Point of View - Behavior of Band Members at Gig

RodneyZepa

Senior Member
I played a gig last nite with band I've been with for past 6 months or so...Not sure if any bearing here, but, I'm 54 years old, Bass player / Vocals - 38, Lead Guitar - 24, Rhythm Guitar / Vocal 25...We get along pretty good and age doesn't seem to be of consequence...Anyways, Last nite, our Rhytym / Vocals member started evening off with his own acoustic set of 3 numbers...I have mixed feelings about this as I think if we're a band, we should play together...We finished our 1st set and ready to take break when audience member requests song and Rhthym / Vocals says "Yeah, Okay...One more and then take break"...Bass Player and myself said "No...After break" which was all good...Then during break, not even 2 minutes into it, Rhytym / Vocals gets up on stage and starts doing his "Heavy" guitar thing...Psychedelia...So, not at lowest of volumes...Then, Bass Player gets up there too and starts playing my kit...He is not a Drummer...Can keep time, sort off...In your opinion...Is this unprofessional and attention seeking or is this acceptable in "This day and age".?.Gig was at a bar with about 50 people..Some patrons didn't seem to mind and others weren't impressed...Caught me off guard as I'd never experienced this back in the day (70's)...What you people think.?.
 
To me it's not a matter of being "unprofessional" so much as just stupid. I would not really want to see members of the band climbing on stage and just puttering around doing nothing specific. Just doesn't represent the band well.
 
Seems pretty lame, the majority of people at bars are their to drink, dance, & get laid.
That kind of thing might go over well at show where people come to listen to a group who plays it own music in the rock or art/scene clubs. but if you are the bars paid entertainment then tell these guys to stfu.

I play in an original group and one of the guitarists always wants to do some kind of Jimmy Page's Black Mountain Side ripoff as a song at our shows, and I always shoot him down. I think playing one of our actual songs would be better than some ego driven solo spotlight.
 
I'd call it unprofessional......leave the mucking around for the rehearsal room. In most of the bands I played in, it didn't matter if there were 2, 20, 200 or 2,000 in the room....showtime was showtime. Even tuning was done discreetly for the most part and sound/line checks done as early as possible.

Plenty of other ways to have fun at a gig that involve the whole band.....AND the most important people of all......those who've paid good money to see you. If they wanna swap instruments, then all do it and make it part of the fun......but the way it was presented at your gig.......I'd be unhappy too.
 
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I think it would appear unprofessional as a punter. I mean, if you are trying to appear as a tight band, then it's not what I'd think should happen.

It sounds like it would fit more in with a jam night, not a paid pub gig.

that in mind, my band occasionally gets people up for a song or two, but it is planned weeks in advance, songs worked out and every one expects it.

all the best with handling this situation. The age isn't a problem but what I think you may need to sort out is finding people who are on the same page with you with regards to this issue.
 
The rub is that if you express your differing opinions...you are the heavy. Best left discussed at a rehearsal. If there is a real rift in attitudes, you have to weigh how much good there is as opposed to how much bad. Then decide if you want a different situation.

Myself I think it's not the best way to use the stage, but some people have different attitudes, like, Aw cmon, it's all for fun anyway....There has to be more good than bad in anything in order to hang around, so it depends on what your limits are.
 
That sounds pretty unprofessional. I wouldn't let any of my band members play my drums unless there was a reason for it. I don't think it's an age difference, I'm 29, and I know I felt the same way about this type of "wanking" when I was even younger.

the acoustic solo stuff is fine i've seen many groups do that, mainly to have some soft dinner/happy hour music before the show starts.
 
Very unprofessional.

Sure, some bands let people sit in, or whatever, but that's usually agreed ahead of time that such things will be allowed, or gig is advertised as a "jam night featuring...."
 
It looks like ego city from where I'm sitting, with them hoping to impress everyone with their dazzling versatility. Ideally, they should have checked with the rest of the band and the bassist certainly should have asked if he could use the drums.

Aside from the arrogance, they were gambling that their spontaneous carry-on would work well enough not to sound totally lame as compared with the band proper. I can imagine a brief bit of clowning around being fun for a certain kind of audience, with the emphasis on brief.

I'd be inclined to quietly scan the "Drummers wanted" ads because that pair look like they are a team and have more regard for each other than the rest of the band, and the the guitarist definitely has more regard for himself. Maybe it's worth getting in first before they split to do their own thing?
 
I agree: very unprofessional. Your rhythm / vocals guy seems like an attention whore.
People don't touch my drums (or someone else's drums when I am playing them) during a gig without permission. I am 23, so no, it's not an age thing.
 
That's the annoying thing, some musicians tend to be like that, going by the phrase 'uh, it's just fun uh' - funny enough, I've rarely seen drummers do that, but that might be my prejudice :) The sax player of one of my bands used to do similar weird stuff at gigs, focusing more on acting out than playing her part. That annoyed the hell out of everyone else in the band.

On the other hand, I think it can be okay for a singer/guitarist to play some songs 'alone', but only if the rest of the band agrees and the music forms part of the entire set - not just satisfying someone's ego.
 
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