Starting to put together a new band

[Drumolator]

I will be starting a new band soon. It will be me on drums and vocals, a guitar player who also sings well, and a keyboard player. The guitar player and the keyboard player have never met, so I hope all goes well. Peace and goodwill.

 

[A J]

Sorry it didn't work out, but I commend you and the other guys for trying!

One thing that will always bug me is how guitar players will spend tons of money on guitars, amps, pedals, cables, etc., but they won't bother spending $40 on an amp stand that points their guitar at their faces. They keep turning up and wonder why they can't hear their guitar when the amps are blasting their knees.

Idk if the guys you played with did this, but I had to mention it.

You are 100% correct. This drives me CRAZY! Guitar players do this all the time. And this happened last night as well. Their amp is blasting away at knee level at volume setting of 11. Whoever is standing across the room is getting blasted while the guitar player can't understand why he can't hear his amp. I don't get it.

 

[A J]

So get rid of one or the other guitar player and start working with the one you and bass think is better and easier to get along with. Find someone to play rhythm later.

In the short run, I'm gonna stay with both guitar players in separate bands. Right now, neither band is ready to gig and both have personnel issues. I'll simply keep in contact with both and see how things play out. Both guitar players are nice guys. You just can't have two of them in the room at the same time.

 

[doggyd69b]

You have to watch the guitar player. Some songs that I play will have a louder or more prominent drum part. Guitar players want to up their volume and not bring it back down. Letting them know that I'm bringing drums down after the song has worked at preventing them from dialing up volume.
By the end of the night it's typically too loud anyway, in bar bands.

In-ears shine in this type of scenarios because all musicians can hear the entire mix and it is much more evident to everyone in the band when someone's volume is too high since they pretty much hear what is going out of the PA. It is harder when you are using a wedge monitor and you have an acoustic kit behind you and the cymbals at ear level close to your ears, add to that a gigantic bass cab that drowns everyone onstage, so now the drums need to be miced, then the singer can't hears him/herself so keeps turning his/her volume up...
When you have in ears, you can come up with a low volume mix ( low enough to fill the venue without ear blasting volumes, adjust everything then leave it alone, feed each musician their own monitor mix (most modern consoles support that. That way each musician can adjust their own volumes without disturbing the whole band, and most importantly without messing up the main mix.

This should be part of anybody's gear:

Amazon.com

The only thing I would add is a Bluetooth dongle to get rid of the headphone cables for the guitars and singers. (drummer and keys don't really move around so they can use wired headphones).

 

[BruceW]

One thing that will always bug me is how guitar players will spend tons of money on guitars, amps, pedals, cables, etc., but they won't bother spending $40 on an amp stand that points their guitar at their faces. They keep turning up and wonder why they can't hear their guitar when the amps are blasting their knees.

Idk if the guys you played with did this, but I had to mention it.

It is amazing, isn't it? The guitar player in my band is stubborn this way. He did buy a tilting stand, but it laid the amp too far back for his liking (not adjustable), so that stopped in it's tracks. He does at least put the amp on a couple of milk crates, so it's up higher than just sitting on the floor...

 

[2 hit wonder]

I'm not really a guitar player. Never played it in a band or been paid to play ever. Haven't punched a time clock for years. There's no pension income, no savings, no settlement money, no sugar momma. Just gig income and what little that I can buy and sell for gas money.

I have better basses and guitars than my guitar and bass players, and some cool t-shirts from thrift stores.

 

[A J]

I'm not really a guitar player. Never played it in a band or been paid to play ever. Haven't punched a time clock for years. There's no pension income, no savings, no settlement money, no sugar momma. Just gig income and what little that I can buy and sell for gas money.

I have better basses and guitars than my guitar and bass players, and some cool t-shirts from thrift stores.

