How Hard Can It Be

Witterings

Silver Member
How hard can it be to keep a band together and get people to turn up at practice times having rehearsed the numbers that you all agreed the week before you were going to go through the following week.

I'd be really interested to hear other peoples experiences, I've stayed with a guitarist / vocalist for about 5 years now and we're really the core but we've been through so many other people that have then fallen through or had a change of mind when you're a few weeks of practicing down the line and then it's back to starting all over again.

I really give people a lot of information before they even come round for a trial, where we're based so they can find out what the journey time is, the days / times we practice, how often where and the types of venues we want to gig in, the sort of music we want to do and sometimes more importantly the sort of music we don't want to do and send them a full set list.

4 / 5 weeks later the journey times too far to get there so can we rehearse somewhere else, they now want to drop half the set list and introduce the sort of music you said you really didn't want to do or they no longer want to do any original material which you took great lengths to point out that we do but it would only take up approx 10% of pracatice time and you'd only do a maximum of 2 originals in a set list of 35 songs at any gig. The nights that you practice are now wrong and they can only do every other week as opposed to every week.

Let us know if you've been through similar and any idea's to prevent it happening would be greatly appreciated, I genuinely think me and the guitarist / vocalist are very easy going and welcoming to anybody coming along, we do it for the love of playing and just want to have some fun along the way but really struggle with the constant let downs and going over the same music with different people week after week after week which eventually becomes a chore.

Look forward to hearing any responses !!
 
I feel your pain Mate...
Been there so many times.
 
I used to play in a 12 piece youth jazz ensemble, fortunately we are all pretty reliable but a friend of mine who plays bass in a metal band has that trouble with his band mates all the time, particularly the vocalist, vocalists are shocking for not rocking up and not practising because you can't pick their instrument up.
 
I've had much better experiences with friend networks. With auditioning it's hard to find a good match.

Last time a band of mine auditioned I was on keys and we were auditioning drummers. It was so disheartening I ended up having to go back to drums. It's important to be choosy in the selection process or you end up with hassles.

I brought in a friend to play keys who brought in a bassist friend who in turn added a guitarist friend. The singer and I already had some songs from a previous group but from there I felt it was important to let the newer members choose some songs so they felt some ownership.

In the end, Witterings, you need luck. Hopefully your luck will change.
 
I totally understand your situation! In our band, much like yours, it's me and the bassist that are the core and have been committed and solid for about 3 years now. We have played with soooo many people within the past 3 years! They start out strong and then flake out.
Although it may be frustrating when this happens, I try to keep things into perspective about it. Almost all of the guys that we have played with are very talented people that, I believe, really have the same goals as us at first. They also have families and day jobs that eventually hender their ability to stay consistent within the band. I really can't say that I blame them. With this economy, you really have to have your priorites straight.
I consider myself very lucky in that I have a very supportive family and a good job that allows my evenings to be open.
This past December we found a singer/ guitarist and another guitarist and things have really taken off. We have a few originals along with some covers. These "new guys" can't get enough practice and have really given us a fresh sound that we are all excited about (and, yes, I have had to make comprimises about song choices). It is the most consistent than we have ever been as a full unit but I can't help but think, "Enjoy it while it lasts, because you never know when it will fizzle out."!
Good luck and be patient! It's a matter of finding the right mix of people.
 
How hard can it be to keep a band together and get people to turn up at practice times having rehearsed the numbers that you all agreed the week before you were going to go through the following week.

I'd be really interested to hear other peoples experiences, I've stayed with a guitarist / vocalist for about 5 years now and we're really the core but we've been through so many other people that have then fallen through or had a change of mind when you're a few weeks of practicing down the line and then it's back to starting all over again.

I really give people a lot of information before they even come round for a trial, where we're based so they can find out what the journey time is, the days / times we practice, how often where and the types of venues we want to gig in, the sort of music we want to do and sometimes more importantly the sort of music we don't want to do and send them a full set list.

