Lozz196 Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 12 minutes ago, Jus Lukin said: A good point- working with what you've got is a good way to go. A bit of pressure can really help too- perhaps once you have your guys together, lay out the full set and book a gig. Then you have a deadline, an incentive, and a clear route to them. "OK guys, 25 songs, six weeks, six rehearsals, then we get £50 each for our first gig at the Dog And Duck- start inviting your mates now!" Instantly goes from an indeterminate period of seeing how things pan out to 'This is what we've committed to- don't feck it up!' The work rate will likely ramp up pretty well. I like this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Blank Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 (edited) 9 hours ago, dmccombe7 said: Lot of variable but i have a max limit 1 year and if not gigging by then its time to move on. I would expect to be gigging within 6mths with most bands thO I’d say this is bang on as a rule of thumb. Edited January 16, 2018 by Frank Blank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bartelby Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 (edited) I joined an originals band 4 days before a gig, with only a cd walkman and an unplugged bass to learn the songs on. We were having loads of work done to the house so were living at the in-laws. I had to climb a wobbly ladder to grab a bass from the spare bedroom, no way of getting an amp and cab down. The one practice we had was the soundcheck, and it was the first gig in 10 years I'd played. Nervous? Hell yeah, I was pooping myself until the end of the first song. Edited January 16, 2018 by bartelby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat Burrito Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 If your band has at least one member with drive and determination, things tend to happen quickly. Otherwise it can run the risk of quickly becoming a talk shop and never really getting off the ground. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost_Bass Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 There's no right or wrong way to do this, it will depend of every singular individual/musician. I would say you can try to have some control over the end resilt of a new band if you follow some pointers: - Look for musicians from splitting gigging bands - if they're not the ones that caused their band to split they'll be more willing to find a new band and keep giging; - Be frontal and honest from the get go - tell them about what you expect from them, how many rehearsalls a week, rehearsall time, number of completed songs expected at the end of each rehearsall, expected date to start giging, and let them know everybody is doing their own job so it's expected that they must take their songs learnes to every rehearsall - a serious giging musician with experience and will to be in your band won't have any problems with this, a guy that looks worried about the hard work or comes up with excuses right in the start will have more probability to fail the band when the work starts; - Schedule gigs as fast as you can - nothing like having a deadline to make thigs going and get people working, they'll know that the work has a goal and you'll push yourselfs to get the set up and running faster (do this only if you're happy with the results of the previus points or else you may have to cancel the booking because of a faulty musician); - Have fun with your new friends - all bands i've been with became like a second family and i have great friends for life, having a band that knows how to enjoy each others company (not just through music but all the rest, from the roadtrips to some healthy banter to some pints over a great conversation) is half way to have people working at home and look forward for the next gig/rehearsall. You can also keep your relationship professional and casual but in that case everybody needs to behave like a professional... My 0.02€ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 10 hours ago, dmccombe7 said: Lot of variable but i have a max limit 1 year and if not gigging by then its time to move on. I would expect to be gigging within 6mths with most bands tho... One year or even six months would be totally unacceptable to me. I did once play in a band that didn't gig for six months because I was led up the garden path 'We'll be gigging soon, we've got gigs for next week, the gig's been cancelled, the gig's been postponed;', etc. etc. They had no intention of gigging and were a rehearsal-only band. They got me to play with them under false pretences and I was not best pleased to say the least. I can't afford to waste months faffing about with idiots and liars who waste my time - we only have a short time left on this planet and I can't be doing with flakes and fantasists!* *Copyright Happy Jack, 2018. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 The last band I was in from the start went from an idea the singer had for a band to our first gig in less than 10 weeks. Two weeks auditioning musicians, and then having settled on a line-up 7-8 weeks to write and rehearse about 25 minutes worth of songs ready for our first support gig. That also included picking the name, an image and designing the band logo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 1 hour ago, Cat Burrito said: ...it can run the risk of quickly becoming a talk shop... Or, given the flakiness of the fantasists involved, a 'bullplop factory'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ivansc Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 It is hard somertimes to sort out the players from the funky timewasters, even when they already have a band together. Pre-requisites for me are that they all have decent equipment and a way to get it to a gig, they have at LEAST one member charismatic and driven enough to "sell" the band onstage and off and that when it comes to playing/rehearsing/workings stuff out all egoes get left at the door. Oh and they all have to actually