Or Write -->rehearse--> play out a bunch first-- then record?
 
   I know I will probably get a biased opinion here because this is after all a RECORDING forum, however.   With my current band, I can't seem to get them to commit to recording our stuff?!   It's a new line up (about 6 months ago it changed 2 out of 4 members)  we scrapped all the old stuff and started over.  Wrote 6 songs in the 1st practice!  Inspiration was going like crazy...  We have written a few more, dropped one or two that were lack luster, we have been playing show case gigs 3-4 a month and practicing every week in between them.   We've got them pretty tight, haven't changed anything on them & I say lets track them and get some of our new material out to the public. 
    Back in December the guys hesitantly agreed to do so in Jan. after the holidays.  It got pushed back as some gigs came up, same thing now in Feb.  They are saying march, and asked what was the rush?... they didn't/don't feel we were ready yet and that parts were not "locked down".  I ask who's parts aren't?  I am playing the same thing every time, so are you guys! Our live show is tight!   Yet, the only Cd we have is old stuff with old members and we don't even play that material anymore....  Give our fans something new, keep them interested.  I think after 6 months it is reasonably acceptable to expect the drummer to have "locked down" which fills he likes and the bass player to have done the same right?  As far as I am concerned I am perfectly content to write it, do a rough recording (1 mic in the room)  listen back, critique it, improve arrangements etc., re-write, practice a few times, lay it down  it down to a grid (click), and then everybody knows... those are your parts... play it like that EVERY TIME.  Now let's go gig!   BUT NOPE.  These guys (who btw are all great musicians, the best drummer, bass player, and front man I have ever worked with in 25+ years) have all been playing out in bands for over 20 years can't seem to buy into that theology?    Bands go in the studio all the time to write & record the next album, THEN they practice the set, and go tour!  I don't wanna tour (I'm too old) but we do play original rock and enjoy it, we are a good band but the pace of progress is too slow for my damn liking.    I built my own studio so that I CAN be prolific & write/record a lot.  This should be the most well documented musical period of my life.... but MY band hasn't released anything new since 2011.   Am I crazy here guys?
 
 

Seems pretty fundamental to me Chuck, recordings are part and parcel of what a band offers to it's audience, and without them you're less likely to build up a following. Besides which..every band wants to hear themselves recorded right? Seems odd...

I personally think it's best to record a band after a tour or long series of gigs. Everybody has their parts worked out and the band is at their tightest.
 
That of course is leaving out the "I've been in a van with you for three months and want to freaking STRANGLE YOU" factor though which can get a little hairy in the studio.

hi chuck,
I record all practises/rehearsals-everything- using a live template, a thorough soundcheck and my room knowledge.
you mentioned writing 6 songs in the first "practise"-you will probably never capture that vibe multitracking-just don`t tell the band you are recording-we all know what happens when that red light goes on-record,edit,then play them the "practise" recording.
often,when we are writing/practising the first take is the best whereas some songs just keep evolving.
some of my favourite recordings are when the artist(s) think they are soundchecking and are relaxed and natural.
my opinion only:I specialise in live recording-that 99th take on the solo did my head in so I now I  only overdub vocals if the wash is too intrusive.
best thing is I now only get bands who are confident enough to record live and mostly do pre-production for when they go to the "real" studio-like yours.
(legend has it that Hendrix employed 2 tape operators so nothing was missed at any time and he didn`t have 2tb of storage)
cheers
tony
 
 
 

It all depends on what you're trying to get out of your music.
 
a)You can "go into the studio" to write and record songs, you then go "on tour" to promote the CDs you produced.
b)You write a bunch of songs during practice which you add to your set list. You record a few tracks to sell at your gigs to promote your live playing.
c)You gig every Friday/Saturday.  It's great fun, it gets you out of the house, keeps you out of trouble (from the missus).  Recording?  Why?  That's WORK isn't it?
 
One of those is Pro, one Semi-pro and one because it's GREAT FUN MAN.  Which do your band mates fit best?

Because it's a recording forum doesn't mean that many of us didn't spend decades with bands, on stage and in studios.
 
Because a musician may enjoy being in a working band, performing and making some cash doesn't mean they want to spend time in a studio recording. That could be for many reasons and probably something that should have been talked about when the band was formed.
 
