How long have you been in your working band?

21 with one, 5 with the other

F
 
Main band for about 12 years - only do about 15 gigs a year, but we jam quie a bit. All covers, and our repertoire has shifted over time as there are so many songs we'd want to have a go at.

For those who have been in a band a long time, how much/fast does your repertoire change?

In terms of how the set has evolved, we've built up a list of ~250 songs we've done in public at least once. There's a core of songs we'll almost always play, depending on the setting, but even these have shifted somewhat over time.

Two other bands I play with (one covers, one originals) are on 'indefinite hiatus', to use a well-worn cliché! The originals-band formed in 1995, and they're still three of my closest friends, just not all in the same country (and we can't properly remember how to play the songs we wrote)!
 
4 years.

Our bass player is a cop and his shift work has held us back immensely. I think we could have done really well given the feedback we get generally. We've never been able to take things to a higher levels.

Unfortunately he's a good friend and, despite the challenges (ie. our inability to do so many gigs we are offered), none of us will make the tough decision required.

I guess it's to our credit we put friendship above the band but also think that we're lucky we're hobbyists rather than fully professional musos.
 
Three years. It seems longer in a good way because we've done tons of gigs. All James Brown and associated James Brown, so some JB's tunes and some Bobby Byrd, Maceo Parker and Fred Wesley solo tunes.
 
3 years with Dirty Dice/AJ's Rockabilly Ruckus. I've been a hired gun for a few bands in between which I like a lot.
 
1.5 years.....4 years in a band before that, and 4 years in a band before that.
I envy these people who have been in same band so long, you know everybody's habits and it must work like clockwork.
 
Hi Guys. I've been in my working covers band over four years, only myself and the singer are from the format I joined. Think we have changed members more often than material though!
We have a 70s, an 80s and a party set, which have changed very little over time, as the songs work, which means that we don't have to rehearse much we just gig regularly so it is quite routine and clockwork, this is good though as it mostly means I can relax and just enjoy playing 😊
 
If by "working" you mean a band that makes money then the answer is ... I havnt been in a band that made money in a decade. If by working you mean writing, performing and recording ... then I have been in my current band for 6 years.

During that time we have been through 3 singers, 4 bassists and even tried adding another guitarist at one point. But the guitarist and I have been together under the same band name for 6 years. We still havnt found the exact right singer yet, but living in the middle of nowhere as we do guys who want to play the kind of music we do are hard to come by. Eventually the right guy will come along, but for now we have a great performer who lacks in vocal ability but makes up for it in stage presence.

We are not prolific songwriters, I would say we add a new song to the set about once every 3 months. We are not in a hurry, so we take our time and make sure the song is the best it can be before we call it done and play it to an audience.
 
14 years and counting. The band itself has been together for 35 years and show no signs of slowing down from 85+ gigs a year.
 
The best part is how we all get along and just have fun. That, more than anything, keeps a band together. Cause it sure isn't the songs we've played 200+ times haha

About 3 and a half years for me. We try to get together outside of gigs and practice just to hang out and enjoy each other's company. In every band I've played with I think having a good relationship personally helps the music, not to mention a fun stage vibe helps the audience enjoy your show.
 
A hundred and one days, six practices, two shows and a paltry hundred bucks.

Originally, I agreed to play only with them, but that's not going to work any more. Two of them don't seem to put much effort into anything.

They show up half an hour before the band's supposed to start a gig and disappear while the 70 year-old keyboard player is still loading gear in the trailer (some of which they use) at 2:30 a.m.

Gtr player learns songs while we're at practice... can't be bothered to do it on his time. I hope they're not surprised when I find other people to play with!
 
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