Ever been sacked????

[Damonjames]

Hi guys n gals,

So I got a text message from the singer/guitarist yesterday to say I had been replaced, I have to admit I was pretty annoyed to say the least. I've been working with him in the second line up of his band since September last year, and after cooling off a bit now, I think I'm more pissed about the way in which it was done than anything. If it turns out that I'm not the right fit, he needs to move on and I can live with that. Still sucks to be not good enough though 😟 and worst part is we never got to do a gig!
Any one else been sacked by a band before? Would love to hear if anyone has been dumped in a more disappointing manner!!

[stingrayPete1977]

I guess if you haven't done a gig after best part of a year then something was wrong, could be lots of reasons other than you but either way it sounds like a dead end? Get in a new band and get out there

[aende]

That's pretty low and cowardly + if you have been working together so long, he should have been approaching you, face to face, to say that he was not happy and what could be done to resolve quite some time ago/

What a cowardly pr*ck. If you are going to fire someone, face to face and tell them straight.

I say, keep your head up as he is clearly a prima donna.

**I have had to fire people from high paid jobs before now, which is far more traumatic......!

[JTUK]

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1373031714' post='2133013']
I guess if you haven't done a gig after best part of a year then something was wrong, could be lots of reasons other than you but either way it sounds like a dead end? Get in a new band and get out there
[/quote]

yep.. what have you lost..??
Make it a mission to get in a band that posts a gig before them...

I agree, a text is crap... but it is more and more the dodgy way these days.

Worked with a guy who was sacked from a big name band..and he said the accoutant sacked him.
When this guy went right off on one...which is what I liked about him, funnily enough... and said that was a very poor pay-off
for all the years he had put in..along with throwing back the cheque, calling it an insult etc etc ..
The accountant calmly asked HIM what he thought was fair.
He doubled the figure and put a few more thou on it...and the accountant wrote out the new cheque for that figure without batting an eyelid...
Calm as you like...

I don't know whether that is a good way or bad way.. but again the band leader was nowwhere near doing it face to face.

[icastle]

I've never been sacked but I've fired plenty of people over the years.

What generally happens is that people don't 'perform' over a long period of time and are given warnings and the tools to make the required improvement.

In a band situation that basic step generally doesn't happen and if it comes out of the blue, as it has here, it's usually a bit of a shock.

Getting angry about it won't change whats happened here so pick yourself up, dust yourself down and go out and find new pastures.

[Dad3353]

Sacked..? Yes, once, many years ago now...

I'd been playing (drums...) in a variety band in Western France for a couple of years. Week-ends were busy, but not much during the week, mostly. I decided to take a quick trip back to Blighty; a couple of band mates (sax and bass...) came with me. We took the ferry from St.Malo to Southampton. No problem going, but coming back, a storm blew up, and what a storm. The ferry had to circle around near Jersey for 36 hours. Yes, 36 hours, before the ship could approach land. From the ship I managed to 'phone the band leader, to explain that we had no chance of making the gig the next day (indeed, we may have all ended up in Davy Jones' locker, for all we knew...). Eventually the ship accosted, and we met up with the band, to be told (all three...) that we had been permanently replaced. What to say..? That was that. I went on doing deps and private do's with a buddy accordionist, so didn't suffer too much, but, as you asked; yes, I've been sacked before. It's tough at the top (...and pretty bloody hard at the bottom, too..!).

Edited July 5, 2013 by Dad3353

[chris_b]

I've been sacked, but never from a band that I really wanted to be in.

I've also been sacked so someone could get their "best mate" in.

Bands fizzled out and restarted with different line-up. Yep, that's happened as well.

There is no good way of being told. Face to face is no better than phone call or email.

Just move on. There are always better bands around the corner.

They were all bastards anyway.

Edited July 5, 2013 by chris_b

[JamesBass]

Nope never been sacked, always walked or done the sacking myself.

Previous bands where I didn't get on with certain members and the changes in direction with sound and setup led me to get in spats and I knew even before the change they wanted me out so I just walked.

