Playing in more than one band?

[dclaassen]

Or "never play in a band that has a Hammond Organ complete with Leslie if the gig is up 2 flights of stairs".......(actually did this once)

[Muzz]

Ooooo, me back, just reading that...

[lozkerr]

12 hours ago, neepheid said:

You have to be upfront about it, I think that's the only way it'll work.  If not then a clash will occur at some point.  Everyone's aware of the situation. 

This ☝️☝️ I'm in two bands, and when I was offered the place in the second one, I made it clear up front that if a diary clash ever occurred, the first band took priority. That wasn't negotiable.

 

I suppose it helps that the first band's gigging and the second one is still in rehearsal-only mode, but if the second band lands a gig that clashes with a commitment to the first one, it'll have to go by the board.

[mike257]

My experience of this over the years (having done the original band DIY touring thing in my youth, to occasional covers gigs around a day job, to full time muso/techy work) is that, broadly speaking, the more professional the act, the more accustomed they are to you having multiple projects on the go and to have to use deps from time to time. 

 

When I was depping around all over the place, I'd frequently drop in to reasonably high end function gigs with nothing more than the setlist and a handful of notes on the arrangements, and a Motown band I was involved with would sometimes end up doing a gig as a ten piece with seven players who'd never even met before turning up at the gig.

 

Conversely, it was the part time pub bands looking for a dep who'd ask you to come in for rehearsals before playing for £70 at a local boozer. I remember one in particular asking me to come to a rehearsal to "try out" to dep a handful of pub shows for them, and to make sure I could play Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick, because they liked to "test out bass players with it". 

 

I think whatever the situation, whether it's a pro working band, a part time pocket money thing, or a fun rehearsal room project that might play the odd show, the important thing is that everyone knows what the expectation is going in to it and is on the same page. If you just want to jam and play the odd gig, and dip in and out of other projects, but the rest of the band want to be playing shows every week (or vice versa) it's doomed. If everyone knows the score, and is comfortable with seeing the occasional dep drop in, then it's definitely workable to be involved with multiple projects.