WANT TO GIG - ASAP, which is often the thing that we all miss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 8 hours ago, musicbassman said: ... So, I turn up on time at the audition, having learnt (or refreshed my memory) of numbers the band say they want to run through for my audition. - Drummer listens to song for first time ever, and starts trying to work out drum parts. - Keyboard player announces he might already be leaving the band because of work pressures (!) - Lengthy argument between drummer and guitarist about someone else's wife, and what she did or didn't do. - Huge sulks from keyboard player when I merely suggest that one of the chords he's playing might not be correct? And these are guys in their 50's, who apparently have been gigging for years in various bands...................a complete waste of time, they're never going to be gigging. Yep, had that experience more than once ... and it wasn't just one chord that was wrong ... IMHO If someone thought my chord/arpeggio was not right I'd like to hear about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 19 hours ago, thebrig said: ... And how long did it take your band to start gigging? It really shouldn't take long but it does depend on how much time is given to it and whether anyone does their homework. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steantval Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 A few things to bear in mind with a new band once you are rehearsed and ready to gig - Venues are usually reluctant to book you as they have never heard of you and they generally give the bulk of their available gigs to established bands they have had before. Timing of when the band is ready to gig is very important i.e. if the band was ready now, not a good time, most venues already have their gigs fully booked for the year. The ideal time for booking gigs is October for the following year, most venues are looking to take bookings around this time. Ideally six months of rehearsing once a week should have a decent cover band ready with 2 x 45 minute sets. Start rehearsing in July and by October you should be reasonably confident the band is working, now is the time to book your gigs for the following year, this will also give you a timeline to work to your first gig. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Bay Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 10 hours ago, Jus Lukin said: A good point- working with what you've got is a good way to go. A bit of pressure can really help too- perhaps once you have your guys together, lay out the full set and book a gig. Then you have a deadline, an incentive, and a clear route to them. "OK guys, 25 songs, six weeks, six rehearsals, then we get £50 each for our first gig at the Dog And Duck- start inviting your mates now!" Instantly goes from an indeterminate period of seeing how things pan out to 'This is what we've committed to- don't feck it up!' The work rate will likely ramp up pretty well. This^^^^^ we rehearse once a week but it can slip due to other pressures, as soon as we a couple of weeks out from a gig we can suddenly manage a couple a week and longer at that. We are still trying to build a bigger setlist (well two actually) and getting some or the more complex stuff from good to spot on which can take time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodinblack Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 In my book if you are not gigging within 3 months max its never going to happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dood Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 Genuinely, the shortest amount of time I've done a new band start up was just 7.5hrs before a headline set. No one in the band had played the songs together before and the guitarist was a jazzer who didn't even know how All Right Now went! - No rehearsal together either lol. The gig was a huge success and months later we formed a band with a different guitarist. There's something very exciting about flying by the seat of your pants. Not for the faint-hearted though. I should just say that between the four of us we'd notched up many, many years of playing. On the flipside, me and a very good friend of mine, a top session drummer, have been trying to do a band together for about ten years lol.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleabag Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 3 months IIRC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaytonaRik Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 Bands run by committee never get anywhere - it needs one individual to call the shots, chose the tracks etc. Rehearsal are rehearsals - turn up prepared with the material learned as agreed or I'll find someone that will. Be realistic - if you can only commit to a weekly.fortnightly rehearsal then say so. It's better to have fewer more productive rehearsals. Have that first gig in place - even if it's a short set or a spot on a multi-band bill. Think that's about it! For the record, Retribution went from a project to a gigging band in 4 months. Also played in a wedding band where the rehearsal was the sound check in the afternoon of the wedding...definitely seat of the pants stuff despite us all being experienced musicians who had learned our own parts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josie Posted January 17, 2018 Share Posted January 17, 2018 I'm beginning to despair of the band I'm in (I don't want to call it "my" band!) We got together early October - I was the last to join of five. They had been talking about gigging before Christmas then changed the plan to January. As of last week the plan is for April. When I pointed out that as a completely new and unknown originals band with no contacts we were NOT going to get booked anywhere, the suggestion was that we book a church hall somewhere and invite our friends. When I pointed out that we would all need to learn - like really seriously learn - at least the 24 songs in our current setlist (mostly originals) in three months, the singer was horrified and the others were dubious. When I pointed out that collectively we were well short of a full backline and some of us would have to buy some gear, she was horrified, and the guy who has put it all together (who has played in gigging bands enough to know better) made vague noises about picking up something cheap second-hand. When I pointed out that, even if we knew the setlist and had the gear, we'd have to get it to the venues somehow (I don't drive, but live near the keyboard player, so we're ok, but the drummer drives a racy little two-seater sports car and can barely get her snare and cymbals into it) they pretty much all put their fingers in their ears, apart from the keyboard player who on the drive home agreed with me that at this rate it's likely never to happen. We're both hanging in for now, but not in great hope. I feel some loyalty, but if I had an offer from an established gigging blues band that would have me, I'd be there quick as a shot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted January 17, 2018 Share Posted January 17, 2018 1 minute ago, josie said: We're both hanging in for now, but not in great hope. Hate to say it, but that situation is like getting a wardrobe up a spiral staircase, it's not going to happen. I'm amazed at how people will blithely ignore simple, practical considerations. Why is it always drummers who don't have proper transport? Why do people happily turn up to a gig with no gear thinking they can use mine? Why will a band accept a 45-minute slot knowing full well they can only play three songs?? Answers on a postcard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted January 17, 2018 Share Posted January 17, 2018 (edited) 25 minutes ago, josie said: ...We're both hanging in for now, but not in great hope... 15 minutes ago, discreet said: ...Why is it always drummers who don't have proper transport? Why do people happily turn up to a gig with no gear thinking they can use mine? Why will a band accept a 45-minute slot knowing full well they can only play three songs??... I'm not sure that I agree here. In 'my' first band (The iniquitous 'Martin Spicer Band'...), we did all of those things, and more. Innocence of youth, probably, and a great big dollop of naivety, but we did our first gigs with home-made, lashed-together gear. I played 'bass' on my Hofner President 6-string, for instance through a Watkins Westminster, and my brother's disto box was a valve reel-to-reel tape recorder, bigger than his Linear amp, all 30 watts of it. No PA at all (PA..? What's that..?). Transport was Martin's Morris Minor. We knew about five songs in all (although one of them was a very rambling version of 'Fat Angel' which could be stretched to ten minutes easily enough...). I fully understand that nowadays, one has standards to maintain, and have a stage presence, with all the correct names on the headstocks and a dress code, but it doesn't have to be so. Just put out whatever is ready to be put out, with whatever can be cobbled together. Hire a van, or minibus, if necessary; there'll not be any money in it, anyway, so make an occasion of it. One doesn't have to be as organised as a Pink Floyd tour for the first gig or two, so I'd say 'Chill..!' and just get out there, whatever. It may be just me, of course. Edited January 17, 2018 by Dad3353 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulWarning Posted January 17, 2018 Share Posted January 17, 2018 best bet is get a gig on a multi band bill, (say you've got loads of mates who will come and see you), that way you don't need much gear only need about 8 songs and you'll have a target if it's about 4 months away, that's what we did anyway, that was 12 years and about 400 gigs ago Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted January 17, 2018 Share Posted January 17, 2018 7 hours ago, josie said: I'm beginning to despair of the band I'm in (I don't want to call it "my" band!) We got together early October - I was the last to join of five. They had been talking about gigging before Christmas then changed the plan to January. As of last week the plan is for April... IMO you are going about this all wrong. Start by getting some support slots at local gigs. Find similar sounding bands on social media, get in touch and ask for a support. For this you only need 25 minute's worth of original songs - no-one will want to listen to a band they have never heard of for longer than that. You'll need a demo to convince the bands you are contacting that you are worth bothering with so find a decent cheap local studio, book a day and get a good version of your best song recorded and mixed. It sounds like you have plenty of songs already written, so pick the best 25 minutes worth (plus one cover) and get practicing. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FinnDave Posted January 17, 2018 Share Posted January 17, 2018 The Wirebirds, blues/rock, about 85% covers first played together end of April 2013, first gig was mid May same year. I recently joined another local band, first rehearsal was a couple weeks after the first gig. Just joined an established band (kind of a tribute band in that they only cover material recorded by one band), rehearsed last Sunday, got two more scheduled and my first gig with them is on April 1st. That's about the longest wait between joining and gigging I could stand, though there is a lot to learn for this band, they do 3-4 hours at a time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted January 17, 2018 Share Posted January 17, 2018 @FinnDave Off topic, just to say 'Nice one...', having just seen your new avatar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FinnDave Posted January 17, 2018 Share Posted January 17, 2018 1 hour ago, Dad3353 said: @FinnDave Off topic, just to say 'Nice one...', having just seen your new avatar. Cheers, I'll PM you about it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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