What were your worst ever band mates?

Jimbro66

Artistic temperament and personality clashes do sometimes lead to tensions within bands but were you ever in bands where your bandmates were a complete nightmare?

One band I was in the singer hated the way the drummer's playing was always different at gigs to rehearsals -- normally the drummer being too flash. The singer got completely paranoid about it and in the middle of one gig grabbed the drummer by the throat shouting "I'll f*$#cking kill you!". Entertaining.

I've been mainly lucky to be in bands with really great guys but there was one exception. A well-established band that was earning good money working five times a week needed to replace their guitarist who was emigrating. I turned up at an audition with a bunch of other guys and I was the one they picked. At first all good but I was soon finding lots of back-stabbing going on whenever anyone left the room at rehearsals. Real nasty stuff. I figured it wouldn't be long before I got it too. The bass player in particular was a real dick. I stuck at it for a couple of months because the money was good but then one day the drummer, who I quite liked, mentioned on the phone a gig the next day that I had not been told about, which was strange. I turned up to find the bass player had arranged for one of his mates to play guitar instead of me but hadn't told anyone. The singer had the hump and they all started arguing. At the next rehearsal I quit.

DulcetJones

Warning:  Long story, but, amusing.  Just as a new band I was starting was putting material together the rhythm guitarist began competing with the lead vocalist about singing duties as he was a pretty good  vocalist, but not as good.  Just as this was getting ugly he shows up at a rehearsal at a point where we needed about 10 more songs at least and says "I got us a gig", it's next Friday.  At first a big argument ensued but I reasoned that we might as well go for it, it'll push us to get ready sooner, so we agreed.   The bar was about a 30 minute drive in a small town and none of us had ever been there.  So, on the way to the gig the guy that booked us reveals that he "kind of" lied to the manager about us.  This was a country bar and he told them we played country, when we were all agreed to be a 60's tribute band playing rock only.  (ever seen "The Blues Brothers"?)   So, after soundly telling this guy what we thought of him we figured all we can do is come clean with the manager as soon as we get there.  He was quite nonplussed about it when we told him the situation and he said, OK, set up and play whatever, and then he said he was getting tired of country music anyway.    As it turned out, they liked us and booked us to play once a month for the next 6 months but we fired the guy that put us in this situation citing this incident and his divisive nature regarding his position in the band.  We then found a bass player that had a van, trailer, PA gear and was a good player so we brought him in, got our original bassist to go to rhythm guitar and we went on to have a good 2 year run with that line up.

EricTheWeary

The one that comes to mind is Dave the Ska Nazi. He was the original keyboard player when I had the Damnbusters. He was fairly okay with me TBH although he was a generally scary skinhead ex con. He had learned everything by ear but knew no theory whatsoever. Didn't know names of notes, chords, what a bar was,etc, so any discussion about how to do stuff was hard work, added to which his insistence on always being right even when he was patently wrong. He also owned a monster amp which he would wack up two minutes into any gig. Guitarist type behaviour if you will 

However, he also had no driving licence and our drummer had to pick him up. It came to light that Dave spent every journey bad mouthing every member of the band in an angry and sweary manner, making things unpleasant and scary for our drummer. Our sax player Andy agreed to call him up and sack him. Apparently he said he appreciated Andy's honesty but would kick the heads in of the rest of us if given a chance. It's not happened, yet, although I'm fairly sure he was capable of it.

mudslide73

Wolverhampton for you Eric. 

Our ex-bass player was perpetually on holiday, His Mrs owned a very successful business so he had loads of time to practice and loads of money to buy gear and cars (all of the time). Whenever one of us got a lead on a gig he was always on a cruise. I lost count of the lost opportunities due to his "oh, we're away that week". We worked out that in his last year with us he was unavailable for 26 weekends. He came off holiday once and went away again the very next weekend. He bought a full Ampeg bass stack but was unable to lift it in any way - he actually asked me to go to his house to help load his car up. He would moan constantly about how hard his life was in a very unhelpful way.

He'd learned completely by ear so knew no notes or bars - but further to this he couldn't play any song differently to the record. We tried to extend a song at a gig where the pa had gone down but he was unable to play a 3 chord sequence for longer than we'd rehearsed - he had no idea what we were doing. He couldn't just jam a tune out until he'd had a week to learn it... but would then berate us for binning stuff that didn't work "because he'd put so much work in". He would regularly criticise my inability to play Gary Moore solos note for note whilst being unable to play basic stuff himself.

