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What ive found about bands. Drugs and egos do not mix either by themselves or together.....

I only had one experience with a band that did a lot of drugs, and boy did it suck. The weird thing is that they worked and traveled alot, which meant I made some good money off of them, but as the drug habits (cocaine) grew worse, the head of the band, who was the worst druggy of the lot, began chiseling into my payouts to help fund his increasing habit. That's when I told him to go f**k himself and left that outfit.

NOTHING GOOD ever comes from playing with ANY drug addict or drunk. In no way shape or form am I ever going to waste my time playing with one. Later...

Likewise, I'm sure...I just fired a guitarist cuzza all his prob's with the devil's drink.

He'd embarassed me quite enough, & I'm not even the band leader...I just told the leader that I won't play with him anymore if he's gonna use this guy, & he agreed, even though he was willing to give him another chance.

Now we've shut down entirely, until we can replace him. Had to say no to a couple good gigs, too. But I still think it's worth it just to be able to relax & not worry "is he gonna show up?" "will he play in tune, in time, in the right key?"

I really hated that, for the last couple years.

I am the drinker in our band, One or two wheat or dark beer a week maybe, Never on band nights!

Hey, Irminsul, check your mail.

Seems to me one of the biggest problems with bands is their tendency to fall apart just as the gig is coming together. That's the main reason that I usually play solo. It limits what you can play though.

For example, I'm trying to put a Harry Chapin tribute set together for an upcoming consert this summer and will need at least a couple more people on stage just to do it right.

The DIY era we are on today is noth a blessing and a curse. A blessing because one person can do so much now that he couldn't do before; a curse because that capability has made it less important to keep a band together for the musician to realize their goals.

The DIY era we are on today is noth a blessing and a curse. A blessing because one person can do so much now that he couldn't do before; a curse because that capability has made it less important to keep a band together for the musician to realize their goals.

also a curse because so many more individuals are doing it and leaving less overall success to be had by everyone.

That's if you believe that "success" is a quantifiable commodity (which I don't).

I'm starting to think it's a matter of dumbass luck if a band is successful or not. I've been in bands that I thought were awesome musically and we couldn't get a gig. Then I've been in bands that I thought were mediocre and we gigged all the time. Actually the dumbass luck part is if the band can stick together long enough to gig. Nobody seems to have the patience or WORK ETHIC any more. Later...

You got that right. Today it's all about instant gratification or not at all.

That seems to explain a lot of problems.

I dont know what makes a original band work cause I never could seem to keep one together. But a cover band takes 2-3 yrs to really get off the ground.

I think you need people willing to committ a couple of years to a project to get it off the ground.

That's if you believe that "success" is a quantifiable commodity (which I don't).

Success is measured by personal expectations. What do you want and expect from music?

I know what I want and expect, therefore I know what success to me means. and it is a commodity from that point of view. So while you disagree with my POV, you don't necessarily need to have contempt for it (maybe I read your post wrong, but that's the way you came off)

Key to success:
Cross your fingers
Make them bleed
Till death do you stop
that's all you need!