General Music Chat

All anecdotes and advice are welcome.

Answers to this thread are also intended to be posted in a topic I am preparing for my blog on anecdotes and advice on how to fire a band member, all of which will be taken from band quotes.

If you just want to share but don't want to have your quote in the topic, just mention it.

You can check out the GigDoggy blog at:
http://gigdoggy.com

Thanks

Hey Gang,

Ive was fired 1 time during my 17 yrs of extensive raod work.Its possible some from that old band COULD be on here so CHIME IN if ya remember this 1989 Chicago event..Being a full blown Alki, I went nuts one nite crashin cymbals turning over cymbal stands and beating a drum kit to death destroying it becuase I didnt like the female vocal playin the tamborine in to the mic ruinin my nifty HH work.Needless to say, the band left the stage . I was fired THAT NITE but didnt remember the next day.My girlfreind at the time had to keep re-enforcing "HEY DICKWEED , THEY FIRED YOUR DRUNK ASS".I called and apologized profusely getting myjob back thank GOD, but I was never really trusted again.I think once ya fire someone, its best to stick to it for all concerned.Yeah , most raod firings Ive had to participate in involved a band meeting in the motel room
with each memeber giving their 2 cents on the matter.Kinda like an intervention.It can get pretty wild as Im sure alotta of ya know. Sometimes it just had to do with downsizing the band ..Thtas when it was really sad cuase ususally the person didnt see it comin.When I worked for single artists , the firing was done with out the bands knowledge.You just showed up on stage the next nite with a different bassplayer..
Many diff ways a firing can take place.Theres prolly no best way...Needs to be quick!!! without alotta YOU SHOULDA ,YOU COULDA, WHY WOULDNT YA? JUST DO IT... YOUR FIRED!!! Then move on...

Yea, just throw your reason(s) at them, and that's it. But make sure the whole band agrees on it. I mean, you don't wanna tell him/her you're fired and then the rest of the band tell you "Well, we're joining him/her and YOU are fired."

When I was younger I would drag it out but at this stage of the game for me, its obvious very quickly whether Im on the same page as someone else. Fortunately Im back with people that Ive played with for years and we have no issues that get in the way. If someone has a problem it is addressed quickly and too completion of course we make some money out of our band and are one of the best in our area. That helps a lot, cause it means something to all of us and when we reassembled last fall we talked about what each of us expected out of it money wise and time wise. Since last summer I think weve had about 6 practices and we did spend a couple of weeks doing some recording, but when we add a song we just say lest do it and we try it live, if it works fine if it doesnt we drop it, no biggie in a cover band like ours songs are chosen because fans requested them and then we make sure they kinda fit our image.

The biggest thing any band should do is sit all the members down and write down exactly what they want and make sure everyone is on the same page, If you arent on the same page fire someone or move on.

Make a plan and work the plan, thats the only way to have any success in anything. We layed out where we wanted to be a yr ago, we arent making quite as much as we set out to do, but we make enough for everyone to be happy and stick with the plan.

So far in the span of a year and a half I've personally fired: 4 drummers 2 bassists and 4 vocalists....2 of those members were cops ....Smart move though cause I honestly think I've got the cream of the crop for the type of venues we do.... It's fun being the leader.... just gotta always have 2 eyes in the back of my head when walking alone..

Never fired anyone, but I got fired once for blowing off a practice when I knew the guitarist wasn't gonna be there, & I called & told them in advance, I thought it was kinda sorry, but they had issues with the fact that I was in 3 bands. They just said - "you didn't show. We're gonna use someone else." I was fine with it cuz I did have 2 other bands to work in, & they still call me once in awhile to fill in when their bass guy can't do a gig, so it was all friendly-like.

You may find this hard to believe but even I"ve been fired from bands a few times (those bands actually re-formed within a year). Most everybody thinks they're indispensable until they find their butt moving swiftly out the door. Most people get fired not for their musicianship but personality conflicts with other band members. Some people get a hair up their you-know-what and decide that somebody needs to go. Bands are full of big egos (we have to have some ego to do what we do). People butting heads and trying the one-upsmanship thing are usually the next one to be fired. When it comes down to firing somebody there's not one way to do it. It all depends on who's being fired and who's doing the firing. You really have to have a very good reason to fire somebody. People not showing up for rehearsals or always showing up late, or getting drunk all the time, those are good reasons to fire somebody. Some people have all kinds of nasty habits but if they're really good musicians it's hard to fire them. It's even harder to fire somebody who makes every gig and plays and/or sings their head off. Every person is different and this is really a question that I don't have a good answer for. Later...

