Band Updates & Issues

[Bluewine]

Please share any specific band updates and issues you're dealing with. We all deal with similar issues. This might be good thread to share issues and solutions  

 

Daryl

Edited Monday at 21:30 by Bluewine

[Lozz196]

Good idea Daryl, 2025 has been quite varied for me:

 

The Spacewasters (my gigging band) - we released our 2nd album, The Seven Legged Groove Machine, our principle guitarist & songwriter left, luckily got in a good replacement, and due to gigs just taking their toll on me I’ve now left. Am happy to help out when needed, and already have one gig scheduled for next year.

 

Knock Off (my old band) - they asked me to help out for a few gigs earlier in the year as they’d parted with their bassist, so ended up playing 3 gigs, supporting, in order, Cocksparrer, GBH, and Therapy? Was nice to go back for a bit, and the first & last gigs were big venues to big crowds, the second being a sold out rammed to the rafters smaller (and much sweatier) gig. As with The Spacewasters will be happy to stand in if needed.

 

Lastly, Thunderkunt (non gigging band) - we got a singer! One who can do Led Zep, Rainbow (Dio era) Kansas, Whitesnake, Deep Purple etc. Still not going to gig but it’s a nice variation, we’ve been playing these songs instrumentally for years, vocals making us now focus on the songs in a different way. He’s a good laugh too.

 

Fortunately no issues other than having to stop regular gigging, but that’s a “me” thing rather than a band thing.

[Russ]

It's been an interesting year. Productive in terms of songwriting and recording. Got four new tracks down and ready to release (we've put two out already). Looking into making a video for one of them. We haven't gigged this year though, although we have one lined up in January. 

 

There's been various health issues in the band (drummer injured himself more than once, guitarist diagnosed with (benign) tumour in his intestine and has been receiving treatment) so that's meant having to take a few months of the year off. Hopefully 2026 will be a bit more productive, both in terms of gigging and getting some new material out there.

 

In terms of personal music goals, I'm taking some time to learn how to do some fully-fledged composition and scoring stuff, kinda inspired by the fact that Hans Zimmer is a self-taught composer who has risen to the top of his profession. Early days, but it's fun. I've also been working a bit on my acoustic guitar playing and songwriting, although I've just got rid of two of my acoustic instruments - my employment with a well-known acoustic guitar manufacturer recently came to an end as a result of the f**king tariffs and them having to downsize significantly, and I'm a bit bitter about it - ended up removing any trace of them from my house, including the two instruments I got at employee prices, and even down to T-shirts and picks. So I've gone back to my nice old Lag and Ovation acoustics. 

 

My hopes for 2026 are relatively high, but I'm cautious.

[Bluewine]

Our drummer has turned down seven good 2026 gigs in a row. We don't know why. BL called me for input on how we move forward.

 

There's no easy answer, he was great with backing vocals and a great

" pocket" drummer.. I guess he didn't like playing with us.

 

We have two dep drummers to cover all the bookings.

 

I know that finding a full time permanent replacement would be too much of a challenge.  I suggest we find another dep drummer we can put in rotation. 

 

I know a guy that I think would be good, but I don't really know him. I think he does a lot of depping. We can offer good gigs with good pay.

 

I'm afraid to reach out to him. I keep thinking, what if we bring him in and he turns out to be a " flake ". That would be on me.

 

Daryl

[Bluewine]

6 hours ago, Russ said:

ISo I've gone back to my nice old Lag and Ovation acoustics. 

 

My hopes for 2026 are relatively high, but I'm cautious.

 

I like those Ovation acoustics. 

 

Daryl

[Downunderwonder]

The band was out of commission. I gave my resignation but the guitar player who was to take over guitar duties so the guitarist could play bass no showed the afternoon of the big restart in fancy expensive rehearsal space. 

 

As the band can't function without bass I agreed to bring my gear as well as the charts.

 

I enjoyed it so much I rescinded my resignation. The guitar player was only the reluctant bassist so new guitar boy misses out and I kept the charts.

[Steve Browning]

3 hours ago, Bluewine said:

I'm afraid to reach out to him. I keep thinking, what if we bring him in and he turns out to be a " flake ". That would be on me.

