How to handle a change of musical direction in a band

[SpondonBassed]

Do you earn anything from this band? Will the new set be more profitable? That would be my starting point before saying anything.

Even if you do it just for the joy of it, I'd have thought it would be an interesting progression (regression perhaps?). Early sixties simple pop is not so simple to execute well. Looking around at other bands would bring you up to speed with the market, so to speak, and you need not commit to anything until you've had discussion with your band.

You [i]must[/i] discuss this with the established members if you still feel strongly about it.

[thepurpleblob]

On the whole playing in bands and playing stuff I didn't think I liked has really opened up some new horizons for me musically. So I tend to give things a go now. I have developed a few red lines though. It's a lot harder to play songs thinking "what the hell is this all about?". I have a list... I won't bore you

[chris_b]

[quote name='solo4652' timestamp='1509269910' post='3397634']Righto then. Let's ask everybody else, shall we? [/quote]

That's a dangerous ploy.

I should have seen that this wasn't going to end well, but I once I asked a band leader if we could drop a song. "OK", he said in an irritated way to the rest of the band, "Are there any other songs we don't want to play then?". By the time everyone finished we had 4 songs left and they had voted down all my favourite numbers!

That band didn't last much longer! Sometimes democracy isn't a good thing.

[Woodinblack]

We did a similar vote, but it was just for things that everyone, or almost everyone didn't want to play so there were only a few that went out. And then we didn't take them out as the guitarist doesn't want to ever drop any songs directly

Given the choice, I wouldn't listen to half the songs we play, and I don't enjoy playing about a quarter of them but that doesn't seem such a bad average, some I really enjoy, even the ones I didn't think I would. In fact some of the songs I wouldn't listen to at home are quite enjoyable to play, and a load of others go down well with the crowd. The only ones I really hate are the ones that are no fun to play and noone likes. We have one that is a complete audience killer, every time without fail, but the guitarist likes it so we have to do it.

[stingrayPete1977]

[quote name='fretmeister' timestamp='1509200035' post='3397283']


Making suggestions is not the same as changing the entire musical direction of the band.
[/quote]

How can someone do that, turn up with a new set list of 40 songs?

[ivansc]

I made myself a promise back in 2006 when I retired from the road that I would not travel more than an hour from home for a gig and would not play stuff I didnt really like.
Then an old chum asked me to play bass in a british style 50s 60s rock and roll band.
Did it for several years even though I didnt much like the material we were doing, but the other players were such fun to work with and so good at what we did it didn't seem so bad.
Funnily enough, the only member of the band who was really committed to the style we were playing was the singer! who also played piano and rhythm guitar....

[Burns-bass]

The presumption here is that the singer is trying to take over. He may actually be really excited and enthusiastic about the new band and be trying to show commitment and invest some of himself in the band.

I’d start by making positive assumptions, not necessarily negative ones.

Worth taking everyone out for a few beers and a curry and having a good chat together. Never go behind someone’s back and talk to the existing band members before hand at length as it can be quite an aggressive approach.