4 / 5 weeks later the journey times too far to get there so can we rehearse somewhere else, they now want to drop half the set list and introduce the sort of music you said you really didn't want to do or they no longer want to do any original material which you took great lengths to point out that we do but it would only take up approx 10% of pracatice time and you'd only do a maximum of 2 originals in a set list of 35 songs at any gig. The nights that you practice are now wrong and they can only do every other week as opposed to every week.

Let us know if you've been through similar and any idea's to prevent it happening would be greatly appreciated, I genuinely think me and the guitarist / vocalist are very easy going and welcoming to anybody coming along, we do it for the love of playing and just want to have some fun along the way but really struggle with the constant let downs and going over the same music with different people week after week after week which eventually becomes a chore.

Look forward to hearing any responses !!
That about sums it up. It seems there is always something, S.O.S.
 
after much trouble with bands forming, dissolving, members quitting, artistic differences, band drama, etc., i'm slowly coming to realize that it's very, very difficult to create a successful band and keep it together. when you think about it, an awful lot of things need to come together in order for a band to work. everyone has to be easy going, friendly, and personally compatible. preferably no one is a drug addict, a criminal, perpetual drunk or other pathological type. they need to be roughly the same ability level. they need to have similar artistic goals and want to play the same general type of music. everyone has to agree on practice dates, times, and the amount of practice to be done. they need to agree on how ambitious the band is going to be (casual gigging vs. signed to a label and touring). they need to agree how how much money they expect to make from it, if any. so many things have to work, it's like a marriage, except it involves more people.
 
Thank goodness of for that, I was starting to wonder if it was just me and there's safety in numbers :)
dairyairman,
A band in was depping in before xmas one of the guitarists said exactly the same it's like keeping 6 marriages going at the same time and having to keep everyone happy all the same time - - - it's just not going to happen. Isn't it great it great does go well though !!!!!
 
yeah! i've been in a couple bands where everything worked great, for a while at least. it's like magic when everything clicks!

but like i was saying, so many things can go wrong and do go wrong that most of the time we just hang on and try to deal with the issues as best as we can (like a marriage!) if it gets too bad, someone will eventually quit or the band will break up entirely and then it's back to the drawing board. it's frustrating sometimes, but the love of music and playing keeps me going!
 
... vocalists are shocking for not rocking up and not practising because you can't pick their instrument up.
Oh yeah. The vocalist in one of my bands will usually do just one full set with the band and will then sit out or just mess around with funny voices for the rest of rehearsal even though his performance is shaky in a few parts. You know, so he doesn't strain his voice with overpratice and because "it dosen't work that way with vocals".

In the other band there's also some trouble with differing levels of commitment and ambition, but I just take it as a part of the whole experience. I'm not trying to live from music, so I don't let such things ruin my fun.
 
Unfortunately, all of these problems are "normal". It can be very frustrating. You just have to persevere. One of the bands I am in has been just over a year in the making, and we just solidified our line up 3 weeks ago! Even now we are holding our collective breaths, hoping no one has a change of heart. You just have to have the "stick-to-it-iveness" to see it through. Good luck to you.
 
Bands are a lot of fun when people remember that music is for fun. When ego and money get involved, that's when things stop working. All of the bands I have been in have fizzled out, usually in less than a year. Just me and my drums right now. :)
 
Oh yeah. The vocalist in one of my bands will usually do just one full set with the band and will then sit out or just mess around with funny voices for the rest of rehearsal even though his performance is shaky in a few parts. You know, so he doesn't strain his voice with overpratice and because "it dosen't work that way with vocals".

In the other band there's also some trouble with differing levels of commiitment and ambition, but I just take it as a part of the whole experience. I'm not trying to live from music, so I don't let such things ruin my fun.

There is technique to vocals, the same as playing an instrument, any singing coach will tell you that practise certainly does help and that if you're singing correctly and warming your voice up you shouldn't lose it.
 
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Bit of an afterthought, does anyone know other good places to advertise / find muso's in the UK, I go to the local open mic nights, have put cards up in music shop's and advertise on Gumtree and Musofinder all of which can be a bit hit or miss probably partially due to being on the South Coast as opposed to central London.
 
