Band rant :(

thomasross20

I just sent a band resignation email, stuff it.
If they seriously want to improve they'll come back and work on issues else I've made the right decision and focus on my own thing. Win-win either way.

hotpickups

thomasross20 said:

I just sent a band resignation email, stuff it.
If they seriously want to improve they'll come back and work on issues else I've made the right decision and focus on my own thing. Win-win either way.

Sounds like you did the right thing. Most of us don't do it for the money so if it's not fun then what's the point? I think band members should respect each other for the better of the whole band 

EricTheWeary

hotpickups said:

EricTheWeary said:

No problem with crib sheets at rehearsal - indeed they can be useful when you have your own mental blanks. Not keen on them for rehearsed band members though. It's not very rocknroll.

Yes I get the Rock n Roll thang you mention but if you still need crib sheets for a typical rock n roll song which can be just 3 chords in some cases that can't be good?. I do like to play on the edgy side of things so note for note renditions don't really interest me but creating the vibe is. Or have i misread what you were saying ?

If a song is E A B then a crib sheet probably isn't around the chords it would be don't forget the bass drops out on the third chorus, the false ending is after the fourth verse,etc.A lot of bands do three chord songs but put little twists in the arrangements and they are invariably what trips a whole band up. Lyrics are generally a lot harder to learn on simple songs than the instrumental bits so I wouldn't expect a singer to know all the words right off the bat, although some songs are almost uncribbable ( eg Johnny B Goode needs to be sung faster than most people could conceivable read it out loud). Where possible our singer downloads karaoke versions of the covers we do and uses them for practice in the car. 

A couple of years ago I saw a rock covers band and the singer had a lyric sheet for Alright Now. I thought most of the audience would know most of the words to that so it seemed pretty inexcusable. 

robinbowes

On the subject of crib sheets, my view is that they shouldn't be used live. Therefore you need to avoid them at rehearsals too, ie. wean yourself off them ASAP. 

If you're spending time consciously remembering a song then you can't put as much energy into listening to the other musicians and performing it better.

Some people "get it", some don't. I'm in a 5-piece band and I would say that two of us are musicians (me and drummer). The singer can sing (pretty well, actually) but has no idea about the music/arrangement, etc and doesn't hear many of the problems I hear. Keyboard player can read, but is a busy man (and a bit lazy), has a poor sense of rhythm and doesn't have a good ear. Bass player can also read (has played in brass bands) but is a v. slow learner and forgets things.

I too am considering whether or not to continue. I've told the singer I'm not happy, mainly with the bass player.

Life is too short to put up with crap.

R.

hotpickups

Blimey what can of worms have I opened up LOL

robinbowes;745289" said:

On the subject of crib sheets, my view is that they shouldn't be used live. Therefore you need to avoid them at rehearsals too, ie. wean yourself off them ASAP. 

If you're spending time consciously remembering a song then you can't put as much energy into listening to the other musicians and performing it better.

Some people "get it", some don't. I'm in a 5-piece band and I would say that two of us are musicians (me and drummer). The singer can sing (pretty well, actually) but has no idea about the music/arrangement, etc and doesn't hear many of the problems I hear. Keyboard player can read, but is a busy man (and a bit lazy), has a poor sense of rhythm and doesn't have a good ear. Bass player can also read (has played in brass bands) but is a v. slow learner and forgets things.

I too am considering whether or not to continue. I've told the singer I'm not happy, mainly with the bass player.

Life is too short to put up with crap.

R.

thomasross20

So the band want a meeting, don't want to lose me.
Only person I haven't heard from is the singer

hotpickups

Sounds like you're in a good position then

thomasross20;745459" said:

So the band want a meeting, don't want to lose me.
Only person I haven't heard from is the singer

vasselmeyer

@thomasross20 A meeting sounds like a good idea, but be prepared to absolutely speak your mind and to ruffle some feathers.

One thing you need to ask yourself is why are you in the band? I'm assuming it's for fun. If it's not fun, then find one that is. As a thoroughly competent guitarist you could easily find something else. My last band finished and within two weeks, I'd found another. We just wrote down all the songs we knew, built a set list and after four rehearsals we gigged for the first time. Admittedly we weren't great but we got a return booking out of it.

There were a couple of crib sheets up for all of us for the first few gigs but after the 7th gig they are no-where to be seen. Life's too short to stick with something that's frustrating you and you have other options. Just remember that if they've asked for the meeting then it's likely that you'll get some of what you want.

hotpickups

I've just found some stray Facebook private messages from August 2014 that I've never seen. Asking for our availability etc. Might have made the difference to the band with an approach for a gig. Damn Facebook band finished now

cj73

Our singist / 2nd guitar (formerly singist / bass…long story) always uses folder of lyrics with chord symbols both in reherseals and at gigs…he's got loads of experience and a very strong voice but it does my head in.  I need to learn 3 hours of disparate material, when to click which pedal, when to switch pickups and at worst I write " remember 2 chorus's 2nd time" on my setlist…and to top it all off he's totally linear…can't start at the the 3rd verse…has to go from beginning…we're really good at intros!!!!

hotpickups

Hmmm that still says to me he doesn't really know the song. If one does know you should be able to go from anywhere (within reason) in the song IMO

cj73;745733" said:

Our singist / 2nd guitar (formerly singist / bass…long story) always uses folder of lyrics with chord symbols both in reherseals and at gigs…he's got loads of experience and a very strong voice but it does my head in.  I need to learn 3 hours of disparate material, when to click which pedal, when to switch pickups and at worst I write " remember 2 chorus's 2nd time" on my setlist…and to top it all off he's totally linear…can't start at the the 3rd verse…has to go from beginning…we're really good at intros!!!!

robinbowes

hotpickups said:

Blimey what can of worms have I opened up LOL 

Nothing I wasn't already thinking - I just wrote it down

R.

thomasross20

vasselmeyer said:

@thomasross20 A meeting sounds like a good idea, but be prepared to absolutely speak your mind and to ruffle some feathers.