 

It's always a potential issue. I recommended a drummer for the last UK tour of Greg Douglass, the Steve Miller guitarist. The day before the tour started, he confessed he couldn't play one of the drum parts. 

 

We got through it, but I felt terrible that his last trip here was not what it should have been. 

 

 

[Franticsmurf]

This year has seen me get a few good depping roles in decent local bands. They've been on personal recommendations, too, which makes me feel great. Working with new musicians and learning new songs that I would never have looked at otherwise has given my musical self confidence a boost. If I'm honest it's also renewed my enthusiasm for playing in general, which was sagging a little. An added extra is that with the dep roles I've gone back to using backline and I've managed to get a consistent sound that I'm really happy with, and that the bands have complimented me on (as if I designed the TE cabs and Ampeg SCRDI that I'm using to get it 😂). While DI into the desk for my main band makes sense (there are 13 of us and we usually play large venues), I am enjoying the thump directly behind me. 

[Bluewine]

7 hours ago, Franticsmurf said:

This year has seen me get a few good depping roles in decent local bands. They've been on personal recommendations, too, which makes me feel great. Working with new musicians and learning new songs that I would never have looked at otherwise has given my musical self confidence a boost. If I'm honest it's also renewed my enthusiasm for playing in general, which was sagging a little. An added extra is that with the dep roles I've gone back to using backline and I've managed to get a consistent sound that I'm really happy with, and that the bands have complimented me on (as if I designed the TE cabs and Ampeg SCRDI that I'm using to get it 😂). While DI into the desk for my main band makes sense (there are 13 of us and we usually play large venues), I am enjoying the thump directly behind me. 

 

Our band is pretty well known locally and I think people know who I am.  I never get any calls to play with other bands. You're very lucky.

 

Daryl2

[Franticsmurf]

29 minutes ago, Bluewine said:

Our band is pretty well known locally and I think people know who I am.  I never get any calls to play with other bands.

I got the gigs through a mate I'd played with in the past. One was a band he had also depped with, and he recommended me. The other was with his current band. Initially they weren't based on my reputation or my visibility as most of my gigs with my main band over the last few years have been private functions. It's all about contacts. 

[mikegatward]

My year began with our singer and lead guitarist both announcing they were leaving. The year ends with new folk now well bedded in and the 2 leavers are willing to dip from time to time. Even better is the healthy gig diary for 2026. 

 

The old singer has started a new trio project with myself and the bands drummer on guitar so I'm looking forward to progressing that.

 

And a patient teacher has turned me from someone who couldn't play drums into someone who can play them badly.

 

A good year

[tauzero]

No changes through the year with my main band - had a reasonable number of gigs, no conflicts in the band, bringing new numbers in a little slowly as our singer also performs in shows so we can be a bit limited for rehearsals during show runs and show rehearsals. We were chatting after a recent rehearsal and the singer and the drummer both said they were happier than with any previous band (and had stayed for longer). It's the guitarist's first band, but he's happy, and I'm as happy as I've been with any previous band.

 

I went to a new (to me) open mic and when there got invited to be house bassist at another open mic, an opportunity that I jumped at. That then led to the open mic organiser asking me to dep for his band as their bassist couldn't make a gig, which then extended to the next gig, and a couple of further gigs, and then being asked to join the band on a permanent bassist, which I accepted.

 

I joined an originals trio - however, the drummer dropped out after he became she (not anything to do with we other two, she just had a lot going on and don't think she could cope with the extra stress). Then the BL went on holiday with his boyfriend (that he was living with), and when he came back he let me know he'd split up with the boyfriend and was moving to Leamington from Coventry. He still wants to carry on with the trio when we can recruit another drummer, but at the moment communication is a bit erratic.

 

So current status is permanent bassist with two covers bands, indeterminate status with an originals band, house bassist for two open mic nights (well, three, but last Wednesday was probably the last one for one venue). I've been asked to play with a couple of other people on an ad hoc basis, stemming from the open mic nights, which is nice.

[NancyJohnson]

Well, 2025 has been tumbleweed for me and to be brutally honest, I haven't missed the band-centric activity.

 

Had another hand operation last week (success already); this has been hindering things.  Pencilled in for a studio session in January.  On the up.

[Burns-bass]

I have to stop playing too much. The Bluegrasss band has two booking agents and we’ve got 60 dates in the book, including 4 European trips.

