Thanks to Mary at band-vans.net for this excellent article.
Many bands think that if they master their instruments, write good songs and maybe even have some fans that the rest will somehow fall into place. They forget to ask themselves how other potential fans shall come across their band.
The big advantage of the internet is that you can present your songs and videos online. Similarly, the big downside of the internet is that all bands present their songs and videos online. More bands than ever before vie for the favor of music lovers. So, just as it is important to have a good band, it is equally important to make sure that the band is heard.
Who are you? – Your band as a brand
Make your band a brand. You have to define yourself first. If you describe your style, promoters and potential fans must be able to picture it immediately. This is the exact opposite of, “we can’t be put in a drawer”, “we make a mix of many different music styles”, or “we actually go down well everywhere”.
Do not try to please everyone; your product has to please you first and foremost. Find your unique selling point. What else can you offer that others do not offer? Why are you unique? Why should people choose your band from the many different offers?
Write a short and entertaining band info that tells people what they can expect from a show. For starters, you can skip a band biography (in my opinion) as that will only become interesting once you have a certain degree of popularity.
You can vary, but you will be successful if, by and large, you remain true to your style. This includes not only your music, but usually also a certain lifestyle. Everyone loves authentic bands that are true to themselves. Stand by your product, then you can sell it best.
How do you present yourself to the world?
Social Media
Only create profiles on the social media platforms that you can really look after. It’s rather counterproductive if you’re there but never publish anything. Which platform is best for you depends, among other things, on your region, age, political views, and the average lifestyle of your followers.
Website
I also strongly recommend a website as it has many advantages over a social media profile. First of all, it makes your band look more professional. A website is timeless while social media lives from news and is constantly changing content. A website can also be much more creative than a standardized page on a platform.
You have full control over your website while in the social media you are exposed to constant changes from the platform operators. You are also dependent on the rise or fall of the platform. Apart from that you can offer song or album downloads on your website.
Concerts
Play live as often as you can and present yourself to the world. In the beginning, you have to invest time and money. As musicians, you are still much more fortunate than artists of other genres who (usually) have very high expenses in order to be able to present themselves at all, e.g. in galleries, at art exhibitions, art fairs, etc.
Although there are also showcase festivals for musicians that can be worthwhile, you can usually find opportunities to perform without participation there. If you’re lucky, you’ll even get paid for the chance to present yourself.
There are idealistic local promoters who take the risk of letting an unknown group play, and you should be grateful for that. However, you cannot expect that these promoters shoulder all the advertising for your show on their own. There are bands that do not even share the Facebook event to their shows on their Facebook band page, let alone promote them for a fee.
However, the better you promote your shows, the better your chances are of being booked again in the same club. Many types of advertising cost you nothing or are very cheap. Create a local press distribution list and send press releases for your concerts to the local media in each city. Send your confirmed tour dates to fanzines and magazines; at least online, they are often published. Also, add your shows to online event calendars.
Create online flyers with tour dates and distribute the printed version at concerts. Share all Facebook events of your shows as soon as they are released and at least once more shortly before the show. Invite your Facebook friends in their respective cities to the concerts. You can also promote the Facebook events with relatively little money.
Banner
Have your logo printed on a banner that you can hang behind you on the stage. If you play as one of several bands and people like you, they will immediately know who you are and remember your name better. A banner should be at least 2.50 x 1.50 m in size so that you can see the print well from a distance.
Videos
Create videos for YouTube, Instagram, Facebook etc. It doesn’t have to be expensive. If the video is good, people will share it. To convey a good impression of your performance, a live video with good sound from a well-attended show in your hometown should do. You can arrange the show as a party, perhaps with invited guests along with free admission, a good support act and free drinks. This will always put people in a good mood.
Fan Loyalty
You should find out who your fans are. Trying to convince people of your band who are not interested is never the right way to gain fan loyalty. Tastes are different and you cannot force anyone to like your music. Instead, try to find and keep those who appreciate your music. If you have found these people, be nice to them and do everything that you can to keep them as fans.
