JPS Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 on the music that you play in bands? I've been looking for a new band on and off for about a year now having taken a break from serious playing and gigging. Prior to that I spent 5 years playing in a function band playing Angels to drunken bridesmaids etc. The trouble is I'm struggling to find a band I really honestly want to play with. Ideally I would love to play soul, funk, blues, ska etc - classic stuff from Stax, Motown, Chess, 2-Tone, Trojan etc. Just can't seem to find the desire to "come out of retirement" to play classic rock covers, cheesy function band/pub covers etc (not knocking any of these incidently, just not for me/or already done it). Can't decide whether I should stick to my guns, or whether I'm being unrealsitic and should just get and play and enjoy it for what it is. Just curious as to what other people do i.e. how many of you are truly playing the music you love. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 I`m probably very lucky, as I`m in two bands, one, a punk covers band, playing all my fave songs from when I grew up, and the second being an originals band, where we play some really odd but catchy songs. Saying that, if these two bands folded, I`d happily be in a band that did the wedding receptions etc, and Mustang Sally pub covers, as I just love playing live. The only thing I consider a compromise is either playing music you really dislike, or playing with musicians that you know aren`t up to scratch. I`ve done that before, but didn`t realise I was doing it at the time. Now I know what "real" musicians are like, I wouldn`t waste my time with the imitation ones again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truckstop Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 Well it's a bit of give and take isnt it? In my band, the drummer and guitarist just love stuff like AC/DC, Led Zepplin, Sabbath and Maiden. Everyone else doesnt! But we play functions and pub gigs. So for the pubs we'll play a heavier set to keep those guys happy and for the functions we play a more pop/soul set to keep the rest of us happy. It's all about having a tracklist so extensive that you all get to play what you want occasionally! Every month, we each pick one song we want to cover and then we'll work on them so that's 5 new songs a month (unless we cant make it work) and we're all happy! Truckstop Truckstop Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prime_BASS Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 This is why it's great to get out to places that already do the music you are aiming for, do some actual networking (not just liking random dudes on facebook) and get connected with the right people. Looking doesn't mean just sitting at home and searching here or bandmates.com or whatever(I don't know if thats an actual site). Go to gigs that have ska/soul/funk bands on talk to a few people(they'll be people there who arn't just regular audience but musicians aswell) Get to local rehearsal spaces and put quality ads up (not just scribble on A4), keep your ear to the ground. Personally, I would stick to my gun's. Find a drummer who wants to do the same and the rest usually fall in place. Remember there is a lot of crap out there before you find a gem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Low End Bee Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 No compromise. I have to play music I like with people I like. I wasted a couple of years playing stuff I didn't really care much about. If the current band ever folded I'd have to find like minded souls and start from sratch again I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben604 Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 I'm with Low End Bee. If we don't [i]all[/i] like a song, we don't play it, and it can't be "cheesy" (in our opinion, obviously). We haven't got a weekend off in April, so we're doing something right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjones Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 (edited) [quote name='Prime_BASS' timestamp='1333540455' post='1603149'] This is why it's great to get out to places that already do the music you are aiming for, do some actual networking (not just liking random dudes on facebook) and get connected with the right people. Looking doesn't mean just sitting at home and searching here or bandmates.com or whatever(I don't know if thats an actual site). Go to gigs that have ska/soul/funk bands on talk to a few people(they'll be people there who arn't just regular audience but musicians aswell) Get to local rehearsal spaces and put quality ads up (not just scribble on A4), keep your ear to the ground. Personally, I would stick to my gun's. Find a drummer who wants to do the same and the rest usually fall in place. Remember there is a lot of crap out there before you find a gem. [/quote] +1 Find some quality jams with good musicians. In Edinburgh there's a few jams where there's a house band with pro musicians (who get paid) who host the jam night and play a 30 min set (usually with a guest singer) then then get other singers and musicians up to play and after a couple of hours of jamming the house band close the night. You get a good mix of styles and ability and it's a really good opportunity to network and play with like minded people. I've met some excellent musicians and got lots of offers of work since I've been attending. If there isn't something similiar in your area set something up. Edited April 4, 2012 by gjones Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 Everything is a compromise to one degree or another; this house, my car, the jobs I've done and some of the bands I've played in. That's life. I want to play the best numbers with the best people in the best bands that I can, but as that doesn't always happen why would I choose to sit at home rather than be playing. To play at your best you have to be “match fit” and you don’t get that by playing in your bedroom! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisnameistaken Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 If it's fun then do it, if it isn't then don't. I doubt you could have fun playing music you don't like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyfisher Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 [quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1333541707' post='1603182'] Everything is a compromise to one degree or another; this house, my car, the jobs I've done and some of the bands I've played in. That's life. [/quote] Agreed, though I'd differentiate between short term compromises and long term ones. I lived in some sh1tty places as a student but it was OK because I knew it wouldn't last long. The shorter the timescale, the more acceptable it is to compromise, but while compromising you should be making plans to get closer to what you really want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 TBH I always think that people who say they can't find the right band for them aren't trying hard enough. Unless your only favoured music is some incredibly niche genre or you live in the back of beyond, I can't see why you can't find the right like-minded musicians to play with. I have pretty strict rules about what I will (and won't play) and live in a city that's never really been a hotbed of musical activity, but in the 35+ years I've been playing I have never struggled to find interesting people to play music I like with. The longest I've been without a band was 2 years and that was mostly self imposed while I worked on releasing a retrospective CD for a band I used to be in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 Less and less as I get older (48). I just find the whole scene so depressing sometimes. All these bands regurgitating the same old s***e year in year out. Most venues have different bands every week but they all seem to be playing the same sets I am tempted to knock everything on the