Depressing things your bandmates say.

[BigRedX]

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1331138591' post='1568319']
me too!

I played drums. My kit was made from a plastic bucket, cardboard cilinders, with tape to protect the "skins" from my sticks (cardboard alone breaks too quickly), three metal plates of various sizes that were original part of a fruit holder, the underside of my little sister's cot (metal strips and springs, sounded great and reverby ) and a real cymbal I managed to buy at the local flea market for nearly nothing as it was bent.

One friend of mine played electric guitar (not an Affinity Squier, those did not exist yet, Squiers are actually decent... he had some horrible made in Japan or somewhere else unplayable thing, the brand name was Arirang), and another played a Spanish guitar. That was our band. The "Maderos Light" we called ourselves.

We were 16. We did not let instruments (or talent) get in the way of us being in a band
[/quote]

My first band when we started had the following gear: two steel-strung acoustic guitars fitted with pickups, a 10W Carlsbro practice amp, a home-made fuzz box, two bontempi style chord organs (which weren't in tune with each other so only one could be used at a time), a practical electronics kit wired to make a sweepable oscillator, and a "drum kit" made from several tambourines (some with the zils removed) a pair of bongos and a cymbal all supported on stands and clamps nicked from the school chemistry lab. Occasionally we were able to borrow a home-made bass guitar from a class mate.

We actually wrote and recorded several hours worth of music with this equipment some of which made it onto self released cassettes in the early 80s and more recently onto a retrospective Cd compilation. Lack of "proper" gear has never stood in the way of a good musical idea for me.

[paul_5]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1331157689' post='1568781']
Lack of "proper" gear has never stood in the way of a good musical idea for me.
[/quote]

Absolutely, more power to your elbow!

[daz]

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1331138591' post='1568319']
me too!

I played drums. My kit was made from a plastic bucket, cardboard cilinders, with tape to protect the "skins" from my sticks (cardboard alone breaks too quickly), three metal plates of various sizes that were original part of a fruit holder, the underside of my little sister's cot (metal strips and springs, sounded great and reverby ) and a real cymbal I managed to buy at the local flea market for nearly nothing as it was bent.

One friend of mine played electric guitar (not an Affinity Squier, those did not exist yet, Squiers are actually decent... he had some horrible made in Japan or somewhere else unplayable thing, the brand name was Arirang), and another played a Spanish guitar. That was our band. The "Maderos Light" we called ourselves.

We were 16. We did not let instruments (or talent) get in the way of us being in a band
[/quote]

That sounds brilliant. Good on ya.

Kids today don't know how lucky they are etc etc. But i also actually feel sorry for them sometimes. They wouldn't have a clue how to make something like a home made drum kit for themselves, nor would they even try. They see no worth in it if it is not made by Sony, Nike, Fender, etc. When i think of all the hours i spent in my dads shed making go-carts from old prams, or building dens. Me and my brother are often in my or his shed. His lad and his mates show no inclination to come in with us, or offer to help, or just watch. The siren pull of the x-box or the tv is too strong.

I think in the future we are going to pay for coddling our children in such a manner.

[steve-bbb]

[quote name='daz' timestamp='1331192936' post='1569016']


I think in the future we are going to pay for coddling our children in such a manner.
[/quote]

methinks the future is now !

[Maverick]

I've essentially had this conversation (albeit somewhat paraphrased here) several times over the last two years with my guitarist:

Me: "Shall we do some recording?"

Him: "Yes!"

Me: "Shall we go in a studio?"

Him: "No, let's do it all ourselves!"

Me: "Okay, are you any good with recording and producing? Because I'm not, and I don't think the other two are."

Him: "No, but let's give it a try anyway."

Me: "Well, erm, okay, we can give it a go I suppose."


.....

[About a year on, some very ropily recorded drumtracks and one track fully done to a very poor standard that we hence have no intention of actually releasing]

Me: "So, it's not that great is it?"

Him: "No, not really."

Me: "Okay, shall we try a studio now?"

Him: "No! Let's do it all ourselves!"

Me: "But we've tried that and it didn't really go very well. I think we should give a studio a go now..."

Him: "No! Let's do it all ourselves!"

Me: "But..."

Him: "No! Let's do it all ourselves!"

Me: *headdesk*

Edited March 8, 2012 by Maverick

[Dad3353]

[quote name='Maverick' timestamp='1331202926' post='1569218']...several times over the last two years with my guitarist...Him: "No! Let's do it all ourselves!"...[/quote]
Now, now... Perhaps you're not being quite fair. One can't expect to become expert in these techniques just like that. Give the lad a chance to get up to speed and perfect the competence required. Another 30 or 40 years should do it (if he's good...). Patience appears not to be your strongest point..?

[Truckstop]

"A transvestite band would be cool, right?"

Truckstop

[TimR]

"Let's wear the band t-shirts to play in."

God not more corporate wear. I'll wear it to turn up in and get changed into stage clothes later but, please, not to play in them!

[bremen]

"Let's do a ska version of [insert name of cheesy 80s pop song]"

[PaulWarning]

how's it go? I haven't had time to pick up my guitar since last week

[janmaat]

"There will be a PA"

- on the gig, some dude turns up with a tiny mixer and a guitar amp...!

[charic]

[quote name='BRANCINI' timestamp='1331146067' post='1568515']
My girlfriend sez we should Fit in anything you like
[/quote]

Got to admire the ambition!

[Happy Jack]

[quote name='charic' timestamp='1332761047' post='1592589']
Got to admire the ambition!
[/quote]

Sandwich --> Keyboard.

[Gust0o]

[quote name='PaulWarning' timestamp='1331219950' post='1569692']
how's it go? I haven't had time to pick up my guitar since last week
[/quote]

Oh yes! "Yeah, I didn't get chance to practice" - closely followed by "Yeah, I've not finished the solo yet - just keep playing and we'll leave a gap for it..."