In the beginning, your fans are the most important people for you. They are much more important than the bigger bands you want to support and also much more important than A&R managers, music journalists, booking agents, or producers who really aren’t good for anything without fans. Sure, they can help you to play in front of more people, but they only do that when it pays off. It’s much easier to get the average concertgoer excited than people who deal professionally with music on a daily basis.
So, give your promotional albums, downloads, or merchandise to the right people. These are not just artist agents or label managers, but those who love your music. If you have a lot of loyal fans, the agents and label people will eventually come by themselves or at least will be easier convinced.
Newsletter
Send out an attractive email newsletter to share important news like the release of a new album or an upcoming tour with your fans. Invite people to register at the merch table and through your website and social media pages. You can, for example, offer a discount for your new album for people who sign up, there are many possibilities.
Merchandise
Be creative and offer your fans something special. Your album cover does not necessarily look good on a shirt. I wouldn’t buy a boring T-shirt from a band just because I like them. If I buy it anyway just to support the band, I probably won’t wear it, and as a result, you (the band) miss out on an important advertising opportunity. When your shirts become your fans’ favorite shirts, you will often see people walking around with your logo.
If you know your fans, you can better match your merchandise. Is it particularly important to them, that the shirts are fair trade and organic? Do many women visit your shows? Do most of your fans wear black anyway?
You should always have a selection of products, different colors and sizes, etc. It is also important to have something to fit every budget from badges and fabric bags to shirts, albums, and collector’s editions. Then, even people who do not have much left at the end of the evening can support the band. Additionally, package deals are always a good idea.
Success in new regions/markets
If bands are already successful in their home region, they often expect that they will magically do well in other regions or countries. When marketing any other product(s) in an entirely new region, most people realize that they will have to invest a lot of work and, most likely, a lot of money in advertising.
It can, of course, help if you already have a certain degree of popularity in your homeland, especially if the scene there is comparable to that of the new target region. However, people will want to convince themselves first, so you usually have to start from scratch as long as you do not have a big international label behind you.
I recommend that you first establish yourself in a region where you are doing well and where there is a market for your music. It does not necessarily have to be your hometown, but this will make it easier to find a label or agency in new regions later.
Showcase festivals
In addition to regular audiences, people from the music business and other music scene actors are present at so-called, showcase festivals. These festivals exist in all sizes, orientations, and as mixed forms all over the world. You can apply for performing at these festivals, but you should be ready for it. You need to know where your band is going and your performance and promotional material should be professional. Once you do that, these festivals can be a good place to gain contacts, especially if you want to extend to new regions.
This article was taken from Tom Hess, professional touring guitarist and recording artist. I couldn’t of said it better!
Have you ever been in this scenario? You are trying to find new band members. You put out flyers, ads, or even post on forums online. Then, whenever someone shows interest in your band (they call you, or audition), they do not have the same drive and ambition that you have. This situation actually occurs for most bands throughout the music business. Unfortunately, most bands do not know how to solve this problem in order to find the right musicians. To help your band be more successful, read the following tips for finding committed musicians:
Rule 1: If you are in the company of band members who are truly success minded, there are no boundaries to what you can accomplish.
Rule 2: If you have a band full of unmotivated band members, the chances of succeeding in the music business are close to zero.
Rule 3: In order to build success for your band, you will need to consistently put out a great deal of effort (this applies even once you’ve begun to ‘make it’). If your band only contains a couple of people who do all of the work, the amount of work will simply be too much to handle on your own. As a result, the band will likely not achieve significant success. Once you start to notice that the other musicians in your band are not putting out much effort to help the band, bring this up with them. Tell them that they have only one chance to change their ways. If you then notice that they have not made any efforts to turn things around, cut them from the band. These people will only drag your band down.
Rule 4: It is very common for potential band members to talk about becoming successful, but not actually follow up on what they say. Every musician wants to become highly successful in music, but very few musicians will truly put out the effort in order to achieve success. You will run into these kinds of people all the time. People like this will want to join your band, but won’t be able to help your band in the long run (they will only slow down your progress). Keep away from these types of musicians at all costs.
