Being a band leader sucks sometimes :o(

[Twinfan]

I've just fired the singer from Doppelganger  :(  He wasn't good enough, and had some ego issues, so he had to go.  But I still feel really bad.

I hate being the boss sometimes  :(

Just had to share...

[Denim n Leather]

You said it, brutha!

Even in the best band situations, it's a sh!t-tonne of work. I always loved the music on your clips, though I thought the singing could be better. Here's to hoping you find someone that's ultra cool and sounds like Ray Gillen!!

[Ian Price]

You may feel bad now Dave but I guarantee when you find a singer you are happy with you'll be so much happier about it.

How did you approach it? It's a tough conversation to have isn't it? Sounds like the best decision was made.

[ailean]

I can't imagine how that feels. Sorry to hear it. I hope you find a suitable replacement soon!

I have a friend who has the same problem, I think the singer is ok at the singing, but has ego issues, and doesn't want to do the publicity stuff, thinks a record company is going to turn up and sign them without the need to do any leg work.

[Dr. Vic]

Sounds like the best decision was made.

That's what I thought too when I read your post.
Hope you'll find a new good & cool singer soon.   PDT_015

[TheIronBeast]

I was in the same situation a few years ago. I had put together a band and we were doing ok, maybe gigging roughly twice a week but the singer was holding us back from progressing any further. He took forever to learn his lyrics (even though he wrote most of them) and he wasn't all that a great singer so he had to go. The bad thing was though he was also one of my really really good friends. That was probably one of the hardest things I had to do in my whole life.

[Ian Price]

I have a friend who has the same problem, I think the singer is ok at the singing, but has ego issues, and doesn't want to do the publicity stuff, thinks a record company is going to turn up and sign them without the need to do any leg work.

That sounds exactly like the singer in my old band. We're both Hampshire based so it could be! I'm sure there is more than one singer in Hampshire with ego problems though!

[Twinfan]

You said it, brutha!

Even in the best band situations, it's a sh!t-tonne of work. I always loved the music on your clips, though I thought the singing could be better. Here's to hoping you find someone that's ultra cool and sounds like Ray Gillen!!

Thanks Ben.  Most people who've seen us say the music was great but the singer wasn't.  It was only a matter of time, and that time has now come.  As they say, the show must go on!

How did you approach it? It's a tough conversation to have isn't it? Sounds like the best decision was made.

I've had doubts for a bit, and I'd mentioned it a few times with Martin (MJW) who's the other guitarist in the band.  I got some recordings of our gig last Friday and listening back to them was the final straw - the vocals just didn't match the quality of the musicianship.

After speaking to Martin again, and our drummer who is an original band member too, we all agreed it was time for a change.  I sent him an email so I could phrase it as best I could, and we're meeting up tomorrow to get his share of the PA back from him and give him his money.  It's gone about as well as it could do I guess.

[nfe]

You sacked him by email? I'd be thoroughly unimpressed if that were me, I have to say.

Better off rid though, than trying to move forward with most of you being unhappy with his performance.

[Twinfan]

Yes, email is harsh.  I know.  We were never in the habit of talking on the phone much, so that would have been awkward.  And I didn't want to hit him with it at rehearsal tomorrow face-to-face with the other guys there - too confrontational.  Most of our band communication has been via email, it's the way we work.

I took my time, phrased something really nicely, and got my wording just right.  Face to face, or via a phone call, I'd say something he'd take issue with.  I wanted it to be very clear and simple.  In the "old days" I would have written him a letter, so I've just done the modern equivalent.

[CaptainDesslock]

Being any sort of group leader can be a pain,

In high school I was group leader of me and my amigos and it was up to me to arrange everything call everyone set everything up and spend the most money  :x

I remember once having to kick a friend of a friend out of our core group, being the nice guy that I am I wasn't sure if I could do it, but my best friend urged me to pick up the phone and "be an ass for once," so sure enough I called him-

"Hey Rob, we gotta talk"
"Sure what's goin on"
"Umm....there's no hangout tonight"
"Cool we rescheduling for later,"
"umm....no, its just you who's not hanging out tonight"
"What?"
"YOUR A CREEP AND I CAN'T STAND YOU SO STAY AWAY FROM ME AND MY FRIENDS!"

Click! And never heard from him again~

[Ian Price]

The good thing about doing it by email is that it gives you a chance to say what you want to say and give it a lot of thought. My preference is always talking but with something like this it can get out of control pretty quickly and you can lose what you wanted to say and the way you wanted to say it  - particularly if the person you are talking to doesn't like what you are saying or is no good with feedback/bad news (something my old singer was notoriously bad with).

You'll have to keep us posted on your search for a new singer Dave!

[Twinfan]

Cheers Ian.  Our singer didn't take feedback well, which was another reason I asked him to leave.  Email was the best way, for the reasons you describe.

I'll let you know how the search goes...

[Dmoney]

i've never kicked anyone out my band.
being band leader is bogus though. at the moment i have to book vans, design merch, get merch printed, book ferry tickets, deal with promoters and just about everything else, as well as write music. and work a full time job.
SUCKS but i probably cant trust anything to any of the weirdos in my band anyway.

ifi had to kick anyone out, id be like "mate, look at the kipp o ya!"

[Dmoney]

Our singer didn't take feedback well

Just want to add, i think this is really important. regardless of how good anyone is in the band, its so much easier if everyone is open to opinion about their own role and so on, without getting upset if someone is critical. I think this is really important when it comes to developing as a band