and stare at you.


Help me decide. I play at church 2x a month, and an original band to write with as well currently 1x weekly. This cover band is 1 bass player away from getting a crappy bar gig, what to do??

Any/every gig you do must have two of the following three items if you’re taking the gig:

1.good pay
2.good music
3.good hang

 

[And I]

i was in a coverband with good-not-great (except the guitar player who was bad-not-good) musicians playing some danceable and some not-danceable music in 2021 because i was completely gig-starved. i only lasted 2 (weird) gigs (a swim club and the patio of a museum) before the guitarist's lack of ability to solo in the correct key made it a no-go for me.

if you're not completely starved for gigs, hold out until you can play with people at or above your level, music that you truly want to play, and the financial / travel-time pros and cons balanced for you.

 

[Snarf]

Pros= rehearsal is a close drive, less than 15 minutes. Easy set/up tear down, I only bring my bass. Songs are easy to learn. Musicians are good not great.

Cons= Gigs will be bars only, possibly an hour away. Pay will be low. Songs people dont dance to, just drink beer and stare at you.


Help me decide. I play at church 2x a month, and an original band to write with as well currently 1x weekly. This cover band is 1 bass player away from getting a crappy bar gig, what to do??

The fact that rehearsals even happen at all would be a con for me. I'd pass, but that's just me. I'll play low paying bar gigs sometimes, but I'll only do that with good friends and great musicians.

 

[Rib 13]

This just tells me you aren't 100% keen to the idea.......if you're not all in, do both yourself and the bar band a favor by not joining

 

[gln1955]

If you take this gig, you will be in the same place as @51PRI , stuck in a band that nobody really wants to hear, playing music you don't really like.

 

[SteveHeissner]

Not everyone can be the DosQuis of bar bands. Of course, you don't want to lower your standards by playing in the Budweiser of Bands.

I think you know the answer.

Stay thirsty, my friend.

 

[StayLow]

If you have to ask randos online who know nothing about you, that means you don’t know enough about yourself musically - at least with respect to being in a possibly gigging band - to know immediately whether it’s a hard yes or hard pass.

That means it’ll provide you the experience you need, so while I’d easily vote “no” based on what I’d do in my own experience, as others have shared one gets to that experience through…well…experience, so it sounds like it might be good experience for you.

Easy to quit when the times comes too, which is super-valuable life experience.

 

[mrcbass]

There are a lot of personal factors that are required to answer the question for you. The fact that you even bring it up with pretty much zero redeeming factors, leads me to suspect you don't really want to do this. You have our permission to pass.

If you desire to get into the cover band game and this is your presumably only door, then maybe you should play a gig with them. Experience (if you lack it) is the only gain in this situation - and this only functions if you believe there will be other opportunities.

Mediocre bandmates + crappy music + crappy pay + hour one way drive = "You're kidding, right?" For me it's an easy "no way".

 

[pcake]

sounds like a crappy situation so far - if you can't feel excitement over something when considering joining a band, i'd suggest you pass until you find a band whose music or musicianship or the pay or the gigs they're looking at really make you want to join.