So, my band had a show last night and all was going well. For those that don't know, I play bass in the band. We had 3 or 4 songs left and the one we are starting starts with everyone playing after the drummer counts off. We start and 5 seconds in, our guitarists stops playing and looks over and said something sounded wrong. We regrouped and started again. He stopped again and told me I was playing it wrong. On stage in front of about 40 people, including a friend who is the best musician I know and had never been to one of my shows. I said "it's F# D A E". We start again and he stops again and says you're playing it wrong. At this point, I could have thrown him off the stage. I said "I wrote the f :note2:ing song, I know how it goes " and played the intro right in front of him. I said lets just play it and don't stop. We played it and it went fine.
After the show, he came up and apologized and said he was either changing chords too quickly or slowly and that's why it was off. I just laughed it off and said it was fine cause it's punk rock. But it does make me a little mad that he says it's my fault while on stage and then come back stage and say "oh, yea that was my bad".
Oh, and this was a song we've played live several times and practiced many times.
Ahh the joys of rock n roll. Since you guys are a punk band you should have started fighting right on stage that would have been so punkish.
More fun stuff to look forward too I see.
"It's all about stickin it to the man!"
It's a long way to the top if you want to rock n roll!
Ya. NOT cool to call a guy out on stage. Glad you worked it out, but I gotta say if it happanded agean I'd be REAL pissed!!
Paul B
Maybe the drummer's tempo was too fast. I've heard a similar argument between band mates (I'm not in a band) and not sure who was off a bit while hanging out at the guitar store. So and so threw off rhythm or drummer tempo wasn't right all the sudden. It's what gets me in trouble during jam lessons with my instructor. Playing too fast. :P
"If I had a time machine, I'd go back and tell me to practise that bloody guitar!" -Vic Lewis
Everything is 42..... again.
Find another band... :wink: It gets worse from here...
Cat
"Feel what you play...play what you feel!"
Maybe the drummer's tempo was too fast. I've heard a similar argument between band mates (I'm not in a band) and not sure who was off a bit while hanging out at the guitar store. So and so threw off rhythm or drummer tempo wasn't right all the sudden. It's what gets me in trouble during jam lessons with my instructor. Playing too fast. :P
Nope, it was the guitarist who was off. The drummer and I were dead on. He (guitarist) had started another song earlier too slowly as well. Not sure what was up with him that night.
Find another band... :wink: It gets worse from here...
Cat
"Find another guitarist" <- fixed that for you :D This seemed to be a one time thing. We've been together almost 3 years now and played a lot of shows and never had anything this bad happen. Next time we get together, I'm going to tell him why it bothered me and ask that if we have a train wreck on stage again to come over and we'll talk quietly about the issue, it doesn't need to be broadcast to the audience.
I've known the singer for years before the band started, I was the 1st to join after the singer. I wrote words and music of almost half our songs, music for a big chunk of the other half. I sing backup and have engineered and produced both our EPs. I had to teach our guitarist how to play an Am for a cover song the other day because the only chords he knows are power chords. I could play all of his parts and mine, just not live. I don't think I'll be going anywhere. :D
I am playing with another band now, doing rock n' roll covers. It's great to have 2 outlets. With the punk band, I'm pretty limited to playing 8th note roots 99% of the time (I try to sneak in a few fills here and there). With the cover band, I have an existing framework to go by, but no one is set on doing the songs exactly like the record, so I learn the original and then add my own feel to it.
Some facts of life...
If you are REALLY interested in "sounding the best around"...ya can't have any dead wood in the band.
Brutal, certainly...but spot on.
Cat
"Feel what you play...play what you feel!"
Yes I remember playing in bands, and the hassle of it! Glad I don't do it any more to be honest. Have a chat with him and let him know how you feel. :idea:
We start and 5 seconds in, our guitarists stops playing and looks over and said something sounded wrong. We regrouped and started again. He stopped again and told me I was playing it wrong. On stage in front of about 40 people,
This is gonna be a lecture . . . stop reading now if ya don' wanna hear it.
That would have been his last gig with me.
Not because of the mistakes.