 

As a result, I’ve canned all other projects (aside from a Blue Note jazz band) as it’s not fair on the family.

[Sean]

This year has been really busy for me with bands.

 

I started the year in a 3-piece rock band that we'd been doing for a few years. Originals, obscure covers, mainly desert rock style. Only a few gigs a year at small venues.

 

I'd recently early semi-retired and was looking for something else in addition. 

 

I was contacted through FB and ended up joining a busy established (15 years) classic rock covers band and learned the 30 songs and went out gigging regularly. It was good to get back into that regular routine however there were issues that I've covered in detail on other threads and I wasn't 100% happy.

 

Then in September, the band announced it was going to split in December, so I started looking around. I auditioned for a busy, long-established Bristol-based cover band and got it.

 

I'm currently learning a 40 song list. The new-to-me band has a great vibe, a very interesting crowd-pleasing set and is a real team effort. I got to see the last show with the outgoing bassist and chatted to him at length, which was really useful. 

 

I think I've learned around 80 songs this year in total, I've also managed to focus on improving my technique, my reading, my ears and my theory all in parallel with learning the sets and working on my sound and getting back into doing backing vocals. 

 

I'm up to around 30 hours a week of focus and am enjoying it more than ever. Not having to be part of the corporate machine anymore helps a lot. 

 

The band I started the year with split, the band I joined to expand my activity split and now I'm getting ready to rehearse and gig in '26 with a band that so far has been very positive. 

 

The overall effect on health and wellbeing has been tangible. 

 

Oh and I got to gig my Hamer 12 singing and playing Cheap Trick covers with a little thrown together band for a one-off.

Edited 5 hours ago by Sean

[Sean]

On 15/12/2025 at 21:20, Bluewine said:

Please share any specific band updates and issues you're dealing with. We all deal with similar issues. This might be good thread to share issues and solutions  

 

Daryl

Daryl, is that ASAT the same as an L2000 but just a different body or is there some unique ASAT-ness to it?

 

[Ed_S]

I started the year just in my one long-term band, but got asked by our lead guitarist to help his other band with a couple of private birthday party appearances while their bassist was on holiday. Over the course of the year, that turned into a couple of 'real' gigs while their bassist was tied up with work, and finally one where they and their bassist had parted ways. I'm now their new bassist. But before that happened, their drummer had also asked me to go and play some covers with another of his bands, meaning I'm finishing the year off in three.

 

The old main band needs a bit of motivation this coming year, though. It suffers from us all having work and lives and other interests, and nobody really leading the charge so literal months can go by and nothing meaningfully progresses. Because the lead guitarist and I are now both in the aforementioned other band, and that band has a definite leader driving it, songs in progress, next album planned and recordings underway, it'd be easy for us to sit back and get a bit 'oh well' about our old faithful and that'd be a real shame. I'll give it a bit of a push in the new year and see if anyone gets enthused.

[TimR]

On 16/12/2025 at 04:03, Bluewine said:

I know a guy that I think would be good, but I don't really know him. I think he does a lot of depping. We can offer good gigs with good pay.

 

I'm afraid to reach out to him. I keep thinking, what if we bring him in and he turns out to be a " flake ". That would be on me.

 

Talk to him and talk to the band. 

 

Your current drummer is already appearing to become a flake. You're not going to lose anything. 

[TimR]

I'm down to 1 band from 3 last year. 

 

I'm not even sure if this band is functional. We played 3 gigs and it was like pulling teeth to get some rehearsals together beforehand. 

 

Drummer, Singer and Guitarist all leading very busy lives. My life is quite busy but I have Monday blocked out for rehearsals. "I can't do Monday this week, can we do Tuesday instead?"...

[steantval]

4 hours ago, TimR said:

I'm down to 1 band from 3 last year. 

 

I'm not even sure if this band is functional. We played 3 gigs and it was like pulling teeth to get some rehearsals together beforehand. 

 

Drummer, Singer and Guitarist all leading very busy lives. My life is quite busy but I have Monday blocked out for rehearsals. "I can't do Monday this week, can we do Tuesday instead?"...

Why do people like your drummer, singer and guitarist bother to be part of bands (very busy lives) there surely has to be a good degree of time commitment to make any band work, especially if you are gigging.