Other times I've been in bands where because I'm a fairly up front and diplomatic guy I get asked to do the sacking, I've sacked people for not turning up on time for 3 months straight, not getting involved in discussions about gigs and then pulling out a few days before because they couldn't do it. I have ALWAYS sat down and talked to the person and asked them if they want to change and 9/10 times they just want to chill and not take it seriously so we part ways. I would NEVER do it via text!


Find yourself a great new band do show them guys what you can do!

Edited July 5, 2013 by JamesBass

[chris_b]

The secret is to be in 2 or more bands.

Then it becomes less important.

[KevB]

I'm pretty sure I've only been sacked once a couple of bands back. Basically when I joined they were looking for imput to improve the band but it seemed whatever legitimate suggestions I made fell on deaf ears and the music wasn't really my thing anyway (at least not the way they did it) so when the band leader didn't even have the balls to ring me and got another band member instead to do it I let him get as far as 'It really isn't working out' and agreed to go straight away. I'd have quit of my own volition in a few months if things hadn't picked up anyway. The guy who rang me (keys) and the drummer were both fired themselves only a few months later and they had been with the band leader a good few years so I think you can see the pattern of this 'band'.

[Low End Bee]

3 of us got sacked by the 4th member and we didn't even know it. We thought he'd just left.
A fellow BCer narrowly dodged a bullet with this fellow too. Or was he sacked as well?

[Bassman Steve]

[quote name='Damonjames' timestamp='1373031492' post='2133009']
Still sucks to be not good enough though and worst part is we never got to do a gig!
[/quote]

I would immediately get that idea out of your head. A band is very much based on the relationship between the members and problems surrounding that are probably more often the cause of sackings (IMHO). I don't doubt it feels like that as you are smarting after the rejection but you should not be questioning your ability.

Edited July 5, 2013 by Bassman Steve

[LeftyBiskit]

I Had a bit of an experience last month,
In a nutshell here's how it went
put an ad up on one of those websites-got a reply followed by phonecall-blah blah no egos just want to get out gigging,we are not really happy with 2 a month and its our bassplayer whose holding us back blah etc.
so we arrange a rehearsal,I had a list of songs to learn
anyway come the rehearsal we stike up-I looked over at the drummer and he's beaming-lovin the groove and all that-so we eventually rip through 20 odd song's and everyone is happy-so you can safely say that i got the gig.we are now looking forward to the gigs,then the band says come and see us at our next gig just to see what we are all about,so I drive up only to be told by the singer we havent told the bassplayer yet,ah well alarm bells start ringing.
anyway onto the next rehearsal which is only 5 days later with a bank holiday inbetween-you know family stuff to do,great weather-so i dont get round to learning a lot of new stuff(IT'S A FU$£KI%Pub Band after all)-still i managed 5 new songs anyway(that's 25 song's in the set and the nearest gig is 4 months away)anyway so after the rehearsal i get a sense that something didnt go welland thought nothing more.
2 days later I get a text-we dont think that it's going to work out,so I think bollocks to this I'll ring the twunt up-get this he said-we thought you would've learned a lot more song's than you did in the time inbetween rehearsals-lucky escape methinks shallow bastards!any way joined another band that same day and im still there,

[Bassman Sam]

I have only been ever sacked once from a band. We had one rehearsal and then I was told that I didn't fit in. I suspect that it was because they found out that I was a DWP fraud officer at the time and they were all working and signing on. [size=4] [/size][size=4] [/size]

[neepheid]

No, I've never been sacked. I've declined to join after being offered a gig having done a couple of deps, I've left a band of my own accord and had a band disintegrate around me due to the main creative duo breaking up. All of these interactions have been done either in person or at least over the phone. Texts/emails are really cowardly and show a lack of backbone and respect. Not everyone thinks so though - the leader of the band I left emailed me later that day to tell me that my announcement at the band meeting was a "futile and theatrical gesture" - can't please everyone eh?

[KingBollock]

Never been sacked but I got a phone call saying the band had split up. Then, a couple of weeks later, I got another call asking to join a band made up of most of the original band but without the lead guitarist and the singer. The whole thing was set up to get rid of those two.

I was once in a band that went through members like crazy. I finally got the idea that it wasn't going to work when I turned up for a rehearsal and the only other person to turn up was a new drummer I had never even met before.

