Band Drama

Sounds Great.

Looking forward to hearing some of your stuff posted up here.

As for the guys thinking they're all that. That is what happened to make my former band split. The first guitarist and singer was all like "If I didn't think of it, it's not happening" except with our bassist who he had a little man crush on. But I got tired of getting pushed out and down. So i left. The band couldnt go on without me so the band split. We didn't have a drummer anyway.But thats not the point. Their attitudes could be the downfall of your band, confront them calmly and let them know how you feel. Best to get it off your chest.

It must sound pretty well! I like the idea of the violinist. Post some clips if you have recordings.

Yeah I'll post clips soon, next band practice I'll tell them to take a video and upload it and I'll show it to you guys.

I'm really hoping this band works out.

congrats on getting a group together! Getting a group of musicians together and making music is a blast!

with that said, i can certainly understand your band drama. That will be hard to avoid when you have a group of people wanting to make music. If you set a band goal that everyone agrees upon, that might make everything easier in the future.

I just quit my band yesterday :( I think that pretty much caused it to break up too

Awwww man that sucks :(

The good thing about our band is that we have upcoming gigs so that is pretty much the band goal for now, I'll keep you guys posted on any new developments.

P.S. my mom heard us the other day and she loved it, but she loves everything I do so she is not to be trusted xD.

After playing music for a living for many years now, I have two rules:

I've been in bands that had one or more musicians with attitude problems, and/or bands that fought over trivial things -- like "You played a wrong note in _____ last night." said in anger.

Wrong notes happen, train wrecks happen, other mistakes happen, laugh about it and go on. They don't call it PLAYing music for nothing. If you aren't PLAYING together, it isn't going to come off the stage right.

The late-great Count Basie measured a musician's attitude above his skill level and always had a great sounding band (for that type of music).

Ever since I read about Count Basie and used his method for hiring musicians (or joining an already formed band) I've had successful bands and worked steadily.

Insights and incites by Notes

The late-great Count Basie measured a musician's attitude above his skill level and always had a great sounding band (for that type of music).
That philosophy ports well to other professions and hobbies.

One other note is that expectations need to be set. Some band rules, perhaps? Simple things, like courtesy to others' feelings and desires. And last but not least, is any of what they are doing considered showmanship? Is the problem from within, as in are these things little nits? I van tell you right now that everyone you will ever meet, play ball with, ride motorcycle with or whatever, there will be minor things that can get to you if you let them.

<...>One other note is that expectations need to be set. Some band rules, perhaps? Simple things, like courtesy to others' feelings and desires. <...>

Very important in all relationships and even in these online forums.

It's OK to disagree with anyone. However, it is important to respect the other person's opinion, do not belittle the person for having a different opinion, acknowledge the other person's opinion, and never raise your voice when trying to display the merits of your differing opinion.

I currently am in a duo with my wife http://www.s-cats.com

When we started this duo, we had just the opposite problem. When we had a difference of opinion, we would always say to the other, ||: "let's do it your way", the other would say, "oh no, your way was better". :|| (note the improvised repeat signs) In other words, we deferred to the other person's opinion out of kindness without regard to its musical integrity.

We quickly discovered that, had a great laugh about it, and now we try each others' ideas out, and decide which is best. Sometimes neither one is best, they are just different, then the vote goes to whoever is singing or playing most of the lead on the song.

We make mistakes every time we play. Since we both have been on stage a long time, we can cover up most mistakes so that the audience doesn't know. After the show we congratulate each other on the cover-up skill and have a good feeling about it, often laughter.

On very rare occasions, there is a train wreck on stage that cannot be covered up. Then it's time to involve the audience and get them to laugh at the situation. It's better to have them laughing with you than at you. You'd be surprised at how much compassion an audience has for a band making an on-stage blunder if it's handled well. But with us, those occasions are indeed rare. I don't think we've had one in the last 10 years.

When I met my wife, we were in different bands. Her band had some ego problems, I was actually in a hired horn section to a band that had problems, but they didn't directly affect me. The 3 horn players got along just fine, when the song was finished, we worked out our parts, and when the gig was over, we took nothing home.

It's important to remember, we are PLAYING music, we are all friends, we all have the same goals, and we should treat other people with respect, dignity, and in a manner that we feel they would like to be treated. Being in a band will be much more fun that way, the music will probably be better, and the audience will definitely feel the fun and enjoy the performance more - even if the music is a little "less than".

Insights and incites by Notes

Well, today is the second practice I'm going to and it looks good, I think we'll tape and a video should be up in a few days ^^.