Members Outkaster Posted July 15, 2015 Members Share Posted July 15, 2015 I know this doesn’t apply to talented people all over but I notice a common thread in people that are wickedly talented. Whether it be singers or instrumentalists the most talented ones always seem to be marred by some kind of dysfunctional life or drama. Multiple kids, no income, drugs or other substance abuse, physical abuse, strained relationships or just not being able to get their act together. I know this because I have met or worked with these people. I have a singer I play with in a nearby city that’s two hours away. She is very talented and can work any crowd and has a killer voice. So much so I would put her up against 95% of the singers regionally. At any rate my cousin came down from Canada last month and loved the band and this singer. He said to me after our set “she’s good but you can tell she’s out of her mind” It’s a strong statement and it came off as a little harsh but I knew what he meant. She has a tough life and is always one step up two steps back personally. It’s too bad because in other cases I have seen a couple guitarists and drummers like this but they end up not being able to work with anyone because people can’t deal with their lives. People shouldn’t have to either but it seems people with these gifts don’t seem to be able to get their act together. I know it’s not true in all cases and as musicians we are all not perfect people either but it seems to be a common thread. Have any of you worked with people like this, were you able to make it work? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members thatsbunk Posted July 19, 2015 Members Share Posted July 19, 2015 Sounds like the singer in our band. Out of work for about 3 years now. 2 DUI's. Great singing voice but we've been playing a lot of the same songs for about 4 years & he still can't memorize the lyrics to one song... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Outkaster Posted July 21, 2015 Author Members Share Posted July 21, 2015 Well this chick is so talented and I only want whats right for her but with these people you can't want it for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vito Corleone Posted July 22, 2015 Members Share Posted July 22, 2015 I've long believed that creativity and functionality are at odds with each other. Maybe it's a left brain/right brain thing. But it very often seems that the more someone has of one, the less they have of the other. I've never been able to make it work with the REALLY talented/REALLY f'd up people like this singer of yours seems to be, and maybe that's one reason my musical career never went over the top. I've always tried to work with people who are at least functional enough to do good business with and, as such, artistry and creativity has probably suffered as result. On the other hand, I'm talking about creativity here, and that doesn't necessarily have anything to do with being a great technical musician which is more of a right-brain thing. I've worked with some GREAT players and singers over the years who were HIGHLY functional. But good luck getting them to play anything that isn't found on a chart or a recording that they can cover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vito Corleone Posted July 22, 2015 Members Share Posted July 22, 2015 Well this chick is so talented and I only want whats right for her but with these people you can't want it for them. Also, there's an expiration date with such people and their ability to turn their life around, I've found. If this was some mega-talented but f'd up 20 year old, I might take my chances on trying to help her get her act together. But if she's been this way for years (you said multiple kids, so I figure she's gotta at least be in her 30s?) then if she hasn't figured out how to straighten up her act by now, she's probably never going to. People are who they are and these patterns get set-in-stone pretty early on. At least in my experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Outkaster Posted July 23, 2015 Author Members Share Posted July 23, 2015 Well from what I understand she had not had an easy life. Some of it was not her fault and she married young to a much older guy, she now pays the price for it. She is 36 I think. Guido you maybe right about people turning their life around. People only change by learning the hard way or never do. They seem to never get it together so the leader of the band works with her by catching her on good days and really trying to get the most out of her when she is in a good place. That seems to work. Maybe you're right and it's a left brain/right brain thing between talented and functional. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vito Corleone Posted July 23, 2015 Members Share Posted July 23, 2015 Well from what I understand she had not had an easy life. Some of it was not her fault and she married young to a much older guy, she now pays the price for it. Most people who are messed up it seems to go all the way back to their childhood which is sad and unfortunate. Kids can't help the way they are treated or raised. Breaks my heart anytime I see kids having a rough time of things. You can just see the ones with the bad parents and know that it's not going to go well for them as adults. The other side is that, regardless of the initial cause, I see so many people who just seem to make bad choice after bad choice, always with an excuse for why it wasn't their fault, and never learning from the mistakes. That's sad too. I guess it probably goes back to the bad childhood thing and never learning how to make the good choices in the first place. But I do hate the excuse-making. ("My ex husband was an a**hole!" No, ummm....YOU married the dude....) Too bad for this girl. Sad to have a lot of talent and but not able to make it work for you. I'm reminded of a male singer I worked with for a short time a few years back. AMAZING singer. Mickey Thomas or Lou Gramm level vocal chops. And a nice guy in his own way with good intentions but just impossible to work with because he clearly just had these demons he was still trying to work out from his bad childhood. I tried to work around all that because there was so much talent there that was untapped. But it ended up being more trouble than it was worth. Not to mention that he was already over 40 by this time, so at some point you have to consider what are the BIG goals here? Sure...if you're young and you run across a 18 year old Kurt Cobain or Amy Winehouse you might want to hang on to that ride for as long as possible. But by the time you're dealing with 40 year olds? For what purpose? So I could have a really great singer in a weekend cover band? Meh... I'd rather have a more functional, but less talented group to work with. Easier to make money and have fun. And it's almost certainly going to last longer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members FitchFY Posted July 24, 2015 Members Share Posted July 24, 2015 I agree there's a correlation between immense talent and skills that like elsewhere. Brillant scientists with no social skills... musicians with dependency issues... athletes who can't comprehend their own egos... it's common for me to see the "all the eggs in one basket" scenario. When you find the balanced musician, you snatch `em up and hold on tight! I'm blesssed to play with some of the musicians I call friends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Outkaster Posted July 24, 2015 Author Members Share Posted July 24, 2015 Problem is I have found that less talented people can be so boring to play with. It's not anyone's fault it just seems you have kind of a ho-hum band. Well things are in deep kind of. I have to play with those guys tonight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vito Corleone Posted July 24, 2015 Members Share Posted July 24, 2015 Problem is I have found that less talented people can be so boring to play with. It's not anyone's fault it just seems you have kind of a ho-hum band. Probably true. I used to feel the same way about girlfriends. The slightly (or even more than slightly) crazy ones were always much more fun to hang out with. Thankfully I never tried to actually settle down with or marry one of those girls, though.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Outkaster Posted July 24, 2015 Author Members Share Posted July 24, 2015 Probably true. I used to feel the same way about girlfriends. The slightly (or even more than slightly) crazy ones were always much more fun to hang out with. Thankfully I never tried to actually settle down with or marry one of those girls, though.... Guido it's the truth. I was telling some guys at work about it. Sometimes it's the thrill of the chase also with women. The ones that are crazy or sexy, or you have the best physical relationship with are not ones that you settle down with. Problem is they always have drama in their lives which is not something that lasts long term. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WynnD Posted August 23, 2015 Members Share Posted August 23, 2015 We've got one out here in Denver. He goes by Master Black. He can sing, perform and will drive you totally nuts!!!!! I'm not the only one who found out the hard way, but when he showed up for an audition with me and brought 9 people in his entourage, it should have been a warning. One person I talked with told me of having just set up a two week gig in Vegas and it took Master Black only 15 minutes to get it cancelled just by talking to the guy hiring them. Ricky doesn't mean to be someone you can't work with, but he can't help it. (and he doesn't even know he's doing it.) I don't recall his last name and I don't wish him anything bad, but I'll never attempt to work with him again. (For my own sanity.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vito Corleone Posted August 23, 2015 Members Share Posted August 23, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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