Interesting. You and I are very different and similar at the same time. I worked hard all my life, sacrificed, saved, invested in order to reach a comfortable retirement. Now that I have finally reached retirement, all I do is work and expensive stuff doesn't interest me. I tried kicking back, going fishing, hanging around. It only lasted 2 days. In order to be happy, I have to be busy.

If millions of dollars suddenly fell into my lap, I'd be doing the same thing.

 

[GSL]

Interesting. You and I are very different and similar at the same time. I worked hard all my life, sacrificed, saved, invested in order to reach a comfortable retirement. Now that I have finally reached retirement, all I do is work and expensive stuff doesn't interest me. I tried kicking back, going fishing, hanging around. It only lasted 2 days. In order to be happy, I have to be busy.

If millions of dollars suddenly fell into my lap, I'd be doing the same thing.

Me too (all I do is work, etc.,), although I do enjoy buying the gear I've always wanted & taking my wife on holidays.

I have to be busy- she's up at 3.45am, me at 4.45am when she leaves for work.

It's a strange phenomenon that when you NEED to work, it's often hard to get up & face the day.
However, when you CHOOSE to work, there's no stress & I actually look forward to doing the relatively menial stuff that I do these days, because it keeps me reasonably fit, gives me a sense of purpose, & pays towards our chosen lifestyle.

I appreciate that we're very lucky to be in a position to have choices, & absolutely understand that there are many less fortunate people.

The point I was trying to make is that millions of dollars doesn't necessarily buy you happiness; a sense of purpose, for me, is much more relevant. We don't have millions BTW, but I strongly believe that one of the most important words in the entire English language is PERSPECTIVE-
whatever your circumstances, be willing to work for what you desire, be grateful for what you have, & be mindful of those less fortunate.

As an aside, it's 22:16 in the UK right now; my wife has just reiterated her previous promise to get me a totally customised t-shirt for Christmas-

"Instant Ass***e, Just Add Alcohol"

 

[A J]

Me too (all I do is work, etc.,), although I do enjoy buying the gear I've always wanted & taking my wife on holidays.

I have to be busy- she's up at 3.45am, me at 4.45am when she leaves for work.

It's a strange phenomenon that when you NEED to work, it's often hard to get up & face the day.
However, when you CHOOSE to work, there's no stress & I actually look forward to doing the relatively menial stuff that I do these days, because it keeps me reasonably fit, gives me a sense of purpose, & pays towards our chosen lifestyle.

I appreciate that we're very lucky to be in a position to have choices, & absolutely understand that there are many less fortunate people.

The point I was trying to make is that millions of dollars doesn't necessarily buy you happiness; a sense of purpose, for me, is much more relevant. We don't have millions BTW, but I strongly believe that one of the most important words in the entire English language is PERSPECTIVE-
whatever your circumstances, be willing to work for what you desire, be grateful for what you have, & be mindful of those less fortunate.

As an aside, it's 22:16 in the UK right now; my wife has just reiterated her previous promise to get me a totally customised t-shirt for Christmas-

"Instant Ass***e, Just Add Alcohol"

You are absolutely correct. There's a huge difference between NEEDING to work and CHOOSING to work. A lot of the work I choose to do would be pure drudgery to someone else. Last year I spent about 4-5 months cleaning up a 70 year old glass dump and demolishing some buildings on a property I'd purchased. The year before that, I spent all Summer removing a barbed wire fence surrounding my 65 acre parcel. This year, I re-wrote my Township's bylaws, updated their land use plan and serve on several boards. On the 11th of this month, I will interview for a position as a reserve sheriff's deputy. All these jobs are jobs no sane person would ever want to do. Serving in the US Army for 30 years, I'm already wired for it.

I'm 59 and in excellent health, but health is fleeting. Just like when I was in the Army, I thrive on making some sort of positive difference whether it's something that directly benefits me (like cleaning up my own properties) or the community in general (like serving on local boards).

