thunderbird13 Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 Right so it looks like my covers band is in trouble ( thats OK we really werent very good anyway ! ) and although I've a few possibilites lined up I thought I'd have a look at Gumtree to see if there was anything interesting ( i.e. anything but classic rock ) , Then last week I saw an ad which seemed to tick all the boxes which the exception that they lived in North London and I live in SE but since I work in north London that should have been a bit of hassle managable. So I phoned the guy and he sent me links to his stuff and we arranged to have a jam this Wed once he had sent me his address . I learned a couple of his songs over the weeked and waited for him to send me his address - nothing I emailed yesterday , nothing , so today I called him and asked him what he was up to. Firstly he told me that they already had a bass player , I expressed suprise at this a they had renewed their advert on gumtree. Once he had been rumbled on this he confessed that they wouldnt audition me as they felt it was too far to travel I mean FFS I'm 44 and surley entitled to make my own mind up about whether a rehearsal is too far or not - I enformed him of ths fact and hung up Probably a lucky escape after all is he is that much of a control freak whats he like in band situation - amyway onwards and upwards etc etc ............. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 (edited) [quote name='thunderbird13' timestamp='1343160687' post='1746448'] ...he confessed that they wouldnt audition me as they felt it was too far to travel ...[/quote] In my last band I did an 80-mile round trip to rehearsal once a week... SE to N London is a doddle, really. Presumably they're not intending to do many gigs then - call me old fashioned, but gigs do entail travelling, no..? Sounds like you're better off out of it, mate. Edited July 24, 2012 by discreet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thunderbird13 Posted July 24, 2012 Author Share Posted July 24, 2012 actualy they said they gigged every other week TBH I 'm more annoyed because it was the first time I was going to play my Stagg EUB outside the house Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluRay Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 lucky escape. sadly there's a lot like that out there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_5 Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 Yup, better off without. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrtcat Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 That stinks. If i was in a band in need of a decent player I'd listen and meet first and worry about his logistical issues later. 9/10 and fears would be put to rest with a simple chat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musky Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 A weak, spineless liar, who can't even do that well. Yep, you're definitely better off without. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 I guess they were thinking ahead and predicting that when the reality of the journey kicked in you might change your mind and then they'll be looking all over again. But I agree, they should have told you that instead of letting you chase them around for the answer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gust0o Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 If he's that organised now... Well, better off without! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisB Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 I ran into a guy like that before I hooked up with my current band - we got together and agreed which songs we were going to work on, I put in a load of time learning the songs then got an email from him saying he had "personal issues" and would have to hold off for a while. I had no problem with that, emailed him back saying to get in touch once he'd sorted everything out but then a few days later he posted another advert on JMB. Just wish people had the balls to be honest with me rather than wasting my time... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 [quote name='ChrisB' timestamp='1343200900' post='1746778'] Just wish people had the balls to be honest with me rather than wasting my time...[/quote] Same here. Learnt five fairly difficult numbers to a high standard for an audition, then got a [i]text [/i]saying the singer was ill and they were going to put the band 'on hold' for a while. Didn't even have the balls to ring me. Rubbish! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul torch Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 stinks of BS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Len_derby Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 Sometimes it's amusing to be caught up in someone else's fantasy world. Other times it's an irritating waste. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 (edited) There's no reason why distance should be an obstacle to getting a band together provided that all the members are sufficiently motivated. I used to be in a band with a drummer who drove to Nottingham from Coventry twice a week for rehearsals. A friend of mine has been in a geographically split band since the early 80s. Originally they were a six piece with half the band living in Nottingham and the other half in Chesterfield. They would rehearse once a week in Chesterfield, but gigged mainly around Nottingham. These days they are down to a three piece and now split between Nottingham and Sheffield. The reason they're still doing this with all the travelling that is involved is because they like being in the band, and therefore they are prepared to put up with the extra effort that being in two different locations entails. Edited July 25, 2012 by BigRedX Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commando Jack Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 Sounds to me that they had a couple of replies to the first ad, and they strung you along in case the other ones didn't turn out. The second ad was probably chancing their arm for any more. Of course your insistance on using more than one brain cell rumbled them Better off without! