General Music Chat

This is probably just me ranting, but I would really like hear what you folks think are some of the finer points of professionalism. Throw 'em out here!

The reason I'm whining is that I recently started playing with a new band...and I think I'm already done with these bozos.

We've had two practices, played through roughly five songs that we all knew...

And now, one of the idiots has scheduled us to play AT LEAST three hours at a local club on New Year's.

I can't stand this! I don't know how many times I've been asked to step into a band, only to find out that they've committed themselves (and apparently me, as well) to some up and coming gig-for which they don't have enough material.
Short on songs, no performance, no polish. Just get up on stage and bash your audience in the face.

It makes me sick. I think we've discussed it a few times here-the lack of performance, this trend by bands to take for granted that they have somewhere to perform (nevermind having an audience).

I'll stop bitching now and just say that "Agreeing to unrealistic terms" is #1 on my list of unprofessional moves. It just reeks of "garage band".

Hi Joseph, It is unprofessional for a single member to commit the band to a performance without consulting with the others. This involves many reasons.

Is this project brand new or are you joining an already established band?

2 hours is a long time to fill with unpolished material. It most likely end in an epic fail.

How proficient are the members in this band? Depending on how talented you and musicians are... you maybe able to pull it off.

I have done sets with free-form fusion, improvisational, and standards that turned out ok without rehearsing.

Eh, you have a frikken month. If you can't polish a mere 2 hours worth of material in a month, you're either playing with the wrong guys or you need to practice more, yourself, imho. That's only 20 songs, man!

Just my take on it, of course, but I could do it & do it well, & so could my drummer.

Whoa! Okay, Now I see that it's 3 hours, or 30 songs. I could still do it, but it might be pushing it for others. I wouldn't get all uptight, though. I'd simply work like hell & hope the other guys do the same. It can be done, if everyone is on the same page with arrangements. Just keep it simple & straight forward with no frills & it'll work.

Joseph, Ive had it go both ways. Some of my funnest gigs were totally unrehearsed and spur of the moment deals that came off really good, but then Ive had a couple of trainwrecks also. I guess it depends on your expectations. I personally dont like even booking a gig unless weve got enough material to cover a night. Fortunately Im at a point to where the folks I sit in with are proficient enough to do this.

Good Luck, New Years is a ways off and getting enough material for average or above musicians shouldnt be a problem in that amount of time if everyone will just agree to what to play and learn it.

I think gigs like this can be highly motivating to the right kind of player

Just my take on it, of course, but I could do it & do it well, & so could my drummer.

It depends on the material.

20 originals can be a daunting task to learn in a month for a person joining a band. Sometimes it takes just that long to find chemistry with the members. Like I said.... depends on the material. Not everyone is a high-paid in-demand session musician like you and your drummer.

I wouldn't get too hung up on "professionalism" if it's just a rock band. It depends on how seasoned the players are, if the repetoire is familiar covers or original material, and the expectations of the venue and audience. Original material tends to take longer to prepare, so less than a month probably wouldn't cut it. But if you're just doing covers and the guys are pretty experienced I would do the show. I hate to turn down gigs.

Aw, js, I ain't braggin'!! Most of the ppl I've played with in the last 10 years could do it, too. As I said, keep it simple. I wouldn't be trying to do 30 songs by Yes & Genesis & Jean-Luc Ponty & Bela Fleck & such, but your standard rock band? You could do it as easilly as I, I'm sure, as could a good 40-50% of the ppl in the forums.

Joseph's got the experience & the chops to be able to handle it under the right parameters.

I couldnt see an original band doing that much music at a gig. Most original acts in my are dont play more than an hour and a half of music. Cause if they are unknown who would want to listen to them for 3 hours. Most original bands in my are have 2-3 catchy ear candy songs and the rest are either rehashed or just boring.

I was assuming there were a few covers. All original, probably wouldnt happen.

Covers yes it could be done easily.

Just my 2 cents!

hmm regarding your situation..

I think any band that formed today, with at least moderately talented members, would be able to perform 3-4 hours worth of covers (bar standards) by new years.

If you know they ain't up to the task, well then, yes, scheduling a news years 4 hour gig is the dumbest crap I've ever heard.

My point of view is that I've played over 150 'standards' in bars in previous bands, and most of them did "album" versions (arrangements).

If everyone in the band knows at least 40-50 of the same songs.. then you just need to slap together a list a go for it, a couple of practices will do fine. At worst, you all might need to learn 10 songs each, and as long as you practice individually and just rehearse to work out the kinks a few times, you should be fine.

I do fill-in gigs with only 1 or even NO rehearsals with the band, and while there are certainly speed bumps during the night, I've never seen a train wreck ... when everyone knew their parts.

I wouldn't be trying to do 30 songs by Yes & Genesis & Jean-Luc Ponty & Bela Fleck & such, but your standard rock band.

Whoa that would take me a lifetime to learn lawlz!!

Yeah Philbymon! I hope its just mostly covers of simple tunes.

Dude.... but I played in the New York buroughs for for a couple of circuits and they are a very tough crowd.

Then again.... they maybe wasted drunk by 6pm on new years eve and you can just get away by playing the same song for hours.

((( Oh sh*t )))


for some reason I thought the OP was from NYC

dont mind me

You guys make some good points (and I probably am just whining). I have no doubt that I can fulfill my end of it, and the other guys are pretty competent as well. I think what pisses me off about it is that there really isn't any reason to rush it. Why not take the time to MAKE SURE you get it right: i.e., develop some kind of performance, rather than slap it together.
I probably should have made it a little more clear in the OP, but I'll do it now. Guys, I don't think of myself as a professional. However, I would like to be a professional, and so I try to approach situations as a pro would. Being ill prepared, or half-assing a performance definitely falls onto my DO NOT DO list.

BTW, my former band rehearsed a one hour show for a couple months. Our first gig? FOUR HOURS!! I'd still like to slap the taste out of the guy's mouth that booked that show. Maybe y'all can see why I'm a little neurotic about it...

All I can say is look at what Prevost is doing, Joseph - http://forum.bandmix.com/viewtopic.php?t=11717

Note that it doesn't allow for long rehearsals & such. If you really wanna be a professional musician, this is the sort of stuff you'll hafta do, & you may as well get used to it. You really do have the time to do the work. No need for panic attacks (& no time for them, for that matter).

Keep this mantra in mind - it's only a gig...only a gig...only a gig...

If it crashes & burns, just change the band name, rehearse a bit more & try try again with a new haircut!

Here's my take. I have booked gigs with having no repertoire at all BUT, I know that the lack of rep is not a problem...I'll get it. Lack of musicians, no problem, I'll get them. BUT I would never book a gig where no way in hell will I be able to play more than 5 songs. I don't care if you are "just" a rock band, You're not 10 years old, man.
If you are playing for 3 hours during the holidays, you should be making bigass cash. No way can you do that with only 5 songs. But if the band has the ability to quickly build their songs then I wouldn't worry. It is important to keep it simple because playing music is exhausting. I don't know what kind of talent you are working with if you all are good at improvising, you can easily create some originals right off the cuff. If you understand blues progressions you gotta add those. Plus, this is just my opinion, you don't have to have lyrics with everything that you do.

I always plan no less than 8 songs per set. Now what you could do is come up with enough music for 2 sets then on the 3rd set repeat half of the music in the first set and half in the second set. Now a skilled musician can make an audience think that they are hearing the repeats for the first time. AND if there is anyone who remembers any of the repeats, then you can say that you have some fans.