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Why did you quit a band?
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I quit one band because the lead guitarist was too all-in on it. He wanted it to be our "everything" and I was in college at that point. We hadn't even gotten our first show and he was talking about all of us selling our possession to put money together to get a conversion van so we could road trip around the country, getting every and any gig we could get. I wasn't about to give up on college to do that. I guess I just didn't have what it takes to be all-in on being a musician for a living.
This has been an interesting read! I've had to quit many bands in my career.
I've quit at least four bands on the around the time that all of have received record deals because I was unwilling to tour. I recorded with most of them and at least was able to have some fun hearing myself on the releases. Sigh. Each one had their brief time in the spotlight and are now relegated to musical history. Except for that one who continues to do modestly well, much to my surprise.
Nevertheless, each decision was the right choice at the time. There were the insane narcissists, obsessed personalities, druggies, thieves, etc. (again, except for the one that achieved a level of commercial success; maybe a correlation there?), but those weren't actually the reasons I had to leave. I'm pretty tolerant of others as long as I can keep them at arm's length.
These days, though, there's no such thing as record deals and the most common reason for me to quit a band is lack of ambition on the part of the other players.
I've quit at least four bands on the around the time that all of have received record deals because I was unwilling to tour. I recorded with most of them and at least was able to have some fun hearing myself on the releases. Sigh. Each one had their brief time in the spotlight and are now relegated to musical history. Except for that one who continues to do modestly well, much to my surprise.
Nevertheless, each decision was the right choice at the time. There were the insane narcissists, obsessed personalities, druggies, thieves, etc. (again, except for the one that achieved a level of commercial success; maybe a correlation there?), but those weren't actually the reasons I had to leave. I'm pretty tolerant of others as long as I can keep them at arm's length.
These days, though, there's no such thing as record deals and the most common reason for me to quit a band is lack of ambition on the part of the other players.
They were terrible. I wasn't making them any better.
I've heard a couple of clips of them with their new bassist - she's a way better fit and an improvement for their sound (although that may be partially due to the sub drummer). It was a good call.
I've heard a couple of clips of them with their new bassist - she's a way better fit and an improvement for their sound (although that may be partially due to the sub drummer). It was a good call.
i quit an afrobeat band after 3 rehearsals (the music that inspired me to put down the guitar and pick up the bass) because the drummer was playing jazz, the guitarist was playing bar chords, and half the horn section couldn't improvise but the band leader kept giving them all solos.
I've played with that guy (or my version of him). We were in a rock covers band and a blues band. I fired him from the first, the 2nd broke up. A while later, he was in a blues power trio and asked me to sub on some gigs.
Love him as a human being (I handled firing him like a coward and have felt shame for it for a long time), but dude has zero shuffle in his repertoire.
Had to quit from multiple bands in my lifetime and the reason always stayed the same. Most people think the world revolves around them ( or drugs ).
The first band i was in was ok ( we played covers of rock songs ). We had written a decent amount of materials like riffs, solos etc. and we wanted to become more metal due to our ( mostly ) mutual Pantera inspiration. The issue was the guitarist/vocalist. The guy was Narcissus but 10x worse and that had a baby with Axl Rose. He had a voice not gonna lie but his guitar playing skills were horrible and he thought he was better then everybody in the band. He wouldn't cover costs of anything we did like rehersal space etc. Not to mention his addiction to heroin which killed him 4 years later. The breaking point was when he stole my 2000 Gibson Thunderbird which i got as a gift from my dad and sold it for dope money. We got into a bad fight and i fractured his skull when i threw him into a hook on the wall for hanging jackets and such. I still won as i took all the music that was written like the riffs and solos and i used it recently in my new band
The second time i quit was about 2 months after i left the first band. I was recruited by another band that needed a bassist for a few gigs ( 21 gigs country wide ) since their bassist broke his wrist when he fell down the stairs. I was paid around 700€ for every gig so i thought this was a decent way to make cash. The tour was hell. I had to help the other guys every night while they were high and drunk off their asses. After the 18th show i left the band without telling them as i was thru with their poopie. Blocked them on my phone and called the cops to search their bus for drugs. Later i found out they were arrested.