[Damonjames]

Thanks for the posts, there is a combination of a few things that have been mentioned that I think have lead to this. Fortunately for me, I don't do well sat around idle so I started looking for something to keep me busy while I waited for this lot to get around to doing something. The new band are only too happy to have me on board, and atleast I'm not in a position where I have to choose now!

[spongebob]

It's hard, and it doesn't make you feel great!

I was once booted from a band I was drumming in. By email!

I immediately rang the other two to sort it out, neither would answer their phones to me.

Did bump into the bassist sometime later - who put is as ' I didn't agree with it, but there's no point in both of us losing out, is there?' [size=4] [/size]

[size=4]Funny thing is our drummer has just quit in current band. Quite lucky, as he was likely to be replaced soon. He's a constant moaner, nothing ever right. [/size]

[size=4]At last week's gig, he complained that I play too many notes, and it's doing what his right hand should do(????), and that's he's never played with anyone like me before![/size]

He's an example of someone that need/ed to go! [size=4] [/size]

[Monckyman]

Just turned up at rehearsal and nobody there.
Called on phone and no answer.
Now that's a cowards way of telling you to f*** off.
I still polish the van with their shirt.

[Myke]

I was once sacked from a band. Played two gigs with them after about 3 rehearsals and in that time I recorded 12 original songs for an E.P with them. I didn't play my best on the recording but I did the best I could in such a short time.

I was informed at the same time as being sacked that I had also been taken off of the recordings aswell.

They weren't that great and I was only doing it to get experience playing with other musicians and getting a few gigs in.

Also this was done by text.

[discreet]

I've got the knack of always managing to leave about an hour before I'm sacked... I will agree with everyone above that sacking via text is pretty fecking low. And no gigs for a year? What's all that about, then? Sounds like you're much better off out of it, mate.

Also I'm quite sure you're good enough - don't ever think you're not. Musicians are a bunch of farking iceholes. If you're going to have anything at all to do with the music business your skin has to be thicker than a whale omelette. Feck 'em, I say.

[flyfisher]

Well, whatever the circumstances, you can't do anything about it so just forget it and move on. Life's too short to get mad about such things.

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1373032425' post='2133023']
Make it a mission to get in a band that posts a gig before them...
[/quote]

Yep.

[skankdelvar]

I was fired once. The frontman phoned me to say I wasn't musically right for the band. I agreed, because I [i]wasn't[/i] right. Parted on perfectly amiable terms.

As for firing from a distance. All very well to say 'It's cowardly' but sometimes there's a good reason. In one instance, it would have been unfair to drag a guy 70 miles to a band meeting to f*** him off and - frankly - there was no point in wasting his time getting him to come to another rehearsal just to send him away again. If I'd phoned him to say 'We're all coming round to your hose for a chat' - well, there's the clue.

Another time, another band, we did just that; me and the drummer went round and fired a guitarist while the singer hid in the car. Guitarist burst into tears and said 'I wish you'd called me and told me. I don't like people seeing me like this'.

Another time, another band; a frontman fired the guitarist by phone. Says the guitarist: 'Good job you phoned me. If you'd told me to my face, I'd have punched your lights out.'

Thing is, doesn't matter how you fire someone. They (we) are always going to be unhappy and they (we) will always find ammo to slag the remaining band-members off, starting with how it was done and finishing with exactly what they (we) didn't like about the band anyway. Wanting it to be done in a 'face to face' is really about the opportunity to play a bit of pain back their way and make them feel bad.

Besides which, getting fired from a band is not worth getting upset about unless money's involved. Sad but true.

Edited July 5, 2013 by skankdelvar

[JapanAxe]

I've only once been sacked from a band, and to be fair I was struggling to match the exceptional prowess of the guitarist I was meant to be replacing, and hadn't got to the point of doing any gigs with them. Now I run my own band, so I can't be sacked, and if either or both of the other members decide to walk, I'll find a replacement.

[martin8708]

Yup , been sacked from a band , or " replaced " by another bass player because the other bass players amp was bigger than mine ???
He also had a full length leather coat and long greasy hair , so as a slap-head I did not stand a chance .
I was fired by e-mail , about a month later I had another e-mail asking me to re join the band .

Ahh , band politics .