I've been the longest lasting member of a band (2 years). The music is simple. The gig is a coffeehouse within a mile of where I live. The pay is $20 and 2 glasses of wine for an hour of playing, and the gigs are always well attended and advertised.
The guitarist, who is a soundman at this coffeehouse, writes all the material, which tends to be a few standard changes in the mode of Cowboy Junkies or Mazzy Star--not really challenging for bass. We practice for a couple hours a week. It's a comfortable gig. We've done a live radio show and have been interviewed by a girl who has interviewed the Rolling Stones.
The dilemma: The guitarist (band leader) asks me to set up off stage because he doesn't want to feel crowded. The stage is only about a foot high. I usually put my amp on the piano and stand in one place, taking up maybe two square feet of space. He wants to use that space for his guitar stand. He probably has about six square feet of space, and tends to dance around when he plays. I refused to yield my square foot at the last gig, and we all had plenty of room to function.
Also, we had some good publicity in a local paper. Everyone was in the photo except me because he wanted me to take the photo. Everyone else in the band felt bad about that, saying, "Why don't we get someone else to take the photo, so the whole band can be in the photo." He answered with silence, and I ended up taking the photo. We have about a dozen youtube videos, and I'm in a bunch of them, but you can only hear me on one of them. The rest are overdubbed with music that consists of him playing all the parts accompanied by the female vocalist. The action and music dont synch up on the videos. Many of his publicity photos show only him and the cute female vocalist.
And we've gone through many cute female vocalists and band members in general. Usually people leave because they don't like being told what to play, or because he will make a video featuring a different vocalist if the vocalist who has done all the work can't make it to the video shoot that day. Or he will bring in a new vocalist at the last minute and say that she will sing harmony, but gives her the original vocalist's parts. We have had entire band turnovers, except for me, several times, sometimes every few weeks.
I would probably move on if I could find another suitable gig, but the bass market around here is pretty saturated, and I'm 57, which matters to some people. If Im in the band, shouldnt I be on stage and in the photos with the rest of the band. Shouldnt I be heard in the videos? It s not a pleasant situation, but it might be more unpleasant to have no other gig.
What would you do?
The guitarist, who is a soundman at this coffeehouse, writes all the material, which tends to be a few standard changes in the mode of Cowboy Junkies or Mazzy Star--not really challenging for bass. We practice for a couple hours a week. It's a comfortable gig. We've done a live radio show and have been interviewed by a girl who has interviewed the Rolling Stones.
The dilemma: The guitarist (band leader) asks me to set up off stage because he doesn't want to feel crowded. The stage is only about a foot high. I usually put my amp on the piano and stand in one place, taking up maybe two square feet of space. He wants to use that space for his guitar stand. He probably has about six square feet of space, and tends to dance around when he plays. I refused to yield my square foot at the last gig, and we all had plenty of room to function.
Also, we had some good publicity in a local paper. Everyone was in the photo except me because he wanted me to take the photo. Everyone else in the band felt bad about that, saying, "Why don't we get someone else to take the photo, so the whole band can be in the photo." He answered with silence, and I ended up taking the photo. We have about a dozen youtube videos, and I'm in a bunch of them, but you can only hear me on one of them. The rest are overdubbed with music that consists of him playing all the parts accompanied by the female vocalist. The action and music dont synch up on the videos. Many of his publicity photos show only him and the cute female vocalist.
And we've gone through many cute female vocalists and band members in general. Usually people leave because they don't like being told what to play, or because he will make a video featuring a different vocalist if the vocalist who has done all the work can't make it to the video shoot that day. Or he will bring in a new vocalist at the last minute and say that she will sing harmony, but gives her the original vocalist's parts. We have had entire band turnovers, except for me, several times, sometimes every few weeks.
I would probably move on if I could find another suitable gig, but the bass market around here is pretty saturated, and I'm 57, which matters to some people. If Im in the band, shouldnt I be on stage and in the photos with the rest of the band. Shouldnt I be heard in the videos? It s not a pleasant situation, but it might be more unpleasant to have no other gig.
What would you do?
