Other band players who have no motivation to be in your band.

Adam6890

Junior Member
I'm in a band that mainly does covers, we're fairly young in the stages of our band life, like only 8 or so months. Started off well, but now our only guitarist that's decent just has no motivation to turn up, he works everyday of the week and refuses to take any days off. The singer is also lacking the motivation pretty majorly.

It just seems like suddenly the band's died out of nowhere. I'm sure some of you have felt this in your time too. Was there anything you did to overcome it? I don't want to bail on the band all together though because I have nothing else lined up, which is a real shame. I'd love to get in a properly good band that is motivated to jam and play gigs, but with only 2 and a bit years experience, I know that won't be easy. Thanks for any advice you can give me.
 
You can't flog a dead horse my friend.

Commitments change, as you've just seen with your guitarist. He now has a job that he is accountable to and can't drop it at a whim to come and rehearse. Try suggesting practice at nights or weekends (anytime outside of work hours). Or try to rope another guitarist and singer into the fold, that have the time and willingness to put in. If that fails, it's time to bail and move on to greener pastures.

Unfortunately, many a band has "died out of nowhere". I wish I could say this is the only time it will happen to you over your journey, but my experience tells me, that there'll be more to come.

Just keep moving forward mate.

Good luck.
 
Ditto what PFOG said. It sounds to me like the singer has already bailed, and the guitarist at the least has a comittment that takes a priority, so if you move on you aren't really bailing on them.
This isn't the last time you're going to encounter this; it's kinda "business as usual".
Hang in there. You'll find many bands in your travels on this road.
 
I'd agree with you about his job if it were one that was actually a career, but he can just take a day off whenever he wants because he's a casual. There is absolute no dependence on him working regularly. We can't practice at night as 1. our practice space is at the singers house and they have neighbours, and 2. the guitarist works at night as well as the day. And weekends we can't do because he works those as well.

We've tried getting another guitarist in too, but no one fits the bill as well as he does unfortunately.

Do you guys think I should put my name out and try and find another band in my area?
 
I'd agree with you about his job if it were one that was actually a career, but he can just take a day off whenever he wants because he's a casual. There is absolute no dependence on him working regularly.

There certainly is mate....it's called coin!! There comes a time when sponging off mum and dad no longer cuts it. Having a job (casual or full time) entails a commitment that you show up, or you don't get paid.....do a 'no-show' often enough and you'll find the job 'no-shows' you in return.

Look at it this way.....how much money does the band generate for each member? How much money does his job pay him? Get the diff.?


We've tried getting another guitarist in too, but no one fits the bill as well as he does unfortunately.

How many have you tried? How badly do you wanna do this? Guitar is the easiest spot to fill....certainly in this country. They are a dime a dozen. I've always found good keys players a rareity in Oz. Get out there and check guys out....look at the lists on the wall of music stores, music mags etc. Advertise, spread the word.


Do you guys think I should put my name out and try and find another band in my area?

To me it looks like you have little choice. Don't hang your dreams on one band that hasn't even got a solid and dedicated line up.

Most definitely get your name out there. No ones gonna come knocking on your door are they? You've gotta make it happen mate.
 
There certainly is mate....it's called coin!! There comes a time when sponging off mum and dad no longer cuts it. Having a job (casual or full time) entails a commitment that you show up, or you don't get paid.....do a 'no-show' often enough and you'll find the job 'no-shows' you in return.
I see what you're saying, but taking one or two days off a month is hardly letting the company down when you work every day and night of the week. That's not no-showing, it's taking a break, and a justly deserved one at that.

Guitar is the easiest spot to fill....certainly in this country. They are a dime a dozen.
Yeah that's true, but I can't help but feel that the lack of motivation in the singer will eventually lead to it being a waste of time anyway.

To me it looks like you have little choice. Don't hang your dreams on one band that hasn't even got a solid and dedicated line up.

Most definitely get your name out there. No ones gonna come knocking on your door are they? You've gotta make it happen mate.

Thanks for the good advice though man, I think I'll definitely start putting my name up.
 
I see what you're saying, but taking one or two days off a month is hardly letting the company down when you work every day and night of the week. That's not no-showing, it's taking a break, and a justly deserved one at that.

I'll just throw these two back out there again, "Commitments change, as you've just seen with your guitarist" added to, "how much money does the band generate for each member? How much money does his job pay him?"

I love playing....I'm sure he does too, but when you've gotta earn, you've gotta earn. A hobby band doesn't pay the bills mate. Not saying it'll always stay as a hobby band, but for the moment, if you're not getting paid a red cent to be in the band......then it's hard to be poor and stay motivated.
 
Only other thing I'd do is get the whole band together and tell them how you see it but in a nice none accusing way and lay it on the line.
Explain that it's one of thsoe viscious circles and bands get beat into the ground because of people not putting in the effort and when 3 turn for up for a practice and the 4th member isn't there it brings everybody down so the next week the other 3 are why should I bother.
Ask them up front are they all prepared to commit to regular practices for the next 6 months and all turning up or not as if they do you'll have a band that's out there, playing well and gigging which is their reward, if they're not prepared to commit you've got you answer right there!
 
