Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast
Results 1 to 40 of 93

Thread: Reasons to not join / quit bands

  1. #1
    Forum Member Kap'n's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Location
    Where phony hippies meet
    Posts
    19,769

    Reasons to not join / quit bands

    I was talking with some bandmates tonight, and we were discussing material that just didn't do it for us in one way or another.

    I mentioned that I once quit a band because they wanted to play material from Damn Yankees.

    It also reminded of a band I once auditioned for that, in two hours of play time, I never once played a minor chord. I was offered a spot, but politely turned it down.



    What are some of the reasons (silly, or no so silly) you quit a band, or didn't join one?
    Several guitars in different colors
    Things to make them fuzzy
    Things to make them louder
    orange picks

  2. #2
    Forum Member Yardbird Mac's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2004
    Location
    Bellville, Ohio
    Posts
    610

    Re: Reasons to not join / quit bands

    I've only "officially" been in one band (1980 - 1981). Things were cool at first, then we took on a "steel" player that had a HUGE ego problem and the direction of the band changed. A lot of my solos were cut out after he joined. We were playing a large local venue one night and his amp blew in the first 1/3rd of the set. I'm not usually a vindictive person, but I silently rejoiced at his temporary state of being out of commission. Three months later I quit the band. Within 2 - 3 months after my grand "exit", the band dissolved! No great loss though, I didn't really like their style of music, and my playing actually improved after leaving!!!
    ~Yardbird~

    "03" Les Paul Standard (Ebony finish)
    "04" Les Paul 1959 Reissue (DarkBurst)
    "04" FENDER Standard Stratocaster (Sage Green) Rosewood fretboard - 2004 model

    2011 FENDER Deluxe Reverb RI
    2012 MESA/Boogie Express 5:50
    2013 MESA/Boogie Express 5:50 plus head with 2 23" 1 X 12 MESA LoneStar cabs

  3. #3
    Forum Member Plugger's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    Australia
    Posts
    2,220

    Re: Reasons to not join / quit bands

    Sigh. Bands are hard. So many constraints to satisfy. The level of playing ability has to be right. The style of music has to be right. The professional "direction" of the band has to be right. The personalities have to fit. And mundane things, like simple reliability and punctuality, can make or break.

    I am currently just about to let go a drummer, who while he's a talented, nice guy with great muscial taste and sensitivity, is a complete flake when it comes to actually turning up when he says he's going to turn up, or even letting people know that he can't make it.

    So close. Damn.

    -Mark

  4. #4
    Forum Member boobtube21's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    Looking through the bent back tulips
    Posts
    4,830

    Re: Reasons to not join / quit bands

    You said it Pluggo. There's so many make-or-break factors, it's almost impossible to find the right people.

    I left a band once because I was the main songwriter and I decided all the songs sucked! Seriously, I felt like I wanted a change of direction from what I had been trying to do, and the bass player's & drummer's styles didn't really mesh with mine anyway IMO.

    I later quit another band because we fired the drummer and couldn't seem to find a suitable replacement, plus the singer was terrible anyway. And as far most audience members are concerned, if your singer sucks, you suck.

    The last two guys I jammed with, a guitar/bass duo, were both pretty good, both had some chops and good taste as far as what to play, but they were both so lifeless the way they played that I had to bail on them. It was like they were on Quaaludes! It's like shit man, are you playing your instrument or just poking at it?

  5. #5
    Gravity Jim
    Guest

    Re: Reasons to not join / quit bands

    In my town, it's been two main things:

    1. The material
    2. The level of self-delusion

    I audition or jam with guys that seem like nice enough guys, people I wouldn't mind hanging out with, but then they'll play a really half-baked version of "Alright Now," maybe gelling up for a total of 12 seconds out of a 3.5 minute tune, and they all say, "Man, we really NAILED that!"

    Well, that's when I start packing up.

    For the first time in years I actually have a line on a band spot I'd always kind of coveted. We'll see how it works out... despite all my grousing to the contrary, I might start gigging again.

  6. #6
    Forum Member Plugger's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    Australia
    Posts
    2,220

    Re: Reasons to not join / quit bands

    Way to go, Jim!

    One other reason to not join / quit bands. They're usually full of musician-types! And we all know what they're like...

    -Mark
    Last edited by Plugger; 02-11-2007 at 06:17 AM.

  7. #7
    Forum Member Guitar_Mc's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Columbus, Ohio
    Posts
    2,128

    Re: Reasons to not join / quit bands

    When the other band members decide they want to try to make it big, and you have a career and only want to play out on the weekends.

    I thought we were pretty clear about that when I joined.

