Members Yer Blues Posted February 13, 2013 Members Share Posted February 13, 2013 Any good stories?I was fired once from a band I was playing with for 6-7 months because I refused to drive an hour each way two times a week for practice after we were playing the SAME songs for 6-7 months because the band leader could not keep guys around for more than 2-3 gigs and because I refused to show up 5 hours early to help set up and come back the following day to break down the PA. This particular band leader liked to set up hours early and drive home to shower and relax before a gig and come back the next day to break down the PA even if he had to drive an hour each way. He would also want you to drive to his house, which was an hour away, to listen to the songs together. He was rather hard to get along with (his way or highway), which resulted in an incredibly large turnover. On the plus side, he did book a ton of gigs... they just became more trouble than they were worth. When I told him my availibility he told me "nobody issues me ultimatums!" and sent me packing. It worked out pretty well... I hooked up with another band within a month that turned into one of the most satisfying musical experiences I have had thus far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members n8cJohn Posted February 13, 2013 Members Share Posted February 13, 2013 I was fired from my first band (16 years old) after our first show - because I sucked. The other guys sucked too - but they thought that a really good drummer (way better than any of them at their instruments) would fix the band. It didn't - and they never played another show. I traded my drums for a guitar and amp about two weeks later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators BATCAT Posted February 13, 2013 Moderators Share Posted February 13, 2013 That sounds like a pain, YB. Too much to put up with, anyhow... I have never exactly been outright "fired" from a band, however I was sort of fired from a band by a good friend of mine recently. He started a band and asked me if I'd play drums. I said sure, but I didn't have a ton of extra time, so I volunterred to learn/practice the songs from his demos on my own time and said I could be available to practice once a week. After a couple months he said he really wanted to consistently practice two to three times a week, and wanted to have a band that was able to make that kind of committment. I wasn't, so he started playing with another guy who was. No hard feelings... Then, a couple more months later, it turns out the drummer didn't get along with the bass player and they let him go. Plus, apparently even though they were practicing like three times a week, they got less songs down than when I was in the band. (probably because the new drummer tried to learn everything at practice, instead of on his own time, which is what I did) So, my friend asked me back, and said he was ok with me being available usually just once a week-ish, and I returned. I don't hold it against him- hes young and its his first time leading a band. He's still learning about efficient rehearsals versus lots of rehearsals. We've all been there... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Yer Blues Posted February 13, 2013 Author Members Share Posted February 13, 2013 It was definitely more trouble than it was worth and the guy, who was around 25 years older than me, definitely did not understand the concept of efficient rehearsals.That band I joined after him definitely did. Better musicians though... so that made it a lot easier. I learned a lot from that experience and definitely had a great time every time we played together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SpaceNorman Posted February 13, 2013 Members Share Posted February 13, 2013 I've been truly fired once. It was a startup project that included a bass player, guitar player, vocalist and drummer who had played together for years ... then took a break and were trying to "get the band back together". The guitar player and vocalist were the talent in this band. The drummer was solid ... and the bass player was that guy that's in most bands - musicianship is OK, but really shines in terms of handling everything else (bookings, PA, setup and teardown, all the administrivia type work, etc.) When their original keyboard player didn't jump onboard - they posted a Craigslist add that I responded to. The playlist they were working towards didn't include much material that I was familiar with. They also had gigs on the books - so time was tight. They were also big on "just like the record" renditions. I played a couple of gigs with them - but clearly wasn't learning their material as fast as they felt I should. When their original keyboard player changed his mind - I found myself on the receiving end of the "we going to go in a different direction" speech after the 2nd gig. It was an amicable parting and I didn't feel too put out about the whole thing ... I wasn't with the project long enough to really feel like I was a real member. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Crownman Posted February 13, 2013 Members Share Posted February 13, 2013 I was fired twice. So I get a call from the drummer telling me that they had a band meeting and it was decided that I was out. I proceed to call our bass player, lead guitarist, and keyboard player, all of them were at work and there was no band meeting. LOL. Our female singer was hanging out with our drummer and they apparently decided that they didn't want me around anymore. I think it was because I wasn't afraid to call them out if they weren't performing up to par. ( I am fine with that happening to me if I'm not up to snuff, it's only fair. I always make sure to let bandmates know that I want them to tell me anything that needs to be brought up rather than just say nothing and let it fester.) The 2nd time it happened I was playing with some aquaintences. I had provided the amps and monitors we used for practice at the lead guitarists house. The issue was with him. He was an older guy and would just kind of get the gist of the song. It was mind numbing trying to be the rythm player with a lead player that almost never played a song the same way twice. I show up for paractice one day and he's inside teaching another guitar player the songs, (teaching him them wrong I might add). LOL. Then he decides to get all pissy when I start packing up all the monitors and amps. He actually thought I would just let them use the stuff after he pulled that {censored}. I only did 2 gigs with them and the {censored}ing guitar player used my SS number for all the gigs for the rest of that year. I was a little surprised to receive 1099's from several places at the end of the year. LUCKILY, VERY LUCKILY, I was able to get copies of all the cashed checks with his sig on them and the IRS dropped anything against me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members timrocker Posted February 15, 2013 Members Share Posted February 15, 2013 I was fired and it was, absolutely, my fault. I'd been in a band for a couple of years-club gigs every month and a corporate gig at Christmas and July 4th. Almost every song was a 3-chord worn-out no-brainer. We were so stagnant and I was bored to a ridiculous degree. I bought a 750-ml. of Canadian Club one night before a club gig. Put down about 600 ml. of it. Bad, bad idea. I showed up at the club and have no recollection of what happened there. I woke up the next morning with my guitar but not my amp. (I lived a few blocks from that club.) Whatever happened, it was enough to get me ousted. I made apologies, collected my amp, spent a few months out of the scene. Lost all interest in intoxicants and eventually got back into bands. Got booked at that club and made it into the regular rotation. Turning point. I like to emphasize new songs these days, as a way to keep the job interesting. I'd quit a band if stagnation really set in. It's just not worth it to be up there going through the motions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members chevybusa Posted February 17, 2013 Members Share Posted February 17, 2013 LOL The thread about cover bands wanting to rehearse made me think of this...yeah I've actually gotten fired from a few bands for not wanting to rehearse covers...they said I just wasn't "committed" enough, but IMHO rehearsing was a complete waste of time cuz the songs we were doing were so simple that as long as everyone individually was on point there was absolutely no need to rehearse... I also got fired from a few bands for not wanting to put my share of the money we made "back into the band"...this was always just thinly veiled excuse of one or more members just trying to better their OWN rig's on someone else's dime, and I always saw through it, and would absolutely refuse to do so, so there again I got kicked out "for not being a team player" LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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