General meaningless rant about band member availability

allen

I've been rehearsing with a band for over a year doing typical pub style covers.

Anyway, we've been slowly gathering momentum towards doing some actual gigs. 

I went into the local music pub to ask the landlord for a gig and he was very enthusiastic - he'd actually watched the videos on our facebook page and liked what he saw. He offered us several dates over the next few months and indicated that if it went well we should get some regular work from him.

It now turns out that there is no Saturday night between now and August when we are all free.

So much for the world tour.

Bloody frustrating!

ElectricXII

We use TimeTree as a band calendar. Everyone inputs the dates they are unavailable, so when booking gigs we jnow immediately whether the whole band can do it or not. 

allen

I set up a simple list of dates on google sheets.

2 weeks later I am still waiting for the drummer and bass player to fill in their availability.

Although the band is my kind of vibe (fairly relaxed and not uptight musically) I'm beginning to wonder if I need to get into a slightly more serious/committed band.

and while I'm complaining. We agreed to learn 10 new songs recently. I spent bloody hours memorising all of them and nailing the solos, including the one in 'Are you gonna go my way' which I found fairly challenging. Except when we had the next rehearsal it turned out that nobody else had bothered much beyond having a little dabble and didn't really know the songs.

BillDL

allen said:

I've been rehearsing with a band for over a year doing typical pub style covers ..........

Did they all manage to avail themselves regularly and often for the rehearsals, or was that also difficult to get everybody together?

Musicwolf

An online calendar (I use BandMule) is great, as long as people fill it in.

You have to decide whether or not to accept people's lack of availability.  If you do decide that it's something that you can't live with then, if it's down to one person being out of step, replace them.  If it's everyone else, i.e. you're the one out of step, then leave and get another band.

If you are in a four piece band and each person is unavailable for 5 weekends in a year (i.e they are 90% avaialable) then, statistically, the band is unavailable one weekend in every three - 66.7% availability.  For a five piece that availability drops to 60%.

theatreanchor

This is one of the top reasons I cba with bands any more. 

allen

BillDL said:

allen said:

I've been rehearsing with a band for over a year doing typical pub style covers ..........

Did they all manage to avail themselves regularly and often for the rehearsals, or was that also difficult to get everybody together?

Good point. Rehearsals are sometimes tricky - and those are all midweek.

Strange because 4 out of 5 of us are retired.

stickyfiddle

Honestly if you can't make at least 50% of your Friday/saturday nights available with a bit of notice (and not meaning you need to be out gigging that often, just available) then you shouldn't be in a band

Danny1969

Try playing in 4 bands, where the some of the members of those bands play in other bands as well. It gets really tricky and sometimes you do double book yourself.

One band which I guess is my main one has a shared google calender. If you aren't free then you have to put an NA next to the date. Because gigs get booked without an communication, if the date hasn't got an NA against it then you are assumed to be free to do it.

In the other bands it is more of a group chat, which is time consuming.

Money is the answer really. It's surprising how people will make themselves available once the money is good.

Musicwolf

What I have noticed over the years is.............

The band member who complains the most about other people's lack of availability is usually as equally unavailable as the others (if not, less available).

The one complaining about the lack of gigs is the person who gets the least.

steven70

I can understand the frustration at this.

My thinking being, if you are going to play in a band, it needs to be reasonably high up - if not at the top of - your list of priorities. Otherwise there's no point - you can't have 4 or 5 people fitting things around whatever else they may want to put on their calendar. 

Unless it's clearly a casual, no commitments, loose collective type thing.

Fez

Yup I have experienced all of these things it can be exasperating. I mailed our current gig list to the guys last Monday, then Friday I get the other guitarist messaging me about our gig in a couple of weeks not being in his diary - well put it in your diary! We spoke about it at Wednesday's rehearsal and it was in the group chat as soon as it was confirmed back in December. On the upside he has let me know about his holiday in October.

EricTheWeary

allen said:

I've been rehearsing with a band for over a year doing typical pub style covers.

Anyway, we've been slowly gathering momentum towards doing some actual gigs. 

As the young people say there are some red flags here. Either you are all a bit shit and it's taking time or you are brilliant and perfectionists or (although not necessarily excluding either of the first two options) no one was ever really motivated to be in a regularly gigging band and they just enjoyed the rehearsals and the idea of a few gigs so they could play rock star for their mates. 
I don't know what the timescale for this should actually be but I know that 'over a year' isn't it. 
Reform the band with whoever is willing to do the gigs, find musicians who will get up to speed within a few weeks (for a band with gigs booked) and then go do the gigs. 

26.2

allen said:

BillDL said:

allen said:

I've been rehearsing with a band for over a year doing typical pub style covers ..........

Did they all manage to avail themselves regularly and often for the rehearsals, or was that also difficult to get everybody together?

Good point. Rehearsals are sometimes tricky - and those are all midweek.

Strange because 4 out of 5 of us are retired.

Sounds like they’re just not bothered about being in a band. Being available, learning songs, gigging has to be a priority for all, or it’ll just be endless frustration for you. See if one or two members are keen enough to be involved in something worthwhile and ditch the others. Good luck! 

CaseOfAce

I've always said 95% of being in a band is turning up.

I agree with Eric here - it shouldn't take over a year to rustle up a pub rock covers set. Most of it is 3 chords and the truth sort of stuff - it's not like a Zappa band set from the 1970s. 

I can appreciate how frustrating it is for the OP - if it's just the next few months... I can see why there could be the unavailability.
People have lives, families, events.

If it was 6 months or more of no one free at the same time on a Saturday night- I might force the issue - find out the dates when most of you are free and get deps in to do the work. It's a nuclear option but you'll soon find out who's really in and who's not? 

I learnt the hard way - bands aren't made up of friends - they're acquaintances! Harsh...but mostly true.

Stuckfast

allen said:

Good point. Rehearsals are sometimes tricky - and those are all midweek.

Strange because 4 out of 5 of us are retired.

Try being in a band with young people. Everyone under the age of 30 these days seems to be diagnosed with ADHD and incapable of planning anything at all! (I think we've had at least three.)

lustycourtier

Genuinely cannot imagine rehearsing for over a year with no outlet.
 In all the bands Im in, if first rehearsal clicks with the members, you book a gigs and be gig ready by the first one. Even tribute bands weve been out gigging at decent level after 4 rehearsals, not a chance of £10 each every other week or whatever for a year. 

Open_G

I’m the one with availability issues. Due to working shifts. The others are patient with me and I can tell them when I’m not available years in advance. I’m not sure we could accommodate another me though. 

midiman1962

lustycourtier said:

Genuinely cannot imagine rehearsing for over a year with no outlet.
 In all the bands Im in, if first rehearsal clicks with the members, you book a gigs and be gig ready by the first one. Even tribute bands weve been out gigging at decent level after 4 rehearsals, not a chance of £10 each every other week or whatever for a year. 

This pretty much sums it up succinctly. @allen sounds like you need to get some more committed members or just start another band with the knowledge you now have acquired 

Danny1969

Open_G said:

I’m the one with availability issues. Due to working shifts. The others are patient with me and I can tell them when I’m not available years in advance. I’m not sure we could accommodate another me though. 

I always wondered if Father Christmas was in a band.

robinbowes

Danny1969 said:

Open_G said:

I’m the one with availability issues. Due to working shifts. The others are patient with me and I can tell them when I’m not available years in advance. I’m not sure we could accommodate another me though. 

I always wondered if Father Christmas was in a band.

Available 364 days a year