    Joining bands is like dating, only there are 3 to 5 times as many problems. I am envious of bands who seam to be on the same wavelength and have the same interests and goals.

  8. #8
    Forum Member refin's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Posts
    4,753

    Re: Reasons to not join / quit bands

    I think most of the good reasons have been listed here already by those in the know,who've been there.
    I can only add that in all my experiences in almost 40 years,the MAN is as important as the music.I can do without a musical Barry Bonds,no matter how talented they are.
    "My flesh and my heart fail...but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."
    PS. 73:26

    MY JAMS--
    http://www.soundclick.com/bands/defa...&content=music

  9. #9
    Forum Member Yardbird Mac's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2004
    Location
    Bellville, Ohio
    Posts
    610

    Re: Reasons to not join / quit bands

    Quote Originally Posted by Guitar_Mc View Post
    I am envious of bands who seam to be on the same wavelength and have the same interests and goals.

    I hear ya man... Just before I moved back to Ohio (from Colorado) in 1974, I started jamming with some people that had common tastes in music. The first couple of times we jammed it wasn't too good. Then, on the third attempt (about a month later), it all "clicked"!!! Musically I really started hitting it off with the drummer. It was almost like a telepathy thing, we were a single unit! The bass player wasn't bad either. Don't laugh... he had a (not too severe) case of cereberal palsy, but had enough coordination to be able to play some good solid bass lines. He wasn't flashy, but he put his whole heart into it! I really think this was one of those cases of overcoming a handicap.

    If it weren't for some personal economic problems at the time I would have stayed in Colorado. To this day I often wonder what would have happened if we had actually formed a band. I have never since gotten the musical "high" from playing with other people like I did then.

    Hey Guitar Mc. How's the current music scene in Columbus? I live in Bellville, just south of Mansfield. The music scene in this area pretty much sucks!

    ~Yardbird~

    "03" Les Paul Standard (Ebony finish)
    "04" Les Paul 1959 Reissue (DarkBurst)
    "04" FENDER Standard Stratocaster (Sage Green) Rosewood fretboard - 2004 model

    2011 FENDER Deluxe Reverb RI
    2012 MESA/Boogie Express 5:50
    2013 MESA/Boogie Express 5:50 plus head with 2 23" 1 X 12 MESA LoneStar cabs

  10. #10
    Forum Member Guitar_Mc's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Columbus, Ohio
    Posts
    2,128

    Re: Reasons to not join / quit bands

    Y-Mac,

    I just did the engineering on the Bellville fire station.

    The music scene is decent in Columbus. There are definitely pleanty of bands to choose from to go see. Funk bands, Rockabilly, Rock/Blues, whatever (just no surf, we still need Wave Invasion to make the trip). Some bars are more about cover bands, but there are pleanty that cater to originals.

    Heavier rock music does well for originals here. A couple of guys I use to play with just got picked up to open for a month long tour. They've been told there is potential for the label to pick them up if the tour does well.

    There is a pretty good cover band that plays at the Grandview Cafe about twice a month. The guitarist has a sweet strat that he paid extra for someone to beat up for him. But it aparently added much mojo 'cause it sounds pretty durn good.

    There is definitely pleanty going on to go see. I just need to work harder to find some musicians with similar interests and goals as myself.

  11. #11
    Forum Member NTBluesGuitar's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Location
    North Texas
    Posts
    5,820

    Re: Reasons to not join / quit bands

    Quote Originally Posted by Gravity Jim View Post
    In my town...

    The level of self-delusion
    Funny...that's exactly why I left that town.

    "...pray do not imagine that those who make the noise are the only inhabitants of the field;
    that, of course, they are many in number; or that, after all, they are other than the little,
    shriveled, meagre, hopping, though loud and troublesome, insects of the hour."

    -Edmund Burke

  12. #12
    TFF Stage Crew
    Moderator
    pc's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Posts
    7,522

    Re: Reasons to not join / quit bands

    Quote Originally Posted by Guitar_Mc View Post

    There is a pretty good cover band that plays at the Grandview Cafe about twice a month. The guitarist has a sweet strat that he paid extra for someone to beat up for him. But it aparently added much mojo 'cause it sounds pretty durn good.
    I thought you liked his Tele better.

    To the original question, I (like G_Mc mentions in another post above) I have a "verbal contract" with any band I play with that I won't take weeknight gigs unless I personally make $100. Which, in this town, eliminates most chances of that happening. It's just too tough with my day-job and family otherwise.

    A few years ago I finally quit a band I was with for five years because one member's dysfunctional rage episodes (usually directed at his wife) just grew too hard to deal with. Then, a year ago, I decided not to join another band because a member of that band just reminded me too much of the rage guy. That probably wasn't a good reason, but sometimes I just have to go with my gut feeling.