I lost my rag with him completely when he drunkenly told me he was sick of us all not working hard enough and not getting enough gigs (blissfully ignorant that we were turning down 80% of our offers because of him) and called us all c***s. 

Great bass player though.

I'll have to have a think about the others who've been as bad - there are loads.

mudslide73

Next one: Very early on, this. Alcoholic drummer who worked in a pub, attended a "training course" at another pub on a gig day. He sped us through our first hour in 35 minutes and finished with a "tambourine solo" while walking around the pub stood on the tables. This scared a few people and annoyed some big blokes by the toilets. He drank another 3 pints at half time then repeated the whole thing (minus tambourine solo) again. We committed the cardinal sin of repeating a couple of songs due to the speed we'd played the set. My Mrs was there and said I looked like I was about to explode with embarrassment. That lineup didn't work together again. 

octatonic

I've been lucky- this is probably the worse I've experienced.
Newish singer turned up for a 10am Saturday practice not having been to bed and drunk as fuck.
We did one song and he was a nightmare.
I was the band leader so I told him to go home and sleep and he got pretty angry and aggressive.
Eventually he left and was fired.

bbill335

Drummers that can't play uptempo stuff or keep consistent time because they smoke and/or are ridiculously fat. 

octatonic

bbill335 said:

Drummers that can't play uptempo stuff or keep consistent time because they smoke and/or are ridiculously fat. 

Weight isn't the issue- look at the behemoth Gospel players like Aaron Spears.

Moe_Zambeek

Went to Italy for a gig once. We got picked up from the airport and dropped at the hotel around midnight and so went for a drink then off to bed. The promoters turned up at 11am the next morning as arranged to take us to the soundcheck and....no drummer or bass player. Not answering phones. Not in their room. Promoters furious. We waited an hour and they turned up though both wanting to go to bed !!

Dragged them off to soundcheck though the bass player could barely stand. Fun gig that was. 

Turned out that they had gone on a drink & drug fuelled bender ( )and ended up with one of them sitting naked in a coffee shop at breakfast time, nearly getting arrested for that, forgetting where the hotel was and unsuccessfully trying to pull the promoters girlfriend along the way.

Having said that they were good guys most of the time

IvanMC

I used to play with this 56 year-old guy who felt his massive ego was threatened all the time. He turned up his volume too much, which was a problem. He went berserk at the tiniest mistake and would stop the rehearsal on the spot to whinge and tell every one off. What absolutely put me off track was the other members' attitudes: they seemed to be slaves to him. This is something that's always made me go nuts: no team work. On many occasions it goes like this: lead, but if not, do as you are told... just take it or leave the band. It doesn't always work like this indeed, but it does happen, and that "leader" usually ends up doing his own band so much harm. Egos. "Leaders" who just care about where to stand on stage (and what to wear and to have great pictures taken).

mudslide73

Moe_Zambeek said:

Went to Italy for a gig once. We got picked up from the airport and dropped at the hotel around midnight and so went for a drink then off to bed. The promoters turned up at 11am the next morning as arranged to take us to the soundcheck and....no drummer or bass player. Not answering phones. Not in their room. Promoters furious. We waited an hour and they turned up though both wanting to go to bed !!

Dragged them off to soundcheck though the bass player could barely stand. Fun gig that was. 

Turned out that they had gone on a drink & drug fuelled bender ( )and ended up with one of them sitting naked in a coffee shop at breakfast time, nearly getting arrested for that, forgetting where the hotel was and unsuccessfully trying to pull the promoters girlfriend along the way.

Having said that they were good guys most of the time

That's brilliant I love these stories. I'll have some coffee and think of some more.

mudslide73

A different band but another boozing drummer story. This time our drummer wasn't experienced at gigging so would compensate by consuming large quantities of lager. He arranged for us to play a large venue in Birmingham for his wife's 40th fancy dress party. During the gig he changed wigs and glasses between every song, fell off his stool into the stage curtain (Tommy Cooper style) and took to introducing the songs in progressively dodgier regional accents as the evening progressed - ending every sentence with "Yeah baby!". He was unable to recall any of this until video evidence was produced. Various permutations of these events were repeated at every gig we played.

