RANT: Band Woes

Crg


Why be diplomatic at this point? Lay out your demands. Explain the situation to the FL and band and force them to make a choice. New Techie will obviously lie and screw to death anyone to get the gig. FL is lost and the band doesn't know or care. Let them learn the hard way if they can't see through the smoke and mirrors.

minimustangs


Or option #3...a combination of those but primarily the area I live in is isolated and to find guys with ...
a/ GOOD gear
b/ space to rehearse
c/ interested in the same genre of music..

...is a tall order. Pickin's are slim, Slim.   :)   Compromises and concessions have to be made but even they have to have limits. When it's 20 minutes to even the smallest town and an hour in any direction to a larger, not even major center.... well, you get the idea.

I think any of you with a clearer head from the other side of the screen, given the scenario and isolation, would probably put up with a little more B/S. It took me long enough to locate this group, and this has really been the first headache, but it's worthy of reflection and concern nonetheless.

Reality is, I know I should pack up, but for the short term, I won't. Even though I KNOW I would in an otherwise musician-loaded geography. It's not like they/we/or I are U2 or The Stones, but we can definitely show this area there's more than one pony in town.

Moshkiae


Hi,

You supplying the mds CRG?

Make it a little sunshine, or one of those nice and clean sandoz tablets ... something worthwhile for me to enjoy some Mozart and some CHB ... and then I won't need to say anything else in the CH ... because everyone else is right and Mosh is always wrong.

Too bad so few of you will never see the big time I have seen and been at, and do not wish to be there at all! Best of luck is all I can say! But if you do not know how to stand up for yourself, like that cheapa$$ band that can not talk to a sound person, they might as well fold ... they are already dead and screwed up with no direction or chance at learning one. Maybe Malcom McLaren will show up and help them someday!

In the end, it is not about the people and the sound equipment ... it's a lot more about the person/people behind it ... because the rest ... kinda attaches itself to it.

Yeah ... meds! ... right! Let the band die and go work with someone that wants to do it better and right!

mike_mccue


"Too bad so few of you will never see the big time I have seen and been at,"

Hey Mosh,
You're the literary expert here... how do YOU think the rest of us feel when you write this sort of bull hockey?

You seem very enthusiastic about your opinion that you are *better* than everyone else here. I find it annoying.

very best,
mike

If you're going to stick with it, it's time to play producer if it's worth that much to you.

It's funny you say that, because I initially saw promise with these guys. I still haven't received a straight answer to the one question that seems pretty important to answer- and that question comes from the producers chair...

"What's your target market?"

That was the first line in the first email I had with F.L., I kid you not.

The actual responses have been varied, but inconclusive. One of the 4 (and I'll hint to you there's a 5th guy...that's another story) "gets" what I'm trying to extract, but he's not F.L. and seems to get vetoed all the time because he's about 10 years the junior.

I've expressed concerns that the format (dictated in part by material choice) isn't in line with the type of show we SHOULD be going after, given the type of shows that get booked in this area of the country. It's hard to provide a framework to success when so many of the obvious, given, SUCCESSFUL choices cover bands (which we are) over the years have made work, these guys are resistant to do. We have no shortage of heavy tunes, classic rock being our genre, that's no surprise. But even for me I see the mix as TOO heavy in one sense...for one type of venue, and in some instances...the material that's there isn't cohesive enough to say we're 100% heavy rock either. The logical action is to get people up dancing, and various band members have complained that isn't happening - but then told they need to play more "danceable" tunes...the answer is almost always the same "Oh, we don't want to be sell-outs". For fcku sake, we're not the Rolling Stones selling out for tour sponsorship. Wake up, this is a service - just like taking your car in for an oil change.  How well you perform the service dictates how well you get paid in the future (and the tech dude can affect that).

When faced with the opportunity to have a good tech come up from a local city.. with a price tag of $200 for his service, sirens and whistles went off "Oh where is the money coming from for HIM"?

I said: "You build it into your price...like every other expense should be built in..." (that's another concept that seem hard to sell - building expenses into your fee. I don't get why it's so hard... they one guy - F.L. - is a contractor...he wouldn't cost out a job without knowing HIS cost!).

Same guy then says to me "We're not worth $X + $200!" and my response was "...but we're worth $X ($200 less) to play and sound like crap? People will pay for "bad" but the wont pay for "good"? Come on... they'll pay what we tell them we charge, and it's not their business how we arrive at that figure". The tourist dollars in the area are huge. And their decisions keep those dollars out of reach. Classic case and point: The Lions  are having a dance this coming Saturday. Poetnially a great payout, but we'll never see any of it because the dance crowds with money are in the 35-60 year old bracket and they want to spend bucks, the men want to drink a lot; the ladies want to drinka nd get up and shake it. We cant do that. See song choice for an explanation on that.

As far as educating them, that's going to be tough with a stranglehold as F.L. seems to maintain. I get that he wants to hold on to the reigns, but for the second time in the last 6 months I've just witnessed his inability to Be the Big Man. My arrival made us a compliment of 3 guitarists. One too many, and when you add to that the fact that for no reason I can see we have a full blown percussionist ( close your eyes and imagine Highway to Hell or Shook Me with bongos. I kid you not.) OK recover from that...back to the 3 guitarists. One guy had to go, and it was apparent it was "D".  We took (at least what he was told) a couple weeks off. This was to give F.L. time to meet with him and cut him. 2 weeks go by...we're rehearsing as usual. Things are really starting to happen. On the 3rd week, "D" shows up about 1/2 an hour into a rehearsal. F.L. didn't say squat to him over the past couple weeks. From behind the kit without getting up, over the PA and infront of a couple "guest" he says "look man we don't need 3 guitars, sorry, we'll help you carry your stuff out..."

I was stunned. SO were the other 2 guys. The only reason I'm taking time typing this... What happens Sunday? "Fired Tech guy" calls me and say "Hey, are we on for Thursday...?" OK, I just asked was this idiot canned a couple days ago and I was told he was. Is he that thick? or is this a recurrence of the "D" situation.

They need someone to step up, but that person has to be allowed to step up and tell them whats good and whats not good. A producer, yes. A yes-man...no. This first question that person, that producer will ask is - what is your target market.

Arrgh.

**for some reason, when quoting the previous reply, my new post got buggered up in the quote. Too much to retype.**

Moshkiae

Crg

No, I'm not supplieing the Meds Mosh. How about you dude? Do you want your situation relate to this one? My daughter will leave one day? My son will leave one day? Some kid you're sleeping with? Excuse Me?

The point was ... that sometimes, kids want to do it themselves, and there is nothing you can do ... regardless of how much you know, or whatever good intentions you have.
 
At that point in life you have 2 choices ... get bitter, or move along ... and you'll do a lot better to move along and let live!
 
It will be sad for 10 minutes ... and then you're fine ... !

bapu


The only drama I recall in any band was when a guitar player (who booked the gig) kept the money and told us that he never got paid.

We did not find out that he got paid until about 6 months after he left the band and mutual friend told us about it.