Not because needing to stop to recover from a mistake is a hallmark of bad amateur bands - in rare instances it's the ONLY way to get back on the rails.
Because he didn't know the music well enough to realize it was HIS mistake.
Because he then compounded HIS error by PUBLICLY calling out another band member.
Friend or not, Apology or not, he'd have been fired for incompetence.
Playing guitar and never playing for others is like studying medicine and never working in a clinic.
This is difficult, I agree with moonrider but only in an ideal world.
It can be a long hard task to get a band together, and to get rid of a member can cause a void in gigging time, or even the end of a band depending on how long it takes to get a replacement.
I have experienced similar myself with a singer who constantly put down the other band members on stage, and threw hissy fits if we used the microphones to engage with the crowd. His reason being that he was the front man and if we had a bit of banter we undermined him and made him look useless :?
The reason we put up with him though, was because we were tight as a band, and more importantly, at the end of the night, when the crowd used come and chat, they generally told us (and him many times)' what an arrogant so and so he came across as, but how nice the rest of us seemed.
I guess what I'm trying to say is, no matter how put down you felt at the time, the audience will recognize he was at fault with his attitude' and ultimately, he should be the one with the regrets.
I hope you work it out with him anyway,
"I like to play that guitar. I have to stare at it while I'm playing it because I'm not very good at playing it."
Noel Gallagher (who took the words right out of my mouth)
This is difficult, I agree with moonrider but only in an ideal world.
It can be a long hard task to get a band together, and to get rid of a member can cause a void in gigging time, or even the end of a band depending on how long it takes to get a replacement.
No band member is irreplaceable OR indispensable. Watcha gonna do when the drummer breaks a wrist, or the other guitar player slices a finger open and needs stitches the day of a show? You find someone to fill-in or do the show without 'em. it only takes breaking contract on ONE show to ruin a band's reputation.
If one of the members of my band can't make rehearsal, it's not canceled, we practice our emergency plan for that member being out for a show. Our lead singer left us New Year's Day with no warning. We may not replace her at all.
Playing guitar and never playing for others is like studying medicine and never working in a clinic.
Good comments Moonrider, I guess where i live, it is a bit sparse (with very few bands) and we have found it very difficult to find people locally to replace band members we have lost in the past, so i was just posting my personal experience :D
In all honesty, we have a stand in guitarist ready to step in at short notice if needed, but other than that, if the bassist, singer, or drummer fall ill, we need to cancel :(
Fortunately, that has never happened in 5 years of being together, and gigging very regularly, but, one day it will im sure.
"I like to play that guitar. I have to stare at it while I'm playing it because I'm not very good at playing it."
Noel Gallagher (who took the words right out of my mouth)
Well I agree with everyone... :lol:, but I still would have started a fight over it...J/K
I agree with Moonrider with Al's take ..in a perfect world, but unless this is your only means of income it's still nothing more than a hobby and I wouldn't lose a lot of sleep over it. Doesn't mean you shouldn't be as professional as possible but..stuff happens.
Contracts? Maybe that's the norm in VA but in CT if it's just a regular bar there aren't any contracts or if so very rarely. When I worked at a big local nightclub that had local and national/international big name acts playing the only contracts were for the national or very, very big drawing locals which were like 4 or 5 maybe, but they'd be bringing in over 1000 people.
99% of bars will give you the door that's it, and you might not get all of it, and a few will pay a flat rate though.
But back to the problem regardless of whether you need a backup it's still a pain in the butt to can someone and find a replacement evern if you are in an area of plenty of musicians.
Since it sounds like it was a one off I'd just let it slide but I would have a talk with the whole band about how to handle these situations in the future. I know we have discussed this and the agreement was to keep going with the song and don't stop. Sometime easier said than done, escpecially since when we practice we do stop if things aren't right.
"It's all about stickin it to the man!"
It's a long way to the top if you want to rock n roll!
Jeff, I hope you and band-mate can resolve this issue with a never again kind of resolution.
Roy
"I wonder if a composer ever intentionally composed a piece that was physically impossible to play and stuck it away to be found years later after his death, knowing it would forever drive perfectionist musicians crazy." - George Carlin
