oldslapper Posted February 8, 2020 Share Posted February 8, 2020 Had unsolicited contact from a band asking if I’d be interested in joining them. They sent me a website link, and all looked promising:- Image (interesting) Harmonies (nice) Songs (good story telling) Gigs (not too often but a good level when they do) But.....the guitar has chorus on, every song, all the time. I hated chorus in the 80’s, still do! It’s silly, but insurmountable for me. So it’s a NO from Slappie. What has prevented you from saying yes to a gig, which may seem a daft reason to others? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul S Posted February 8, 2020 Share Posted February 8, 2020 (edited) I have a cautionary tale about not ignoring alarm bells. I was at a loose end and auditioned with a band playing 80s rock/pop covers. Drummer was ex-pro and totally on it. Guitar player had a great touch. Keys was ostensibly the band leader but not very effective at either keys or leading. Male and female vox, both could sing and were young and attractive. It was clear there was chemistry between the singers, who were both married elsewhere with kids so I thought - this is all going to get messy when these two get together, so I declined. Fast forward a few months, they were still advertising and i was still at a loose end so I got back in touch. The drummer and I had kind of hit it off at the earlier audition so that was that. Spent 6 months getting material polished, spent a fortune on a demo, then 2 gigs into it the singers left their respective partners/families and, erm, it all got messy. Is there such a thing as having hindsight about foresight? 😁 Edited February 8, 2020 by Paul S 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanAxe Posted February 8, 2020 Share Posted February 8, 2020 53 minutes ago, oldslapper said: ... But.....the guitar has chorus on, every song, all the time. ... That would grind my gears too! I can think of some deal-breakers that didn't seem daft to me, but might be inconsequential to others: Band member who is obviously a passenger. Rehearsals conducted at ear-crushing volumes. Expectation that all kit would live in band van (in farmyard lock-up) between gigs. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor J Posted February 8, 2020 Share Posted February 8, 2020 Band member spouses/partners/mates at auditions. Nothing good ever comes of these things. Mega no-no. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted February 8, 2020 Share Posted February 8, 2020 Band members without their own gear or without transport. 6 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassbiscuits Posted February 8, 2020 Share Posted February 8, 2020 Band members who like bluegrass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanAxe Posted February 8, 2020 Share Posted February 8, 2020 1 hour ago, bassbiscuits said: Band members who like bluegrass. I hear banjos... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted February 8, 2020 Share Posted February 8, 2020 Just now, JapanAxe said: I hear banjos... I'm scared! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skankdelvar Posted February 8, 2020 Share Posted February 8, 2020 A drummer with two fans pointed at him. 3 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Dare Posted February 8, 2020 Share Posted February 8, 2020 Band members who are married/partners. If they fall out, it's a problem. If they are on good terms, one will always support the other, regardless of rights and wrongs, so you can't disagree with either of them about anything. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stub Mandrel Posted February 8, 2020 Share Posted February 8, 2020 (edited) I didn't actually leave but... In my first band the guitarist/BL had a Dire Straits obsession (about 1/5 to 1/4 of our songs). He was a very able rhythm guitarist but he had a sort of 'Guitar George Syndrome' which meant he wouldn't play lead (OK, he did a bit on Show me the Way, enough to show that with effort he was quite capable...) so the KB player covered most of the solos and I even did a couple on bass (Like a Hurricane with a Bass Solo anyone?) <edit> For some reason I was convinced we were not very good and couldn't understand why we seemed to go down OK at gigs (we even got rebooked...) but from a 30 years later perspective we were pretty tight and in all honesty, despite my angst, the punters at Valleys working men's clubs weren't exactly shouting out for guitar histrionics... Edited February 8, 2020 by Stub Mandrel 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted February 8, 2020 Share Posted February 8, 2020 4 hours ago, oldslapper said: I hated distortion/ overdrive in the 80’s, still do! Fixed 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldslapper Posted February 8, 2020 Author Share Posted February 8, 2020 (edited) 35 minutes ago, skankdelvar said: A drummer with two fans pointed at him. This is why most fans point at the drummer Edited February 8, 2020 by oldslapper 1 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard R Posted February 8, 2020 Share Posted February 8, 2020 12 minutes ago, oldslapper said: This is why most fans point at the drummer Laughed until my sides hurt, then watched it all the way through again! 