Wow got fired already

S

Scott J

Junior Member
Wow , talk bout the wind being knocked outta your sails, joined a band about 2 months ago cause their drummer left, fine...had 3 gigs all seemed ok, then today via e-mail, our old drummer is back, and your out buy the way your chops aren't up to snuff etc...

Not sure I wanna hang myself out there again....
 
Scott J said:
Wow , talk bout the wind being knocked outta your sails, joined a band about 2 months ago cause their drummer left, fine...had 3 gigs all seemed ok, then today via e-mail, our old drummer is back, and your out buy the way your chops aren't up to snuff etc...

Not sure I wanna hang myself out there again....
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Don't let the rest of the band decide how you feel about your playing......Just find other people to play with, theres lots out there
 
It never, ever feels good being fired or let go or whatever one wants to call it. Sometimes it helps to frame it as though they just weren't the right fit for you > Aleks is right, there are plenty of fish in the ocean and this just might be 'opportunity' for you.
 
I don't know about where you are, but everywhere I've ever lived guitarists/vocalists are a dime a dozen. Drummers are in much more often in demand. You should take this opportunity to put out you're own "musicians wanted" ad, and build a project from the ground up instead of responding to others. Its a bit more work, but very rewarding. You can pick and choose your sound carefully.
 
Scott J said:
Not sure I wanna hang myself out there again....
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I've been there before, and what I've learned is to NEVER let a bad experience like that tell you to stop trying. Get out and find another band and forget about those other guys.
 
jfaberha said:
I don't know about where you are, but everywhere I've ever lived guitarists/vocalists are a dime a dozen. Drummers are in much more often in demand. You should take this opportunity to put out you're own "musicians wanted" ad, and build a project from the ground up instead of responding to others. Its a bit more work, but very rewarding. You can pick and choose your sound carefully.
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lol where i live, drummers are everywhere.

bassists and good singers are impossible to find
 
As Tony Soprano would say, forgetaboutit. Move on, learn, have fun. Things always happen for a reason. I auditioned for a (at the time) big popular show band. It came down to me and another guy. I thought I played my audition better than him but he could really sing so I did not get the gig. The following week I was in another traveling show band that turned out to be a much better gig. Better money, better gigs, great group of guys.

Oh yeah, and a great female following :)
 
It would be better to be sacked than have people bitching behind your back so maybe it's for the best. Being rejected is never pleasant in any of its forms but we often come out the other side a little wiser.
 
Lots of good advice in this thread. You really can't control what happened already, so don't try. Let it be.

That said, while looking for another playing opportunity, this would be a good time to reassess where you're at. While the band that sacked you might not be right about your chops, there are always things in our playing that could use work. If there were particular things in the music you were playing that you found challenged your technique, work on them. Use the rejection as a motivation to show them they were wrong about you.

But don't ever, ever, EVER say that to anyone, especially them. Just keep improving and carry on. Let your playing do your talking.
 
Man, that sucks. It always hurts when you are let go. Same thing happened to me in March. I was volunteering my time and services for 7 months in a small gospel band. And I really enjoyed playing with this group. We did all sorts of side projects. Then we got a new leader in January and 2 months later - POOF - I was let go. I had to learn of my dismissal from another band member. The leader didn't have the guts to tell me himself. I later learned I did nothing wrong, just the jerk wanted to bring in his friend to be the drummer. Man, talk about ego!

My advice? I'm still mad it happened and the way it was done, but my time is now freed up to pursue other projects, like a jazz band, bluegrass band, etc. Stuff I really enjoy playing. And I don't have to take crap from some close-minded idiot.

Good luck!
 
It sucks. I've been there....How do you feel about the job you did? Was it up to snuff??? I got fired once and the guy had a talk with me telling me I was too loud plus some other things and I didn't agree with him..Thing was his brother had video/audio taped the last gig and he gave me a copy and I went home and watched it...HE WAS RIGHT!! about all of what he said..I was in NYC at the time and the bass player was a guy who ended up getting the John Scofield gig about 6 months later so yeah! I was out of his league for sure...After the discouragement, I just picked myself up and tried harder by studying more, practicing and playing with people...Don't be discouraged, if you try, you'll get another gig....Good luck...

Scott J said:
Wow , talk bout the wind being knocked outta your sails, joined a band about 2 months ago cause their drummer left, fine...had 3 gigs all seemed ok, then today via e-mail, our old drummer is back, and your out buy the way your chops aren't up to snuff etc...