head and stick to my originals trio but I know that would mean 4 gigs a year but I do find playing stuff I am ambivalent about harder and harder and the list of musicians I will play with is getting shorter and shorter. Find me some great musicians doing some great music and I am there but there are so many 'conservative' players around now. No balls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gust0o Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 I was going to say "a little", but am not sure if I've misread part of the conversation. I play in a rock band because that's what I want to play - on that level I would say there can, really, be no compromise. However you justify it, you need to be playing something you have an interest in to make it work. Therein comes the compromise - around precisely how the sound will play out; what songs; etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BottomE Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 (edited) Lots of compromise mainly due to being in a fairly small town with not too many options. We play a lot of functions, weddings and parties and there are always tunes we do that make one or all of us wince - usually requests. The band in general have a similar view to songs that we think are cheesy but it doesn't stop us playing them Edit for sausage fingers Edited April 4, 2012 by BottomE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomProddy Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 [quote name='Truckstop' timestamp='1333540432' post='1603147'] Well it's a bit of give and take isnt it?[/quote] /thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doddy Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 I think a big part depends on if you earn a living from playing music or not. If you've got a day job you can afford to be a bit more picky about what kind of music you want to play and who you play it with. When you earn a living from playing you may have to play something that you're not too keen on because you have to pay the bills. At the moment I'm quite lucky that if I don't want to do a particular gig I don't have to,but that hasn't always been the case and it might not be the case in a few years time. With regards to BigRedX's point about finding people to work with,I think it depends on what you want to do. For example,if I want to do a gig playing the kind of music that I really enjoy and transcribe/write, I can easily find the musicians...however I'm in Stoke and my preferred players live in Birmingham/ Manchester/ Chester/Leeds and it's difficult to get them to do a gig for little to no money,especially as most of the money would be spent on fuel.I have to call in favours and hope that they aren't already busy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 I'll be quite picky about it... but when someone trebles your money for pretty much the same amount of time and effort spent, you can waver a bit...and we do. So far, we have resisted playing stuff we don't like and we are about to put out an originals set as well. I think we will have to have 3 sets pub set functions set Festival/venue/original set ..and hope that they could and should over-lap to a degree. But the days of being an out and out function band have long gone....thankfully ...but then I can afford to say that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JellyKnees Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 Personally I'd rather not compromise on what I play, which is why I have the day job to pay the bills. It means the gigs are fairly thin on the ground, but I can live with that. I get just as much of a buzz out of recording and playing around with ideas at home to be honest. How can you play stuff you don't actually like with any passion or enthusiasm? I've seen too many bands grinding their way through covers that they clearly aren't into or are bored with, and I'd rather stick needles in my eyes frankly... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 (edited) [size=6][sup]One of the reasons is that you can go and see 5 bands in the course of the month and the amount of cross-over in their sets is...err...depressing.[/sup] [sup]You could accept 2 or 3 numbers maybe..but anymore than that is a waste of time, IMO. [/sup][/size] [size=6][sup]edit for font size[/sup][/size] Edited April 4, 2012 by JTUK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roland Rock Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 I've played in a covers band which I quite enjoyed, but there were a few songs I had to play through gritted teeth, as they are not to my taste at all (e.g. 'How Long' by Ace and 'Never Seen the Rain' by CCR) For my current band, I made a decision to only play stuff I really enjoy. It took quite a bit longer to find compared to your average pub rock band, but well worth it. Of course, there are still some songs I prefer to others, but nothing anywhere near cringeworthy (all originals now) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musophilr Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 IMO if you want to get paid for playing then you have to play what people will pay you to play. Same as making software I suppose - there's no embedded C/assembler work around here, it's all databases and websites so if I want to get paid for making software i'll have to blag my way into SQL or php ... there's other jobs I'll do/have done at-a-pinch eg office dogsbody stuff but if I hold out for the job spec & T&C that I ideally want then I'll stay on the dole for a long time. A previous post refers to compromise. There's lots of songs I'd never listen to for my own entertainment but if paid enough to learn them and regurgitate them at a gig then I'll take the money and do the work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPS Posted April 4, 2012 Author Share Posted April 4, 2012 Thanks for all the replies. You've raised some really interesting points. If I'm being honest Ideally I want to play music I like (and can play well enough), with people I get on with (who can play well enough), in venues that are half-decent (i.e. not completely empty, nor full of brain-dead morons spoiling for trouble). Not that arsed about making money but can't afford to be out of pocket either. Question is which of these criteria can I compromise on and have I got the patience/courage of my convictions to wait until a band that really interests me comes along? As Chris B mentioned, however, it's hard to keep match-fit playing in your bedroom and networking skills (not something I'm good at as I never go to jam nights etc) can open lots of doors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben604 Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 I think, if you find the right venues and play songs which are still fairly well known, you'd be surprised what you'll get away with. We play a different set to most bands around here, but it's still well known stuff and we get thanked at every venue for being a bit different. There's an appetite for the alternative at the moment. There's only so many times you can hear Sex on Fire before even the dullest person will get bored. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icastle Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 To be really blunt, if I'm getting paid to play then I'll play whatever needs to be played. If I'm not getting paid then I'm far more choosey about what I play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 Depends how desperate you are or need to be. Personally I did it for long enough to be pig sick of it..and I took some time out. Now I am far more choosey about the songs and gigs I will do and take and I have no intention of getting near gigs like that again so as not to go down the same road Talking about same roads.... the gtr sets of the 80's that are hammered round here ?? Jeeeez..!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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