Total f***wit. It's not even a solo, anyway, if you can only play it one time in ten - it's just musical alphabeti-spaghetti. Tosser.

[brensabre79]

[quote name='Gust0o' timestamp='1332763374' post='1592648']
It's not even a solo, anyway, if you can only play it one time in ten - it's just musical alphabeti-spaghetti. Tosser.
[/quote]
Brilliant! I'll have to use this in future

[lurksalot]

in a previous band and after a few comments on speed variation and fills that spill ....

'Look guys ,it is NOT the drummers responsibility to keep time '

The guy is a great dude but

[4 Strings]

Bill Bruford had other ideas;

[i]"Drummers used to keep the time. Remember that idea? And it was held that other musicians -couldn't- keep time, so they employed this guy called a drummer to do it for them. This is all a farce, of course, and we have to assume by now that Robert Fripp can keep time. And if he can't, well, that's tough. But timekeeping is also something we need for the audience. The machine can handle it, leaving me free to stand and play a vertical rack setup of Simmons SDS 7s, embroidering the top.

"Look, when you play a note, and I play a note, I quite like both of them. But music really occurs in the distance between the two. It's the minute human differences that make the music for me, and these are increasingly known as errors. Take the history of the rattle; a good kalimba player will leave the rattles on his instrument. Rattles are essential flack around the sound. But in the West we spend thousands of dollars getting rid of every conceivable harmonic distortion, and then of course spend thousands of dollars putting it all back in again. At some point I put up my hand and say I can't hear any music here anymore, just binary code going past. In this oscilloscope mentality, music is supposed to abide by some mechanized rhythmic formula. Rhythm has never really been like that. Rhythm, to me, is about Tony Williams coming and going like the breeze, like a storm, rather than the thing that military bands went to war with. Which is called beat. Rhythm is pulse, as opposed to beat." [/i]


I speed up.

[lurksalot]

Interesting Ideas , but does it actually mean anything in the real world ?

I understand that everyone in the band has to have a sense of timing and rhythm but it kind of goes out of the window ,cos you do have to make an effort to play to the drummer , he may not be responsible , but he won't look to anyone else for reassurance, it is all a bit of a jazzy trainwreck if everyone played to the agreed time signature except the drummer .
Ebbs and flows in tempos really can add a lot, preferably when the ebbs are not done on someone elses flows , or maybe .....

[4 Strings]

The real world for me needs one person keeping time, be it the drummer or a conductor, left to just me we'd be going too fast at the end.

Interesting discussion could be had, but getting back to the subject...

...much work left to the last rehearsal before we provide backing for 150 kids in a youth choir and what you don't want to hear is a last minute call from the drummer who has strained his arm and shoulder at work and can't move anything. Of course we all want him to get better, but can't help but think that it had better be by Saturday!

[Alec 'Aleb' Mills]

[quote name='lurksalot' timestamp='1332796143' post='1593359']
in a previous band and after a few comments on speed variation and fills that spill ....

'Look guys ,it is NOT the drummers responsibility to keep time '

The guy is a great dude but
[/quote]

Ah I suppose thats partially true. I mean in traditional swing/jazz, its really the bass player that should be keeping time with the walking bassline and the drums mking the piece more interesting - not that professionals should need any help to keep time

[Icarus_147]

"We just need to write loads more new songs. We're not as good as we should be. Let's not practice the old stuff any more and just write new stuff."

Right. So... you say we need to get better, and... we can make that happen by not practising? And the best thing to fill the setlist with is more new songs that we [i]definitely[/i] aren't happy with yet?

This kind of logic makes me cry night.

[TimR]

I arrived at my first gig with the band to find they had set up everything on the stage. PA mixer, PA amp, monitor amp, PA speakers, guitar rack for 7 guitars with 4 guitars in it. Leaving no room for us to move.

Me: we need to move all this stuff off the stage into the wings, people have come to see us play and we've got no room to move about.
Guitarist1: But then no one will be able to see how much gear we have.

[4 Strings]

[quote name='Alec 'Aleb' Mills' timestamp='1332889503' post='1594621']
Ah I suppose thats partially true. I mean in traditional swing/jazz, its really the bass player that should be keeping time with the walking bassline and the drums mking the piece more interesting - not that professionals should need any help to keep time
[/quote]

This is too interesting to stop here, but this is not the place, I'll start a thread.

[4 Strings]

[quote name='TimR' timestamp='1332932535' post='1594981']
I arrived at my first gig with the band to find they had set up everything on the stage. PA mixer, PA amp, monitor amp, PA speakers, guitar rack for 7 guitars with 4 guitars in it. Leaving no room for us to move.

Me: we need to move all this stuff off the stage into the wings, people have come to see us play and we've got no room to move about.
Guitarist1: But then no one will be able to see how much gear we have.
[/quote]

Saw something similar with one of my lad's bands a year or so ago, one of the other bands turned up with a van full of 4x12s and goodness know what else c/w, I kid you not, a rack of 5 basses (none of them on my list!). They had some work to do playing-wise.

[fumps]

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1331136087' post='1568258']
He had been playing for... 3 weeks.
he could barely play three chords...

it was... interesting.
[/quote]

A Guitarist did call the drummer in a band & say [i]"We have a new bass player, he's a nice enough guy but he doesn't know how to play" ........ [/i]
Drummer not happy....................... but that was me, i was the none-bass player !!!
Hey people have to start somewhere,
when I joined this band I owned my first Bass for a week & didn't even know how to tune it.....but by utter determination & steadfast commitment I learned to play songs as I went on........I ended up taking that band further than it ever ended up going. apparently after I left it stumbled, played a few half hearted gigs & then fell on its arse.