Think of this band like a business or a team and then think of the model as you described it; aspire to something that's been done a million times before, try to copy others as closely as possible, gather information from suspect sources, show more interest in abandoning projects than resolving minor issues, have no clear leadership.
If the band's mission is to be a note-perfect cover band, clear leadership might be necessary. Note-perfect covers cannot be subject to democratic process. It's either a D or an F. You can't vote on a fact. Seems to me that somebody needs to be able to say, "This is how it's going to be." And it doesn't sound like you have that.
"You can't write a chord ugly enough to say what you want to say sometimes, so you have to rely on a giraffe filled with whipped cream." - Frank Zappa
Yea well I don't know what will happen I've had enough drama in the past so I really want to try and stay in the background but none of these guys are capable of "leading" a band. I know that may come across as harsh but that's what I beleive and as the player that has been playing the shortest amount of time I don't get any respect and in some ways I know I am no qualified either.
Kind of went through this when we were picking music early on, there were so many conversations (I won't say arguments) about what to play I finally gave up and let them pick the music as long as it fits what we are doing. Every once in awhile I'll thorough something in 9 out of 10 get rejected.
"It's all about stickin it to the man!"
It's a long way to the top if you want to rock n roll!
Ok one thing I forgot to mention is that when we have a disagreement about how to play a particular song or what chord is being played what becomes the de facto resource to check these.
When we got into the argument about there being an F in Boys are back in town my source was the tab that I had worked out with my instructor. I have been with him for 5 years and in all that time I have only had a handful of errors in his tabs. 99.999% are right on and I know it cuz I play along and every thing always sounds perfect. What I had forgotten was that I also had a book that I bought with that song in it and when I checked lo and behold it had the F in there too. So does that make it right? Not necssarily but chances are good.
With the Sunshine song I also have an Eric Clapton/cream signature series book that has it in there and that is acxtually how I learned the song and it is in D.
Yet the two times I brought these up I get shot down like I don't know what I'm talking about. I know the issue with the other guitarist. He has to see a video on youtube in order for him to learn the song and unless someone is doing a lesson ont he original he's going to get some live version which is not the same.
The thing was that in each case it was pretty obvious we were off.
"It's all about stickin it to the man!"
It's a long way to the top if you want to rock n roll!
Seriously Cnev, if you can't find the original on youtube (which I think is pretty easy in general) you can download Spotify and a world of music is at your fingertips for free.
| A bit unrelated |
I was just thinking the other day if you have a computer and a guitar you have very few excuses not to learn how to play the thing. There's programs like - guitar pro/tux guitar and the like, slow down software, plus thousands of websites and the ability to easily change location in a song at a click in an audio player. Now obviously those things don't make you play well but they're handy tools and people in the 60s/70s had none of this and can play as well as I can.
together we stand, divided we fall..........
A good point Fleaaa, very insightful.
What I've done for our 2nd guitarist, who doesn't really listen to most of the covers we are doing, is zip up all the mp3s of the songs and give him a copy of them all. We do what you are saying, the studio version is the reference and if we need to change it, we change it. But we make changes starting from the original studio cut. We try to have a copy of the songs with us at practice so we can cue them up in case there's a question.
I think the key is everyone has to be an adult and communicate. A couple weeks ago, we were trying "Bad Case of Loving You" for the first time. Singer/guitarist was playing the verses E G A and I was playing E A B. I was pretty sure that it was E A B, but tried it his way. It just didn't sound right, so I asked him if he was sure about the G and A, saying that I had played along with the track and was almost positive it was A and B. He played through it singing and realized I was right and that he had been thinking of a different song. This week, it was his turn to point out where I was missing a chord change. We've been playing "Glory Days" for months and I've never caught it, mainly because it's a D going to A and I've been staying on the D. Since I'm playing single notes, it hasn't really stuck out. No matter what the problem, we stay respectful and positive.
My son is a brown belt in our karate dojo, so he teaches some of the lower belts during class. I've watched his teaching style compared to another teenage boy doing the same thing. My son positively corrects issues. He compliments the kids on something they did well, then will point out how they can improve or will correct a movement of their form by simply showing them the correct move. The other kid seems like he's just waiting for them to make a mistake and immediately starts with "No, no, no, that's not right.", followed by more negativity. All the kids respect my son because he respects them. The difference in the amount of learning he gets out of the kids compared to the other kid is significant. If you treat your band mates with respect and they don't respect you back, I recommend you punch them in the solar plexus. No, wait, I meant find more mature band mates. Mixed up my subjects. :D
I have cut CD's before and I have told them I can get any song we need. I think from now on I am going to just burn the CD's whenever we decide on some new songs and just give them to everyone.
The dynamics are a bit weird in the band since this new guy joined maybe it's just taking awhile to get used to each other either that or its going to blow up one of these days.
We have 2 weeks until our first "real" 3 set gig on Memorial Day weekend so we will see how that goes.
"It's all about stickin it to the man!"
It's a long way to the top if you want to rock n roll!
Cnev......
I was at first a bit surprised at everyone saying "leave the band" but as the thread has become more detailed I'm feeling they were right. I really wish you luck, but without someone leading it (an Angus young say) and saying what needs to be done how can this band have any direction? It is fine if everyone puts input in but one person has to say no we do it this way, voting.... fine! It's just you can't have 5 different people (or however many are in your band) pulling different ways if you want it to work. I mean for goodness sake, all your doing is covers - you have a version that basically says what you should be doing first, then if you want to change it later to make it your own version fine, but everyone has to start at point A and experiment later. Everyone who learns an instrument knows that, first learn it as accurately as you can, then later add your ideas.
Now this is not me saying "YOU SHOULD LEAVE!" or "YOU MUST LEAVE" or even "GET OUT WHILE YOU CAN" this is just me observing and going, hmm by the sounds of what I've read in these posts, everyone is pulling their weight......... in opposite directions which is not a good thing.
together we stand, divided we fall..........
OK, so I know that you are into the direct note to note covers, and thats what your band does, and thats what your shooting for... But does this new player know that? Is the rest of the band on board with this note for note idea?? Sounds like that needs to be agreed opon by everyone, and also a means to acheave that. At that point someone might have to walk. Eather the guys that just want to do basic covers, or you guys that want note for note
Paul B
With a gig coming up, it's not a great time to rock the boat. After Memorial Day, think about asserting yourself more within the band. You're not the "new guy" any more, so don't act like it! (Although Ron Wood is still the "new guy" in the Stones after, what, 35 years?)
"You can't write a chord ugly enough to say what you want to say sometimes, so you have to rely on a giraffe filled with whipped cream." - Frank Zappa
Just to clarify yes I am a note for note kind of guy and for the most part we play them pretty close to the original but I can't say they are note for note, close but not exactly. The new guy doesn't play the solo's note for note but he gets the gist of the original down on most songs. I don't have a problem with that as long as it fits the song sometimes (and this is where practicing comes in) since he isn't playing it note for note we have to work on his transition back into the song but other than that it's been OK.
In the cases we have argued about it's been a chord and it was pretty obvious we all weren't on the same page. Playing them in a different position or an inversion is Ok but the wrong chord don't cut it and even with my ears I can tell that it doesn't sound right and all they need to do is try playing along with the record and they'd hear it too.
"It's all about stickin it to the man!"
It's a long way to the top if you want to rock n roll!
