Is no band better than just any old band?

[4-string-thing]

[quote name='thinman' timestamp='1357672465' post='1926500']
How about trying to form your own band? Not easy I know but you may be able to attract like-minded people.
[/quote]

Yeah, I have been trying for most of the last two years to find people and funnily enough, have found a guitarist/singer, fiddler and have roped in a drummer from the previously mentioned country-rock band. So that may well happen sometime soon.

[4-string-thing]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1357672323' post='1926495']
They don't fly to gigs, do they?
[/quote]
You'd hope not!

[Stan_da_man]

At least attend the practice session - they might be nice guys who are easily influenced. If you don't go you'll never know. If it turns out that they're neither of the above then I would give them a thanks but no thanks.

And besides, you should attend/leave a practice in high spirits - if the music doesn't get you excited then what's the point of playing!

[dave_bass5]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1357672192' post='1926492']
May I humbly disagree? I'm in an originals band now, but my previous covers bands certainly stood me in good stead for it.
[/quote]

Same here. Ive learnt a lot of styles by having to learn covers.

We've had quite a few threads about people not turning up to auditions, or turning up unprepared, lets hope this doesn't happen here eh?

[Lozz196]

I think I`d put up with music I wasn`t over-keen on rather than not being in a band, but I`d rather not be in a band than work with musicians I couldn`t get on with, be that personally, or in a musically-working environment.

[4-string-thing]

I don't have an issue with covers bands, or learning songs, it's just that i can see whats going to happen.... I'll join the band (if they ask me to) and after a few weeks realise it's not for me and leave. It's happened before, quite a few times actually! Which makes me think I should start my own band or just be a bit less fussy about what I play.

[martin8708]

I'm sure it was BigRedX who said that the older we get , the music becomes less important and the people we play with become more important . This is definitely the case for myself, I would rather play average music with a great bunch of guys .
But then again , I enjoy gigging , it's a great escape from my day job .

It's a bit like looking for a job , always seems a lot easier when you have a job rather than when your unemployed .

[chrismuzz]

Personally, I would rather be in any band than no band... I just love to play with other musicians, and to play live It's a good way of getting your face out there too, as when I was regularly gigging with Malacite I was constantly being approached by other bands looking for a bass player.

[gub]

I would say do it and introduce some stuff that inspires you up the line a bit , life's too short to sit round waiting !

[chrismuzz]

[quote name='chrismuzz' timestamp='1357684159' post='1926851']
Personally, I would rather be in any band than no band... I just love to play with other musicians, and to play live It's a good way of getting your face out there too, as when I was regularly gigging with Malacite I was constantly being approached by other bands looking for a bass player.
[/quote]

Come to think of it, I was only approached about joining my current cover band because the drummer remembered me from a band i was in about 3 years ago! I only joined because I was desperate to get out there and play again, I didn't think it was going to be anything amazing... But boy was I mistaken!

[xilddx]

[quote name='4-string-thing' timestamp='1357662781' post='1926269']
So, is any old band better than no band?
[/quote]

Depends of if you like music or not.

[chrismuzz]

[quote name='silddx' timestamp='1357684781' post='1926880']
Depends of if you like music or not.
[/quote]

Haha, all these detailed responses when we could have just said this

[oggiesnr]

If you're a folkie there's lots of opportunities to play BUt not necesarily to get paid.

It depends on what's important to you, if you want/need the money then you bite the bullet and play what brings in the dough. I'm lucky, I play for fun. So tonight I spent a couple of hours playing with a local morris team (double bass) and last night I was playing with a ukelele group (also DB) which was great fun, fourteen songs in two hours all from chord charts. Tomorrow I'm helping out a mate at a gig (beer money) and then I'm out Friday and Saturday playing a session and a dance out. Won't make any money but it's a hobby and I'll have a great time.

From my perspective I'll never be a pro muso so life's too short to play music I don't want to play.

Steve

Edited January 8, 2013 by oggiesnr

[JTUK]

I'd say no band is better than quite a few bands round here, but one music pub put on discos for 2 weeks on his band nights.
I don't know how he did..but the other pubs were rammed.
One was a skanky pub but had a decent band on..and the other pub had 3 indie bands on..

But a answer to the OP... yes, IMO

[The Admiral]

Don't know if you are active on it, but Talkawhile is a great folky forum, with plenty of muso chat going on, and you may find a session or a gig on there :

http://www.talkawhile.co.uk/yabbse/index.php

[simpleman]

[quote name='4-string-thing' timestamp='1357662781' post='1926269']
Ok, I've got an audition on thursday, and I'm wondering whether to bother or not. To be honest, I'm not sure I can be bothered with the hassle of gigging again, it's been a couple of years since I've been in a gigging band and I don't think I miss it much. The songs they want me to do don't exactly inspire me much either:

Johnny B Goode
Brown Eyed Girl
Stuck In The Middle With You
Take It Easy
Wishing Well
Sweet Home Alabama

Ok, all easy enough to play, but not really my cup of meat!

