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

[markD]

well, sometimes you have to just let it pass. my band has been together for alomost 5 years. we do a lot of nice gigs - mostly opening national shows - and it still gets frustrating. we rehearse our asses off, are currently in the studio, and are prepping for two new gigs opening for a couple of very cool national/international acts.

the secret i have found is to have somene you can vent to. no matter how cool you are with your band mates, somebody will always be under your skin. after a good venter helps because they have nothing to do with the band.

also, every band NEEDS a leader, or at least 2 people that share a common vision. that's the situation i have. i am the main leader and the singer helps out. we are very close and we put the band together so it works out well. get yourselves a leader, discuss your vision, get on the same page and run that band like a business. my band is actually a "limited liabilty corporation". i am the ceo and the singer is the president. we have two outside people that serve as secretary and VP.

having the band set-up this way makes it CLEAR to whomever auditions and fills an empty position (usually the drummer) understands that they are not entering a democratic situation where they have equal say is any decision making. our bass player is cool with just playing and doing what we want. he recognizes that i know what i am doing and have never steered that band wrong.

we employed a booking agent a year or so back and she gets us good shows where we make some money. it is not easy being an all original band and getting good gigs where you are paid. she only takes 5% too, which is pretty low. that didn't come easy. we had to practice our asses off and put together a "show". we have stage clothes and a presentation to our material that is very rehearsed with transitions between certain songs, songs with built in band introductions, bookends to our set. we also practice and use one set list per quarter.

we work on 2 new originals each practice so that we can have new material to add each quarter. we have separate writing rehearsals where a couple of us get together in my studio and flesh out new ideas. we record a demo as we write the songs, bring the into rehearsal, then the next week we begin fleshing ot the ideas and making the song whole.

so, in essence, we work our asses off - endlessly - in order to keep the band going. when someone falls off to the side a bit, we can him and move on.

[Robert Hendrix]

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...

+1 I'm not big on being the "leader" or band director" but I've ended up taking that role in the band I'm in because, after our first gig, just as the op said, momentum started dropping off in the practice room. You have to organize and find ways to keep the momentum, productivity and fun level high. If things stop progressing in the practice room, the momentum goes away and everything else follows.
I also think time away from the practice room helps as well.. If possible, get your guys together to go check out another band, or just go out and have a few drinks and hang out. All too often I see bands where, the members never even speak to each other outside practice or gigs. Bonding as people, creates a closer knit band that is more likely to be more productive.

[RacerX]

...so, in essence, we work our asses off - endlessly - in order to keep the band going. when someone falls off to the side a bit, we can him and move on.

Yeah that sounds like fun.....psh! While I applaud your professionalism & drive, what you got there sure sounds like a JOB to me!

[micha]

so this is meant to happen only after the first gig?
we go through this phase of low motivation after every gig, which is about once or twice a year...

[BenoA]

so this is meant to happen only after the first gig?
we go through this phase of low motivation after every gig, which is about once or twice a year...

Happy to know that I'm not alone in that situation!!! ha ha ha

[Spivonious]

My band went through the same thing. Half wanted to stop gigging and get the songs to perfection, and the others wanted to keep playing shows and just have fun. Practices became a chore, gigs became depressing, band broke up soon after.

All I can say is make sure everyone has the same goals for the group, and if someone doesn't don't be afraid to replace him.

[Grim]

We used to have the same problem...

Whenever we'd get together, we'd procrastinate, fool around, etc.

Gets old quick. You don't get anything done.

In all, we weren't performing. We'd get together, and someone would just dick around. It's fun, but if you're focusing on the music, you don't want your drummer to be off buying beer in the middle of a jam.

Our solution was to put ourselves in total isolation. I.e. my basement. We got a phone down there, and only one person could leave the music room at a time. Bam, productive. We forced ourselves to play together, and we were banging out tunes left and right. Awesome.

It worked for us, it may work for you. I reccomend it, because while it doesn't seem fun at first to be isolated, you'll quickly remember that jamming is more fun than playing by yourself.

[BenoA]

We used to have the same problem...

Whenever we'd get together, we'd procrastinate, fool around, etc.

Gets old quick. You don't get anything done.

In all, we weren't performing. We'd get together, and someone would just dick around. It's fun, but if you're focusing on the music, you don't want your drummer to be off buying beer in the middle of a jam.

Our solution was to put ourselves in total isolation. I.e. my basement. We got a phone down there, and only one person could leave the music room at a time. Bam, productive. We forced ourselves to play together, and we were banging out tunes left and right. Awesome.

It worked for us, it may work for you. I reccomend it, because while it doesn't seem fun at first to be isolated, you'll quickly remember that jamming is more fun than playing by yourself.

Interesting Grim. We rent a studio by the hour (usualy for around 2 and half hours), so we're only the four of us and distractions are limited. We usualy warm up with some tunes that we all like a lot... Then, most of the time, the practice session becomes a "social meeting" and everyone starts to fool around. I've noticed that this happens mostly when we are adding new tunes... As most of the time, someone in the band won't know all his part and then will try to push back the practice of the song/tune.

Up to now, I really liked all the infos/comments/experiences that everyone shared.

Next rehearsal, I'm planning trying to take the lead, arrive with a schedule for the practice and make sure everyone follows it. I'll keep a short break somewhere in between for "social unproductive bla-bla-bla" and will make sure we get back into what we should be doing.

I'll keep ya all posted.

Cheers!

[markD]

hahaha, it is like a job. the professionalism is what has kept it going and helped the gigs be consistent and good. i will say, this current band is a lot less like a job than my last one, which lasted 15 years. having the structure is what makes it fun for us. we don't drink and fuck around at practice. it is a focused 5 hour rehearsal where we run through the set, work on new material, then run the set again. after a show, we take time to review the video and talk about ways to improve for the next show.

having it set up that way IS fun because we accomplish things and don't have too many issues on regular basis.

[bratfink]

Mark, I like that idea I think I will try to employ it in my current project. We are only a month old have 3 solid songs written and already a couple of guys are drifting. It ends up me being the sole songwriter and instigator. Maybe I should follow the MegaDave example.