Pat O’Bryan once said:
“You would be surprised by the amount of musicians and artists who are just waiting around for opportunity to knock on their door as they simply follow what all the other musicians and artists are doing.”
“Losers in a losing cycle, perpetuated by following other losers. Not such a great plan, but it is by far the most popular.”
Rule 5: Some musicians make for excellent band members from a purely musical standpoint. However, it is a very common situation that talented musicians actually prevent their band from making progress in music. This is because talented musicians (like any musician) can still be the ‘wrong’ people for your band. If you want to achieve great success with your band, you will need to focus on the wider scope of where the band is going. This means, if someone is the wrong person for your band, you need to let them go (even if they can ‘play’ great).
Rule 6: Finding the right band members may sometimes seem like an impossible task. However, remember that the most dedicated musicians are also looking for you at the same time that you are looking for them. These people are also going through the same difficulties as you, and share the same desire to play in a successful band as you do.
Rule 7: There are many bands that have already achieved high success in music who are unsatisfied with some of their current band members. It is a mistake to assume that because a band is already successful, they are not actively looking to find the right musicians. It is very possible that people from these bands could join with your band instead or even that you could replace a member in their band.
Think about all that you will be able to do once you have found the right musicians for your band. This means being surrounded by musicians who not only ‘talk big’, but ‘do big’. These are people who are highly motivated, and work hard on a continual basis to make progress in their music careers. Once you have these people on your side, you will become a totally unstoppable force!
If you read part 1, you probably were thinking I was saying we should all play for free (don’t do it, unless a charity) and we should all just hug and sing John Denver songs (real name Deutschendorf BTW).
Nope, I’m like any warm blooded human and American, show me the money! let’s derail this train and make money!
Given “value” has two meanings, we can now consider both in our determination of overall value. We’re now armed with our values of why we do it outside of money. We can combine that with money to build our definition of real value!
Ok, back to money. It’s what pays our bills, it’s what puts food on the table, it’s what kept me up at night in my earlier years as I plotted to be a millionaire by 30 years old, it’s what people sometimes get obsessed with and die without enjoying it (where is the fun in that?).
So, let’s talk money. Strictly speaking money, we need to first consider a few value systems.
The market value
The values of the bar, venue, restaurant
The actual values based on numbers
The market value
In this area (and pretty much what I’ve seen in my travels), the market price for a musician performing at a small / medium club in 2019 is $100 per person a night (and it’s going down if we’re not careful). Yes, there are some folks who make more and it’s supported by the number of crowds and even music genres but I’m being general. If I’m wrong here, please message me and give me your secret because everyone I talk to tells me these same basic numbers.
Did you used to make more, absolutely!
Should it be more now?
The musician in me says “damn right, you know how much equipment, time, energy, blood, sweat, and tears I have into this music thing?” but the business analyst in me says “it sort of depends”. Why? Continue reading.
The values of the bar, venue, restaurant
Those places value people. The more people they can serve, the more money they generate, the more they can pay their bills and people. I’m sure they have the internal values as well but we are just talking money. They are after the same things we are, the glorious dollar. Instead of spending their time practicing for years on instruments or singing to be reimbursed, they spend their money they worked for years to obtain in hopes to gain profit (not much different and the goal of everyone, use your assets to bring more assets).
Leveraging some business strategy to get people, they utilize entertainment and other measures. In our case, they desire our bands (notice I didn’t say need us) to bring in crowds, fresh faces, and to entertain. They are essentially gambling at this point at time and asking “Will the band bring in enough people to pay for itself?” If it does, boom… we’re all successful.
One thing to know, bars / venues / restaurants for the most part are not trying to rip you off. They are trying to keep their doors open. Sure, many will try and get the best deal they can but this goes back to the idea of partnering for mutual benefit.
Therefore, knowing what you bring is part of the equation to consider.
Pretty simple. The venue desires people to make money and they need it to pay you. It’s a relationship I’ll most likely write a whole other article on but failure to understand the relationship completely can lead you to either never getting a gig due to your own perceived values, a disdain of clubs all together, or limit your ability to negotiate the best deal.
