Guys in band: how do you survive the after first gig???

[BenoA]

I don’t know what I do wrong with bands… It all starts pretty well. Then we do a gig and… Nothing happens after or we fall in sleeping mode. No joke, I’ve been back into bands since around 2001 and each time, ALL of them, after the first gig, the band collapse or nothing much happens after… It’s pathetic!

Newest band is no different. We’ve barely learned 4 new songs since the last gig (May 7th), we have no discipline when practicing, some of the band members don’t know their parts (I include myself into this as last evening I had a terrible blank, could not remember the chorus riff of one of our tune). Trying to understand what I’m doing wrong but can’t seem to be able to put the finger on it.

Enough venting (last evening's rehearsal was real bad), so how do you keep the flow/momentum going in your band.

I bet discipline is the word. But give me some advice, I need some!!!

[bratfink]

Too many bands are playing out when they should be practicing and getting really tight. Therefore there is alot of crap out there. It's enough to put me off wanting to play out again, because very often you have open for them.

I played 2 shows with my last band and got sick of their inability to progress.

I suggest if you are in a band playing alot of covers there is probably something creatively missing. My current project has no and will not commit to playing out until there is an album ready to release, and then we will only play out if we can get the unit really tight so we can just go up and blow everyone away.

[neilli]

From what I've experienced, you need to have a 'leader' in the band who pulls things together and gets things done. You also need 'targets' - practising endlessly with no gigs in sight gets old pretty quick, and so that's when the slacking starts. You also all have to be into it, at least enough to work on your parts at home, and commit to regular rehearsals...

[Jack Napalm]

I just replace members.

Since our first gig, we replaced the drummer, dropped a third guitar player and our singer quit. We found a new one. Every time we have done this our level of ability has risen. Took a year and a half to find this crew but its finally coming together. Finding dedicated people with similar goals takes time. We probably gigged before we were ready but it helped us in some ways. What you put up with in practice becomes and eye and ear sore live. Weaknesses get exposed.

The drummer in my band now I found through Craigslist two years ago. We were in a band that fell apart and I joined another one. He is now in this band. We stayed in touch because we had similar work ethic and goals. Find those people and don't let them out of your sight.

[diablomozart]

in a nutshell everyone above got it right...in an optimum band situation everyone will be happy with the material and strive to want to sound better and better...but optimal band situations are extremely rare to be honest...many people are ok with just sounding good and don't want to put in the work to sound great...then you run across those not in it for the music but instead want the chance to be famous and make a lot of money (the rockstar dream)...i think most of us in bands realize that the chances of that actually happening (especially with the music biz in a shambles today) are not good at all...so it becomes a matter of finding people who want to play and sound good for the sheer enjoyment of it...which in many cases is a lot easier to say than do...but in the end it usually boils down to finding people who won't rest on their laurels and feel an incessant urge to keep improving...not necessarily for the chance of being a rockstar but for a matter of personal pride in their playing...these types of people are fairly uncommon and usually hard to find...

when all else fails you usually need to have someone who kind of directs the practices...makes sure things get done, whether it is getting everyone to focus on details of the set or helping to inspire the other to be creative and write new tunes...sometimes jamming in a style completely alien to your genre will help (we've been known to jam on blues, jazz and we're a traditional metal band)...basically anything to help keep it fun and interesting...yeah playing the same set over and over can get to be a grind but a lot of bands tend to overlook small mistakes when in rehearsals and those are magnified on stage when everyone is running thru a nice p.a. and can be heard more clearly than in a rehearsal space...add in that a lot of bands overlook the performance aspect of being on stage...in a rehearsal room no-one but the band is there...you can concentrate on your parts...but on stage you are expected to entertain visually as well as sonically...and there will be distractions that people would never think would harm their performances but they do...in that respect the grind of rehearsing leads to people knowing their parts better (backwards and forwards, in their sleep, whatever term you would insert here)and being able to cope with those distractions much better...

in the end...everyone has to remember why they are in a band in the first place...whether it's to make money playing covers or just the sheer enjoyment of playing music...and it would be wise to try and find like-minded folks so you don't have a conflict of interest down the road...if you play original music, be prepared to see very little if any money ever...and make sure everyone else knows and understands that fact...then you can just get on with having a great time and everyone is pushing for that same goal...d.m.

