New band, first gig soon, worried!

[2 left thumbs]

"I guess I like the idea of a relaxed attitude, but in practice I'm a control freak who likes things to be as good as possible."
no offense intended 4 string thing but just a thought from experience sometimes control freaks need to be wound up
'So, after a few years of looking, I've finally managed to find a couple of like-minded souls"
"Problem is, the guitarist/singer! He can play well, sings ok but is really casual and amateurish"
ideally you need an amazing guitarist that's a great singer and is an excellent frontman and isn't a complete 2@
yeah good luck then how many more years is it going to take to find one of them
if you want my advice don't listen to any advice on here we don't know you or your singer
make contact with people who he has played with before take their advice they know him
the best way to avoid a train wreck don't get on if you know it's going to crash
if you just think it might crash you'll never get on a train
if you get on get yourself prepared sit at the back and watch the one at the front take the full force

[JTUK]

To me, this is not at all normal, so you either need a system to 'bypass' him having no reasonable song recollection
or you get past this gig and look again.

People forget a line and a few notes.,... but the only way his problem is even remotely excusable is if you are
a dep with little or no prep.
I'd be thinking he has retention and memory issues and this doesn't bode well

[jezzaboy]

There is nothing worse than doing a gig with band members that you are not confident can do the biz.

Been there and baled out sharpish. There is nowhere to hide when you are playing for the public.

[JapanAxe]

[media]http://youtu.be/T2OEd4pLMOI[/media]

[discreet]

[quote name='jezzaboy' timestamp='1432930248' post='2786413']
There is nowhere to hide when you are playing for the public.
[/quote]

+1 Very much so. It's being in the spotlight, the limelight, the headlights and under the microscope all at the same time. Think Eye of Mordor peering through a great a big satanic telescope, staring, staring, staring! Judging, judging, judging!! Gahhhh!!

Is this making you feel any better, 4-string-thing??

Edited May 29, 2015 by discreet

[jezzaboy]

Thats what I meant Discreet but you said it so much better

[SubsonicSimpleton]

If you have access to a video camera and/or portable audio recorder, I would suggest that you record your next rehearsal and insist that you watch/listen back to it together as a band, and follow it up with a discussion of what you need to get sorted before gig day - when you have this discussion I would suggest that you adopt a basic groundrule that each member of the band should limit their initial comments to what they need to improve/sort out with regard to their own performance.

Getting into a situation where someone feels like they are being ganged up on or criticised unfairly isn't likely to have a positive outcome (even if you are just stating fact), or improve that persons motivation, so holding a mirror up to the situation and giving them the opportunity to recognise and take responsibility for their own behavior and turn the situation round would be a better first option IMHO.

[4-string-thing]

I think I'll see how it goes on Sunday, there are will be at least 3 more 3 hour rehearsals before the gig, still time to bale out of it. The guy isn't a total cock, I get on ok with him but he does have memory issues (he's admitted that) and while I'm no Jack Bruce, I'd like to think my playing is pretty solid and my standards are quite high. If it doesn't go well, I'll be having a quiet word and maybe get together without the drummer for some extra time spent working out where things are going wrong.

I think 2 left thumbs has summed it up really, while some claim guitar/vocalists are 10 a penny, in reality they're not! It's taken me over 2 years to find these guys, so I am reluctant to walk.

[Norris]

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1432928747' post='2786389']
I'd be thinking he has retention and memory issues and this doesn't bode well
[/quote]

(Big assumption being made here) Get him to lay off the weed for a few weeks

[sarah thomas]

Sounds like progress! If he's big enough to admit to having memory problems and willing to work with you to find out where things are going wrong, then you could still have a band. And friends. One of our band members is deaf in one ear and registered blind. It takes some working round but is doable. It's also valuable in that we're closer and tighter for having greater awareness of each other's idiosyncrasies.

[JTUK]

[quote name='Norris' timestamp='1432995508' post='2786896']
(Big assumption being made here) Get him to lay off the weed for a few weeks
[/quote]

Maybe, but I don't really care or rather, not so much my concern. The guy can either cut it within the confines of the band or we get someone else
in. I'm all for being supportive, but there are limits and not being up to a required brief is one of them.
If you can live with those confines, then fine..you have a way ahead, if you can't, then something will break.

[Norris]

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1433004463' post='2786995']
Maybe, but I don't really care or rather, not so much my concern. The guy can either cut it within the confines of the band or we get someone else
in. I'm all for being supportive, but there are limits and not being up to a required brief is one of them.
If you can live with those confines, then fine..you have a way ahead, if you can't, then something will break.
[/quote]

That's it in a nutshell really. Either you commit to the band and do what is necessary - and that means proper practise at home, or you don't put yourself out there

[jonnythenotes]

Any band who suffers a loose cannon as part of the band, is asking for trouble..... It's ok playing in front of a few mates, or a very partisan crowd, what's the worst that can happen if it goes a bit sideways...? everyone has a laugh about it, and you might not get a return gig... No big deal really.. Now attatch a contract to a gig, or play at a wedding, or maybe a corporate event. Pull off a few stunts like being drunk, bad language, being un unprofessional, and you really are in big trouble.. Muck up a wedding or a 40th birthday party, not only will you get sued for ruining a day that only happens once in a lifetime,, but there is a chance you might get a good pasting for your trouble....I have seen it happen. With unreliable or suspect band members, don't even think about planning ahead,as a future does not exist for you, or if it does, it will be very short lived.... unless your happy in front of your mates and in your own back yard..

