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Sometimes It's Just TIme...

#21
Everyone has their own schedule, and no two bands are exactly alike. I see bands all the time on craigslist that say they don't WANT more than one or two gigs a month. So if a guy wants to gig every weekend, he's going to need three or four of them. Sometimes you get these kind of Venn-diagram bands that overlap each other; you know, we've got seven people in a wedding band but three of us also play wine bars as a jazz combo and four or five times a year the other four get together with two other guys to put on a disco party... Add up all the separate mix-and-matches and the guy has four or five "bands" he's in.

Anyway, to the OP - sorry to hear about the breakup. It happens, bands come and go. Sounds like you'll keep playing and will do fine.
 
#24
For all of you that are pro- multiple bands, and I'm not talking about hired guns that do sub work.

Question;

Why would any of you want to be put in a position where you have to say;

"Sorry guys the gig coming up in 2 weeks, I can't do it, my other band has a gig that night."

Especially when some of those band members were counting on the $100.00 or $200.00.

Rule, they can get a sub is not a viable solution.

blue
 
#25
Cause in my experience that almost never happens. I'm currently in 4 bands although 1 is really a project. 2 of the bands rehearse nearly ever week but gig infrequently, maybe every 2 months. 1 covers, 1 original. The 3rd is a bar band. We played a gig 6 months ago, rehearsed a few times and then didn't do anything for 6 months. Now we've had 2 gigs in last month and 1 rehearsal. For whatever reason BL doesn't see need for regular Rehersal but the band is solid enough to at 3 hour show at a packed bar. Works perfectly for me. I get a good workout for 3 hours and make a little cash. The 4th is a improv /jazz thing. These guys are the best musicians I play with and are good pals. I just came back from played with a jazz quintet where I've been subbing for rehearsals and hoping at some point it may become a regular thing.

With the exception of the improv thing, any of these bands could be gigging more regularly - certainly once a month - but for a variety of reasons they're not. That makes it easy for me to manage. I also continue to seek out and audition for new projects. If any of these bands got to a point where they were hugging regularly then I'd have make some decisions about the others.

I'm in multiple bands for a few reasons. I love the variety - rock, soul, blues, pop,funk,jazz, original alt rock. There isn't any one band or project that would satisfy all my musical needs. Second, I have time and I like to play alot and gig as much as I can. Unless you're hooked up with a regular working band - bar band, corporate or original band trying to get somewhere - IME there's a lot more talk about playing gigs than actually getting them. And yes, I've done the marketing and gotten gigs for 2 of these projects.
 
#26
Brit,

I get what your saying. However, your scenario is a little different from what I was getting at at.

I didn't make it clear. I am talking about bands that are gigging 1-2 times per week. I apologize, I really didn't make that clear.

Blue
 
#27
If bands are gigging 1-2 times per week every week and those gigs are mostly fri and sat then it would difficult to manage and not fair to other bands. Really depends on the scenario I guess. Most of the better players around here, especially drummers, bass players and horn players, are in multiple bands or projects. You give priority to the ones that are most active or if you depend on the cash pay best. As long as everyone knows that going in it can be managed.

I also see a lot of CL ads saying we only want people who are going to make this their only band and dedicate themselves to the band even if they aren't gigging regularly or are "planning to be gigging 3 nights per week". Usually don't respond to those and band is probably missing out on a whole segment of good players.
 
#28
Britbonic said:
If bands are gigging 1-2 times per week every week and those gigs are mostly fri and sat then it would difficult to manage and not fair to other bands. Really depends on the scenario I guess. Most of the better players around here, especially drummers, bass players and horn players, are in multiple bands or projects. You give priority to the ones that are most active or if you depend on the cash pay best. As long as everyone knows that going in it can be managed.

I also see a lot of CL ads saying we only want people who are going to make this their only band and dedicate themselves to the band even if they aren't gigging regularly or are "planning to be gigging 3 nights per week". Usually don't respond to those and band is probably missing out on a whole segment of good players.
Click to expand...

Exactly, and around here it's only the established bands that have good paying gigs 2-3 times per week.

Blue
 
#30
AfroCubanFunkMa said:
Call in the brotherhood....
Click to expand...

Quoted for truth.

If it's a gig that pays $100 a man or more, you'll find a sub. A paid gig is like throwing a breadcrumb on a beach. You won't see many seagulls, but once that crumb hits the ground a whole flock of them appear out of nowhere. It doesn't even need to be a nice piece of bread either.
 
#31
I agree. Sometime it is just time to let it all slide. Some years back after playing in two bands that with a merger of players over time continued together for almost 8 years we realized that we were as good as we were ever gonna get.

We had a good following, a great rep in the clubs we played and made good money but musically we'd reached our limits and it was time to let go. We joined other bands and a few of us have rejoined one another in other incarnations over the past few years but that band died it's own natural death.

