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When are you part of too many bands?

Stilettoprefer

Stilettoprefer

Nov 26, 2010
2,011
163
#1
If i'm in the wrong section please move:P

At the moment I'm in 5 bands.... And I just got asked about joining a 6th. After this month one band (jazz group) is gonna be gone, and summer is before too long, so that's 2 more bands (school orchestra and varsity jazz) down for a couple months.

That leaves me with 2 (possibly 3 if I take this new one) bands over the summer and giving lessons.

So, how many is too many?
 
#6
I usually don't count my school endeavors as "bands." If I did, I would be in seven "bands":

At school:
Wind Ensemble
Symphony Orchestra
Latin Jazz Ensemble
Concert Jazz Ensemble
Swing Machine Jazz Combo

Away:
The Triad (rock cover band/originals)
The Jessica Furney Band (blues/rock covers/originals)
Also friend of mine wants to get a metal project going.
I also do many different pickup gigs...rock/jazz/country/whatever.'

I also go to school full time, and work a "day job" part time.

Am I busy? YES. Do I have friends that aren't musicians? A few. Do I generally have a social life away from music? Kinda...doesn't help that my girlfriend is also a musician and we tend to hang out with, you guessed it...musicians. Do I sometimes have to play till 2am then get up for a 7:30 class? You bet.

Do I love every second of it? Hell yeah.

Like said above, if you get double booked you need to downsize. Or if you get overwhelmed and stressed to the point that it really affects you mentally, socially, or physically (it's happened before!) then it's time to cut something.
 
#7
As far as being a core member in different bands, that can be very tough. You have other core members in said bands depending on you, especially if you're a good player, dependable etc.

LONG ANSWER: What works for me is having at least one band where everything just works. You gig consistantly, have a tight sound, decent fan base, and most importantly, get along with one another. Once you have your primary band, start adding on from there. Another thing I do is if I feel comfortable with the amount of groups I consider myself a member in (two is my limit) but want to stay busy in down time, I will offer my session services to other artists seeking a fill in for a string of gigs or some recording work. Definitely make it very clear of your intentions with every group you work with because as I mentioned earlier, if you are good AND reliable, people will want to steal you, which may or may not be what you're looking for.

SHORT ANSWER: What ever you're comfy with :)

...oh, and buy a calendar
 
#8
brndn123 said:
What works for me is having at least one band where everything just works. You gig consistantly, have a tight sound, decent fan base, and most importantly, get along with one another. Once you have your primary band, start adding on from there.
Click to expand...

This is good advice. The key point being, if you do find that "one band that just works", be VERY careful to not do anything to jeopardize that situation because those bands do not come along easily, or very often. The band I'm currently in fits that description and so I make it very clear to anyone who wants to snag me for a sub gig or whatever, that my primary band comes first. Fortunately, my BL is very good at locking down bookings months in advance (we actually have dates booked into spring 2012 already)... and he is also very good at letting us know which weekends we are sure to have "off"... which allows me then to either reject other invitations or (on my rare weekend off from my primary band), accept a sub or one-off gig with confidence.

In direct response the OP's question... at the point you have to start looking for a sub to fulfill any of your current commitments, you're over-committed. And by "current commitments" I mean not just musical but also things like school, day job, S.O./family or whatever else may apply in your particular sitation.
 
#9
IME, the keys:

1. Have *at least* three qualified bass subs on speed-dial. In fact, keeping a healthy sub list (and keeping yourself on other players' sub lists) is almost as important as keeping up your gear. I don't look at subbing as a sign of being over-committed so much as a sign that things are going well.

2. Sharable electronic calendars are your best friend to avoid double-booking.

3. You can't play with any groups that have sloppy booking. You'll get killed working with bands that book without checking schedules, or that clog the calendar with lousy gigs.
 
#11
jaywa said:
This sounds great in theory but may not be practical in smaller markets. I work in an MSA of about 200K and I have been hard-pressed to find 1 bassist who I would entrust any of my gigs to AND would be available to play them -- much less 3.
Click to expand...

+1. Definitely applicable to the A-list players in LA and Nashville, however, when you're working with regional gigs as most of us TBers are, offering references to other musicians is a very risky move to your reputation as a musician. Of coarse, there are always exceptions to the rule.
 
#13
I suggest you put together a calendar/time line with available hours for each project. Bassically project management software to track/budge your hours/gigs/etc. over the next 3-4 months. Something like this should make it clear whether or not you have enough time to do justice to all your projects.

If you're talking about quality over quantity, that's another story. Can you do justice to all your projects on top of school and non-band life? I mean, are you mediocre at a bunch of things instead of excelling at just a few choice projects? Btw, how are your school grades?
 
#14
I've found I can juggle two bands and a duo (which usually books Weds and Thurs) without a lot of strain. Last summer I was playing in two additional bands and it got a little hairy. My primary band, which fulfills all of brndn123's criteria, basically had an intervention at a rehearsal, and suggested that I might ease off on the "Sure, I can play with you guys," responses. I was suitably chastened, and over the next few months eased out of two of the groups.

I suppose it ultimately really depends on how busy each band is, how much rehearsal time is necessary, and whether or not you have a day job, spouse or gf/bf, dog, etc. that want to share some of your time.
 
#15
If you start having trouble keeping up the music or have too many gig conflicts and have to sub gigs out. Time was 2 bands was too much and now I am in 6 bands and rarely have a conflict, just not that many gigs any more.
This weekend for example I have 4 gigs, with 4 bands and will have to put about 350 miles of travel but it's the 1st busy weekend in well over a year excluding tour dates.
 

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