So, is any old band better than no band? Should I wait around for another 2 years for the right band, or should I bite the bullet and get my head down and play 90 minutes of music that leaves me cold every saturday night?

BTW, if you play in a rock covers band, there is nothing wrong with that, it's just that I am a bit of a folkie at heart....
[/quote]
That looks like a set list from Rocksmith! I was thinking "is that how the band learned those songs?" but then reading the[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif] Lynyrd Skynyrd[/font][/color] tribute band bit I guess not.

There's no point being miserable for doing something you're meant to love. It will only end up in resentment and disillusionment. I'd wait out for something that really floats your boat.

[barkin]

Shan't bother you with the whole story, but the band I'm currently with was essentially thrown together for a one-off gig. The setlist was pretty much decided before I got involved - uninspiring and not at all my cup of tea, but easy to get to grips with in a short time.

So I did it...and loved it, and over 2 years down the road I'm still loving it.

The material has changed quite a bit in that time. We've introduced some stuff that's more up my street, and we're still doing stuff that I'm not very keen on but the others are. Bit of give & take, eh?

I look on it as a chance to play some styles etc that I probably wouldn't touch otherwise.

Me? I'd do it, or at least give it a crack.

[51m0n]

I played in any old band for a good long while after a long lay off (needed to get some chops back), in fact I played with any body who'd put up with me (they weren't exactly queueing up to get my bass playing services mind), but all the time I was also looking for the right band - that elusive mix of attitude, people, tastes, expectations and time to commit that makes a band actually gel for long enough to do something at least good.

12 years it took, finally got there about 6 months ago, best band I've ever been in for me, and the others, love it, havent even gigged yet (original funk stuff with a lot of improv, takes time to get just the right amount of structure but not too much), planning to do the first gig in late Feb. Can not wait!

[flyfisher]

[quote name='gary mac' timestamp='1357665532' post='1926331']
I've been trying to get Stuck in the Middle, Mustang Sally and Brown Eyed Girl relegated to standby material but the thing is punters do request them, particularly at the social club type gigs.

It's strange really, I play with a band of relative youngsters, yet they want to do all the old stuff and I keep suggesting the more modern stuff
[/quote]

I guess the 'old stuff' is new stuff to youngsters. Do us oldies tend to shy away from these songs because they're fundamentally bad songs, or is it just too much familiarity with them. As as already been mentioned, the punters tend to love them so they can't be all bad.

These sort of topics are always interesting because of the wide range of views expressed but, ultimately, I'm sure we all know what we would do in such a situation based on our personal preferences rather than what others think. Given a likeable bunch of bandmates and an enthusiastic crowd, these songs could easily make for an enjoyable evening whereas playing orginals to an indifferent crowd can be a miserable experience. There's room for almost anything and everything out there somewhere.

[51m0n]

I never used to mind playing Mustang Sally, larely because I could end up wiht a really funky bassline under it compared to a lot of the other stuff I ended up doing...

[Dave Vader]

To be fair, they may have just thrown that list together for tryouts cos everyone can play them, minimal work etc. I've been known to put lists like that together for 1st jams myself.

[JTUK]

[quote name='Dave Vader' timestamp='1357748857' post='1927782']
To be fair, they may have just thrown that list together for tryouts cos everyone can play them, minimal work etc. I've been known to put lists like that together for 1st jams myself.
[/quote]

Yes.... it might just be an easy audition set and if so, ok...alarm bells would be rininging if that wasn't the case tho..

[KevB]

Looks like I might be testing the theory. Since this thread started I've been in contact with a band who don't play the sort of stuff I'd naturally gravitate toward and they are all much younger than me. Not been in a band for a year now so about time I got back into it, will be interesting to see how it pans out. They might just bin me after an audition of course but I'll see what happens, first meet scheduled for Jan 26th.

[KevB]

[quote name='4-string-thing' timestamp='1357670742' post='1926448']
Hmmm... I didn't mention thay they are part of a 9 piece Lynyrd Skynyrd tribute band, who don't get many gigs
[/quote]

I suppose that might be this one then?
[url="http://www.ayntskynyrd.com/"]http://www.ayntskynyrd.com/[/url]
I'm amazed a 9 piece tribute is financially viable, maybe this is why some of them are looking to gig in a more manageable set up?

[Roland Rock]

[quote name='KevB' timestamp='1357752105' post='1927872']
Looks like I might be testing the theory. Since this thread started I've been in contact with a band who don't play the sort of stuff I'd naturally gravitate toward and they are all much younger than me. Not been in a band for a year now so about time I got back into it, will be interesting to see how it pans out. They might just bin me after an audition of course but I'll see what happens, first meet scheduled for Jan 26th.
[/quote]

Good luck with that Kev.


I was in a 'classic rock covers' band a few years back, and didn't like all of the songs (e.g. I liked Won't get Fooled Again, Rocket Man and Dear Prudence, but not China Row or How Long)
I had to weigh up the pros and cons, and in the end told myself that if I ever found myself reluctantly going to rehearsals and gigs, time to quit. Luckily the things stayed enjoyable, but there were some "I'm not playing that cheesy Billy Joel song" moments along the way :-)