Starting a band with coworkers

[Razman]

When I was hired, I learned (while interviewing) my boss-to-be played acoustic gigs at some local places (small bars, restaurants, etc.) After getting the job I had hoped to become part of a band made up of coworkers as he played his stuff before a lot of our town halls and such. Sadly, it never materialized.

<long-winded whiney rant deleted>

So I'm taking matters into my own hands. I know a couple of good guitar players who are excited at the opportunity to get together and play, and I have a drummer lined up (but I need to see how well he plays). I know another chap who can sing, but I haven't gotten his commitment yet - hopefully next week. Provided the drummer can keep good time, I think we'll be a hit.

I instructed them to come up with a handful of songs each that they would like to play, and from that we'll identify about a dozen we can do. Again, playing for our company, need to exercise some sense, change lyrics if needed, etc. Mainly, I'm doing this for fun. Our next events will be in November or December, and with October being a busy time for me we have a good window to organize and prep for whatever they let us do.

So I guess that makes me the BL, and since they are my friends I won't (or hope I won't lol!) have any major dramatic stories to post of someone rage-quitting or firing the drummer (but again - haven't heard him yet) but since this involves other musicians it is bound to be interesting. I'm looking forward to it.

I did a search - seen lots of postings of corporate gigs but not corporate bands (made up of coworkers) - who else has done this? Oh, almost forgot - by virtue of TB's unwritten pic/video rule, I'll include those when we actually get to practicing together.

Stay tuned...

 

[bkbirge]

I was in a casual cover band with coworkers a few years ago. It was fun and they were all good guys/gals, all older than I was at the time so they pretty much had the whole reliability and responsibility quotients nicely dialed in.

But there are a few take-aways I would be aware of. Don't be in a band with people you manage or with your manager. Don't be in a band with everyone who is in your same workgroup, mix it with people who maybe work at your place of employment but you aren't around every minute of the workday. And do have an open mind to your co-worker's musical choices.

And I'd keep the politics/religion/drugs/drinking completely out of interactions with co-workers in any context, keep it only about the music not partying or gossiping. Just my two cents, take it for what it's worth.

 

[Bassbeater]

Ticking drama bomb.
Stay cool.
Good luck!

 

[Razman]

I was in a casual cover band with coworkers a few years ago. It was fun and they were all good guys/gals, all older than I was at the time so they pretty much had the whole reliability and responsibility quotients nicely dialed in.

But there are a few take-aways I would be aware of. Don't be in a band with people you manage or with your manager. Don't be in a band with everyone who is in your same workgroup, mix it with people who maybe work at your place of employment but you aren't around every minute of the workday. And do have an open mind to your co-worker's musical choices.

And I'd keep the politics/religion/drugs/drinking completely out of interactions with co-workers in any context, keep it only about the music not partying or gossiping. Just my two cents, take it for what it's worth.

Good advice. I have a new manager now, but my old one isn't going to be in this one. All of us are in different groups, aged upper 30's to 50-something, and we will comprise a CLEAN, upstanding group of individuals for this project. I'd like to play up-beat 70's - current pop rock stuff, but I'm open, so we'll see - depends on what the singer can handle.

Thanks!

Raz

 

[Sore Thumb]

Everybody in my band works at the same place. But in a large smelter, we don't see each other regularly. However, Paul (vocals) and myself both work in the same maintenance shop and see each other at least 5 days a week, but we're goood friends. Its all good.

 

[Beej]

I used to be in a band where the two guitarists, singer and drummer all worked together on the same construction crew, and the drummer was their foreman. There were good times and bad times, but overall it's not an experience I'd like to repeat, and I'm super glad I didn't also work for the drummer...

 

[pablomago]

I was in a band with co-workers. The keyboard player and drummer were from work, the bass player was a friend of the drummer and the other guitarist was a friend of mine. (I played guitar) There was another band there with three or four people from work. Their lead guitarist was a Stevie Ray Vaugnabe and our drummer also played with him. They'd rent a hall and our bands and maybe another would play. A lot of co-workers would come out and it would be a great party. Our band did some other gigs, but the other only played the "Gig-A-Thon" parties. We played a company Christmas Party, too now that I think about it.

 

[Razman]

Ticking drama bomb.
Stay cool.
Good luck!

Yesterday it went 'boom' - guitarist 'a' (a very anal-retentive type, everything must be perfect, perfectly planned, scheduled, outlined, etc. etc.) decided to pull out of the project for a myriad of reasons that didn't really make sense to me. We haven't even locked down what songs we'd play!!??

So I still have one other guitar player who is interested, so we'll see what happens. I can't believe it, and yet, I'm not the least bit surprised. I just have to sit back and chuckle a little.

Aiight, so go ahead and say it:

I t_ _ _ y_ _ s_!

Stay tuned, as Bassbeater said, it's only a matter of time before more surfaces...

 

[vonbladet]

I guess it depends on your cow-orkers and the institutional vibe. I work in a science institute where post-docs come and go, and I inherited the bass chair in the work band when the old bassist left. (I'm not a post-doc, so I've held it for a few years now.)

It's been fine, even though the singer significantly outranks me on the org chart. (I guess my line manager would have been an edgier situation, but he only plays classical.) Bizarrely our biggest problem is finding guitarists in the personnel pipeline.

Our annual gig is at the work summer barbecue, so it is as in-house as it could possibly be, and there has been no drama at all so far.

 

[charlie monroe]

I have put together several bands from the job over the years.

They were single gig projects for the summer company picnic. Haven’t done so in a while.

Zero drama for me, but I outrank the rest. There was talk of playing public gigs but that never materialized.

 

[Bassbeater]

The bombs are usually entertaining, but in a coworker environment, the stakes are potentially much higher than just band integrity. Be cool, be the fixer and show leadership. That way if stories do trickle back, they will be good stories where you are the hero. Good luck!

 

[BassCliff]

Hi,

It's been a few years now but I used too play with an employee ensemble, just for special functions at work, just for fun. We never gigged. We were from several different departments around campus so we did not see each other every day. My office mate is a great piano player and we used to gig together all the time back in the day. He doesn't want to gig that much any more but enjoys playing big band jazz once a week or so at The Phoenix Club in Anaheim and other low pressure, low commitment engagements.

Socializing with coworkers can be a sticky wicket. It's very easy to create drama so keep everything on the up and up, always do the right thing, make good decisions.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

 

[dbase]

I play in a corporate band where the BL is the CEO. Everyone in the band works there except me .. Seems nobody plays bass in the company. It's been 10 years now, playing corporate events, xmas parties etc. mainly about 3 times a year we play and we have our own fully equipped studio in the building that the boss set up to practice. I just go along with the band with whatever they want to play since I'm the outsider.. Being in the band affords job security if any layoffs arise. I'm retired so not a problem. As long as I am having fun learning new tunes it is a rewarding pastime.