[BenoA]

Sorry guys for the venting I did with this post... I needed to do it as I was really feeling pissed off after last evening rehearsal...

Good advice from everyone.

From what I've experienced, you need to have a 'leader' in the band who pulls things together and gets things done. You also need 'targets' - practising endlessly with no gigs in sight gets old pretty quick, and so that's when the slacking starts. You also all have to be into it, at least enough to work on your parts at home, and commit to regular rehearsals...

Good points here. Leader... No one in the band is taking the position right now. Singer would love to but I don't want him to do this. I used to do this in a previous band and it burned me out. I may have again to wear the hat.

As for being into it. I'm usualy the one that knows all his parts. But I can admit my faults and know when I screw up. I'm never trying or acting like to be the one that is better than the others.

in a nutshell everyone above got it right...in an optimum band situation everyone will be happy with the material and strive to want to sound better and better...but optimal band situations are extremely rare to be honest...

in the end...everyone has to remember why they are in a band in the first place... and make sure everyone else knows and understands that fact...then you can just get on with having a great time and everyone is pushing for that same goal...d.m.

Another good advice here. Fun factor must remain a priority.

[atomic charvel guy]

sometimes you need some pressure on you to create and write new stuff.
get away from that juicy swimming pool of yours-lol

[Rsmacker]

Piss. Bucket seats. Paedo cartoons. Punching people on trains. Homo-erotic fights with drunken bass player called Ade. Spray painting nasty old guitars. That's how it goes, playin' in a band.
It's a long way to the top, if you wanna rock 'n' roll

[Flatpicker]

You have to find the best rehearsal space you can.
I always recommend some discomfort for the band as it keeps them on their toes.

Maybe a warehouse with no AC?
Get the space up to about 104 or something and you get the best out of your band-members.

Beyond that I follow the Hulk Hogan regimen.

[Grandturk]

You need at least one guy who is the driver behind the band, because let's face it, musicians don't have all that much initiative. If someone's not making the calls, picking schmucks up for rehearsals and calling the shots, then of course you're not going to get much done.

[Flatpicker]

Seriously, I'm confused.

Why are you against the singer taking the leader role if you have no want to do it?

[Bichmaker]

Nobody really said anything about audience reaction affecting the band morale. Even if you guys are tight as hell and put on a good show, if the audience isn't propping you up between songs, you start thinking you did something wrong, and it goes downhill from there. You all go "why do this if nobody likes it" or uses screwups to shift blame and take focus off themself or the real problems.

but along those lines... screw that! If you can't get past your first gig you shouldn't be doing it anyway!

[BenoA]

Seriously, I'm confused.

Why are you against the singer taking the leader role if you have no want to do it?

Because you don't know the guy!!! ha ha ha

Seriously, he sings very well for what we do but that's about it.

[jgcable]

Groupies... lots of them. They need to be at your gigs, at your rehearsals and even when you record. They inspire you to be a rock star.
Discipline is extremely overrated. If your not having fun you will never push to be better and you will never become addicted to gigging.
Most players dream of becoming a rock star and they know exactly what they would do if they actually became one. The problem is that they take everything too seriously and over analyse everything and start thinking of the band like its a business. When you start getting paid large and you can quit your day job then you can think of it as a business and get a little more serious. Until then.. lighten up and have some fun.
Groupies = fun.
A smiling band mate is the one who is rocking out in front of a bunch of hot girls.
The sad sack band mate is the one who is bumming out because somebody missed a note and he isn't getting laid.

[BenoA]

Groupies... lots of them. They need to be at your gigs, at your rehearsals and even when you record. They inspire you to be a rock star.
Groupies = fun.
A smiling band mate is the one who is rocking out in front of a bunch of hot girls.
The sad sack band mate is the one who is bumming out because somebody missed a note and he isn't getting laid.

I'll try to explain this to my wife! Hey honey, for next week rehearsal, the band has decided to have a bunch girls coming to the studio. Reportedly we need groopies to improve our way of practicing! I can imagine her face!!!!!!! :ROTF:

Discipline is extremely overrated. If your not having fun you will never push to be better and you will never become addicted to gigging.

When you start getting paid large and you can quit your day job then you can think of it as a business and get a little more serious. Until then.. lighten up and have some fun.

Exactly... I wrote it above. Fun factor must remain "high".