Given that info, we can start to formulate things.
The actual values based on numbers (door or ticket sales)
Spoiler alert: your perceived value may not align with the actual value to others mathematically. Don’t shoot the messenger! This is a ugly reality and I did not enjoying typing it.
First, let’s categorize the places you want to play.
Large – 500+ people (Casino / Mega Club / Concert Venue)
Medium – 200 – 300 people. (bar, restaurant, venue)
Small – Less than 100 people. (bar, small venue)
If you are playing the large, this article probably never
applied. You are already with an agent or you’ve been through the small to
medium to get where you are at. You’ve obviously got your stuff together and
have a large draw. That’s awesome!
However, for us more normal working folks, let’s focus on the medium and small clubs and cover bands. Original bands are a different beast and unfortunately get even less sadly.
For quick math sake, small or medium clubs charge / or expect $5 a person as a baseline.
That means, the number of people you bring would determine what value (money) others may see versus maybe your perceived value. Think of it like ticket sales or even door sales (although there is a difference)
25 people = $125
50 people = $250
100 people = $500
200 people = $1000
300 people = $1500
If that were ticket sales and you sold 25, you made $125. Does that mean your band is only valued at $125.. i don’t think so.. but.. the numbers do. The bar / venue / restaurant may feel the same.
It’s kind of like a gofundme where you ask for $2000 and you get $125. It’s reality versus the perception of things. You may feel like you should have gotten $2000 but people may not like you as much as you think, at least not enough to let go of their hard earned money.
Even worse, a true “ticket sales model” in places like L.A. would require bands to actually pay money to play a location and then sell tickets to reimburse themselves and make profit (yikes).
And possibly even worse, companies like live nation are now exclusively signing contracts with venues / bars where they take a cut off the ticket sales and who knows how much more. I got to do more research on this but just yesterday they just signed the basement east in Nashville. Not sure the fallout for bands just yet (hopefully it’s positive?)
So how is the door different? The door is a collective of work where all parties share from the effort. Much like profit sharing, both bands and venues are working towards the promotion of an event. Everyone benefits from the hard work and nobody gets left out in payment. Bands receive those rewards generated by the venues hard work and promotion and investment as an example. (hint: choose venues that also partner). Some venues / bars are doing a guarantee plus door (overage).
So are ticket sales and door deals bad? It depends again.
If the Kid Rock asked you to play in front of 50000 people but only gave you $150 in tickets (to sell), is that good value? YES. Did you compromise on your “we know our value” absolutely no. You invested in your band and that gig is paying huge returns towards the real value.
If your local venue is packed and the place is electric with music lovers who will follow and become fans to your next event, is the door deal good value? YES. You invested in your band and it will pay dividends.
If the place usually has 10 people with no structure, no PA, and they are all drunk worth a door deal or ticket sales? NO. That is divesting in your band and brand.
Is playing the same places over and over with the same material good? oh, that’s a different subject. Short answer NO!
Simple rule: Assets bring your things. Liabilities take things away. Consider this in every step in your bands journey if you can.
Oh my, the meme is true! Musician: someone who loads $5000 worth of gear into a $500 car to drive 100 miles to a $50 gig!
Something to mention, at no point did I say anything about free. I don’t recommend it unless it’s for a charity. If you do, you could be impacting the market value we do have.
I wanted this article to be something which would spawn thoughts and just maybe put a different perspective on why we are generally seeing those rates in the area. I know in the 90’s it was around $1000 a night, 2000’s was around $750, and by 2015 it’s become $500 and dropping. You are seeing more lead singers doing solo projects and karaoke because venues / bars are not seeing where the numbers line up and the crowds are about the same. No disrespect for those solo folks, you guys are on the money.
It should however cause us to think, how did we get here and what can we do about making a change? Reviving live music and creating the scene (#CTS) !
My biggest hope is that this article would present another perspective and that together working with each other and bars / venues / restaurants, we can all receive value together that is fair and equitable and that increases the exposure of live music in real numbers with real expectations. I feel if we collectively work together, we’ll create a thriving music scene which will get those number back up in the market value and we’ll be having fun while we do it.
