I could do with some band advise please

[Jonny]

I'm the other side of the spectrum of musicians, I'd love to go to rehearsals. Unfortunately being able to play anything there is another thing :P

[Johnny Mac]

Some very interesting posts here. Tellboy, after reading your post, I'm asking myself, what have I got to complain about!  :lol: We should do A new thread based on all this.

I've seen drink and drug abuses in my mates bands over the years. I think some guys who play in bands get stoned as part of an image to make them cool. God I'm getting old! I used to be stoned all the time myself. I used to post in here off my face. Buy cr@p off eBay stoned. Ride motorbikes stoned. So perhaps I shouldn't expect too much.
I've already had an offer of rehearsing with an old drummer pal of mine. He plays in some good earning function bands so I could learn a lot from him! 

[38thBeatle]

With a few exceptions I must have been lucky most of the time but like I have said, I have had my share of idiots over the years. I am shortly going to we getting into a little part time project that has been on the back burner for a long while but it is with a couple of people that are motivated and they are great musicians and I shall be back on the familiar territory of bass and song writing ( with occasional slide guitar duties). But it gets you down when you want so much to get something going and you are surrounded by fools- like wading through treacle.

[Dmoney]

... But it gets you down when you want so much to get something going and you are surrounded by fools- like wading through treacle.

very much so.
My band had some pretty cool opportunities lined up but either people involved didn't care so much and couldn't be motivated, or people wanted to just finish songs in whatever way for sake of going out and touring etc, which didn't make sense to me at all. Surely you want good songs to tour with or put on records, right?

since I quit I just haven't found anyone I really feel like I could do a band with. I even had a really exciting chance that just totally failed. I have the chance to join another existing band that I do like, but what they do isn't what I'd do if I had the choice. I'm 26, I'm getting 'old' in terms of that 'scene' and I identify with it less and less at the moment, which is a shame, because I really don't identify with much else musically or socially.


I'm gonna say, I regret walking out and ending the band, because at least I was doing something where as now I'm doing nothing (regardless of how frustrating it could be at the time).

[AndyR]

Sorry to hear it's going that way Johnny :(

My recommendation, right at the moment, would be to keep it going but put your energy into the new recording kit, creating music on your own, find out what you can do, find out more about yourself musically...

If you hang on to them, you'll still have some real human beings to try ideas out with (even if they can't get it together as often as you want). If you ditch them now, you'll have to find some new folks to be able to do that... You never know, you might come up with something that gets one or more of them going... you might not though!..

Look at it this way - now it's got to "p1ssed off now" stage, constantly weigh up what you get out of them/it for what you put in. If it regularly costs you more in angst/wotever than you get out of it in satisfaction/giggles... then you'll know exactly what to do...

The main thing is, you've just got yourself a new set-of-musicians/outlet/audience in the new recording gear (and you're the audience, by the way! :lol: you can create stuff and listen to it as a punter- it's brilliant... and try that website I told you about for getting some input from outside on your creations, we all need a bit of acknowledgement from others). Put some serious effort into that stuff for a bit and get some personal satisfaction out of it - you might feel less disgruntled with them then mebbe...

[Lu_B]

I'd dump the lot of them as you will be continually banging your head against a brick wall and will get more and more disillusioned.

[Johnny Mac]

Thanks for all this valuable advice! I did send an email to them saying this projects going nowhere last week. We will probably go back in when their dole cheques turn up! I do want to try and motivate them. Yes Andy if I'm honest I do get a lot out of it even though I get pissed off with them. I feel a bit sorry for them really as they are really nice people. That is a good idea about writing some music to get them to play. I did discuss this at length with the bass player the day before the rehearsal that never was. I want him to get involved with that too. We could knock up a few tunes on the mac and bring them to a rehearsal and get the rest of them involved. I can get him to plug direct into the Motu interface after we have arranged a drum track. He is so talented Andy I would be a mug if I fell out with him. That's why I had a sound off in here!!   :lol:  

I signed up to the website the day you gave me the link Andy. I think it's a great site and I'm looking forward to using it. Thanks Andy you're a star!  :D

[Frank]

One thing that I do notice in threads like this is that quite often people are complaining because other band members aren't motivated to play music that other people have written or they're less than enthusiastic about someone else's pet project. Most of us have been in the same position, not entirely happy with the direction a band's taking or maybe slightly resentful of one or two band members who treat it as their solo project and everyone else is a volunteer session musician ... not saying that's the case here but it sometimes helps to clear the air by just asking people if they want to contribute any music or take a more leading role in the band. Or even just ask them if they like the music they're being asked to play.

At the end of the day

... they're musicians so they presumably want to play music in a band, maybe they're just not 100% into the music or less than happy about the way it's being run?

[Philly Q]

At the end of the day

 :lol:


I'm watching that now.  :oops:

[Johnny Mac]

The way it was being run over the last year Frank, we were being pulled in different directions by couple of people but one of them has took the many hints and hasn't  showed up any more despite owing me money. 3 of us who got this going want to play funk and we do when we get the chance. We were too polite to speak up in the past but now it's at the stage where it's happening again with the keyboard player. We did some good Bob Marley tunes but the CD he gave us to learn is cheesy pop in a reggae style or covers in that style. I agreed to go along with it and have learnt my parts of 10 songs. However the others haven't and it's the choice of music as well as laziness that's holding us back I suspect.

[Johnny Mac]

Had a great rehearsal last night despite a no show from the Sax player. I spoke about my concerns with the lack of commitment.  They want this gig but they have to work at it. They understand though. So i said if you won't put the work in with me I'm not going to do it either and we will have to cancel it.
It was a great rehearsal though. I love it! :D I'll just have to take it as it comes.

[AndyR]

.... despite a no show from the Sax player....

Always a result, in my limited experience of Sax players (and Harmonica players!) :lol:

Glad you had a good one... hopefully they took it to heart :D

[Johnny Mac]

.... despite a no show from the Sax player....

Always a result, in my limited experience of Sax players (and Harmonica players!) :lol:

Glad you had a good one... hopefully they took it to heart :D

They're keen Andy but they sleep far too much!  :lol: They have some plans to practise during the day for free somewhere. At least they're showing a bit of willing now.