"Can you play without sliding?"

[Bob Carlucci]

"gigging interferes with the rehearsal schedule."

... what?... really?,, Someone thats a musician actually said that???... Did you kill him?... Beat him up at least?....
To each his own I suppose, or as a boss of mine used to say many decades ago "there's an ass for every seat"

[Dave Hopping]

Bob, that bandleader actually said that.....

Ironically he was a genuinely nice guy, a pretty good singer, and a passable guitar player who could have been an excellent one with the proper exposure to better players and more effective learning tools. He worked for the post office, which in general is the kind of job that allows a fairly busy part-time gig schedule. I thought the idea justified doing the dreaded basement audition so I did it. Everyone agreed that things went real well musically and I suggested this outfit is ready to go and we should start booking. Dead silence. They recruited me again somewhat later when a steel player they'd been using dropped out, and it was then that the bandleader told me about gigs interfering with the rehearsal schedule.

That was such a weird position to take that I had to think about it quite a bit before concluding that the guy's issue was he'd never been exposed to the concept that playing music was a real job where players do real work and should be compensated. I think that to him it was just a fun hobby, like golf or fishing.

[Fred Treece]

concluding that the guy's issue was he'd never been exposed to the concept that playing music was a real job where players do real work and should be compensated. I think that to him it was just a fun hobby, like golf or fishing.

A conundrum of mine, very well stated. It has been a long time since I have associated with real pro players. I hate the word “hobby”. What a massive thrashing to the soul.

I think that attitude has contributed heavily to why so many of us have been reduced to playing mainly seasonally outdoor gigs, which are outnumbered by rehearsals now just so the band can be reasonably gig-ready if something happens to come along in the “off season”. Also, just because I don’t really need the money now doesn’t mean I should work for nearly nothing. What does that say to other players who actually are out there scratching and biting for the same jobs as me? I have gotten tired of it and have been enjoying this year off of the band business, maybe not to return.

Scuse me for pontificating and hijacking of topic. Tangents happen. And now back to your regularly scheduled program.

[Lee Baucum]

BTW: life is to short to spend time dealing with dickheads.

Years ago, I made the comment that "life's too short to live like this" and someone corrected me and said, "no, life's too LONG to live like this".

~Lee

[Carson Leighton]

I know how long I would stay there... I would probably say, can you play without moving your fingers on that guitar? Hard to believe!

[Paul Strojan]

Bob, that bandleader actually said that.....

Ironically he was a genuinely nice guy, a pretty good singer, and a passable guitar player who could have been an excellent one with the proper exposure to better players and more effective learning tools. He worked for the post office, which in general is the kind of job that allows a fairly busy part-time gig schedule. I thought the idea justified doing the dreaded basement audition so I did it. Everyone agreed that things went real well musically and I suggested this outfit is ready to go and we should start booking. Dead silence. They recruited me again somewhat later when a steel player they'd been using dropped out, and it was then that the bandleader told me about gigs interfering with the rehearsal schedule.

That was such a weird position to take that I had to think about it quite a bit before concluding that the guy's issue was he'd never been exposed to the concept that playing music was a real job where players do real work and should be compensated. I think that to him it was just a fun hobby, like golf or fishing.

As a consumer of music, I have noticed that the local bands that I have seen were rather self indulgent and not interested in being entertainers. In the past couple years, I got to see Dwight Yoakum and Marty Stuart. About 40% of Dwight’s show was covers and about 2/3rds of the songs that Marty did were covers. While none of the local bands only played obscure original music. After being burnt and bored, I am not going to go out and
pay a cover charge to see a performer pretend he is John Fogerty. Those acts spoiled the pot for everybody who is trying to gig.

[Nathan Pocock]

That story is the exact opposite of the band I played in. When we got a pedal steel player (I was playing armpit guitar at the time), everyone in the band was enthralled by the steel. All we wanted to do was listen to that steel! Play every song! Make the weird chords! More steel solos!

[Richard Sinkler]

Heck, I can't even play with sliding.

[Donny Hinson]

Bill, when I was into photography (one of my early passions), one day I spent some time talking to a professional photographer, and I asked him "What makes a really good photographer"? He told me, without hesitation "The size of your trash can." When I asked him to explain, he told me the following: "A good photographer only shows the very best of his work. He takes many, many photos, but only keeps and shares the very best of what he does. When you do that, people aren't seeing all your flubs and shortcomings, the ones that didn't come out very well. So they will rate all your work as being good to excellent."

I think it's the same way in music; not everyone has what it takes. And when you play continually with people who are not very good, or don't take it seriously, it pulls you down, it saps the life out of your playing. Because no matter how well you play, you can't make up for the shortcomings of everyone else, and the audience will remember the whole picture - the band, not just your playing. It's for that reason that I suggest that you never stay in a situation like the one you described, and I commend you for being wise enough to make the decision to part ways.

I have been very lucky in that most of my music playing has been with players who, all around, were far better players than I was. They made me work hard, and pushed me to be better! I learned more, and learned much faster, than I ever could have if I had stayed in bands where the players weren't very good.

There's an old saying, "You're known by the company you keep." And that is just as true in music as it is everywhere else.

[Brooks Montgomery]

>>Calls to mind the first six words of Part B of "The Rodeo Song".<<

“Well here comes Johnny……”

[Gary Spaeth]

this is why i play with backing tracks. and i don't have to leave home.

[George Piburn]

Hello Bill,

The Solution is simple -- Become your own Band Leader. Then you call all the shots, Hire - Fire - Song Choices - Venue choices - everything really.

How to get players ? Pay Them , just like a session player. That is what Jeff Newman taught me 40 years ago. Go find some players you like the way they play and Hire Them to Back You Up. If you want them to be more loyal, timely, play tunes they may not personally like, blow off other gigs for yours, just pay them more than their other gigs, and they will come running to you. --Pay them for the rehearsals too just like the well known touring artists do.

Forget about trying to be a hire player for folks - especially the ones like everyone here is criticising.

You can think of it like a girl singer that gets all the gigs.

If you choose to let another hire player do some of their tunes - arrangements, it is completely up to you as to how all of it works out.

Being the paymaster is pricey at first, in the longer run you have so many other advantages, it makes it all worth it.
I've even paid arrangers to chart out tunes to my arrangements so I can hire local Union Musicians at any venue. They will do as you ask, and if not , just get another player as needed.

[Dave Hopping]

>>Calls to mind the first six words of Part B of "The Rodeo Song".<<

“Well here comes Johnny……”

I was thinking:
"____ me off. Ya ______' jerk".

Couldn't believe it when I heard that the first time. On the jukebox, of course!