Musician Forum - Band Discussion Board - BandMix

I took a long break from music and two things I really noticed after a 15 year layoff:

1) Clubs paid $300 a night are STILL paying $300 a night

2) Many musicians (typically bass/drums) play in multiple bands.

#1 is simple (not easy) to address, you just have to change your circuit and market to it.

#2 is tough if you're in a busy band and your bassist is in another busy band. We had to use some online Calendar app to ensure people were available when we booked. Around xmas time it got to be a real race and both of his bands lost gigs to the other.

It didn't help that the guy didn't work (so he had time) and didn't seem to come in prepared, and even would listen to the other band's songs on break and practice them.

I understand we all want to gig, but if you're in a band that tries hard to market themselves as something different (we were a country/classic rock band) and your guy is unprepared, it holds you back.

I guess the preference is either casual gigs with a "that's good enough" mentality, or a polished act that can get to the next level.

Thoughts?

Spencer

ShredLock wrote:
I guess the preference is either casual gigs with a "that's good enough" mentality, or a polished act that can get to the next level.

Thoughts?

Spencer

Oh man, I feel your pain. I do the former most of the time, play the "anyone-could-do-it" songs or go solo. But when you're trying to do something more satisfying it requires a well-rehearsed band. That kind of "volunteer" band who will rehearse over and over to perfection without knowing when it pays off ended for me in my mid-20s.

After that age, people have wives and bills to pay. So I do use a rehearsed band once in a while because I want it...but man, it's expensive.


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If you'd stuck with it through the time, you would have got fed up with the lack of increasing pay like a lot of others.

Yeah, the guys playing in other bands thing can suck, but if the band you are in can't book enough gigs to keep that person happy/with enough cash, it's understandable. Not being prepared - or working on the other band's songs during breaks should be addressed.
A google calendar (set up with a band g-mail address that everyone can access) is the easy way to keep track of schedules - but everyone needs to keep it updated! With gigs getting booked several months in advance, it should be easy to keep things straight.

You need to find a hungry bass player. When MADD got stringent drunk driving laws passed that all but killed club attendance I had to work with multiple bands per week just to survive. Practicing wasn't a necessity as I only worked with country bands and they pretty much did the same material. I did know the keys every singer sang in and they even asked me what key they sang a particular song in at times. They were all above average musicians so there wasn't any problems. I was a guitar will travel musician as I was playing music to survive. I knew my instrument well enough to play the material in any key and when they did original material I had never heard I had the singer hum it in my eat as I kicked off the song. By the solo I had it down good enough to take the ride and make it sound good.

Musicians aren't always going to want to rehearse that much. Look at it this way. If you are getting $100 each for a gig, every practice session really bites into that. Practice one time a week and you are getting $50 a gig, 3 times a week and you are getting $25 a gig so to speak, and you still have to load and unload your gear. Who in their right mind wants to do that unless your band is so good they are eager to practice during the week. Making it big isn't an option unless you are willing to assassinate Nashville stars off springs, as nepotism is the key to Nashville success in a lot of cases.

You will either need to improve your booking to hold someone or deal with it as is. The best way is to find a really hungry musician that doesn't have a day gig. I haven't heard how good you are, but maybe upping your game will attract a more dedicated musician who really wants to work with only you full time. The only other alternative is for you to find an already established group and join them. OR become an Internet sensation!

Talbot's Musical Theorem:

Self-satisfied players drift toward mediocrity. As do bands who tolerate their performances being less than totally outstanding and embrace 'good enough.'

Talbot

I've given up on the band thing. An exponent of living in an area where the type of music I love to play is illegal and for many of the reasons noted by others here. I have no problem w/ practicing--actually enjoy it--and am not in it for the $$...although I recognize many folks need that $$ to survive. I realized long ago that it's a tough way to make a living, so made my living elsewhere and played music simply because I enjoyed it.

Joel Clyde wrote:I dunno. I quit playing with bands quite a while ago. I make more money, get more and better gigs, and have a lot less headaches playing solo.

Ditto. I can do a piano bar gig (3-4 hours), typically for $50 and food & drink, no heavy lifting (piano is always on site), play whatever I want and be home in time for the 11:00 news. W/ a band, I need to play what I'm told (and often, how I'm told), haul my hefty rig w/o any help from my bandmates (arghhh!), play for 5-6 hours and make very little, by the time it's divvied up between the band, sound person, bar tab (amazing how much guys can drink @ a gig), etc. (constant refrain: 'but we're trying to make a name for ourselves!'). Who needs that? Not me.