Best for a group to have a mutual understanding and desire to achieve the same goals. At least I'm not going to play in a group with somebody that doesn't share the same goals...I'm not out to change what somebody else wants to do just to get them to do what I want.
 
The last band I was in that was the first order of business at our first meeting. We all decided to be a cover band and book soliid as we could around every members schedule. (wasn't the first time...but it was a very good band with very experienced members)
We practiced in a very nice 8-track (analog) recording studio and could have decided at any time to write and record if everybody approved but the topic never came up...we knew why we were there and what we were doing and we cashed in. Everybody had a very clear understanding of what their role was and did it.
 
Years went by and goals changed for members and the group ended.
 
Being good musicians it was very cool that having tight arrangements didn't mean that one couldn't "expand" and what a failing it would have been if there hadn't been room for each member to try new things because others couldn't follow. After all, being tight is knowing/reading the others and being able to make music with them. IMO.

James - yeah it seems odd as hell at least to me...
 
Beepster - I understand that too, at the same time, we are not out touring, just gigging a bunch, and the songs are about as tight as they are gonna get.  At least UNTIL we record them.  In my experience that always seems to make a band tighter as any issues are highlighted in the process of recording, fixed, and re-tracked.
 
Tony - I get that dude, and during that first practice I was rolling "tape" to capture stuff as it came out, (I generally roll at lease 1 condensor mic in the room when we are writing.
 
Karyn- There (in a nutshell) is the problem, I am and have always been A) (currently minus the touring), and the other 3 guys are really more C) than anything. We have reached an impasse and things are simmering up to a boil because of it and a few other issues.
 
Spacey - yep, your are right, in this case this line up evolved from another.  We lost 3 guys, added 2 new ones.   The old band was more about working the songs hard, playing them out a few times to test them, then record, & gig to promote them.  This current group is more..... Jam & crank out new stuff, sounds good enough?  OK, GIG!   and that's what it comes down to.    In the end, I am not on the same page with the new bands agenda, or writing style and I think I am going to bow out of there and go do what is going to make me happy.   I don't want to waste my time or theirs.  IF I wanted to just go gig, I'd do covers and make some freaking money.  We do Originals, It's about the MUSIC to me.

One of the first bands I was in was in college.  I found some guys that played, we formed a band and played covers in small places around the town.  I was always trying to write some original songs and get the band interested in playing them and developing them.  They were never interested; only interested in doing covers.  We started the band when I was a Junior and in my Senior year; just a couple of months from when I would finish and graduate; the band came to my room and said they wanted to quit school and go on tour.  This band, I would have considered mediocre at best.  I looked at the group and basically said, REALLY.....you want me to quit college 2 months shy of graduating to go tour as a mediocre cover band???  You guys have never taken any interest in writing or recording your own material, do you not understand that with out that....you will just be another cover band? 
 
Well, that didn't go over so well and that was pretty much the end of the band.  I graduated 2 months later, was recruited by a company in Texas, and started my career.  I guess like Karyn has said, some guys just seemed to be in it for the fun of it and for others it was more for the music, the writing and the recording.

Wow...  It just hit me that I don't really do any of those four things anymore!  

ChuckC
  IF I wanted to just go gig, I'd do covers and make some freaking money.  We do Originals, It's about the MUSIC to me.

Chuck I feel for you. I know the frustration of trying to make the music happen. I imagine most every musician can.
Not trying to add to that but I read this (quoted) and probably misunderstand but the way I read it is somewhat confusing-
It sounds like you think doing covers is about making money and not music and if it's not originals it's not music...and I don't agree with that IF that is what you meant.
I can't say that doing either is easier, better or about making more money than the other because I think it's really just a preference and really just about the players agreeing about what they're doing. Sure if a group becomes really big they have a chance to make a great deal of money and nothing wrong with having dreams...
 
If I take one of the most successful groups, The Beatles, it's a perfect example of a group that mixed covers and originals.
 
To answer your question-
You decide what you want to do and find the players that agree and that you can get along with.
It will be much easier for them if they know you know exactly what you're doing and how you want to do it.
That way you will know if it's working and if not, how to modify it, keeping them on the same page with you.
I can see either of the examples you gave working. It may be that both processes could work as long as everybody knew which one was going to take place.
 
I also think being able to do strong covers helps connect the band with people and helps open them up to the bands original works. I think covers help the band members relate to each other...helps them feel each other out, so to say.
 
Thrusters on full!