 

[newoldie]

Lol, I know. I'm still meeting people after 2 years, really.
Got to jam with some active guys this week who didn't know some of the also pretty active players in bands that I knew.

Think I turned them off when I said the last bands I quit just played standard bar bullchit. Man, just can't drag my drums out to play Tush and Hard To Handle for $100-150 regularly.

Your gigs pay that much to each musician??

 

[2 hit wonder]

Haven't made much in my rounds yet counting since returning to steady playing in Jan 2022.
Best was $1200 for a 4 piece on NYEve this year. A couple of private parties for $265 and $275 per player. We got $1k total for a 4 piece a couple of times this year in a band that I quit.

Usually it's 125-150 plus tips.

 

[doggyd69b]

Interesting. You and I are very different and similar at the same time. I worked hard all my life, sacrificed, saved, invested in order to reach a comfortable retirement. Now that I have finally reached retirement, all I do is work and expensive stuff doesn't interest me. I tried kicking back, going fishing, hanging around. It only lasted 2 days. In order to be happy, I have to be busy.

If millions of dollars suddenly fell into my lap, I'd be doing the same thing.

The difference is that you can work on what you like doing and don't have to settle for something you don't really like but need to do because you "have" to work.

I'm almost there, my pension will be around $3000 to 4000 a month for the rest of my life plus social security and whatever I get from my next job retirement (in about 10 more years when I turn 63 or 64) then I retire retire. At that point I will have mostly everything paid off, probably get tired of my current house, sell it for 6-700k and get to use that to get a much smaller place in a tropical place probably in Mexico or Spain (Maybe Spain is nicer). Then just really do only what I want to do until I die.
No need for millions of dollars but that certainly wouldn't hurt.

 

[timmdrum]

One thing that will always bug me is how guitar players will spend tons of money on guitars, amps, pedals, cables, etc., but they won't bother spending $40 on an amp stand that points their guitar at their faces. They keep turning up and wonder why they can't hear their guitar when the amps are blasting their knees.

OHMYGOD I've been saying this to window-licker guitarists for 25 years, who have no logical answer, yet don't change anything!

 

[A J]

The difference is that you can work on what you like doing and don't have to settle for something you don't really like but need to do because you "have" to work.

I'm almost there, my pension will be around $3000 to 4000 a month for the rest of my life plus social security and whatever I get from my next job retirement (in about 10 more years when I turn 63 or 64) then I retire retire. At that point I will have mostly everything paid off, probably get tired of my current house, sell it for 6-700k and get to use that to get a much smaller place in a tropical place probably in Mexico or Spain (Maybe Spain is nicer). Then just really do only what I want to do until I die.
No need for millions of dollars but that certainly wouldn't hurt.

I'm currently there: collecting a pension, living off of accumulated investments and savings. Guess what? I bust ass every day! I spent my whole life working for the moment when I could kick back and do nothing. Now that I'm at that point, all I want to do is work! Go figure.

 

[Smoke]

I'm currently there: collecting a pension, living off of accumulated investments and savings. Guess what? I bust ass every day! I spent my whole life working for the moment when I could kick back and do nothing. Now that I'm at that point, all I want to do is work! Go figure.

I don't bust my butt anymore. I sleep in 'till about 06:30, take a good hour-long lunch almost every day and knock off somewhere about 17:30. But, on the flip side, I have too much to do, so I stay busy. Not Andy C. (@Keep it Simple) busy, but I'm always moving. (I retired July 2021 and haven't been fishing yet! )

Retired a second time, so we live on my army pension and social security. Don't need much, so all the retirement savings and investments are not needed at this time. Truth be told, I'm afraid to use it. I saved for "someday" for so long and I don't believe that "someday" is here yet. I didn't save it to give to my kids, but I know I'll need it "someday." I guess I'll wait for "someday." Hopefully I'll recognize it when it gets here.

