Fuzrock
Silver Member
I have a big decision to make. I’ve been in my current cover band for a couple of years. We’ve had the same singer, rhythm guitarist, drummer (me) and bass player the whole time. We seem to go through lead guitarists, though. It’s kind of a struggle because it seems like we’re always starting over every time we break in a new guy.
This last time we hit the jackpot as far as talent goes. This lead player is more than just a guitarist that can play solos. He is a lead player that adds all of missing pieces that we never knew we were missing before. The only issue is that our singer doesn’t like him and decided that he is someone he won’t work with.
Bear with me for a minutes here while I try to explain. The first strike was when the new guy, we’ll call him Tom, sent us an e-mail with a list of changes that he would like to make and things he’d like to try. He did so after a lengthy discussion I had with him regarding our band’s lack of success. The others, without realizing I’d had this discussion with him, took offense to the email. Once I explained to everyone where Tom was coming from, they understood and we moved on.
The next strike occurred when we all got together for a meeting. We discussed songs and upcoming gigs. Everything was looking up and then Tom asked us an unusual question. He asked if our wives/girlfriends would tell his girlfriend if he showed up to a gig with another woman. We were all a little surprised by this but our singer completely appalled.
We all came to the conclusion that guys in bands often do this sort of thing, though maybe not so premeditated.
So we rehearsed a few times and did our first show together. It went really well I thought. Then our singer comes up to me freaking out. He said that one of his friends was in the bathroom at the same time Tom was in there. He paid Tom a compliment and Tom brushed it off saying that he doesn’t take compliments very well. Then Tom pointed to another band’s poster which was advertising an upcoming show and said “but those guys suck!” Then he pulled the poster off the wall and threw it in the trash. I wasn’t very happy about this. That’s not how I would behave. I wasn’t there, though. I don’t know how it went down. I had planned to address the situation with him.
Before we could even rehearse again, another thing happened. Our singer, who happens to be gay, booked us at a bar that happens to be gay. This bar usually doesn’t have bands but they wanted us for this outdoor summer bash that they were putting together. Tom replies to the email asking if we usually play gay bars. Our singer replies saying that we never have before and then asked if he had any issues with that. Tom replied to that asking if there were going to any women there and then saying that it doesn’t sound like that much fun playing to a bunch of guys. That’s the point when our singer gave us the ultimatum. It’s either him or me, he told us. So we fired Tom, the best lead guitar player we have had. We’re back to spinning our wheels and getting nowhere fast.
The singer and I have become pretty good friends and I have always been good friends with our rhythm guitarist. My wife gets along with the singer’s boyfriend and the rhythm guitarists girlfriend. We even get together outside of the band for backyard barbeques and stuff like that. That is what makes this next part difficult.
Tom has contacted me about starting a band with him. He has already found a really good singer. They both have great ideas about what it takes to be a successful cover band. I’m thinking very seriously about dropping my current band and starting a new one with theses guys. The musicianship would be head and shoulders above the band I’m currently in. I’m so conflicted right now. Any help would be appreciated. Let me know if I’m leaving anything out. I’ll be happy to fill in the gaps.
This last time we hit the jackpot as far as talent goes. This lead player is more than just a guitarist that can play solos. He is a lead player that adds all of missing pieces that we never knew we were missing before. The only issue is that our singer doesn’t like him and decided that he is someone he won’t work with.
Bear with me for a minutes here while I try to explain. The first strike was when the new guy, we’ll call him Tom, sent us an e-mail with a list of changes that he would like to make and things he’d like to try. He did so after a lengthy discussion I had with him regarding our band’s lack of success. The others, without realizing I’d had this discussion with him, took offense to the email. Once I explained to everyone where Tom was coming from, they understood and we moved on.
The next strike occurred when we all got together for a meeting. We discussed songs and upcoming gigs. Everything was looking up and then Tom asked us an unusual question. He asked if our wives/girlfriends would tell his girlfriend if he showed up to a gig with another woman. We were all a little surprised by this but our singer completely appalled.
We all came to the conclusion that guys in bands often do this sort of thing, though maybe not so premeditated.
So we rehearsed a few times and did our first show together. It went really well I thought. Then our singer comes up to me freaking out. He said that one of his friends was in the bathroom at the same time Tom was in there. He paid Tom a compliment and Tom brushed it off saying that he doesn’t take compliments very well. Then Tom pointed to another band’s poster which was advertising an upcoming show and said “but those guys suck!” Then he pulled the poster off the wall and threw it in the trash. I wasn’t very happy about this. That’s not how I would behave. I wasn’t there, though. I don’t know how it went down. I had planned to address the situation with him.
Before we could even rehearse again, another thing happened. Our singer, who happens to be gay, booked us at a bar that happens to be gay. This bar usually doesn’t have bands but they wanted us for this outdoor summer bash that they were putting together. Tom replies to the email asking if we usually play gay bars. Our singer replies saying that we never have before and then asked if he had any issues with that. Tom replied to that asking if there were going to any women there and then saying that it doesn’t sound like that much fun playing to a bunch of guys. That’s the point when our singer gave us the ultimatum. It’s either him or me, he told us. So we fired Tom, the best lead guitar player we have had. We’re back to spinning our wheels and getting nowhere fast.
The singer and I have become pretty good friends and I have always been good friends with our rhythm guitarist. My wife gets along with the singer’s boyfriend and the rhythm guitarists girlfriend. We even get together outside of the band for backyard barbeques and stuff like that. That is what makes this next part difficult.
Tom has contacted me about starting a band with him. He has already found a really good singer. They both have great ideas about what it takes to be a successful cover band. I’m thinking very seriously about dropping my current band and starting a new one with theses guys. The musicianship would be head and shoulders above the band I’m currently in. I’m so conflicted right now. Any help would be appreciated. Let me know if I’m leaving anything out. I’ll be happy to fill in the gaps.