What stlye of music do you play? I'm guessing by your username that you're in and around West Wittering, which isn't a bad location if you think of the proximity of Chi throught to Worthing and Brighton. Are you trying local jam nights?
 
What stlye of music do you play? I'm guessing by your username that you're in and around West Wittering, which isn't a bad location if you think of the proximity of Chi throught to Worthing and Brighton. Are you trying local jam nights?
Bang on the nail, yes in The Witterings and do go to a few of the local jam nights in and around Chichester mainly.
Music we do is anything that we feel may be well received by a typical pub audience from some older ie Kinks, Cockney Rebel, Queen, REM and the likes although recently as we've learnt them have moved much more towards Coldplay, Snow Patrol, Guns N Roses, Maroon 5, Paulo Nutini, Kings of Leon and generally more recent bands.
We tried with a couple of different female vocalists recently which worked really well sharing the lead / backing vocals doing Pink, Meredith Brookes, Sam Brown, Joss Stone, Taylor Swift and Kelly Clarkeson type material with some duets as well. Longer term our ideal line up would be Me, The Rhythm Guitarist / Vocalist, Bass Player, Female vocalist and lead Guitarist but for the time being would be happy just to find a bass player just so we can go out and do some gigs and have a core then pick up the others along the way.
Most recent Bass player, really really nice guy, fitted in well, was unempolyed and trying to find a job locally but as he couldn't has been forced back up to London to work which has knocked mid week practices on the head - - - great shame !!
So whereabouts are you, can't be far away if you know the area reasonably ??
 
It's fricken difficult.

I've pretty much just stopped trying.

Someone always flakes, someone always has a change of heart, someone always finds a reason to leave.
 
It's fricken difficult.

I've pretty much just stopped trying.

Someone always flakes, someone always has a change of heart, someone always finds a reason to leave.

What I find hard though is why is that - if I go and audition with a band I know almost immediately whether I'd want to be with them ie can get on with them etc, as long as they have a set list available and it's the sort of music you want to do and can do their practice times / want to do the same number of gigs then what's the big problem.
I always make all of that information available right from the start so people can decide before even rehearsing with us if that suits or whether it's not their bag which not a problem if it's not !
I'm married with 2 kids so don't want to be out every Friday and Saturday gigging so one a month / every 6 weeks would be good but can do as many mid weeks as we can get and would have thought there are thousands of people like me who want to play for the love of it and have some fun and could commit 2 Hrs a week for practices
Surely you should all have one thing / driving force in common which should work to keep you together and that should be the love of music !
Onwarsd and upwarsd as they say, have posted another 3,000 ads today, see if I can a band up and gigging within the next 2 years :)
 
What I find hard though is why is that - if I go and audition with a band I know almost immediately whether I'd want to be with them ie can get on with them etc, as long as they have a set list available and it's the sort of music you want to do and can do their practice times / want to do the same number of gigs then what's the big problem.
I always make all of that information available right from the start so people can decide before even rehearsing with us if that suits or whether it's not their bag which not a problem if it's not !
I'm married with 2 kids so don't want to be out every Friday and Saturday gigging so one a month / every 6 weeks would be good but can do as many mid weeks as we can get and would have thought there are thousands of people like me who want to play for the love of it and have some fun and could commit 2 Hrs a week for practices
Surely you should all have one thing / driving force in common which should work to keep you together and that should be the love of music !
Onwarsd and upwarsd as they say, have posted another 3,000 ads today, see if I can a band up and gigging within the next 2 years :)

I am in the same boat.

It's an awkward situation. It seems most people who've moved on to family life have given up playing all together, narrowing the field of available musicians. And it's a bit odd to me, because I used to be "that guy" who wanted to only be a band where we rehearsed 3 times a week, gigged often, and didn't want anyone else's commitments standing in the way of the band.

My last band never broke up per se, we just all got so busy with family life and other musical interests, we drifted apart, and as much as I try, I can't force the others to re-commit to the band.
 
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