RocknRollDave

Lead singer in a rock covers band I was in. Little shit couldn't lie straigjht in bed. And that's before you start doing the maths and working out exactly how old his then-girlfriend must have been when he started seeing her (he was in his 40's, IIRC. She, er, wasn't....)

Very unpleasant man, had the nerve to send a friends request on Facebook a wee while back.

DesVegas

In one band we had a singer that would phone up 10 minutes before a planned rehearsal saying "Ah guys, i'm sacking it off tonight" meaning he wasn't going to turn up. THEN the guitarist started going out with the singers sister so that soon blew up the band in no time.

Next band the new bassist started sleeping with the drummers wife. That soon blew up the band in no time too.

gusman2x

Moe_Zambeek said:

Went to Italy for a gig once. We got picked up from the airport and dropped at the hotel around midnight and so went for a drink then off to bed. The promoters turned up at 11am the next morning as arranged to take us to the soundcheck and....no drummer or bass player. Not answering phones. Not in their room. Promoters furious. We waited an hour and they turned up though both wanting to go to bed !!

Dragged them off to soundcheck though the bass player could barely stand. Fun gig that was. 

Turned out that they had gone on a drink & drug fuelled bender ( )and ended up with one of them sitting naked in a coffee shop at breakfast time, nearly getting arrested for that, forgetting where the hotel was and unsuccessfully trying to pull the promoters girlfriend along the way.

Having said that they were good guys most of the time

Very hard to criticise rock n roll when it's done right.

mudslide73

DesVegas said:

Next band the new bassist started sleeping with the drummers wife. That soon blew up the band in no time too.

You are Lyndsey Buckingham and I claim my £5.

slacker

I've been playing in bands since 1980 and have to say that most were fine, some had foibles like being late or forgetful or having off days (of which I am sometimes guilty). However there have been some nightmares. 

I joined what I was told an existing band and was expected to learn 40 songs in 3 months. However it was a start up and two other members were trying to get up to speed as well. Add to this a band leader who picked songs primarily for make vocals and keyboards (we had neither) and it was fun. 

However the main problem was the other guitarist who was unemployed, lived alone and learnt the songs in a week and expected me to as well. He cherry picked the parts and solos he wanted and gave me the sax solos etc. He also complained all the time about everything. He complained about the rehearsal studio which was basically a shed. However it was free, he didnt drive so was driven there, there was backline and beer and he helped himself to both. I left with a plausible excuse after 5 weeks and got a call from the bandleader. Could I do a gig.? Err I left the band. Oh yes. Is your situation any different? No. Turns out the band did a warm up gig and they all agreed a black dress code. Guiatrist turns up in jeans and a T shirt and spends more time fiddling with his multi effect than playing. 

I did a school musicial on bass where the guitarist constantly told me how to play bass (I was at the time a bass player at a church, a Gospel Choir, a covers band and depped for another) After three rehearsals of this plus the band providing all his gear cos he didnt own any, I told him not to speak to me again. Sorted. 

However the finalist for the all time twat bandmember was a vocalist back in the 80s. The main problem is that he was a legend in his own underpants and knew better than anyone else. The band was a start up and I was the first bassist. I assumed that we were a band and made decisions together. OK I know but we would have band meetings and decide whta to do. However the twat vocalist would then go and do what he wanted. It came to a head when we had discussed and agreed that we would not arrange any gigs around the birth of my daughter, it would be low key, we wouldnt put any undue pressure on us. He reluctantly agreed and  went out and hired a 400 seater hall on the day my daughter was due. An added stress (beyond anyones  control) was that the keyboard player got was rushing into hospital with cancer. So the TV said that we would use the support bands keyboard player as a dep (excuse me? support band?) So he arranged a rehearsal at his house the night before the gig and when we arrived went down the pub with his wife. He had appointed a sound engineer but he didnt own any sound equipment. We tried to borrow a pa but the owner would let our sound engineer use it. We also had a lighting engineer without any lights. It just went on. 