Hey DP, that's terrible pay for a piano player, unless the tips are exceptionally good. You should be getting $50 an hour, not for 3-4 hours. If you don't need the money, let those who do have the gigs. What kind of music do you play that is 'illegal'?

Yeah, the band thing can get tiresome, but doing solo all the time can be more so, as you become the ONLY person to do everything - moving equipment, playing, seeking out gigs, promotion

I don't like solo gigs because the sound is not fat enough.. need at least a duo.. trio is better, and 4 piece would be even better..m

Displaced Pianist wrote:I've given up on the band thing. Who needs that? Not me.

Amen, brutha!

I hire a band if I need it (not often) and use volunteers if they're any good for a few songs once in a while.

I'd rather have a band but the headaches and the work just isn't worth it usually. I don't see a reason to split my earnings with others who haven't paid the same dues to get us to that point, either.

You can always add a band when you need it. If you pay them well, they answer the call next time too.



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GuitarMikeB wrote:Hey DP, that's terrible pay for a piano player, unless the tips are exceptionally good. You should be getting $50 an hour, not for 3-4 hours. If you don't need the money, let those who do have the gigs. What kind of music do you play that is 'illegal'?

Yeah, the band thing can get tiresome, but doing solo all the time can be more so, as you become the ONLY person to do everything - moving equipment, playing, seeking out gigs, promotion

You're prob. right 'bout the pay, but Tampa lacks a strong local music scene--at least not like Columbus or other places. Raleigh had a good local music scene when I lived there--some really good bands/players--likewise Atlanta (of course), Denver and just about everyplace else where I've lived. I never lived in Boston, but worked for a company HQ'ed in W'borough, and when I'd come up, it was the same. I guess I thought it would be like that in any big city. But no.

I got my first piano bar gig here by accident. I was w/ a couple friends and noticed the place had a baby grand, some offshoot Japanese model. I asked if I could play around w/ it a bit, and afterward, they asked me if I'd be willing to come in and play from time to time. I'm not exactly a shrewd negotiator in this context, and given that I only had to show up (NO lifting/hauling of ANYthing) and would get free food/drink, I said fine. I do mostly jazz-oriented stuff; appropriate for the situation, but a poor draw anywhere else. It's strictly background noise for the after-work set and folks who stop in to eat. There aren't many pianists down here who will do a piano bar, and I doubt these places would pay more anyway. As far as I know, they don't advertise it at all. It's a different world. Sometimes folks will want to sing and ask me to play something specific, and even if they can't carry a tune to the bathroom, I always do. It's all in good fun. Otherwise, it's sorta like music in a movie; it's there, but no one really notices.

W/ a band...I just don't see it, at least not for me. There's an SD tribute band down here: Showbiz Kids. They're really good, but don't play very often. They do shows rather than gigs, and since there's so many of them (usually 10-12), venues need to pay 'em lots more. I'd love to do something like that; not a tribute band, exactly, but a mix of that type of music. As I understand it, the folks in Showbiz have been friends for a long time, which makes it lots easier to get everyone on board w/ the concept. But that's the exception rather than the norm. Esp. 'round these parts.

GRRRRRRRRRRR
The other guitarist in my band joined another band - when we first started rehearsals, he was doing some fill-in gigs with another band, now he's their full-time lead guitarist and they have a lot of gigs booked through next year. Adding them to our google calendar, there are not a lot of free weekends for OUR band to book gigs, some months only 1 or 2 free days beyond the 1/month gig we already have scheduled.

So, as a bass player, I'm just going to say: any band that is busy enough to keep me satisfied already has a good bass player and he/she is not likely to quite anytime soon. I just joined a band - and I like these guys - but with their attitude about how much they want to play out I'm going to be looking for another.

I have a good day job, so I don't need the money (though I like it. Money is the sincerest form of flattery and I love to be flattered). I just want to do more shows.

Well-rehearsed. So, it's funny. I'm not sure what this actually means anymore.

One band I sit in with occasionally I happen to know rehearses *maybe* once a month. I never do a rehearsal with them before sitting in with them. The shows are well polished, really amazing. Another band I've sat in with on occasion I always wind up doing at least two rehearsals before a show and their shows are, well, less polished, kind of never really come together. That band rehearses every week with their regular line up. Another band I've played with pretty much never rehearses but they have shows two or three times a week. Well polished, but kind of *meh* (all blues radio. There are like four blues songs on bass, so...).

Musical monogamy might work fine for some people, but I've come to realize that I'm going to need to get used to the idea of playing in multiple bands.