Singer Troubles!

[andybb1500]

Well heres the situation, ive been in a band with a 2 of my mates for about a year. We started off just with us 3 (drums Guitar and me on the bass ) first we just started covering songs like most bands and began to write originals. We then discovered wed need some kind of singing and that none of us could sing so we got a singer. Turned out after a while the guy couldnt sing so we told him we'd have to go seperate ways. About a month later we got a new singer, now this guy can sing, only trouble, hes soooo lazy! so hes been in the band about 3-4 months now. I had given him the lyrics when he joined to our 5-6 songs to learn, in this time hes only learnt one song he likes and for the rest of the songs he just sings basic bits of what i wrote and makes up stuff, the thing is were a serious band but i dont think he is, with him only making about 1 in 3 practices a month. My question to you guys is where do we go from here as a band we are tight but the vocals just dont seem to cut it, i mean he pitches right but you can just tell he cant be bothered. Should we have a talk to him and say give him a time to learn all songs say 2 weeks and to sing them properly or should we just go find a new singer? btw this guy has a big ego too :S

 

[nsmar4211]

Give him the talk.......give him two weeks.......and meanwhile place an ad on craigslist or start asking around at music stores.

Making up lyrics? Bye bye . You've given him enough time!

 

[Lucas G]

have you played a show with the dude? how did it go?

if you don't have any gigs lined up for a while, i would try to replace him ASAP. a good singer is hard to find, guys like this are a dime a dozen.

 

[EastCoastThump]

Time for a new singer. You've seen enough of this guy's character to know he's not the right fit.

 

[andybb1500]

Thanks for the responses guys. i guess were scared that if we get rid of another singer itll give the band a bad name

 

[Stumbo]

Thanks for the responses guys. i guess were scared that if we get rid of another singer itll give the band a bad name

If he's making up lyrics, he'll end up giving you a bad name if you keep him on.

So none of you other guys can sing? Maybe start do some vocal practicing yourself so you can do some backup, at least.

 

[EviscerateNick]

i was in the same situation but with a guitar player. definately start thinking about a replacment. if he changes his attitude then keep him but if not you will have a back up ready.

 

[txbasschik]

Thanks for the responses guys. i guess were scared that if we get rid of another singer itll give the band a bad name

Well...if you keep him, I think it will hurt you all more than if you replace him. He sounds like he's *all* ego...no work ethic, no respect for his bandmates, and no respect for his audience.

Having just been fired from a band, I will say that, if you let him go, do it to his face, *after* you have let him know what your concerns are and given him an opportunity to correct them. Everyone deserves a chance to improve, and deserves to know if someone has a problem with them. If they don't make the necessary changes after being informed about the need for them, then they have only themselves to blame. You will have behaved honorably, and no one will be able to say that you treated him unfairly.

Cherie

 

[eotpr]

Tell him you are looking for a temporary singer to fill in for the practices he can’t make. Then after you get someone send him and email and tell him he is out because he does not spend enough time on the band, and he has not learned the material, and he has not taken voice lessons. (Isn’t that the way it works Cherie?)

OR

If you guys are honorable people….talk to him, tell him your concerns and if you do not see improvement can him. He is dragging you down. He is a musician in the band but his instrument is his voice. He needs to practice and hone his skills. Please do it man to man face to face and not like I described above. The above seems to be the way most bands do it and it is cowardice. Be men and take responsibility for your decisions. It won’t be the easiest thing you have ever done but you will be able to look your self in the mirror in the morning when you shave without any guilt. He may be mad but after he thinks about it he will probably understand. You will have to stand firm. Listen to his excuses and justification but do it anyway. You can understand his excuses without agreeing or disagreeing. Remain cool and matter of fact. It is his band performance and attitude you don’t like and not really him. Let him know that.

 

[txbasschik]

Tell him you are looking for a temporary singer to fill in for the practices he can’t make. Then after you get someone send him and email and tell him he is out because he does not spend enough time on the band, and he has not learned the material, and he has not taken voice lessons. (Isn’t that the way it works Cherie?)

OR

If you guys are honorable people….talk to him, tell him your concerns and if you do not see improvement can him. He is dragging you down. He is a musician in the band but his instrument is his voice. He needs to practice and hone his skills. Please do it man to man face to face and not like I described above. The above seems to be the way most bands do it and it is cowardice. Be men and take responsibility for your decisions. It won’t be the easiest thing you have ever done but you will be able to look your self in the mirror in the morning when you shave without any guilt. He may be mad but after he thinks about it he will probably understand. You will have to stand firm. Listen to his excuses and justification but do it anyway. You can understand his excuses without agreeing or disagreeing. Remain cool and matter of fact. It is his band performance and attitude you don’t like and not really him. Let him know that.

Yeah, that's the way it works! LOL! Only you don't tell the guy you are working with a sub. You just do the whole thing behind his back, then loose the guillotine! (sp?)



Seriously...the difficult-but-honest way is best for everyone.

People warned me against joining the band that just fired me, because they would ***k me over and lie to me. Other musicians who had worked with them told me this. I put it down to bitterness. But...I should have listened!

This shows that a band which treats its members dishonestly will gain a rep for doing so, and people will hestitate to work with them.

Don't let it happen to you!

Cherie

 

[andybb1500]

Ive made up my mind about what im going to do, ill get the band togetehr at lunch time today at school and bring the lyrics to all our songs, we'll tell him that we are concerned we arent going anywhere and that if he doesnt make an effort to be in the band we dont want him in it, then ill tell him that we will go into a music tuition room twice a week to go over melody and lyrics and after a few weeks if i see improvement we keep him if theres no change we talk to him again and kick him out

 

[rakirksey]

So none of you other guys can sing? Maybe start do some vocal practicing yourself so you can do some backup, at least.

+1 ... I was in a garage band for 8 months (which was about 7 months too long) because the guitar player decided for some reason he couldn't sing and play at the same time.

You'd be surprised that a lot of times singing in a rock context doesn't necessarily have to be amazing if it fits in the context of what you're doing. And sometimes a three-piece may be less hassle than getting a "singer".

 

[rootshock]

I'll play devil's advocate here.

It sounds like you want him to sing your lyrics

Maybe he doesn't like 'em. He's the singer, and would probably like to write his own lyrics.

If you want someone to sing your lyrics maybe that person should be you

Otherwise, give him a shot to write his own lyrics to your music. That would give him some creative input, and probably make him much more interested.

 

[txbasschik]

Ive made up my mind about what im going to do, ill get the band togetehr at lunch time today at school and bring the lyrics to all our songs, we'll tell him that we are concerned we arent going anywhere and that if he doesnt make an effort to be in the band we dont want him in it, then ill tell him that we will go into a music tuition room twice a week to go over melody and lyrics and after a few weeks if i see improvement we keep him if theres no change we talk to him again and kick him out

Good, but rearrange it just a teeny bit.

Relate your concerns, offer the extra practice in the tuition room, *then* give the ultimatum if he balks. Give him a chance to think, too, and say his side of things. *Before* you do the bit about "if you don't want to make the effort, we don't want you here". If you pull that out too early, its just going to light his fuse, and he won't hear anything else you say. He'll only hear the ultimatum.

'sta bueno?

Cherie

 

[andybb1500]

Thanks for all the help guys but I think all this was about was that we werent going anywhere. You just hit snags as a band and you start to question members worth in the band, it was rather harsh on our part I think. However in saying this we still asked him to put a lil more effort in and he has been doing so, lets just hope its keeps up ohh and how do i close a thread or delete it as this isnt really relevant anymore, Cheers again

Andy