BTW, I’m waiting for people to say “I wouldn’t even get out of bed for $500”. My response, not talking about you dude, you are the best. Rock on.
Last, this video of the “beard of truth” gives a perspective from a working drummer. He reminds us why we got into music in the first place and shows a guy playing big shows and enjoying himself while doing so. Good stuff.
“Hey dude, you playing at Wombats, that new bar in town?”
Hell no man.
“Why dude?”
Not enough money man.
“What do you mean? Isn’t some money better than no money?
No man, we know our value.
As someone who has booked myself and artists, I have actually used the phrase “We know our value” as to somehow tell those bars / venue owners that I’m the stuff and they can’t low ball me (1990’s). I think it was mostly arrogance as if I had some band that was better than others, never realizing there are a lot of bands (even better) that wanted that same gig. I think it was my idea of a marketing tactic or something. I want to go back in time and punch myself in the face. Why?
I didn’t really know our value.
I didn’t really know our value.
Read on.. maybe that will make sense.
So, what is value? By definition:
Noun: a person’s principles or standards of behavior; one’s judgment of what is important in life.
Verb: estimate the monetary worth of (something).
Interesting huh? It can have two meanings! One is based on an internal need in someone’s life (playing music as an example) and the other is based on the worth in dollars.
Frankly, I was always looking at the verb (money side), as if to share with pride my accomplishment to make that extra $100 over the last band. It’s human instinct to want to be better I suppose. My use of “we know our value” didn’t play out as I expected. It showed my cards and ultimately prevented me from being able to work with the venue for mutual benefit. Even worse, telling them “I knew our value” meant it opened me up to the question back “ok, what is your value?” .. uh oh.. what is my value? If I would have just changed the words to “we feel we can bring value to you”.
Fast forward many many years, the good news is I’ve found the money is a byproduct of what’s actually important (the noun)… not the other way around. It comes after you establish the core values.
Anyway, I’m writing this article / rambling because I think sometimes we get this stuff confused and end up losing opportunity over our perceived value (in dollars) versus our real values to get out and play. It’s a two parter because it’s long and I could go on and on about this. I expect people will disagree with me on this and that is perfectly OK. In honestly, I’m looking for others opinions and their experiences. That’s the whole idea around putting these articles (ramblings) out there.
So, back to the story, it’s a good question. If money is
what you value, then any money is better than no money right?
If you said yes: Go get that money, go forth and prosper. No need to read further. (I’ll give you a tip though, you can make more working at Publix or Walmart than in a band – and you get insurance!)
However, if no: Then we agree, money isn’t everything. You may actually value being in a band because it’s the coolest thing ever!
So, what are some things that you may actually value over money
musically?
Being in a band / rockstar
Playing to a room full of folks / fans
Connecting with others musicians
Sharing your song / music
Getting in the spotlight
Being a part of a community
Being on tour / travel
Meeting people / getting followers and fans
The energy / excitement
Fame / Ego
Giving back / charity
Getting drunk (I hope not)
Obviously, there are many more reasons why someone plays
music and enjoys it but when you start adding things up, money may not be the
only single thing of value. It may be what comes after the “noun” value
happens.
Side note: I can tell you with my own venue that money was never even talked about. The thought of having a venue dedicated to supporting bands / artists and providing a real listening experience trumped any thoughts of money. It’s our value that creating experiences and helping bands at that place is much more important than making a buck. We’re blessed to be in a spot to pay bands and do this type of thing and it’s great to pay the electric bill (our goal) but being a part of community growth and seeing and hearing some great bands is more than enough payment. I digress.
By now, I’m sure you are either disagreeing completely, or just maybe, it has caused you to realize that being in a band is not all about money, and you would be right, there is much more value to be had.
My goal in this part 1 was to try and look back to why you starting playing, singing, running sound, doing lights, or whatever role you have in a band.