 

[2 hit wonder]

I'm currently there: collecting a pension, living off of accumulated investments and savings. Guess what? I bust ass every day! I spent my whole life working for the moment when I could kick back and do nothing. Now that I'm at that point, all I want to do is work! Go figure.

I gave up early but I'm not really done yet. I sacrificed music for work for too long so that's my current vocation while the health is still here.

 

[GretschedHive]

I am astonished at how disappointed I am that this band of guys I've never met and never will didn't work out.
I feel like shaking them and asking if they've ever heard of Keef Richards and Mick Taylor or Lou Reed and Sterling Morrison or Duane Allman and Dickie Betts or Duane Allman and Eric Clapton or Gary Rossington and Allen Collins and Ed King/Steve Gaines or Don Felder and Joe Walsh or Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd or Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo or Izzy and Slash or David Pajo and Brian McMahan or Mike McCready and Stone Gossard or Jeff Tweedy and Nils Cline and so on and so on and so on.
Grrr.
Your attitude of "oh well" is definitely better.

 

[A J]

I am astonished at how disappointed I am that this band of guys I've never met and never will didn't work out.
I feel like shaking them and asking if they've ever heard of Keef Richards and Mick Taylor or Lou Reed and Sterling Morrison or Duane Allman and Dickie Betts or Duane Allman and Eric Clapton or Gary Rossington and Allen Collins and Ed King/Steve Gaines or Don Felder and Joe Walsh or Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd or Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo or Izzy and Slash or David Pajo and Brian McMahan or Mike McCready and Stone Gossard or Jeff Tweedy and Nils Cline and so on and so on and so on.
Grrr.
Your attitude of "oh well" is definitely better.

Don't be too disappointed. I think there's still hope that I can still be in separate bands with either of these guitar players.

I had a long conversation last night with a different guitar player/bassist about this very topic. I'm old enough to be his dad, and whenever we get to talking, it always turns into him asking all sorts of "life" advice. Heck, I don't mind. I'm an expert at my own opinion! On a bit more of a serious note, in the years I've known this guy, I actually convinced him to cut back on his drinking. I really enjoy good (and even not-so-good) booze, but his was starting to get a little out of hand. Last night, I talked him out of making a really dumb financial decision.

In any event, the big takeaway from our conversation was that many musicians (guitar players especially) aren't good team players. When you get two of them together, neither wants to play a support role. They always want to be the front guy. Drummers and bassists are different. Our instruments require us to be in a support role and we tend to be more accepting of this. We "play for the song" and rarely try to upstage anyone. Again... These are generalizations, but I think there's some truth there.

 

[A J]

I don't bust my butt anymore. I sleep in 'till about 06:30, take a good hour-long lunch almost every day and knock off somewhere about 17:30. But, on the flip side, I have too much to do, so I stay busy. Not Andy C. (@Keep it Simple) busy, but I'm always moving. (I retired July 2021 and haven't been fishing yet! )

Retired a second time, so we live on my army pension and social security. Don't need much, so all the retirement savings and investments are not needed at this time. Truth be told, I'm afraid to use it. I saved for "someday" for so long and I don't believe that "someday" is here yet. I didn't save it to give to my kids, but I know I'll need it "someday." I guess I'll wait for "someday." Hopefully I'll recognize it when it gets here.

We're not really THAT different. When I say I'm "busting my butt", I guess I'm not working that hard. I still break for lunch and "punch out" when I get too tired. Yesterday, for example, I spent the day leveling a camper, splitting wood by hand and stacking it. After lunch, I fell asleep for about a half hour and stopped working when it started getting dark.

 

[A J]

I gave up early but I'm not really done yet. I sacrificed music for work for too long so that's my current vocation while the health is still here.

I can't fault you for making that choice. You apparently have the talent, the good reputation and live in an area that supports a musical career path. No one can do what you do without being pretty good on drums, being easy to work with and have a solid work ethic. You can always go back to punching a time clock if you really need to. For now, you're doing what others simply dream of.