Should I stay, or should I go?

Hey all,

I need some advice from some of you more seasoned musicians.

First, let me say that I am a novice drummer. I have a good quality Gretsch Catalina Maple kit, I'm taking lessons to learn the things that I may not know that I need to know to become better. I'm making progress too and it's fun and rewarding.

Recently, I posted an add on CL looking for guys to play music with. I did get a few answers and hooked up with a guy here in the town where I live. He has a name for a band, Sudden Verge, several social network sites for the band with music posted, and some guy from little rock producing the music. I use the term producing lightly here...

Anyways, We met up and jammed for a bit and seemed to get along great and he said he wanted me to join the band. That was about six weeks ago and we haven't played since. He has written and posted several songs since then. And, apparently doesn't think we need a bass player except for when we play live. I objected to that and he apparently got a bass player. Yesterday, after mentioning my concerns about not playing with a bass player and copying drum tracks that he created he asked me if I wanted to continue with him and that he would send me guitar tracks to write the drums parts to.

Like I said, I'm a novice musician, but something just doesn't sit right with me in writing drum beats to a guitar track without collaborating/playing with a bass player. Ya know, the whole rhythm section thing?

Am I over thinking this or what? He is waiting for my response and I don't want to make an uneducated or rash decision on the matter because there aren't too many people around to play music with.

Also, here's a link to the Sudden Verge Reverb page: http://www.reverbnation.com/suddenverge

Anyways, Any advice would be appreciated and right now I think I am going to tell him Heck yeah I'm still in but want to play with the bass player when I write the drum tracks.

Darlin' you got to let me know....Should I stay or should I go?

It doesn't feel right to you. That's good enough reason. I want/need a bass player too. I wouldn't play in a band with no bass player, but many would. It's all your choice, no one is making you do this. When you get with the right guys, you know it. CL.....you usually have to screen a lot of people before you find a good fit. This doesn't sound like a good fit for you based on your reservations. By the same token, I wouldn't want you to walk away from a potentially good situation. It's really comes down to how you feel about the whole thing. Trust your feelings. No is a great word sometimes.

My standard advise is get yourself out to the open mic jams. That's where you'll find the ones who are seriously looking to network.

da da da da da da

An old band used to cover that one. Have a dire live recording lurking somewhere on my hard drive.

Anyway ... I'm thinking opposite to Larry. You've only just started and already playing music with people. You're ahead of the curve, why not enjoy it for what it is?

I prefer having a bassist but plenty of good music has been made without a bass player, eg: The Black Keys http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AVd5RVukcs. I'd stick and see where things go - it's all good experience at this stage.

If you decide to stay and he sends you the guitar parts, if he hasn't fully filled the bottom end you may need to compensate for the lack of basslines with simple, strong, clear bass drum patterns, preferably without much muffling, if any. That's how I've seen drummers in guitar duos play it, anyway.

I think it's important for you to jam and be creative and form your own musical personality.

But you're in a band, and clearly you're in one with a person that doesn't respect that you might want a say in things... I've been there too. It won't last but just do it for the experience.

And I think you should get the bass players number and just play with him.

Dre25 said:

And I think you should get the bass players number and just play with him.

Click to expand...

Yeah, I think that's what I'm gonna do. I will feel more comfortable writing that way.

This dude lives only blocks from me and I just can't think of any good reasons why we haven't rehearsed. Even without a bass player.

There's things going on and we could have had a few of the songs gig ready by now and he's complaining that we're missing opportunities.

Anyways, for now, I'm gonna be the guy in the back, enjoy having someone to play with and see where it goes..

Anon La Ply said:

I prefer having a bassist but plenty of good music has been made without a bass player, eg: The Black Keys http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AVd5RVukcs. I'd stick and see where things go - it's all good experience at this stage.

Click to expand...

Danger Mouse actually plays a Hohner bass 3 on that whole record

this might be a better Black Keys example from when they were still raw and was literally just Dan and Patrick on the whole record .... the first record

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shM3Nm-wRrs

Thanks Anthony. Slapdash effort from me, alas.

Having been around the block a time or two, I'd be comfortable playing in a Black Key's type situation. It'd be fun.

It seems odd to me that you haven't gotten together in person in 6 weeks, but he wants you to be in "the band". ?
It's odd, but, unless you have something better taking up your time, why not see where it leads--as long as it's not wasting your time.

The thing I would question is playing drums on tracks and not getting compensated in some way, such as paying gigs, or some credit/exposure etc...
Not that you're getting gypped out of a bunch of dough, but, I wouldn't just play on "some guy's" tracks so he can post it and say he has "a band".

If that's not the case, and you aren't getting screwed somehow, I'd see where it goes for now.
Play what you want, or makes sense to you, and let a bass player worry about what they are going to do when the time comes.

I don't know... But if you stay, you may have some minor drama on your hands when he, or someone else, Google the band and find this thread

Maybe, but I don't think I said anything negative towards anyone so if they were to get mad at me for asking advice from other drummers, then oh well.

And I've made the same statements to them. It's just weird to me since we only live 1.4 miles apart.

Follow your gut instinct.

I like to work on things in my own time, but I also think music evolves over time from playing it together every week or every fortnight with the rest of the band. Doing it all separately doesn't seem a particularly organic way of doing things to me, but it has to be up to you.

As for the bass player issue; I always feel like something is missing if there is no bass player and find it harder to "get into the groove" and develop the feel of the song. I almost feel a bit.. naked.. Not right now, I mean when there's no bass player.. Nobody to bounce off. Metaphorically speaking. Not when naked.

I'll get my coat.

Right on guys. Thanks for the advice. I'm sticking with the guy. I just don't want to sit around twiddlin my sticks. I need to play!

I did an audition once, to make a duo into a trio. The two guys were very effusive, said they loved my playing and then subsequently called me and told me I had the gig, and that they would be in touch in a couple of weeks to make arrangements to rehearse. They never called.

I've been waiting for the call for 15 years....

you just need to be more persistent with this guy. Some guys just sit around, and wait for people to contact them, or set things up, and get the ball rolling. If nobody calls them, or does anything, they will simply just sit there and do nothing. I know a few people like that, so it must be quite common. I've always been the one that wanted to play more than most people, so I would typically have to be the nagger to get people together, and practice, or get gigs (somebody has to do it). I've been lucky with my recent couple of bands, in they have real go-getter band leaders that do all the work, and I can just sit back and let them do all the hassling. If this guy is the first type, than you're gonna have to do a lot of pushing to get things rolling. Sometimes all it takes is a phone call, and you'll have something set up. If this guy is good, and you think it would be a cool situation, then start calling him/emailing until you get something concrete set up- he's probably just sitting around waiting for that. If your persistence doesn't pay off after a while, then you know you have a hopeless slacker situation. Playing is but a portion of being a musician. A big part of it is dealing with the flakes, slackers, lazes, etc., along with everyone's idiosyncrasies, schedules, etc.

Join as many bands as you can afford to money and time wise, so stick with this project but join other project. I play in two bands at the moment and I am looking for a third band. Stay busy and keep learning.

Learn about law in your area/country and put out the money to consult a lawyer.

Contract and file.

Keep good books.

Protect what you do.