I think you’ll find that you started playing because is the most fun experience on earth to be able to make noises, be in front of a crowd, and connect with others. It’s just plain cool. It’s hitting on some of the intangible values, which based on some of the previous articles can be most important (see the love languages article).
When I manage / managed bands or artists, I always ask the question. Why do you want to do music? The expected answers are: Girls, Money, Fame.
However, once in a while, I get someone who says “it’s all I want to do”. Those are the people who truly love and value music. Those are the ones I gravitate towards because they are fully committed at any cost and their goal is about creating something for others to receive, not the other way around.
I hope maybe this spawned some thoughts for you. It’s something I think about often. For those who play music, please don’t forget about the noun value. Don’t let the verb value be the only thing that determines your real value(s).
Don’t worry, we’re about to talk money in part 2 and I like money.
I’ve been playing guitar for nearly 31 years.
I started like many people: my parents bought me an inexpensive guitar, because
they were smart enough to start this way to see if I’d stick with the
instrument first, I took lessons (from Jason Harlow himself), and spent a lot
of time driving my parents nearly out of their minds playing the same chords
and riffs over and over until I began to find some proficiency.
I can still remember the moment when I knew,
however, that I wanted to be a serious guitar player. My parents were on
vacation somewhere. At the time, we had one of those giant satellite dishes,
not these tiny DishTV ones you see remnants of now. I was still in the early
stages, and I happened across Van Halen’s ‘Live Without a Net’ special the night
that they were gone, and at the moment just before Eddie took his prolonged
solo. Sammy noted that this was the time during the show where he got to kick
back and drink a beer, and Eddie went to town. I was floored by his grinning
self, in those ridiculous pants and that wife-beater tee, as he began to rip
the sky from the ground in the way only Eddie can. I’d already been a fan of
bands like Stryper, and of course Van Halen, Motley Crue, and I had discovered
players like Steve Vai and Satriani. But I’d never seen anything like the
spectacle of Eddie doing what he does best.
From that moment on, I was hooked and knew
that I wanted to be able to do what Eddie could do.
In those early years, I was mostly into hard
rock, hair-metal, and some thrash, as well as instrumental guitar music. I can
remember riding with a friend at the time to the local mall any time we found
out that a shred guitar player had been released on the inimitable Shrapnel
Records. Marty Friedman, Vinnie Moore, Paul Gilbert, Tony McAlpine, and then
one day I heard Micheal Lee Firkins. Firkins became very quickly my favorite of
the lot, with his wild but precise use of a whammy bar to mimic slide guitar,
and his obvious blues and country influences. I cut my teeth, so to speak, on
these players. Some years later, I discovered Zakk Wylde, and then Stevie Ray
Vaughan, and to this day both remain my two biggest influences.
As my proficiency with the instrument grew,
even in my younger years, I could see my own limitations. I’ve never been any
good with arpeggios. I could tap well, and within a Pentatonic scale, I could
do two notes per string fast and with precision. In those early years, as well,
I used a Floyd-Rose set up, and learned to work the whammy bar with some
precision, though I never came close to achieving the skill of Michael Lee
Firkins. One thing that I credit to being a good player today is coming to
terms with my own limitations early on, and working within them, stretching
when and where I could, but never pretending to be something that I wasn’t.
I’ve always enjoyed serving the melodic sensibilities of a song anyway, so my
limitations didn’t hinder me terribly when it came to making music that I
enjoyed making, and music that other people seemed to enjoy listening to.
But the thing I credit most in terms of both
being a good player and never losing my love of the instrument some 31 years
later was learning quickly to command my own ego.
I find ego to be something like a drug: with
the correct dosage, it can push you to become the best player you can be, but
abused, it will derail progress, alienate you, and take all the joy out of
playing in any situation other than by yourself. There are few things that can
be as much fun as sharing the stage with other competent guitar players, and
enjoying the back and forth as you serve the music and the moment. But when the
ego is left unchecked, there is no hope of this joy.
