How many on here play in more than one band

[Cat Burrito]

I am in 5 (on paper at least) and hold down quite a stressful job.

 

However this breaks down to one very busy band when you look at it;

 

• One band is on hiatus and is essentially where I play locally with two very chilled (lazy!) musician friends,
• One is predominately studio based and only does a few shows a year. the albums are critically acclaimed but it all looks busier than it actually is,
• One is a duo with an old school friend that is run by me so I just fit it around everything
• One is kinda on hiatus but is essentially the band that is linked to the last,
• The final one is an international touring level act that have just recorded a new record. I have been upfront about them using deps but this one zaps the most time.

My wife has a massive family (I don't) and she is the one who has pushed for me to do all this -- we're very committed / supportive of each other but fairly independent. I also think you HAVE to be upfront with other band members and it is easier if you come into something already in other bands. Don't hide auditions and don't bang on about how great the drummer is in your other band in front of the weaker drummer. If it's too much, scale it back.

[JapanAxe]

2 hours ago, mcnach said:

…

 

Bottomline is: you need to be organised. 

 

…

Absolutely.

 

I use a bullet journal to plan 2 or 3 things to progress each day so that I stay on top of all the material I have to learn. I’ve never been the guy that turns up to rehearsal and says, ‘Sorry, haven’t had time to look at this.’

[PaulWarning]

I suppose I'm in 2 one is a fairly busy punk originals/ covers band about 40 gigs year, the other I do open mics with my partner on drums me on electro acoustic guitar and singing which obviously never clashes with the main band as open mics aren't pre arranged.

Our guitarist is in 3 bands, which causes problems, but we do have a dep, I'm never happy with people in more than one gigging  band, it causes problems if band A gets offered a good gig that clashes with another band that a member is in.

Another pet hate of mine is when  you see someone playing in more than one band at a festival, to me, it devalues the commitment of the bands.

I've insisted on using our dep when this happens at a coupe of festivals this year where the guitarist is playing in one of his other bands

[Bilbo]

I play with a different band pretty much every time I do a gig. It's the nature of the beast with Jazz. The most bands I was with at one time was 9 in the 1990s in Cardiff. Great days. 

[Merton]

22 hours ago, BassAdder27 said:

How do you find time to be in more than one band ? 

Only one band rehearses regularly. The other two rehearse if needed but we have been together for almost ten years and don’t feel the need to see each other every week.

The band that rehearses each week hasn’t yet gigged, but it’s new and we’re sorting out the set ready to emerge into dive bars all over the south east later this year 🤓

 

[bassist_lewis]

Up until 2018 I was freelance so I played in dozens of bands a year, some as The Bass Player, but most as a dep or pit work. These days I have my own original band, a singer/songwriter and I dep with wedding bands.

I now work full-time as a teacher, I manage to fit it all in because my own band is still in the writing/rehearsing phase, the singer/songwriter does a lot of stuff himself and we only gig (currently) a few times a year, and the weddings are deps or charted, so I just turn up and play.

[joeystrange]

Currently in four bands in four different cities:

 

1. Gigs regularly and rehearse once a fortnight. I think we have 5 shoes between now and September then we’re taking the rest of this year and next off.

 

2. Similar to the above. Rehearses once a fortnight on average but could be more or less frequent.

 

3. Old band that has recurved for one show. Maybe four rehearsals over six months then the show and it’s done.

 

4. New band, yet to start gigging. Rehearse maybe once a month or so.

 

No issues with time but if they were all regularly gigging bands I would struggle.

[Dad3353]

1 hour ago, joeystrange said:

...I think we have 5 shoes...

 

No mean feet. 

[Bassfinger]

I often practice with local band, Velocity Four (although there's 5 of them) as their guitarist is a chum of mine.  I'm unofficially their dep bassist and rhythm guitarist, but never yet been called into action.

 

Practicing with 2 bands is a drain on time, and particularly tiresome when I'm missing Corrie, and Im retired and don't have the pressures on my time that others do. Playing for both on a permanent basis would be too much for me personally.

[Rodders]

I play in 2 bands and dep with a couple of others from time to time. 1 rehearses regularly but mostly recordes rather than plays live, the other plays for fun, rehearses once a month and gigs a couple of times a year. 

 

I did play in 6 (function bands to backing singer songwriters) at one time when I was working part time and was single, I had very few commitments so rehearsing most nights of the week was not a problem for me then.

[dudewheresmybass]

I have four plus dep work.

I have a decent diary - and as it's my job, it works.

All members of my bands know exactly what the score is - first to the diary wins.

Edited May 24, 2022 by dudewheresmybass

[chris_b]

On 21/05/2022 at 19:26, BassAdder27 said:

How do you find time to be in more than one band ? 

 

From 2005 to 2015 I was in 7 bands and doing about 150 gigs a year. Everyone has to understand (and accept) the situation and accept that occasionally you'll put in deps. Basically you have to be organised and good enough that people will accept that you might take a few nights off.

 

I'm currently in 5. One hasn't gigged since November last year, one hasn't gigged since 2019, one has 5 gigs this year, one only gigs on the first Monday of the month and the last one is just starting out.

 

The number of bands isn't an issue, it's how busy they are that matters. I regularly dep with another 4 or 5 bands and fit in one off gigs. In West London there is a pool of good players who can step in and we all cover each other.

 

How many gigs? 2 a week is good, 3 is better, none is crushing. Last month I had 10 gigs in 2 weeks. All good bands, all good gigs. It wasn't work at all. This month I'm just scraping by with 1 gig a fortnight.