The first band i was in was ok ( we played covers of rock songs ). We had written a decent amount of materials like riffs, solos etc. and we wanted to become more metal due to our ( mostly ) mutual Pantera inspiration. The issue was the guitarist/vocalist. The guy was Narcissus but 10x worse and that had a baby with Axl Rose. He had a voice not gonna lie but his guitar playing skills were horrible and he thought he was better then everybody in the band. He wouldn't cover costs of anything we did like rehersal space etc. Not to mention his addiction to heroin which killed him 4 years later. The breaking point was when he stole my 2000 Gibson Thunderbird which i got as a gift from my dad and sold it for dope money. We got into a bad fight and i fractured his skull when i threw him into a hook on the wall for hanging jackets and such. I still won as i took all the music that was written like the riffs and solos and i used it recently in my new band
The second time i quit was about 2 months after i left the first band. I was recruited by another band that needed a bassist for a few gigs ( 21 gigs country wide ) since their bassist broke his wrist when he fell down the stairs. I was paid around 700€ for every gig so i thought this was a decent way to make cash. The tour was hell. I had to help the other guys every night while they were high and drunk off their asses. After the 18th show i left the band without telling them as i was thru with their poopie. Blocked them on my phone and called the cops to search their bus for drugs. Later i found out they were arrested.
This is the absolute truth. Reminds one of how the cowboys and modest ladies must have suffered. Fortunately real lard in the beans is delicious. Nothin wrong with lard if you work it off.
Highest stage temp though was outside in Ottawa in July. In Ottawa the kids are in shorts at 65 degrees but it does get up to high 90s.
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I've quit quite a few over the years. Some of the reasons:
1-Talk about gigging that never came to fruition. I have played with friends who get together with no intention of being a gigging band, and had fun doing it. BUT if playing gigs is the stated goal of the BL and there is no effort put forth in booking gigs I gotta bail. Working on "setlists" that will never happen outside a practice space is a waste of time and not fun imo.
2-Too many gigs. Even when I have been in bands with an agreement on how often we are willing to gig, there has been a tendency of at least 2 BL's to book more than our agreement. They were both surprised when I bailed because they equated lots of gigs with success.
3-Needless drama. I had a guitar player furious at me for joking about GAS in front of his wife. I apologized, but he just couldn't let it go. I actually said, "I don't do drama". But the message just didn't get through, so I bailed.
1-Talk about gigging that never came to fruition. I have played with friends who get together with no intention of being a gigging band, and had fun doing it. BUT if playing gigs is the stated goal of the BL and there is no effort put forth in booking gigs I gotta bail. Working on "setlists" that will never happen outside a practice space is a waste of time and not fun imo.
2-Too many gigs. Even when I have been in bands with an agreement on how often we are willing to gig, there has been a tendency of at least 2 BL's to book more than our agreement. They were both surprised when I bailed because they equated lots of gigs with success.
3-Needless drama. I had a guitar player furious at me for joking about GAS in front of his wife. I apologized, but he just couldn't let it go. I actually said, "I don't do drama". But the message just didn't get through, so I bailed.
I quit one because of alcohol abuse (not by me)
One by alcohol abuse (by me)
And one, that I still miss, because the guitar players wife went full blown Yoko on us. She showed up at meetings, would go to club owners and get paid for us, she had a vote/say in everything, she controlled her husband to the point the band was unravelling, she would come to wedding and corporate functions and insist on eating, she sat in the control room and told the producer her opinions on recordings!!!!!!! The last straw- I was talking to him on the phone, and I said Gayle, are you listening in? I could hear her breathing. I took the opportunity to mention that Fridays gig was in a really upscale restaurant and we were not offered a break on the food, so eat beforehand. That Friday she showed up and ordered dinner, then stood up in the middle of the restaurant and screamed 'I'm not paying $XX for this dinner!!'
One by alcohol abuse (by me)
And one, that I still miss, because the guitar players wife went full blown Yoko on us. She showed up at meetings, would go to club owners and get paid for us, she had a vote/say in everything, she controlled her husband to the point the band was unravelling, she would come to wedding and corporate functions and insist on eating, she sat in the control room and told the producer her opinions on recordings!!!!!!! The last straw- I was talking to him on the phone, and I said Gayle, are you listening in? I could hear her breathing. I took the opportunity to mention that Fridays gig was in a really upscale restaurant and we were not offered a break on the food, so eat beforehand. That Friday she showed up and ordered dinner, then stood up in the middle of the restaurant and screamed 'I'm not paying $XX for this dinner!!'
Quit in middle of non stop touring, pressures of writing new material and just plain burnt out from being on the road.
Careful what you wish for kiddies.
Careful what you wish for kiddies.
Quit one band because the band was too loud. I make a living with my ears, and spending 36 hours with my ears still in compression despite having worn quality ear plugs was not gonna fly. Quit another band for lack of new material. It was a cover band. Quit a band because a guitar player wanted it to be a free for all improvising all the time. If we came up with a good arrangement or even ending for a song, guitar player could not help but noodle all over it.