Agree with all comments. When casual workers cancel out it's a black spot. Sometimes one black spot is enough to get you not called back.

Might be time to try out with other bands or form a splinter group with those who can still turn up (and who you think are up to it). You can still play with this one on the rare occasions that they come together.
 
Was there anything you did to overcome it? I don't want to bail on the band all together though because I have nothing else lined up, which is a real shame.
I was in that situation far too many times when I was starting out to not have it suggest that maybe I'm a moron.

But eventually, I figured out that the most important thing in joining a band, and I do this before I play a note or before I hear a note from anyone else, is to make sure that (1) Everyone in the band is on the same page in terms of their short and long term goals with the band, (2) Everyone has the same level of commitment to those goals, and (3) They can actually state the short and long term goals, as well as a tentative gameplan to try to achieve them, in some detail. If they have no idea what their goals are, or don't even have a rough gameplan, I tell them to figure that out and get back to me. It's not worth wasting my time with that situation.

You can still have problems even if you go over the three points above, as folks' goals and priorities can change over time--for example, I had a guy who had been on board freak out in the middle of a tour because he just couldn't stand to be away from his wife any longer. He left the same day he announced this--he just headed for the nearest Greyhound station and took a bus all the way from Oregon back to Florida; he even left his gear with us. So then you're stuck until you find an emergency replacement. (He was newly married, by the way; I always half-joke that the newly married guys have a problem with that, but the guys who have been married much longer have a problem if they're off of the road for too long. ;-)

But if you've sorted out the goals beforehand, you know that at least for the time being, the rest of the band members' goals are the same as yours, and the person who develops different goals can more easily be let go and replaced, since it's clear to everyone that you're no longer interested in the same things, which you made explicit from the start, and so it's in everyone's best interests to part ways at that point.

When I'm joining a band, I care FAR more about the above, and whether personalities mesh, than I care about members' current musical abilities, or even what genre of music we might be talking about. Individual musicians can improve their skills--and if the personalities mesh, you can work with them on that, plus you can write and arrange music with their skills in mind, but if people do not have the same goals in mind, you're going to be dead in the water no matter how good they are. This is just as important if you're interested in giggin at the local bar once every two months, or every weekend, or whatever you're interested in, as if you're trying to do music as a full time career. If folks don't have the same aims, there are going to be problems.

And still in front of individuals' skills and the exact genre, I think it's more imporant to establish more broad-level musical approaches--for example, whether the other folks like to do the songs the same all the time or change them around all the time or something in between. Those are taste and personality issues that are again more important than the exact genre you're going to be playing, in my opinion (although partially because I like all kinds of music), because if there is a strong disagreement on those approach issues, there's going to be regular dissatisfaction with the situation from one or more people.

So what I'd do if I were you is to first talk about these issues with the rest of the band. Say, "I am frustrated in that I do not think we have the same goals--just what are everyone's goals?" and if they're at all similar, "How are we going to reach those goals?" If you guys can't come to any kind of agreement on that stuff, I'd maybe keep jamming with them when they get together for now, just so you're getting the experience of playing with other musicians, but at the same time, look for another situation where people share goals, and once you find that, leave the first band and concentrate on the other.
 
I see what you're saying, but taking one or two days off a month is hardly letting the company down when you work every day and night of the week. That's not no-showing, it's taking a break, and a justly deserved one at that.
It's clear in a situation like that they he just doesn't care about pursuing music, or at least that particular band, so much. It's not important enough to him to manage his schedule around it. If the band is more important to the other members--although again, even with that, make sure that it's important because you're sharing the same short and long term goals--then you need to cut that one guy loose and find someone else.
 
I love playing....I'm sure he does too, but when you've gotta earn, you've gotta earn. A hobby band doesn't pay the bills mate. Not saying it'll always stay as a hobby band, but for the moment, if you're not getting paid a red cent to be in the band......then it's hard to be poor and stay motivated.
Right. Which is why it's important before you even start playing to establish just what the point of it is--is it a hobby band? Are you wanting to just make a few extra bucks playing local bars now and then? Are you trying to make a career out of music? If the latter, is everyone committed enough to it that they're willing to hit the road and drop everything else--even leaving families behind--when opportunities arise?

Then once you figure that out, you have to start planning how you're going to get to whatever the end destination is going to be. That way you don't just end up as a "rehearsal band" (if that wasn't the only aim), where it seems like you're going nowhere. You'll have shorter terms goals, necessary steps figured out to get to your longer term goal, and if you're not progressing at all, then you'll know you need to figure out a different game plan, change your approach a bit, etc. Whatever it is everyone is shooting for, you should be making progressive steps to get there.
 
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