In doubt about band

I've always thought it works best to get a gig first then round up the band. It's amazing how fast things want to come together when you have to do something immediately, and when there's money the kinds of guys who can get it together fast always seem to be around. I know there are then people who say right away that you can't get a gig unless you have a band to show, but that's really not always the case.

I know plenty of players of various skill levels, who will go to jam sessions and club dates and ask for business cards of the top guys. If they're good guys they'll always have their cards ready, and say "Sure if you've got something, I'm always willing to talk on the cell phone." Then that guy takes his cards to the place where he's trying to get a gig, then says "I can put together a band with so and so/the good player everybody knows." Then when he gets the try you guys out gig, he calls the guys on the cards, and suddenly there's this working band. I got a lot of gigs like this early on, and they came from guys who knew how to do this but were too scared to call the very main guys first. So they called me 1st, or I was the more experienced guy's sub.

I can count on one hand the number of times where I praciced for something where a real gig wasn't at the end of it. I think anybody can do business this way, and you don't have to be a big time player as long as you're willing to do all the work. But if you do all the work and you're getting these guys money, then it's YOUR band, and abilty's got nothing to do with it. It just seems like always practicing in a band with no gigs lined up would be frustrating, unless it was like some large rehearsal band where getting gigs wasn't the real reason you joined. When the gig is already there, you start off with a better group of players, and if you're the weakest guy then think of how much you learn. Finally chances are pretty good that those better players aren't gonna quit because of you because you're the one handing out the money.
 
Well I was at band rehearsal yesterday, along with another drummer who was auditioning. I wasn't too impressed by the other drummer, he wasn't bad but had a bit of a hard time keeping a steady time, especially during fills he didn't seem to know his limits. But I was coaching him through an original song and generally trying to coach the band, which enabled me to look at the band from another perspective. Well, to keep a long story short I now know for certain that I don't wanna be in this band.
I am still looking for a new band.
 
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