Mickeyboro

22 minutes ago, Wombat said:

Watching a bit of Glasto today the singer in Shed 7  is obs falling foul of the ‘needs glasses/bigger set list’ as he was constantly bending over to look at his.

I think its a tribute band, Shed 70…

Just now, tauzero said:

Although they're going to be more motivated to work on permanent bands than temp ones - have you considered asking them to join on a permanent basis?

Sorry, it’s a long thread, but the basis is that they have other bands they are members of. It depends what you describe as permanent… as it stands they get their fair share of any gig proceeds, so they wouldn’t earn more. 

57 minutes ago, mcnach said:

 

They're adults: they manage themselves.

 

If somebody is a problem with their level of commitment or creating scheduling issues, then THEY are not motivated enough for that particular band. It's not down to me to change their mind.

People like to play music and often dont know how to say no.  
 

I am using them to keep my show on the road, so seemingly have to accept there will be a lower level of commitment/effort. 
 

Thats how I’m feeling. 

PM!

There is an element of ‘hedging bets’ in that one of the musicians’ bands has lost two members. Future was in doubt. 
However she is busily relaunching it, so ironically we would be better off if she fails!

14 hours ago, TimR said:

Have they drifted off to other bands, or were they in other bands and your band is an extra or a side project? 
The latter - they are helping us back to gig status after personnel upheaval.

 

What do you mean by thrive? How many gigs are you planning? Have you booked those gigs? 

We have gigs coming up but am loath to book more until we prove we are serious. Maybe I have to do that to get a response.

14 hours ago, TimR said:

In my experience, I lose a huge amount of interest if the band leader is waiting for the band to be gig ready, and waiting, and waiting... And probably a failing on my part, I'm not going to be putting loads of effort into a band that has no gigs on the horizon.

Fair point. As above, maybe gigs is the answer.

8 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said:

 

To throw the question back at you, if your band is really less interesting and less lucrative, why does it motivate you?

 

Is it that your less committed band mates are going through the motions and you need to replace them with people more interested in the band's music?

I would ideally like one-band people, dedicated to the blues and backing us 100 per cent - no distractions. I only have room in my life for one band.

We had plenty of gigs, but personnel instability had caused a slowdown. We aim to do more gigs and be more lucrative.

People are willing to play for us, but they are already in bands. So while they rehearse, they don’t come prepared. This slows down progress, hence my frustration. Shuffling the pack constantly does so too, hence my wish to motivate.

I’ll just re-state my original question, as it’s three pages back…

Can a band thrive if most of its members have other, clearly more interesting/lucrative interests? If so, how do you manage/motivate them?

A bit of history would be interesting… 🙏 I own a similar ‘71!

I’ll let you off with a warning this time…😂

Interviewed RS once and was staggered to find he doesn’t rate himself as a musician at all. In Hatfield and the North he had impostor syndrome! But what a wizard on the de-fretted Jazz.

2 hours ago, dmccombe7 said:

Hi Rob just listening to Camel Pointless album and there's a nice catchy wee riff on The Sleeper if looking for ideas.

Dave

Breathless, Dave - though that bloody Richard Osman gets everywhere, this features the superior Richard Sinclair.

Camel went downhill after this as Pete Bardens left!

Good choice 👏

8 hours ago, Len_derby said:

Another thought, do these ‘less than fully committed’ members have any say in the set list? Maybe letting them choose a song they particularly like, within the genre, would make them keener? In my bands we call it ‘throwing them a bone to chew on’. 😀🐕🦴

We have, and it’s worked to an extent. But they already tend to know those songs, so no/less work needed!

19 minutes ago, Cat Burrito said:

Rehearsal is to learn to play as a band, not for the ones who are thinly stretched to be taught the songs, especially if they then forget them for next time. 

How very true! 
 

We sacked our first singer as he always had an excuse. Three years was probably giving him too much rope…

9 minutes ago, Paul S said:

You can barely see Jim Rodwell from behind that twin neck!

 

 

Youre clearly a football fan - unless Jim Rodford was handy with a dead ball! 😂 ⚽️ 

Bloody good track too…

7 minutes ago, StingRayBoy42 said:

As for people turning up to gigs/rehearsals without having practiced... that's just laziness, surely?!

They’re all so busy with their other bands😬

1 minute ago, Paul S said:

 

Ballard!  Just looked him up.  Wow, he wrote some great tunes didn't he!  Couple of Ranbow's biggies!

Yes, Russ is a bit of an undiscovered gem. Glad you checked him out. 👍

I love these threads, guys. Apart from helping me think things through, there’s wisdom everyone can learn from. Keep it coming!
 

Theory: being a blues band, we can attract people who want to do something different from their regular music. But, and I blame blues jams for this, they may think ‘near enough is good enough’ and practice is not as important. Thoughts?

4 minutes ago, Franticsmurf said:

As with most things, communication is key and the earlier you talk it through the less heated it will be.  

All makes sense. But pushing them to ‘choose’ means we will probably lose them and thus be unable to do gigs at all. 
 

As it stands we get a product, but it frustrates cos it takes more time and effort than necessary and could be better. 
 

We can’t really use the stick, so whats the carrot?🥕 

15 minutes ago, Paul S said:

One of the things that puts me off seeing the Zombies again, tbh - Mr Argent's bitter and lengthy tirade.  Left a nasty undertone to the evening.  

Perhaps he’s bitter cos he didn’t write it😂

My beef with the latter-day Zombies (now retired of course) was they went stadium rock for US audiences with long solos instead of being a decent pop group. One of the worst offenders was Hold Your Head Up - again, not ‘their’ song. 

7 minutes ago, martin8708 said:

I’m a big Sting fan , but I kinda missing Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland on this occasion.

I bet he isn’t… 😉

4 minutes ago, steantval said:

There will always be conflicts of interest and if your intention is to gig regularly, even as much as a gig every other week, chances are it won’t happen.

Its bad enough keeping a diary for one band and it’s members, attempting to work around another couple of diaries is a nightmare.

Point taken, but I am more concerned with how one motivates people whose main interest is another band. 
 

The fact they gig more than us, for instance - would more dates promote us up their practice list? Or are there other tricks ?

We have been navigating with difficulty after sacking our singer and losing our drummer. 
 

Our current five piece line up includes three people in at least one other band. It’s apparent that, in the two weeks since the last rehearsal, no-one has done any homework or practice, leading to a less fruitful three hot, sweaty hours today than hoped.

My guitarist, with me the only permanent one-band member, is at his wits’ end. I am just concentrating on fulfilling gigs. The availability question will limit those, I accept, but that is of less concern than risking losing my most reliable band mate. 

My question - can a band thrive if most of its members have other, clearly more interesting/lucrative interests? If so, how do you manage/motivate them?
 

Jeremy Meek played his Precision for Live Wire back in the day. I really liked him.

Here he is…

Latest album from leading Americana singer-songwriter. 
New, sealed, £9 posted. 

I assumed mine was/is 4. Still do. I think!