I’ve played in live band situations since
college, though not consistently. I’ve had years on end where I took breaks
from it, only to find myself drawn back to it again because the shared
experience of music is something that I enjoy. In my many years on many stages,
I’ve seen the ego ruin the experience for many a guitar player (not to mention
the band backing them, and often the audience!) I’ve had so many of them step
on the stage with me and proceed to try and make the moment a competition,
which for me steals all the potential fun from serving the songs and the
moment. I’ve been off the stage and watched guitar players compete with each
other from the perspective of the audience member, one cranking their amp
louder, only to lead to the other player doing the same, until the entire thing
became a spectacle of ego rather than enjoyable back and forth that can come
from two competent players who respect one another.
I’ve always tried to keep my ego in check by
competing with one person only: myself. I want to be the best player that I can
be because I think that serves the music, and because it keeps out the toxic
need to ‘show up’ other players. When I want to improve, I listen to my
influences, and when I know my ego needs to be checked, I do the same. And
these days, if any adult player begins to find their ego taking over, thinking
that we are more special than is true, we only need to pull up YouTube. We can
then see kids at ridiculously young ages who can already ‘shred our faces.’ We
can also watch consummate players like Eric Gales, Andy Timmons, Joel Hoekstra,
and a host more, who all respect one another and share a stage with respect,
and learn from their example. I find doing this to be a marvelous tool in
making certain my ego is being administered at the correct dose.
Of course, there are always those players who
derive a sinister joy from wanting to show up other players, and nothing can be
done about or for them, as this is just the human condition. But most genuine
musicians want to serve the music and not destroy others. Some have this
quality early on in their journeys, and some find this as they age, realizing
with time and the wisdom of growing older that an unchecked ego is a zero-sum
game. Like the habit of abusing a drug, the ruinous monster of an unchecked ego
can never be satisfied, only satiated moment to moment in a never ending cycle.
Carey Henderson is the lead guitar player for The Michael James band and one of three guitar players in the band Reagan and The Advisors. He can be found on Facebook and can be emailed at [email protected]
Oh no, pucker factor 10!
(pucker factor – the amount your butthole clinches up during a tense situation)
In a world far far away, this is a fictional
story.
Jim Smuckatelli, bass player who played with the band “Sasquatch” comes into rehearsal with a new band called “Lazerbeam”. Now everyone knows that Jim is a player, he’s got 87 Facebook followers and has recorded at Larry Gussledorf’s (a.k.a. Night Rider Band) home studio right outside Nashville at the microtel Rm #23 . Jim will self-admit that he is a bad ass and when he walks in a room, people don’t notice, I mean notice.. this is fiction.
Jim, who is now playing with a cover band (strictly
for money to pay for his drinking habit) approaches the night of rehearsal. Jim knows that his “reputation” will prevail
and he will slay the 3 songs set as goals for the rehearsal, because, that’s
what Jim does.
Enter the “rehearsal”: The drummer kicks it
off 1,2,3,4.. and boom. Jim is playing some weird progression, it kinda sounds like
something I’ve heard before… hmmm… what could that be… I know! “shit”. Yeah, it
sounds like “shit” (as if it has some musical properties to it).
The band stops. Other members confused as to
what has occurred given the pedigree of such a player. The poor leader asks “Jim, what was that?” Jim
is at pucker factor 10.
And like clockwork, the excuses start coming out. (Have you heard these? I probably said some of these when I was younger!)