After the first gig (we had another two weeks later 30 miles away, by this time he had borrowed the largest pa you have ever seen but we didnt have a van) I approached twatty boy and had it out with him. I was then told that I was there to play bass and do as I was told (why the charade of meetings then?). So I left, honoured the next gig which went horribly wrong as the drummer had a meltdown. I played out of my skin and walked. Yay me. Within 6 months I was playing for a semi pro singer songwriter.  

lukedlb

Bump. 
Please. 
i love these stories. 

Danji

I was in a band with a bunch of siblings who used to regularly kicked off with each other, I can't remember specifics but it was often hilarious! 

Cirrus

For a couple of years played bass in a band with a guitarist who's amp and guitar together had cost him £40 - though they didn't sound that expensive, and the investment exceeded his skill level.

Anyway, he "accidentally" left some pictures of him cross-dressing on a USB stick along with versions of cover songs he wanted us to learn.

A few months later, he announced his decision to leave his family including their disabled child so he could become a woman. I've got no problem with the last part, people have to do what's right for them. But he, the drummer and the other guitarist in the band all lived on the same cul-de-sac and all their families were friends, so for a while the fallout made me feel like I was an extra in a poorly written soap opera.

I do have to admit i wasn't relishing the thought of playing some of the pubs we played at with what would have been, at the time, a man wearing a dress. But the drummer and other guitarist, who ran the band, fired him anyways so I never got a chance to experience that.

RedRabbit

I don't think anyone I've actually been in a band with has been that odd.  If we are including musicians (mainly drummers) I've auditioned then there a few real oddballs I could tell you about.

The most memorable was a drummer who had arranged to audition with us one evening only to have to cancel at the last minute.  The room we were using was fairly small and he was wanting to use the studio's kit so, to save space, we asked the studio manager to take the kit out of the room after the guy cancelled on us.

About 2 hours into rehearsal this guy turns up - just walks into the room while we are playing - and is acting really hyper.  After pointing out the obvious lack of a drum kit we thought he'd be on his way but he decided to hang around and listen to a few songs which was fair enough.  The fact he was practically bouncing off the walls while we were playing was a little disconcerting but we just tried to avoid looking at him.  

After a couple of songs he grabbed the microphone out of the singers stand and announced that he was going to sing for us - did we know White Wedding?  So we started playing it and he started belting it out with a lot of energy but little in the way of melody or phrasing all the while bouncing up and down like an over excited Jack Russell (thankfully he didn't piss on the floor though).

He then went on to tell us that he can play any instrument to a high standard and that he'd decided to play drums so he can just stay in the background and avoid "band politics" but he'd previously been the front man for a covers band as well as lead guitarist and bass player for a few local bands.  After a bit of quizzing it turned out that the covers band he use to front was an Amy Winehouse tribute band which he'd dress up in a beehive wig and cocktail dress for.

He wanted to finish off by showing us his ability on guitar so, very warily, I handed my guitar over only to watch him gingerly strum a couple of chords as though he thought it would bite him.  Our singer asked him what he was playing to which he responded "It's Valerie - I heard you play it before I came in so I thought I'd show you how to play it properly".

At this point it was getting towards 10pm.  He suddenly realises that he had to be elsewhere to meet a bloke he was doing some business with and vanishes.  

A couple of days go by and he rings me up while I'm at work asking if he'd got the gig.  I pointed out that he'd not actually played the drums for us and that we'd other auditions lined up for the next few weeks but, if he wanted to, he could give me a ring in a couple of weeks to see if we were still looking.

The audition the following week was another local guy - real nice easy going bloke and a decent drummer.  The subject of the previous week's "audition" came up and he sat there listen to us tell the tale only to ask at the end "he wasn't called Paul was he?  A short, skinny bloke?".  The answer to both was yes.

This guy calmly put his sticks away got up and headed for the door.  His parting words were "Really sorry guys but if that fucking loon has been anywhere near you I can't get involved". 

A couple of weeks go by and I never got the follow up call from Paul so I thought I'd try my luck with second guy.  After a bit of chat he apologised for walking out like that but went on to explain that Paul had been the singer in one of his previous bands and was a complete control freak (including damn near stalking anyone who left the band).  He's also messed around (or at least tried to) with a couple of band members wives and used to use gigs as a chance to meet up with his "business associates" and exchange small bags of white powder for cash and favours.