  13. #13
    Forum Member Offshore Angler's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Location
    New York Finger Lakes Area
    Posts
    8,462

    Re: Reasons to not join / quit bands

    I'm a stickler for dynamics. I figure that's what separates the great bands from the good ones. Playing a slow ballad on 10 is a good way to get me upset.
    "No harmonic knowledge, no sense of time, a ghastly tone, unskilled vibrato, and so on. Chuck is one of the worst guitar players I know" -Gravity Jim

  14. #14
    Forum Member Gtrplyr's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    California
    Posts
    1,682

    Re: Reasons to not join / quit bands

    I auditioned for a band a few weeks ago and everyone just assumed I was in after the first audition without any real discussion. It was just "can you make it next weekend?"

    I figured I'd take a closer look having had an enjoyable time playing. However after the next weekend I became more aware of things with the vocals, material and personalties. I was pretty bummed when I realized this would be a BIG uphill climb but I didn't say anything at that rehearsal as everyone was just so upbeat. I was wondering if something is better than nothing even though it was going to take a lot of work.

    But then a couple days later I got an e-mail asking about my availability for a gig that was only a month or so away. Whoa! I was figuring 6 months minimum and possibly having to add a singer. I felt that forced my hand and I told them I didn't think I was the right person for the band.

  15. #15
    Forum Member cooltone's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2002
    Location
    Duluth, MN. Birthplace of Bobby Zimmerman
    Posts
    2,557

    Re: Reasons to not join / quit bands

    When I was 23 it would have been
    1. They are not serious enough
    2. They don't rehearse often enough

    Now at 43 it'll be
    1. They are too serious
    2. They want to rehearse too often.
    "If you're cool, you don't know nothin' about it. It just is...or you ain't." - Keith Richards

  16. #16
    Forum Member frank thomson's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Location
    Camelot
    Posts
    4,133

    Re: Reasons to not join / quit bands

    well, i'm just the singer....2 musicians, a drummer, and me...lol

    and we keep getting gigs!...go figure!...we do *classic rock*, gig 1-2 times a month,
    ...and our name is *The Working Poor*.

    and i sing anything they want me to sing....from stray cats to ozzie to joe walsh to 7mary3....really, all in one night!...what-ever!...the only thing i really dont like is 50's stuff, so we dont do it.....

    and i keep tellin them that when it's no fun, i'm done!...but guess what, it's fun...and we keep gettin more gigs....and our prices are going up...and yet, more gigs!

    i musta stepped in some shit somewhere along the line
    Imanidiot.

  17. #17
    Forum Member frank thomson's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Location
    Camelot
    Posts
    4,133

    Re: Reasons to not join / quit bands

    but when the band was MY band....(and i've had a few), you/I can just quote OA's answer above
    ...*I'm a stickler for dynamics. I figure that's what separates the great bands from the good ones. Playing a slow ballad on 10 is a good way to get me upset.*


    ABSOLUTELY NOTHING PISSED ME OFF MORE!
    Imanidiot.

  18. #18
    Forum Member lure555's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2002
    Location
    Los Angeles
    Posts
    568

    Re: Reasons to not join / quit bands

    My last band dissolve over a photograph... of me. haha!

    We had just gotten the final mix on our third demo on the afternoon of our first gig with a new drummer. When I found out my singer had invited all this big industry people to the show (helloooo... first gig with a new drummer!) I knew I had to burn a bunch of CDs to hand out. We didn't have photos of the full band, so I had to improvise. I did have a really good photo of the singer and one of me (the bass player was pretty new too) that fit the mood of the material. I used the pic of her on the CD case cover and the one of me for the CD itself. You couldn't even tell it was me... you could pretty much only make out my guitar when it was on the disc.
    I thought everything went okay (not great) until the next day when I had a message from her screaming "What were you thinking?!?! Who ever heard of a guitar player having their picture on promo material?!?!" Keep in mind that it was my band and I wrote all the music... Add this to the fact that I had just listened to a soundboard recording of the gig and she was out of key the entire set! I was so pissed that I didn't talk to her for a week. When I finally did I found myself talking about the band in past-tense and that was that.

  19. #19
    Forum Member KevinWaide's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    Tupelo, Mississippi
    Posts
    434

    Re: Reasons to not join / quit bands

    They have to know their respective instruments. When I say, "a 12 bar shuffle in G" they better know what the hell I'm talking about or they will NOT be at the next rehearsal. Luckily, I have 2 of the greatest backers I have ever had the honor of playing with, and that makes me the "weak link", which in turn makes me practice that much harder to get to their level of playability.
    --The music is all around us. I can hear it. Can you?