One thing you need to ask yourself is why are you in the band? I'm assuming it's for fun. If it's not fun, then find one that is. As a thoroughly competent guitarist you could easily find something else. My last band finished and within two weeks, I'd found another. We just wrote down all the songs we knew, built a set list and after four rehearsals we gigged for the first time. Admittedly we weren't great but we got a return booking out of it.

There were a couple of crib sheets up for all of us for the first few gigs but after the 7th gig they are no-where to be seen. Life's too short to stick with something that's frustrating you and you have other options. Just remember that if they've asked for the meeting then it's likely that you'll get some of what you want.

It's pretty to hard to find a band in Edinburgh from past experiences.... 

I've aired all my issues to drummer and bassist who completely agree with me. 

It's really if the lead singer can handle criticism - she hasn't even been in touch or agreed to go to the meeting. 

Hope it all works out for the better but will see. 

vasselmeyer

@thomasross20 It sounds to me as if you might need a new lead singer...

thomasross20

Oh man I'm not into big drama but it does seem like people agree with me. If the singer turns a corner then great - I'm strongly advocating ditching song sheets. Will update on Wednesday....

Vaiai

Bands are hard! In one rock band and 2 years down the line we've done 2 gigs but only get a chance to rehearse once a month if lucky.Kids, families, jobs etc...

Decided I needed to play more and got in a covers band who had formed one week prior to me joining...10 weeks later we have played 2 gigs (The Cowshed in Edinburgh) and have another in Sept at Whistle Binkies - mentioning the bars as @thomasross20 will know them

With this band we focus on the songs - we have them learned before rehearsal and pulled a full 45 mins together in a short space of time - some of the early rehearsals were just auditioning 2nd guitarists or keys players but had trouble finding anyone and then decided I'd just do it myself until we got that 2nd player!

We all have the same mindset, we all learn the songs and we are fairly in agreement on where we are going and how to get there - very lucky to be in that place just now! 

thomasross20

What's the name of your band - any links? I'll try to make it along if you pm me nearer the time.

thomasross20

Had the meeting. 

Went over a lot of points. 

To be honest, some of it felt a bit fluffy, as in no real resolution. 

I asked the singer several times if we were ok or not - the direct approach. I can bury any hatchet easily but I'm not sure if she has - will give her the benefit of the doubt. 

I mentioned about song sheets. She said it's my choice not to use them and it's an aid if she forgets during a gig. I mentioned it twice and didn't push, mentioning we can wean them off them at rehearsal so will see (this, and number of songs compared to lack of gigs, was one of the main points - no real resolution leaves a big question mark there). Singer said dance moves during a gig aren't her thing so will rely on jokes/banter between sets. Agreed on shorter sets with mp3 player playing in between. Everybody got an action item. We're trying a new rehearsal room. Decided on 3 new songs plus 2 Christmas songs and that's it. Went through the song list and decided what to cut. 

To be honest I feel a bit deflated - I quite enjoyed my week off from it all. If things improve then great - if not then I might be looking for a new job elsewhere anyway and that will only speed up the decision. It was good to have the meeting, though - rehearsal time isn't suitable for that sort of thing as we were chatting for 2 hours. Also, if you're ever thinking about just quitting, don't go to a meeting like that as chances are you'll get roped into it all. That's sort of what it felt like, I'm going with the flow... the path of least resistance (or is it?). We plan on getting a proper demo in order to get more gigs. Let's see what the future holds.

digitalscream

thomasross20 said:

I mentioned about song sheets. She said it's my choice not to use them and it's an aid if she forgets during a gig. I mentioned it twice and didn't push, mentioning we can wean them off them at rehearsal so will see (this, and number of songs compared to lack of gigs, was one of the main points - no real resolution leaves a big question mark there). Singer said dance moves during a gig aren't her thing so will rely on jokes/banter between sets. Agreed on shorter sets with mp3 player playing in between. Everybody got an action item. We're trying a new rehearsal room. Decided on 3 new songs plus 2 Christmas songs and that's it. Went through the song list and decided what to cut. 

Sounds to me like she really doesn't want to change anything she's doing...which, really, isn't the spirit you'd hope for. She should at least be trying to identify the bits that she struggles to remember, and then planting reminder sheets for those bits on the monitors, back of the PA cabs etc. I'm with you...song sheets just look unprofessional front-and-centre.

thomasross20

Woke up today thinking "bugger, I've got to keep going with this" - I did agree to keep going as the rest of the band are cool, we will likely get more gigs and I'll get more experience but yeah, I agree with what you say digitalscream. Thinking on it, I should have just walked and not went to the meeting. Benefit of the doubt for now but yeah, after the event you'd think there'd be more focus on that aspect. Said that it was my choice not to use sheets myself but I think that's a lazy way of turning the argument around. 

For the longest time I wanted to be in a band and now I find myself thinking I'm preferring sitting at home doing my album. Maybe once that is over I'll feel a little less pressure. 

I feel like I'd like to move abroad for work at some point so that might affect it all..!