Not sure I wanna hang myself out there again....
Click to expand...
 
Scott J said:
Wow , talk bout the wind being knocked outta your sails, joined a band about 2 months ago cause their drummer left, fine...had 3 gigs all seemed ok, then today via e-mail, our old drummer is back, and your out buy the way your chops aren't up to snuff etc...

Not sure I wanna hang myself out there again....
Click to expand...
I know it can be rough when you have been fired from a gig. I know as it has happened to me a few times myself and let's not even count all the auditions I've gone on that I never got or even simple return phone calls or even a shot at auditioning after simply meeting or talking to someone. Rejection is part of the game. I don't want to sound harsh, but if you cannot get over one rejection at this point perhaps playing music isn't for you. You are going to be disappointed more in this business than you are rewarded. That is a promise.

Now if you decide you really do love music and have something to offer, dust yourself off and ask yourself if what they said is correct? Can you learn from it? What is it about your playing that you can improve so next time it won't happen? Remember too, sometimes it's not about your playing at all. They may not want to give you a gig because you look like that guy in high school that used to beat them up. Who knows?
 
Thanks everyone, very encouraging words indeed, In hindsight I think I was just being used a little, I knew the band as they helped me run a few jam nights etc. I guess they had a big blow up with their lead guitar player and their drummer backed him so they wacked them both, after running through 3 lead guitars in a month it was my turn, as the old drummer came back in and apologized etc. I only got a shot because they had three gigs booked and no players (although I thought it was a legit opportunity), Naive I guess even though I am a little old for naivety.

Ah well...yes get back on that horse.

Cheers
 
Scott J said:
Naive I guess even though I am a little old for naivety.
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Scott, I laughed when I read this. Maybe it's because we learn to play as kids but musos seem prone to regression to youthful and childish behaviour (Keith Richards, anyone?). It's a bit like when you inwardly kick yourself yourself for being childishly petulant after your mother forgets that you're grown up and tells you what to wear - lol

When I was playing keys we auditioned for drummers and invited a guy back for a second hearing. He was really sloppy second time around and our singer was visibly displeased. So we talked about it and I sent him the "Dear John" email. This responsible 50 year-old family man with a business wrote back, saying "F OFF!".

At first I was in shock but, then I just cracked up. It was pure regression. I wrote back saying, "Hey, that's pretty rock'n'roll of you" (with added smiley) and he got back again with an apology and it was fine; he returned to his adult self.

When I first started playing again after a long layoff, once I got my chops back I started doing all these stupid showoffy things in songs that only added clutter to the music. Oops - kidult alert!

The moral of the story is, if we are aware of how easy it is to fall back into our youthful musical personas, then we are better placed to be the grown ups that we (hopefully) are. Whatever, you seemed to enjoy your brief time with the band so, while they may have used you, you didn't walk away empty-handed. Maybe you weren't used so much as engaging in a brief symbiotic relationship? *grin*
 
Deathmetalconga said:
It sucks when it happens, but it happens to everyone. This same sort of thing happened to me about a year ago. Just find other people to play with, enjoy yourself and you will soon forget about it.
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No, it doesn't. In 34 years I've never been sacked. Not bragging or gloating, just saying.
This doesn't indicate that I haven't found myself in unworkable situations, I just have a good sense of that & know when to leave on my own terms.
Now watch, it'll happen today ;~)
 
It's happened to me too, it's the worst feeling but don't feel bad about it.

one of the things i learned from getting fired is to make sure and ask for criticism and be easy and eager to take it. the worst situation is if you don't take criticism well and you don't seek it out because you won't find about this stuff till it's too late.

the biggest thing that pisses me off in life not just in music is when people think that you are the way you are and you can't change and learn anything new. music has showed me that people are capable of learning and adapting to all kinds of situations.

the best way to keep a musical group together and healthy is for everybody to share compliments and criticisms constantly in constructive ways. it's hard work to do this but it will pay off.
 
What a bunch of jerks, you were good enough to get them through a rough patch and as soon as they old drummer returns now you aren't good enough?

My take is move on and learn form the experience. The up side is you got some gigging in and you learned some tunes.

The band chemistry is more important then anything else. I have play with great players that were jerks and have play with great people that were average player and the latter always produced a better sound. Now if you can find great players that are really great people then you can have magic.

Get back out there and find the right people and form a real band, that is my 2 cents.
 
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