  20. #20
    Forum Member Coque's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Treasure Coast
    Posts
    313

    Re: Reasons to not join / quit bands

    Quote Originally Posted by cooltone View Post
    When I was 23 it would have been
    1. They are not serious enough
    2. They don't rehearse often enough

    Now at 43 it'll be
    1. They are too serious
    2. They want to rehearse too often.

    YES! I agree with that! I had a band courting me to play with them and when they said rehearsals were at 8pm on Saturdays I thought --NO.

    I want a weeknight rehearsal and one (maybe two on occasion) Gigs a month.

    I want to play and enjoy more gigs a year but some guys have no life, no job, no family and too much time. Not me.

  21. #21
    Forum Member KevinWaide's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    Tupelo, Mississippi
    Posts
    434

    Re: Reasons to not join / quit bands

    Quote Originally Posted by Coque View Post
    but some guys have no life, no job, no family and too much time.
    My ex got custody of my life and family, so all I have is time.
    --The music is all around us. I can hear it. Can you?

  22. #22
    Forum Member hudpucker's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2002
    Location
    location, location!!
    Posts
    1,749

    Re: Reasons to not join / quit bands

    "We play classic rock covers."


    Sends me running away every time.

    NTTAWWT.
    Tone is in the fingers, eh? Let's hear your Vox, Marshall and Fender fingerings then...

  23. #23
    Forum Member funkyguitar's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    Here, There & Everywhere
    Posts
    821

    Re: Reasons to not join / quit bands

    I quit a band once because I got tired of the road and living out of a suitcase. It's too bad the times have changed though because I think that it is a great learning experience/education for a musician.
    “To do a common thing uncommonly well brings success.”

  24. #24
    Gravity Jim
    Guest

    Re: Reasons to not join / quit bands

    I quit playing solo after 4 years for that very reason, funkyguitar. Red Roof Inn, no fixed address, 3 weeks here, 6 weeks there. I got to be a real good acoustic player and a killer singer, but that tune gets old.

  25. #25
    Forum Member Guitar_Mc's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Columbus, Ohio
    Posts
    2,128

    Re: Reasons to not join / quit bands

    Quote Originally Posted by fezz parka View Post
    Fezz's Top Ten Reasons Not to Join A Band:
    7. They all bring their girlfriends/wives to rehearsal.
    How about when the other guys have already worked one girlfriend/wife into a couple of songs, and they start teaching another a couple notes on a keyboard so she can come on stage too.


  26. #26
    Forum Member dirtdog's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    The Deep North
    Posts
    2,346

    Re: Reasons to not join / quit bands

    Mustang Sally

  27. #27
    Forum Member detuned's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    Halloweentown, MA
    Posts
    698

    Re: Reasons to not join / quit bands

    I only made it to #6.

    1-5 I could deal with...

    Actually #7 is a deal breaker too, if you include "friends".
    #8 is not an issue to for me - I don't have enough hair left for it to be in danger of needing "styling".

    :-D
    Master of Disaster on the Stratocaster

  28. #28
    Forum Member refin's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Posts
    4,753

    Re: Reasons to not join / quit bands

    Okay,Fezz has written the code that most of us have suffered through.......I still say "We nailed it!"
    The only way I let the spousal units and female hanger-onners near the band is if they carry the gear .
    "My flesh and my heart fail...but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."
    PS. 73:26

    MY JAMS--
    http://www.soundclick.com/bands/defa...&content=music

  29. #29
    Forum Member boobtube21's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    Looking through the bent back tulips
    Posts
    4,830

    Re: Reasons to not join / quit bands

    Yep, no wives/girlfriends/non-gender-specific-significant-others at rehearsals for me. No friends either, except maybe once in a great while if the mood is right. GF/Wives always kill the mood though, IMNSHO.

  30. #30

    Re: Reasons to not join / quit bands

    The only time I've ever said "We nailed it" at the end of the song was as a joke if we totally blew it and ended in a train wreck, barely ending at the same time.
    Don't bore us,
    Get to the chorus!

  31. #31
    Forum Member Fripperton's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Location
    Earth. Early 21st Century.
    Posts
    2,968

    Re: Reasons to not join / quit bands

    In principal I agree with the SO's/Wives sentiment and have plenty of experience as to why it should be enforced but I feel I should mention that my band practices at my place and the guys love having my wife around. She stays out of band stuff but there's always cold water and some sort of goodies for our breaks. Sometimes it's a nice salmon pate with crackers, and sometimes it's baked goods. BTW she also hefts equipment like the guys at gigs and runs the soundboard when needed.
    VM



    If aliens listened to our current top 40, they'd think that the entire planet was populated by sexually ambivalent robots with ethnic insecurity.



