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Starting a house band, looking for tips

tothemax

tothemax

Supporting Member
Nov 1, 2013
1,458
1,693
Annapolis Area
#1
We have a new community center with a fairly tight budget and can't always afford a DJ or a band for parties. I used to play in the volunteer house band at a yacht club and it was a great experience and forced to play a lot of music that I never would have played on my own. Problem there was the leader was good musician but had a weak voice and refused to use or audition other singers. So we ended up with a tight band with weak to poor vocals and let it go because it was a volunteer effort (the gigs were always OK at best).

I'd like to avoid that scenario again as it was frustrating to say the least. I've been on the board of center a few times and feel comfortable with taking on the project. My thoughts are to start out with an open mic night with the goal of forming a house band. To meet the community mix the band would need to play a wide variety of music (classic rock, country, R&B, contemporary, etc...) which I'm cool with.

I play guitar and bass with a so so voice (basically I can sing in key, not much more). I know what sounds good and although I don't read music, folks I've played with over the years have liked my arrangements for covers. Not always exact but close enough to be enjoyed (bringing out whatever strengths the band has).

I've never really been a band leader so I guess my main question is with a volunteer group how would you approach leadership. Also I'd like to be able to play, how would you approach when there are better bass or guitar players.

Open for suggestions, thanks in advance...
 
#2
Hi,

For a non-paying volunteer gig you're going to have to play catch as catch can. You'll have to be very diplomatic and tailor the repertoire for the talents and abilities of the participiants. It may be necessary to have several volunteers for each chair, have a schedule to rotate the musicians so no one gets burned out, and be prepared to call your subs when the scheduled musicians call to cancel. For a non-paying gig you may get a lot of that.

It sounds like it could be really fun with the right mix of volunteers. I love playing in community bands, at retirement homes, and senior centers. It's good to share the music, share the joy, and share the love.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff
 
#3
I'd just like the haters to know "Life sucks... Then ya die."

Too bad people feel that way. Guess it must kinda be like an unemployed "American" losing a job to immigrants waiting for hire on the side of the road for work, or jobs being outsourced overseas.

Instead of blaming the weekend warrior, try using that negativity in a positive way and make "your product" much more valuable. Just my 2 cents...
 
#6
Appreciate the input. Well at the start there won't be any cashflow so bookeeping won't be an issue.

I think BassCliff caught the jist of my question. There are quite a few decent musicians in this area, and a few in my community so hopefully I can get enough of a turnout to make it work.

My concerns are more on how to maintain a leadership role while keeping the peace. Like everyone my free time is valueable to me, and taking the time to organize weekly practices need to be productive and not a runaway jam train as everyone knows can happen.

I guess my steps will need to be:

1) Have a couple of jam nights to identify players that are willing to support the effort
2) Assess the skillsets and try to form a core to get things moving - if there are multiple candidates then figure out how to make it work.
3) Agree on a basic song list - easy well known songs at first to get things moving.
4) Put together a short set list so that practices become progessive activity.

If I get this much going that will be a good start. Our new center in nice venue with deck over looking the bay and it would be great to be able to generate community support by having decent music at events that don't bring in the revenue to hire a band.
 
#8
This sounds, frankly, like the same issue that worship teams have to deal with. Volunteers, no pay, random levels of skill... Probably worth stealing things out of their playbook in terms of how to organize. A few come to mind:

1) Have subs
2) Standardize the playbook and have BL own it
3) Set up venue to be as "plug and play" as possible e.g. musicians just need to show up with instruments, not rest of gear (makes last minute subs easier).
4) Hold weekly rehearsals with whoever is available to run through as group, esp new material
 
#9
all i can really think of is you must lead.
i'm sure you'll have to be flexible and diplomatic. BUT BE A LEADER.
otherwise it's confusing. especially since it's a no pay/volunteer situation you may have some people who come and go a bit. at least YOU will need to be consistent.
 
#10
That's pretty much my thoughts, there has to be a constant, so I'm figuring that I need to plan on a about a 6 month commitment to see if it will go anywhere.

My thoughts at the start are that it will be needed for the open mic nights but early practices may not need it. I've always found it a waste of time to work in vocals when the band is learning a song, that it becomes more of distraction (I could be off base here). Once you have musicians that can basically play together, have some sense of a working mix (volume wise) then you can start to bring in vocal work.

With a volunteer group you have no idea who may try out. Not picking on singers, but they just seem to stand out more. We've all seen the singer that walks like they are Streisand or Daltrey and it's everything you can do to keep a straight face once they start - and then realize that they actually don't realize how off key they are. That's where the diplomacy has to come in... I'm sure that church groups have to deal with this as well.

I do have a PA, but really don't look forward to hauling my own gear plus a sound system to every gig. We'll see how it goes... I'm hoping as the community center moves forward that they will purchase their own.
 
#12
Hi,

Wait ... a yacht club had no budget to pay a band? This strikes me as odd.

Anyway, have a definite plan for your rehearsal. Make sure everyone has all the material they need to prepare for the rehearsal, the set list, sheet music, recordings, key changes, arrangement notes, etc. Then at rehearsal just run down the planned list. Hopefully the musicians have practiced their part at home so all you have to do is put together the arrangement at rehearsal. Rehearsal time is not practice/learning time. Practice at home.

Try to make the planned rehearsal time the "downbeat" time. If you call a 2pm rehearsal, ask everyone to be there early enough to load in, set up, tune, etc, in order to actually start playing at 2pm. It wastes a lot of time when someone shows up at 2pm and it takes them another 20-30 minutes to get ready. Sometimes we will have a "call" time, which is the arrival time, and a "downbeat" time, which is the start of the performance or rehearsal.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff
 
#13
Yacht club by name yes, but basically just a bunch of folks with boats with dues going basically to maintain the facility and keep slip rates down. Nothing like the New York, Newport, or even Annapolis clubs with major revenue.

The "house" band concept came about when a group of members started jamming together and it naturally progressed into the "house" band eventually playing 5 - 10 club events per year. Some parties, barbecue, dances, member parties, etc... for the larger events such as New Years Eve, Commodores Ball, etc... the entertainment committee budgets for a pro band or DJ.

Having served on the BoD as this community center project evolved I'm looking at ways to encourage community involvement and have some fun at the same time. The "house" band seemed to work at the club so why not for a community...

I appreciate all the input and will probably start planning out the first steps which be an open mic jam night.
 
#15
F88,

The main thing is that I was a player and not the leader... it was a learning experience. For instance I was auditioned as a guitar player when the band needed a bass player (they kept that to themselves). I only found out after the audition when they handed me a bass. That turned out to be a good deal for me as I found I really enjoy playing bass and being in the rhythym section. Another positive was learning to be open to playing music out of my comfort zone.

I was talking with my wife about this and she suggested doing a couple of open mic and jam sessions first to see what the interest is. I'm not new to the community (about 7 years) but pretty new to the local music scene... so I think she has a good point. That dang day job really gets in the way, but it keeps the bills paid.

Thanks for the comment...
 
#16
MTW said:
I'd just like the haters to know "Life sucks... Then ya die."

Too bad people feel that way. Guess it must kinda be like an unemployed "American" losing a job to immigrants waiting for hire on the side of the road for work, or jobs being outsourced overseas.

Instead of blaming the weekend warrior, try using that negativity in a positive way and make "your product" much more valuable. Just my 2 cents...
Click to expand...


Huh?
 
#18
Well looks like this is starting to move forward... couple of questions to band leaders.

2 drummers, a bass, a harp, and a guitarist / singer have asked to be involved. Our first meet and planning session is on Friday night. I've put together a basic 1 hr . set with a mix of classic rock, R&B, country, beach, and blues (14 songs). I've taken the lead to get things going and will be responsible for the Community space and I own the PA. The guitarist \ singer says he leads a worship band at a church so it will nice to have some organizational help there. At this point I've only heard one of the drummers before.

1) What's the best way to keep things moving? I'm thinking until we see what we have to try to keep to the basic set.

2) I like the idea of a democracy - but too many ideas and you blow through practice time without accomplishing much. Thoughts?

3) I'm not a big metal or rap fan, this is community effort with event ages from 12 - 90.
I figure for the band effort that I need to stick in my comfort zone (set list). Beyond that in this early stage will be DJ territory.

Trying to get things going on the right track.
 

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