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnefc42 Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 Distance is indeed not an object to a smooth running band if everyone is of a like mind. In my 80s band myself & the drummer live in Bideford, Keyboard player lives in Barnstaple (10 miles), Singer is in Camelford (about 40 miles) & Guitarist is in Exeter (similar distance in the opposite direction) We're rehearsing this Sunday at a location fairly equidistant to all of us and gig regularly all over Devon & Cornwall - seems to work for us! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevB Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 I have to say the last project I enquired about got me thinking how much travelling I realy want to do for rehearsals. It's not distance any more, it's time taken to get there. Even with the relatively short distance involved I realised that with them rehearsing on a weekday evening I'd be lucky to make it to their rehearsal space before 8pm even if I went straight from work and didn't eat. As it turned out after I'd been slaving over the song they wanted me to learn for a week I just got a curt email telling me they'd then auditioned 'locally' and found someone so that was that. I couldn't see it being a regularly gigging band so I wasn't too bothered. I'm now in another similar situation in that a Nottingham based originals band are looking for a bass player and I'm again not convinced it will be a 'busy' band it it takes that much longer to learn a set of completely unknown material which i don't even have chord sheets for. Very hard going by ear, some of the material is OK but other stuff is a bit grim. Only offer I've had for ages so think I'll see how it plays out. I suspect I'm not going to be a comfortable 'fit' for them so doubtful it'll have legs but we'll see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thunderbird13 Posted July 25, 2012 Author Share Posted July 25, 2012 [quote name='KevB' timestamp='1343219862' post='1747207'] I have to say the last project I enquired about got me thinking how much travelling I realy want to do for rehearsals. It's not distance any more, it's time taken to get there. Even with the relatively short distance involved I realised that with them rehearsing on a weekday evening I'd be lucky to make it to their rehearsal space before 8pm even if I went straight from work and didn't eat. [/quote] Thats pretty much it for me - I'm finding that it deosnt seem to matter where I rehearse I still get there by 7.15 after work and either I'm 15 mins late ( no real problem ) or 45 minutes early ( which is really boring ) and I get home by 12.30 which makes getting up for work the next day fun ! BUT I'm prepared to do this if its something I love [quote]As it turned out after I'd been slaving over the song they wanted me to learn for a week I just got a curt email telling me they'd then auditioned 'locally' and found someone so that was that. I couldn't see it being a regularly gigging band so I wasn't too bothered[/quote] rubbish isnt it - you would honestly beleve that some of these guys had never auditioned themselves ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarky Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 Sorry to hear this Al, I know you were looking forward to giving the EUB a proper airing. TBH, he sounds a dick. There will be other bands - DB is 'hot' right now so keep your eyes peeled on Gumtree and Formingbands etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lucatus Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 Find the right people first, sort out logistics later. Always works! Like that one in Rush's latest, "Wish Them Well" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thunderbird13 Posted July 25, 2012 Author Share Posted July 25, 2012 [quote name='Clarky' timestamp='1343220886' post='1747236'] Sorry to hear this Al, I know you were looking forward to giving the EUB a proper airing. TBH, he sounds a dick. There will be other bands - DB is 'hot' right now so keep your eyes peeled on Gumtree and Formingbands etc [/quote] I know but I've come out with 2 positives - I'm more focused on what I want and I have been playing my eub more now and seem to have gotten over the pain now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lfalex v1.1 Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 [quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1343205253' post='1746871'] There's no reason why distance should be an obstacle to getting a band together provided that all the members are sufficiently motivated. [/quote] Distance=cost. And cost is not "No object". Discreet mentioned an 80mile round-trip for rehearsal. Even in my car, that's almost £15 in fuel, plus (notionally) £10 in rehearsal fees, and a couple of quid in snacks/beverages. £1404 per annum for no return explains why I'll be staying in my bedroom, thanks. (Not to mention 350 hours or so of my life I'll never get back every year) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowdowner Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 Think of all the possible different people in the world - some amazing, some plain, some mad, some unfathomable... you'll meet some of each in rehearsals/auditions... move on and chalk it up to experience. Thank your lucky stars that you're not them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Vader Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 [quote name='pnefc42' timestamp='1343216964' post='1747139'] Distance is indeed not an object to a smooth running band if everyone is of a like mind. In my 80s band myself & the drummer live in Bideford, Keyboard player lives in Barnstaple (10 miles), Singer is in Camelford (about 40 miles) & Guitarist is in Exeter (similar distance in the opposite direction) We're rehearsing this Sunday at a location fairly equidistant to all of us and gig regularly all over Devon & Cornwall - seems to work for us! [/quote] So I leave, they start rehearsing in sensible places and they brought back Sledgehammer! Well done Dave, you're definitely smacking them into line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karlfer Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 (edited) It's a cliche Al, but there are far too many people lacking basic civility today. Find out the address, go round in the wee small hours and put a pint of maggots through the letterbox. A weeks time the bluebottles will get him back for you . Find a band that deserves you. Karl. Edited July 26, 2012 by karlfer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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