  32. #32
    Forum Member cooltone's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2002
    Location
    Duluth, MN. Birthplace of Bobby Zimmerman
    Posts
    2,557

    Re: Reasons to not join / quit bands

    Sometimes it's a nice salmon pate with crackers
    I didn't want to say anything, but that was actually fezz's reason #11.
    11. Guitarists wife serves salmon pate at rehearsals.!!



    (I am just giving you a hard time, fripp..)
    "If you're cool, you don't know nothin' about it. It just is...or you ain't." - Keith Richards

  33. #33
    Forum Member Fripperton's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Location
    Earth. Early 21st Century.
    Posts
    2,968

    Re: Reasons to not join / quit bands

    Good thing I didn't mention the focaccia or the tiramisu.
    VM



    If aliens listened to our current top 40, they'd think that the entire planet was populated by sexually ambivalent robots with ethnic insecurity.



  34. #34
    Forum Member frank thomson's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Location
    Camelot
    Posts
    4,133

    Re: Reasons to not join / quit bands

    back in the day, if you didn't *nail-it*, you were sooner-than-later gone...that's when it was MY band...
    and drummers?....OMG....we WERE spinal tap....
    on drummer was up may ass soooo bad w/ a mexican/spanish accent *Frrrrrank, was I guud*....and he was ...but he kept askin me over and over.....finally i ripped into him, *yea, you were effin great! next time i'm gonna build you you own riser so you can be above the band, you were that good*...and you know i did it in front of a crowd.
    ...i'm an asshole, but man, --the final straw!

    this thread is making me remember a lot of stuff
    believe it or not.
    thanks.

    but today, it's all about fun...i don't wanna embarrass myself tho.

    AND #1 ON FEZZ'S LIST WAS BEST TO ME. ...THAT KILLS ME
    Imanidiot.

  35. #35
    Forum Member Kap'n's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Location
    Where phony hippies meet
    Posts
    19,769

    Re: Reasons to not join / quit bands

    Am I the only guy ever to have his wife in the band, and not have it adversely impact the band?

    or am I blind or something.

    Actually, we play it pretty straight. Pat's at least as good a singer (better actually) than I am a guitar player, doesn't alway side with me in band discussions - has her own ideas of what makes good material and arrangements, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

    Each member probably has around a 60-70% overlap on what they like to listen to. Enough to find common ground, and find interesting material.
    Several guitars in different colors
    Things to make them fuzzy
    Things to make them louder
    orange picks

  36. #36
    Forum Member Kap'n's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Location
    Where phony hippies meet
    Posts
    19,769

    Re: Reasons to not join / quit bands

    Well I hear all these horror stories about wives/girlfriends in the band, and I haven't encountered one, other than the past few (I've done my own thing in the past).

    I always have to wonder, "Do those folks see that in us?" Man, I hope not.
    Several guitars in different colors
    Things to make them fuzzy
    Things to make them louder
    orange picks

  37. #37
    Forum Member boobtube21's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    Looking through the bent back tulips
    Posts
    4,830

    Re: Reasons to not join / quit bands

    You're a lucky man, sounds like, and your wife must be one in a million. You guys can jam together, that's awesome!

    I've tried to teach my wife bass (she can play a little guitar) but I don't know if I could do the wife in a band thing.

  38. #38
    Forum Member Kap'n's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Location
    Where phony hippies meet
    Posts
    19,769

    Re: Reasons to not join / quit bands

    Quote Originally Posted by dirtdog View Post
    Mustang Sally
    I once took on a geezer band gig. My stipulation up front was "I will play Wild Night if it means we don't play Brown Eyed Girl. I will only play Mustang Sally if Wilson Pickett sings it with us."
    Several guitars in different colors
    Things to make them fuzzy
    Things to make them louder
    orange picks

  39. #39
    Forum Member frank thomson's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Location
    Camelot
    Posts
    4,133

    Re: Reasons to not join / quit bands

    man, i LIKE mustang sally.
    damn you MS haters!

    and the wives/gf's were ok as long as they stayed in another room, on another floor (preferably w/ a different addy )
    Imanidiot.

  40. #40
    Forum Member Offshore Angler's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Location
    New York Finger Lakes Area
    Posts
    8,462

    Re: Reasons to not join / quit bands

    Fripp, so your wife is craft services? Cool!
    "No harmonic knowledge, no sense of time, a ghastly tone, unskilled vibrato, and so on. Chuck is one of the worst guitar players I know" -Gravity Jim

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •