As my previous posts on frontmen, etc, have suggested, our problems are mostly ego-driven. You have to have one to front a band, and compromise probably comes harder for such superstars than for us meek bass players.
Bottom line: someone good enough to fill the bill is probably with a band right now. So we have to share them (as our current stand-in) or persuade them to switch. As we have scaled back gigs to get our act together, we don’t have as full a calendar as usual.
What we have to offer is our reputation and repertoire - the latest guy said we play songs he’d do in a blues jam but didn’t want to do in a band setting. But we do them well and our audience like them. Do we change that for him? I am not inclined to.
All your suggestions up to now are helpful, please keep them coming. And yes, I realise I am a glass half empty person…. 🍺