[paul_5]

[quote name='4-string-thing' timestamp='1432987942' post='2786800']
I think I'll see how it goes on Sunday, there are will be at least 3 more 3 hour rehearsals before the gig, still time to bale out of it.
[/quote]

9 hours rehearsing 8 covers. I'd have walked already!

Seriously though, it might just be a sad occurrence that he's incapable of remembering stuff, nobody's fault, but I'd keep the band as a 'hobby' if thou feel that you owe them something, but if I were in your situation I'd never gig that lineup. Might be worth hanging on to see if you get a second guitatisr/singer into the fold, then slowly jettison the dead wood.

Maybe one day he'll forget that he's in a band - problem solved .

[discreet]

[quote name='paul_5' timestamp='1433014939' post='2787121']
Maybe one day he'll forget that he's in a band - problem solved .
[/quote]

What problem?

[paul_5]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1433015199' post='2787129']
What problem?
[/quote]

Touché, sir.

[lowlandtrees]

Looks like a short lived band but what you will get is gig experience and contact/network with other musicians. A couple of these will really be like-minded. Just been in a short lived band myself. We lasted one gig. We were in fact really good but control freakery go hold. The result was broken long term friendships, busted egos and very awkward moments...... and a future of working out how we are going to avoid each other in a small town.
I would take 2 or 3 songs and batter them to death. Open with one and close with the other. That is often what people remember

[MoonBassAlpha]

Don't forget to video the gig so the collective wisdom of Basschat can "help" you going forward

[4-string-thing]

To be fair, this is a new venture, only a few rehearsals old and after just a couple of weeks the guy says "we can do the street fair gig in June if we want" My initial reaction was to see how things went over the next few weeks. Problem is, we have tried songs out, dropped them, tried new songs etc (as most bands do I guess) But we've left it til 3 weeks before the gig to actually pick a set and I don't think that we'll (he'll) be ready. I'm not saying the band won't ever be good enough, just not in time for this particular gig.

If we were just doing it for a laugh, then fair enough his attitude would be ok. Trouble is, I haven't spent years learning to play and thousands of pounds on quality gear to play for a laugh....

[JapanAxe]

[quote name='4-string-thing' timestamp='1433071901' post='2787479']
I haven't spent years learning to play and thousands of pounds on quality gear to play for a laugh....
[/quote]

There's the rub!

[discreet]

[quote name='4-string-thing' timestamp='1433071901' post='2787479']
I haven't spent years learning to play and thousands of pounds on quality gear to play for a laugh....
[/quote]

It's a fair point... I'd say the same only I do play for a laugh. But I wouldn't be laughing much if someone was under par. I need everything to be as good as it can be before I'm amused by it.

[JTUK]

But some people do spends hours and thousands for a laugh, so you need to be on the same page.

For me... the music is the start, if that doesn't work, then it goes no further.

And...sometimes the best players wont be the best band..altho they might think they are...
it is the chemistry that is the key..the rest is just notes and everyone can play them...with various degrees
of success, of course.

[4-string-thing]

Don't get me wrong, I don't do it for money (just as well, I'd have starved by now) but I find gigs a big enough chore as it is without it being a disaster because someone isn't up to it...

[4-string-thing]

That didn't come across as intended, I like gigs when it all goes well, ie, we play well, it's well attended, people love and adore us etc. I got jaded a while back, in a band where I seemed to be the only one putting any effort in.... Getting gigs, doing websites, running the P.A, loading it into the van alone, arriving 2 hours early, unloading it on my own, unloading it at home alone at 1am etc.... Gigs seemed a lot more trouble than they were worth in those days and it put me off a bit. I then joined a band whose basic ethos seemed to be to play as loud as possible and ruin everyones hearing! Again, gigs were just painful and unpleasant... You can maybe now see why I don't enjoy gigs that much, couple this to being on display with someone who clearly hasn't made the effort to be professional and it doesn't really bode well....

Edited May 31, 2015 by 4-string-thing

[JTUK]

[quote name='4-string-thing' timestamp='1433075587' post='2787536']
That didn't come across as intended, I like gigs when it all goes well, ie, we play well, it's well attended, people love and adore us etc. I got jaded a while back, in a band where I seemed to be the only one putting any effort in.... Getting gigs, doing websites, running the P.A, loading it into the van alone, arriving 2 hours early, unloading it on my own, unloading it at home alone at 1am etc.... Gigs seemed a lot more trouble than they were worth in those days and it put me off a bit. I then joined a band whose basic ethos seemed to be to play as loud as possible and ruin everyones hearing! Again, gigs were just painful and unpleasant... You can maybe now see why I don't enjoy gigs that much, couple this to being on display with someone who clearly hasn't made the effort to be professional and it doesn't really bode well....
[/quote]

Totally get this... if you are going to do it, do it properly...otherwise it doesn't earn enough.
If a gig is going to be a day's work, then it needs to be a day's money, so being a chore is not an
option. IMO.