There are many ways to do it, some of which may seem a little back-handed (of which I have been both a victim and ashamedly, a participant). In any case, I agree with the quick method. Nothing is worse than giving a former band member the opportunity to twist the situation around.
We have recently fired a guitarist...after our last show, he was paid and told "WE will call YOU." This decision was made well in advance and agreed upon by the rest of the band. The bottom line is that he let us down. The only thing he did right (if you can call it that) was to show up. The last thing that I want is to listen to this guy make excuses and tell us how valuable he is to us.
While it surely does sting when it happens to you, if you look at it in a professional manner, you should realize that the situation probably wasn't right for ya anyway.
Hell, I've got a redundant vocalist that I'm planning to give the axe-real soon!

I was 'fired' from my last band because I wanted to fire the bass player.

Learned that loyalty is for pets.

I still have trouble making sense of it, but all things considered, I'm WAY better off now.

I'm sorry you just dont fit the bands needs. Your Fired.
Pretty simple.
Fired lotsof people in the medical field. And got canned once myself.
No big deal. We no longer require your services. Thank you.

I've only had to fire one person, a band director who stunk. I was preparing a dinner recital that featured both classical and jazz music. I performed the Suite For Flute with Jazz Trio. I gave the jazz repertoire to the drummer months in advance. When it came time for 1 of 2 rehearsals He could not play it. Practice and rehearsals are 2 different things. It was funny. The band was nice to him and everything but as soon as he walked out the door my pianist and bassist looked at me and said that I must fire him. This was true, but how? You don't just tell a band director that he stunk. I was not going to have this guy in my band. So I called him and said that he did really well at the rehearsal but my bassist was being a diva and said that he would not perform with any other drummer but his own. I couldn't replace my bassist...You know how hard it is to find a good bassist So I will have to put him on hold for the concert. It was a pretty good lie, IMHO.

The cool part is, the guy who replaced my drummer sight read the music at the performance and kicked its @$$. Ugh, I had the best group of guys back in OH.

The way it's always been in past bands and my current band is by band meeting.
We try to not be dicks about it but tell them why they have to go and then help them load their gear out.
Now, in my current band, it's a bit more difficult due to legal stuff as we are each 20% owners in our band's publishing group - so unless it's really something serious - we are bound to each other. LOL - can you feel the love!

I'm new to the forum, but I have two cents, so here they are. I have been in bands for 42 years. At this point, ego doesn't become the problem because it usually enters the room before the musician sets up his/her gear for an audition. Hence, said musician never gets in. What has brought the firing of late are time restrictions and family commitments or just not enough stamina to keep the show going. These usually take a frank discussion such as "we are not on the same path here and I hope that you understand, but we need to replace you". Simple and polite because there have usually been discussions before this. They will be angry, hurt and might even make a few comments. Let them. Help them with their gear and make sure you say "do you have everything?" to avoid acusations later that you kept their stuff. Have band mates or even a manager around if you have one just to witness the situation. I have been in bands where we fired guys for being drunks, dopers or for just being a total embarrasment at a venue. Those are always the easy ones. The thing to remember whether you are firing or being fired is: No matter who you are, there is always one person in the crowd that can play or sing better than you and has probably never even been in a band. We can all be replaced so never avoid letting someone go for fear that they can't be. We all can.

Ive had to do it a few times, just be honest. address the problem, and if he or she gives a good argument give em another chance..........but limit it to one chance.

Hey people

Thanks so much for all the quotes. I grabbed some and posted them in a topic on my blog.
Check it out at:
http://gigdoggy.wordpress.com/2008/10/1 ... -the-band/

Now I'm thinking about the flip side question: 'How to leave a band'.

Same concept as for the firing band members topics, if anyone has got some anecdotes or insights, feel free to share.