Gypsyfolk Posted January 18, 2023 Posted January 18, 2023 Our drummer last year did exactly 50% of our gigs, we had to use deps for the other dates. He’s always been busy with other bands and social commitments but I thought this was too low. I suggested band members should make 80% of gigs. He threw his toys out and left. Am I being harsh? I know jazzers are fluid with line ups but folk and rock it’s more tribal. Some of our music is quite syncopated and difficult to blag. Quote
wateroftyne Posted January 18, 2023 Posted January 18, 2023 Assuming you're not an originals band 'going for it', and the quality is maintained.... does it matter as long as the gig happens? 1 Quote
Gypsyfolk Posted January 18, 2023 Author Posted January 18, 2023 Quality is not maintained with deps, the arrangements are unusual! 2 Quote
wateroftyne Posted January 18, 2023 Posted January 18, 2023 (edited) 2 minutes ago, Gypsyfolk said: Quality is not maintained with deps, the arrangements are unusual! But... the more you use deps, the better they get. What I'm trying to say is... if you're not happy with the amount of gigs the drummer can do, sack him and get another one that can do more. If there isn't another drummer who can do more gigs waiting in the wings, work with what you have. Needs must, and all that. Edited January 18, 2023 by wateroftyne 2 Quote
paul_c2 Posted January 18, 2023 Posted January 18, 2023 What number are you looking for? Because it seems, you have a number in mind, and want it reaffirmed by others. Quote
Dood Posted January 18, 2023 Posted January 18, 2023 As a professional musician myself, 100% - unless prior agreement has been put in place. My last band hand dep musicians for every member, sometimes multiples of. 6 Quote
Gypsyfolk Posted January 18, 2023 Author Posted January 18, 2023 9 minutes ago, paul_c2 said: What number are you looking for? Because it seems, you have a number in mind, and want it reaffirmed by others. As I said, I thought about 80% Quote
paul_c2 Posted January 18, 2023 Posted January 18, 2023 My first instinct was to say 100% but you need to make allowance for eg personal events happening, so something near 100%. I've never fully understood this thing about being in multiple bands - is it like hedging your bets in case one of them goes bad? Why not just focus 100% of your effort on one band? Social commitments - depends on what this actually means.... 5 Quote
acidbass Posted January 18, 2023 Posted January 18, 2023 Take a desk recording of your set and send to deps with charts if quality is an issue? In answer to your question - 100% of gigs, exceptional circumstances aside. 1 Quote
TheGreek Posted January 18, 2023 Posted January 18, 2023 If he's the drummer in the band why does he have somebody else taking his place. Show some commitment man!! 2 Quote
wateroftyne Posted January 18, 2023 Posted January 18, 2023 Problem is, you could provide a list of dates to your band for which you’re technically available… but what If you don’t want to gig three nights every weekend? That’s where the dep comes in handy. You can work it out with them to get a night off every now and then. Quote
Downunderwonder Posted January 18, 2023 Posted January 18, 2023 6 minutes ago, PaulWarning said: I'd be looking for a new drummer I think that ship already sailed. 1 1 Quote
chris_b Posted January 18, 2023 Posted January 18, 2023 53 minutes ago, Gypsyfolk said: Quality is not maintained with deps. . . . It is. . . . if you are using the right guys. I dep a lot and my aim is to be better than the guy I am replacing. That's probably why I dep a lot. 3 Quote
chris_b Posted January 18, 2023 Posted January 18, 2023 Most of the players I know are in multiple bands. Many are making a living at being a musician so diary clashes will occur. How you manage the diary and deps is more important than having or not having a dep. Picking a number out of the air is pointless. We had a "name" drummer in one band and he was off touring for months on end. I loved it. The deps were excellent and much nicer people to be around than the regular guy. 1 Quote
TheGreek Posted January 18, 2023 Posted January 18, 2023 How can you know so many drummers that you can find deps?? They're a very rare beast where I live... 3 Quote
Lozz196 Posted January 18, 2023 Posted January 18, 2023 In the punk/psychobilly band I’m in the drummer is in a good few bands so we have a reserve drummer. But other than that I’m of the opinion that you either all do the gig or all don’t. 1 Quote
Nail Soup Posted January 18, 2023 Posted January 18, 2023 For me, missing a gig is only ok occasionally. I’d expect that a band I was in would do min 90% of gigs with the full main line up. I guess the 10% would be shared out between the members. 1 Quote
SubsonicSimpleton Posted January 18, 2023 Posted January 18, 2023 If a band member can only make 50% of the gigs... You can take the cup is half full view, and look on it as a good opportunity to play and network with other musicians. or you can sack them and take the risk that you either can't replace them, or the new 100% person isn't as enjoyable to gig with. Quote
Norris Posted January 18, 2023 Posted January 18, 2023 We don't take a gig unless every member is free and has agreed to it. If we need to keep any dates free we let each other know asap. Extending those courtesies to each other has kept us together for many years now Deps are then minimised to absences due to illness, or wanting to slot an extra gig in at late notice. We would generally do 98%+ of the gigs we commit to. On rare occasions we may try to move a date if something crops up. The guitarist is pro, so I'm happy with him taking solo gigs or putting scratch bands together to help fill his diary. I'm a weekend warrior and he's happy with me wanting a weekend off now and again. It all works out well. The main thing is we are all adults and talk to each other if there's a problem. 3 Quote
steantval Posted January 18, 2023 Posted January 18, 2023 I don’t quite understand the question here, unless your gig bookings are done in an entirely different way. I was the only person in our band who sought and booked the gigs. Firstly, all the band members have full commitment to the band and are not involved in any secondary projects, so zero conflicts of interest. I contacted the venues and they gave me the dates they had available, I checked our band calendar which showed dates specific band members were not available, if all band members were available for the available gig dates, the gigs would be booked, no gig was ever booked unless all the band were available to do it. The extremely rare occasions we had to use a dep was if a band member fell ill just before a gig. This ensures with all things being OK, we have 100% commitment. Quote
wateroftyne Posted January 18, 2023 Posted January 18, 2023 4 minutes ago, steantval said: I don’t quite understand the question here, unless your gig bookings are done in an entirely different way. I was the only person in our band who sought and booked the gigs. Firstly, all the band members have full commitment to the band and are not involved in any secondary projects, so zero conflicts of interest. I contacted the venues and they gave me the dates they had available, I checked our band calendar which showed dates specific band members were not available, if all band members were available for the available gig dates, the gigs would be booked, no gig was ever booked unless all the band were available to do it. The extremely rare occasions we had to use a dep was if a band member fell ill just before a gig. This ensures with all things being OK, we have 100% commitment. How often did / do the band gig? Quote
steantval Posted January 18, 2023 Posted January 18, 2023 2 minutes ago, wateroftyne said: How often did / do the band gig? Just weekend warriors, all had good day jobs, about 20 gigs a year which suited all of us. Quote
Norris Posted January 18, 2023 Posted January 18, 2023 7 minutes ago, steantval said: I was the only person in our band who sought and booked the gigs. That's another thing - the (pro) guitarist has the busiest diary so takes the bookings, and as I said it's up to the rest of us to let him know what dates are NOT available 1 Quote
wateroftyne Posted January 18, 2023 Posted January 18, 2023 5 minutes ago, steantval said: Just weekend warriors, all had good day jobs, about 20 gigs a year which suited all of us. Yeah, I can see why it’s relatively straightforward in your case. Quote
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