We didn't even announce it. Our last gig was played as if it was the first. At one point in time or another during the night we had every member who had ever been in the band up on stage and we did kind of a tribute to ourselves in our home club for our best fans and when it was done we shut it down and all parted as friends. We still are today and we all have good memories of those days.

There are some happy endings to bands.
 
#32
jive1 said:
Quoted for truth.

If it's a gig that pays $100 a man or more, you'll find a sub. A paid gig is like throwing a breadcrumb on a beach. You won't see many seagulls, but once that crumb hits the ground a whole flock of them appear out of nowhere. It doesn't even need to be a nice piece of bread either.
Click to expand...

For a lot of your "ham & egg" bar bands, subs are not the same option they are for the more upscale show bands.

They just don't have the resources or connections to bring in or even atract a sub for $100.00 that can nail their 3-4 sets on short notice.

A heavy hitting sub is not going to work for $100.00.

blue
 
#34
AfroCubanFunkMa said:
Gotta disagree with you on this one.. I've subbed for others and some mad heavy hitters have subbed for me for $100.. It depends on the night of the week, details of the gig but when it comes down to it, players gotta play and the brotherhood is much bigger than the $$.
Click to expand...

I won't argue this one. I don't know much about subbing.

I just thought $100.00 was probably on the low end.

Blue
 
#36
bluewine said:
For a lot of your "ham & egg" bar bands, subs are not the same option they are for the more upscale show bands.

They just don't have the resources or connections to bring in or even atract a sub for $100.00 that can nail their 3-4 sets on short notice.

A heavy hitting sub is not going to work for $100.00.

blue
Click to expand...

Why do you think that?

Average cover bands tend to share the similar material and/or the material isn't too difficult for an experienced pro to come in and nail it. Since there's less work to be done, it may be easier to find a sub who will work for less, or get by with a lesser player. On the other hand, if you have a specialty band or tribute, it might be hard to find someone who knows all the material note-for-note for a gig, even though it pays more.

For example, if I had a standard Blues band, I could find dozens of competent subs who would work for $100 or less, and do just fine. On the other hand, if I had a top-shelf Who tribute band that paid $300, I could probably find dozens of guys willing to play for $300, but I'll be lucky if I can get one who can nail all of Entwistle's lines note for note.
 
#37
AfroCubanFunkMa said:
Gotta disagree with you on this one.. I've subbed for others and some mad heavy hitters have subbed for me for $100.. It depends on the night of the week, details of the gig but when it comes down to it, players gotta play and the brotherhood is much bigger than the $$.
Click to expand...

+1. It depends on the gig and the situation.

Say I have a standard cover band gig in town that paid $100 vs a wedding gig that paid $300. Obviously the wedding gig is paying more money. But, what if I had to drive 150 miles to get there, arrive at noon to load in for a 7 PM start, learn a bunch of material that I wasn't familiar with, rehearse a few times with the band, and wait a week to get my check? Doesn't seem as profitable as the cover band gig that's right around the corner, doesn't require any rehearsal or woodshedding because you already know the material, and you get to arrive 10 minutes before start and go home after you get paid in cash.

It also depends on the night. Myself and many others will work for less on a weekday night, since it's usually an off-night anyway. A little something is usually better than a whole lot of nothing. And in the end, we're musicians who love music. IME, if it's a gig where the music is fulfiling, you can get great players to work for less.

Sometimes you have to make concessions for the brotherhood. A friend who hooks you up with some nice paying gigs may need you to fill-in on something that underpays, but you take the gig to return the favor for the past gigs and hopes for more well paying gigs. A friend bails you out of a stitch by filling in for you in an emergency, and you return the favor by doing a door gig for his original band the following week. You have a buddy who is down on his luck, and his car needs a repair, so you refer some gigs to him to help out.
 
#38
jive1 said:
Sometimes you have to make concessions for the brotherhood. A friend who hooks you up with some nice paying gigs may need you to fill-in on something that underpays, but you take the gig to return the favor for the past gigs and hopes for more well paying gigs. A friend bails you out of a stitch by filling in for you in an emergency, and you return the favor by doing a door gig for his original band the following week. You have a buddy who is down on his luck, and his car needs a repair, so you refer some gigs to him to help out.
Click to expand...

QFT
 
#39
I am in two groups and it works out really well.
Band one is a five piece Jazz/Blues/Rock/Original act.
The other is a Jazz duo with the leader of band number one.
Guitar, bass and two part vocals.
The duo plays lounges, receptions, small clubs.
The band usually gets $500-$600 and splits five ways.
The duo gets $300-$400 and splits two ways.
More fun to play with the band. More money to play the duo.
Never a schedule conflict.
 

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