“Man, I didn’t have time to really learn them, I “mapped” them out though!”. – I’m not sure what the term “map them out” means but I’ve heard it a lot in my career. I can only deduce that “Mapping something out” appears to be a term that means “I really don’t know what I’m doing but trust me… I listened to it!” Net gain: 0
“Man, I learned the tune in a different key / different version”– As opposed to the tab that you were given and the explicit instructions to play the version on the album in the key of “g”? Net Gain: 0
“Hey man, show me that one part” – Because you just now realized you don’t know how to play it? You are now asking others to learn your parts as well? Net Gain: 0
“Hey man, I’m gonna be honest (like you are not always honest?), I got with a chick the other night and didn’t practice”. – Well, at least you now know where the commitment is and I appreciate you being honest the day of rehearsal (yes, I’ve heard all of these). Net Gain: 0
“Man, I thought we were doing our own version of it” – i.e. My musical integrity would never let me play something like the original recording, after all, people will be able to recognize my version.. NOT. Net Gain: 0
“Nobody told me”. This is a fabulous excuse given that everyone else seemed to know what was going on. How about some self accountability bro, maybe ask if you don’t know what songs to learn? Net Gain: 0
“I listened to them all week” – Awesome! I never knew you are one of those people who can just listen to it and know the parts, that must be nice. Did you just develop Alzheimer’s before rehearsal cause it appears you can’t remember anything. Net Gain: 0
“I’m a dumb ass and I think my time is more important than yours” – BINGO! I’ve never actually heard this one but I’d respect it much more than the others because it would be the truth. Net Gain: 1 – at least you know who to escort out of the band (politely).
The Impact:
What Jim failed to realize is:
His actions have built frustration / distrust with his fellow band members.
His actions have spoken louder than words and have wasted others time.
He does not possess the same commitment as others.
He has no integrity. Cannot be relied on.
He has disrespected others.
He is the weak link,
He sucks.
Awe, come on, give Jim a break! He works and
does not have time to practice like the others.
My response: You are exactly where you want to be (as a band).
If you are ok with Jim not learning his parts and you not really progressing, rock on. It’s ok, you folks do you. It’s totally your choice as I’m sure Jim is a great dude, maybe your best friend and you folks will have a great time. I’ve been in bands where it was all about just jamming, in which case someone like Jim may thrive playing part and pieces of songs because nobody cares.
However, I’m talking about a band, a unit of people with the same focus. I’m just saying that I’ve never seen anything become great by choosing to be average, below average, or not putting in the work. As for me, I cannot recommend enough finding people who have the same commitment, values, and work ethic. I personally value my teams time as well as my own so I don’t know how long Jim would last in one of my bands. LOL
So, what’s the different
in Practice and Rehearsal and why does Jim suck?
As nouns the difference between rehearsal and practice is that rehearsal is the practicing of something which is to be performed before an audience, usually to test or improve the interaction between several participating people, or to allow technical adjustments with respect to staging to be done while practice is repetition of an activity to improve skill.
More specifically, Practice is what you do at
the house. It’s what you learn prior to a rehearsal with a band. It’s what you
do to ensure you are NOT Jim.
It’s where you are learning your songs, and
yes, to the very detail of what is recorded.
Why do I want to learn
every detail?
Ultimately, by learning the details from the album
or even official tab, you and your band now have a baseline. The baseline provides
the same “operating picture” to work from. From there, you can always make the
tune your own (if you want to), but knowing the baseline will not only make things
smoother, it will give everyone confidence that you are nailing a song.
What is Rehearsal?
Rehearsal is where everyone comes together as
a band to “practice” together. It’s a different mindset completely because knowing
your parts now allows you to work on the other aspects of the musical journey
such as dynamics and performance. The rehearsal provides that fine tuning of
the songs and allows for the band to take the song and make it their own (if
required).
“Practice is
personal; rehearsal is relational.”
Bottom line: Please, don’t be a Jim!
If you are a Jim, do yourself and your band members a favor by communicating what you are able to provide. Don’t sign up for something you cannot accomplish given whatever circumstances you have. It’s so much easier to be honest and upfront so band members can plan properly and manage expectations. We all have jobs, we’re all busy..etc. This is why it’s important to consider everyone’s time commitment, not just your own.
If you have a Jim in the band, speak to them about the standards you have and what is needed, otherwise, consider removing Jim. Jim could essentially be robbing you of your time, talent, and opportunity.
I realize this article was a little touchy and if you have been in one or more bands, you’ve seen it. There is no rule that says you have to run a band like a business or take any of this advice. It’s just things I’ve seen and have grown to despise at times and getting rid of the Jim attitude and ethic is crucial to growing.
I will continue to say this over and over, find people with your same commitment, values, and work ethic. From there, you can do just about anything your band sets out to do. Rock on.