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stub Mandrel Posted February 8, 2020 Share Posted February 8, 2020 Nyango Star does Slipknot... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scalpy Posted February 8, 2020 Share Posted February 8, 2020 2 hours ago, Dan Dare said: Band members who are married/partners. If they fall out, it's a problem. If they are on good terms, one will always support the other, regardless of rights and wrongs, so you can't disagree with either of them about anything. Whoops, that's me out then! My peeve, drummers who cant stop tipettiy tapttity bewteeen every song, another go at that fill, the groove the band like with extra ghostnotes, bell of the ride all the time..... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassbiscuits Posted February 8, 2020 Share Posted February 8, 2020 I’ve done the band with married members in it, and yes it did all go a bit ABBA and fell apart. Which was a shame cos it was a really good band. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krysbass Posted February 9, 2020 Share Posted February 9, 2020 A drummer with a fan pointed at him who always played too hard, with the result that on fast songs he would soon get tired, causing the tempo to get slower and slower, ending up as a ballad. It also meant bits would often work loose and fall off his kit. At one gig a cymbal hit the deck, only missing the mains lead to my amp by a couple of cm. That was the final straw for me - I resigned the morning after that gig. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steantval Posted February 9, 2020 Share Posted February 9, 2020 21 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said: I didn't actually leave but... In my first band the guitarist/BL had a Dire Straits obsession (about 1/5 to 1/4 of our songs). He was a very able rhythm guitarist but he had a sort of 'Guitar George Syndrome' which meant he wouldn't play lead (OK, he did a bit on Show me the Way, enough to show that with effort he was quite capable...) so the KB player covered most of the solos and I even did a couple on bass (Like a Hurricane with a Bass Solo anyone?) <edit> For some reason I was convinced we were not very good and couldn't understand why we seemed to go down OK at gigs (we even got rebooked...) but from a 30 years later perspective we were pretty tight and in all honesty, despite my angst, the punters at Valleys working men's clubs weren't exactly shouting out for guitar histrionics... I bet all those Knopfler solos sounded great being played on a keyboard ☹️ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stub Mandrel Posted February 9, 2020 Share Posted February 9, 2020 1 hour ago, steantval said: I bet all those Knopfler solos sounded great being played on a keyboard ☹️ We just left them out... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Len_derby Posted February 9, 2020 Share Posted February 9, 2020 On 8 February 2020 at 19:44, Dan Dare said: Band members who are married/partners. If they fall out, it's a problem. If they are on good terms, one will always support the other, regardless of rights and wrongs, so you can't disagree with either of them about anything. I left a successful band for this reason. It was (still is) run by a husband-wife team. The rest of us felt very much like their backing group. It might have been ok if they'd been open and honest about that but there was a sickening facade of 'we're a democratic band of brothers and sisters, everyone's input is equal'. Was it bolxxxx. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrunoBass Posted February 9, 2020 Share Posted February 9, 2020 21 hours ago, bassbiscuits said: I’ve done the band with married members in it, and yes it did all go a bit ABBA and fell apart. Which was a shame cos it was a really good band. Going a bit ABBA is bad enough, wait til it all goes a bit Fleetwood Mac and you’ve got real problems 😉 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martin8708 Posted February 9, 2020 Share Posted February 9, 2020 On 8 February 2020 at 16:52, Lozz196 said: Band members without their own gear or without transport. On 8 February 2020 at 19:44, Dan Dare said: Band members who are married/partners. If they fall out, it's a problem. If they are on good terms, one will always support the other, regardless of rights and wrongs, so you can't disagree with either of them about anything. Welcome to my current band . So far so good , but I do charge extra for taxi service's and relationship councilling . 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skidder652003 Posted February 9, 2020 Share Posted February 9, 2020 On 08/02/2020 at 16:36, Doctor J said: Band member spouses/partners/mates at auditions. Nothing good ever comes of these things. Mega no-no. Carrrrrrrrllllllll..... 1 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassbiscuits Posted February 9, 2020 Share Posted February 9, 2020 Band members who borrow items of your gear once or twice, and then assume thats the norm instead of bringing/fixing/using their own. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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