Lots of reasons; BL had a drinking problem (several times), the material changed, they lied about one or more things when I joined, refusal to replace sub-par players, lack of jobs, someone leaves the band and you can't find a reliable replacement. One of the big reasons is that often times a band just runs its course. Could be a couple of months or a couple of years, but things just kind of wind down.
Touring is weird. When your band is young and relatively unknown you tour in a van, move your own gear, play a dive, and repeat.
You get a little better known, and you think all those problems are over. You get driven somewhere, eat good food backstage, do your thing on stage, and get driven away. And THEN, your first television appearance is a breakfast show with make-up at 4:00 a.m, then three radio interviews all over a strange city and repeat the same story on all three of them. You get back to your hotel in time for a short shower, and go to soundcheck.
Which one is better/worse??
was in a 80s/90s cover band doing meh bars. never improving or getting worse, just kinda moving laterally.
a drummer friend from HS who was good/pro even back then and another friend from an older band had a new band together and needed a bass player (i knew the exiting bass player, no hard feelings, he just wasn't into it. they were playing mostly originals. i was into that more and always wanted to work with the drummer.
the lead guitar player was a doosh. smarmy, egotistical, too loud, expensive gear. cheezy formulaic songs with no nads.
told the guys and him that i did not enjoy his songs (and truth be told, didn't like him as a human that much either). the other guys wrote good originals, i thought
i was the new guy, i didn't write, Doosh told the other guys him or me. drummer told me over the phone "Sticky, we have to let you go cuz Doosh is losing it. Give us a few weeks, we'll get back to you.
a month later i got the call that they fired Doosh, found another, better lead player that the singer knew and worked with and were ready to ask me back.
i returned to the fold and it was a great 5 year run until the 1st wife and i relocated for $ reasons.
a drummer friend from HS who was good/pro even back then and another friend from an older band had a new band together and needed a bass player (i knew the exiting bass player, no hard feelings, he just wasn't into it. they were playing mostly originals. i was into that more and always wanted to work with the drummer.
the lead guitar player was a doosh. smarmy, egotistical, too loud, expensive gear. cheezy formulaic songs with no nads.
told the guys and him that i did not enjoy his songs (and truth be told, didn't like him as a human that much either). the other guys wrote good originals, i thought
i was the new guy, i didn't write, Doosh told the other guys him or me. drummer told me over the phone "Sticky, we have to let you go cuz Doosh is losing it. Give us a few weeks, we'll get back to you.
a month later i got the call that they fired Doosh, found another, better lead player that the singer knew and worked with and were ready to ask me back.
i returned to the fold and it was a great 5 year run until the 1st wife and i relocated for $ reasons.
I have often thought about this too. I have to say that I am also a guitarist who sometimes likes to play all that 'shredding crap' -but not in public. I wouldn't say I'm similar to the majority of guitarists I have met because I've never wanted to be the loudest in a band situation or thought that my opinions count for more than the other members'. I have always tried to be a team player in any band and on any instrument -thinking that a group is only as good as the weakest link and as a whole. The best compliment I ever got as a guitarist was from a member of The Kick Horns who said I wasn't like most guitarists because he actually had to ask me to turn my amplifiers up!
I think that many guitarists have a difficult time socially with people / musicians because to put in the 10,000 hours thing it requires that they wood-shed on their own for so long. But I also think it's borne from a genuine belief that they are superior musicians too. Generally speaking the electric guitar is all about the speed thing and this ability to vomit notes incessantly only goes to reinforce the misguided belief that what they play puts them into the serious artist / virtuoso musician category like a leading soloist violinist might.
I find the over opinionated and narcissistic guitarist a little embarrassing and this is just one of the reasons I have always loved playing bass so much. There's just so much less ego involved and yet the bass ironically does the most work of all: rhythm and harmony –and all in a rather understated, powerfully knowing way. Single, slowly played low notes totally slay those ear piercing harmonic squeals or those dated, machine gun fast triplet runs that many guitarists seem hell bent on regurgitating ad nauseum on the pub / club circuit.
Maybe bass players are generally more laid back because to be the most effective, they have to play laid back. It's an interesting topic!
1) I quit one band because they decided to switch from being a hard-rock cover band to a Top 40 band----overnight. Not my bag so I left.
2) Quit another band when they started booking gigs that were a 4-5 hour drive away. This caused a serious conflict with my day job (which makes me a lot more money)--so I left that band as well.
2) Quit another band when they started booking gigs that were a 4-5 hour drive away. This caused a serious conflict with my day job (which makes me a lot more money)--so I left that band as well.
