Members Vito Corleone Posted October 23, 2015 Members Share Posted October 23, 2015 ...and the band can finally move forward! I've posted in the past about issues my band has had with unsettled stuff with our singers, but after about two years of the band being in neutral and unable to properly move forward with things like a new promo video I think we've finally settled stuff and finally move forward again! The backstory--- we've had the same two vocalists for a little over 3 years now. But a couple of years ago, Tiffany (who has been with us since 2010) began having problems with her voice (and some personal-life issues) and announced she wanted to leave the band. So the search for a replacement began. But unlike previous times where we were able to find great vocalists with no trouble at all, we auditioned probably 30 singers and couldn't find a suitable replacement. Tiffany had agreed to stay until we found someone anyway, and then that changed into her saying that she didn't really want to leave anyway...so... we continued on. Until she decided she DID want to leave. Until she didn't. And that went back and forth a few times. (Women...right.....? ) Meanwhile, Sarah, our younger singer, decides she wants to get involved with a local community theater group. And she commits to a show that not only meant we had to find a fill in (one of our previous singers is willing to fill-in when she's able to) for one show but we had to turn down two gigs offered to us. Nobody was really happy about that (obviously) but we sort of let it slide. UNTIL she did it again. And both times did so without really asking permission first. Just sort of dropped it in our laps after she committed to the show. TOTALLY not cool. And THIS time we had two shows on the books she would unable to make and neither would our usually fill-in. So we made the decision that if we had to hold auditions to find a fill-in, we'd be looking for a replacement should the right singer come along. But the decision was also made to not inform Sarah about this lest she get upset and walk out on other gigs we had booked with her. (God, I hate band politics sometimes! I really do like being as upfront with everyone as possible!) (Let me also say here that I'm understanding of Sarah doing the musical theater stuff. She's 24, crazy-talented, and I never expected her to join our band of old-dudes for life and would never want to hold her musical aspirations back. I HOPE this band is just one thing she did when she was younger on a path to a long and prosperous musical career. BUT---on my end, business is business. I've still got a band to run regardless of my understanding of her personal situations.) Well, of course, Sarah eventually gets wind (or highly suspects) that the girl we found for a fill-in will be more than that. So she announces to me that "just so you know, I'm not quitting the band". And that she's decided she's not going to do anymore musical theater and that the band WILL be her priority. I tell her then that we've kind of already made our decision but, since we hadn't really gigged with the new girl yet well...you never know. At which point (literally AS I'm talking to Sarah about this stuff) Tiffany calls me and says that, once again, she really would like to leave the band (or, more accurately, be moved to a "backup/fill-in" position) and that we should consider moving forward with Sarah and the new girl, Heather. So that's what we've done. Heather is great find for us. Talented and motivated and excited to be in the band. She initially had to learn all of Sarah's parts for the two fill-in gigs and then turn around and learn a lot of Tiffany's parts, but she was more than able and willing to do that. Sarah is also re-energized (I think almost being fired put a bit of a scare into her and I also think she realizes that if this band is going to be her priority, that it is in her own best interest for the band to be as successful as possible) and she's been working hard on putting together video promo and coming up with ideas for updating the website and pictures, etc. Musically, it's a bit of a re-tooling process as Tiffany had a big alto-ish voice that was great for singing male leads and that filled up a lot of sonic space in the mix. Heather and Sarah blend together better than Sarah and Tiffany did (not only are their timbres more similar but Tiff's weakness was being able to harmonize where both these girls now are naturals at it) but their naturally higher voices leave a bit of a hole in the sound. We're now taking quite seriously the consideration of adding a male vocalist to the band. One that could play some percussion would be great as well. (Heather's BF plays percussion and has sat in on a few songs and made those songs sound SO much better, but we're not interested in adding 'just' a percussionist to the lineup. At least not at this time.) So all is well. And it feels better than it has in a long time. Had a long Skype session with the girls last night going over vocal parts. Tomorrows show---our second with the new lineup---should be a good one. Hopefully I'll have some decent video/audio to post. We DID do one gig with all 3 girls. I posted a clip of that show over on the "Uptown Funk" thread. 3 girls was nice and fun, but if we're going to have a 3 person front, I want one of them to be a dude. So onward and upward!.....until.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members StratGuy22 Posted October 23, 2015 Members Share Posted October 23, 2015 Nice to get the lineup solidified. We are lucky I guess that we've had the same lineup for over 6 years now. But out of 5 members, our lead singer has moved 3 hours away and our keyboard/female singer moved an hour away. We've been able to work with this arraignment. Our keyboard player is also on call every other weekend so sometimes she can make gigs and sometimes she can't. So we do what we can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vito Corleone Posted October 23, 2015 Author Members Share Posted October 23, 2015 Well, nothing is ever "solidified" in music, it seems. But I DO hope it's solid enough that I can feel confident to move forward with all the long-overdue updated promo we need. Dealing with singers that live many-miles away has always been an issue for us. Why we've never been able to find good singers that live closer by---I dunno. But hasn't been our luck. So we too, do what we can. What else is there to do? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Shaster Posted October 23, 2015 Members Share Posted October 23, 2015 I don't hang out here much, but in the last few days I've been checking out the threads here with much fascination. Band politics are indeed a pain, but at least there's a political system in place. All the bands I currently work in are based on the "my way or the highway" system. In one of my current bands, the leader fired the entire band (that's when I joined). He's fired two drummers this year alone. In fact he almost fired the third drummer this week, but things got smoothed out. So perhaps in retrospect, co-operative bands aren't all that bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members chord123 Posted October 23, 2015 Members Share Posted October 23, 2015 Guido. Great story. 30 vocalists are alot . Where is your band located? Are you one of the most popular bands in your hometown? How many bands are you in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vito Corleone Posted October 24, 2015 Author Members Share Posted October 24, 2015 Guido. Great story. 30 vocalists are alot . Yes it is. I really don't care for the audition process. I don't like trying to organize it all and I especially don't like having to make the calls to tell people they didn't get the job. But it is what it is. Where is your band located? Are you one of the most popular bands in your hometown? We are located in Lake Tahoe on the California/Nevada border but members are spread out over 100 miles from there. We don't play any public venues so we aren't even known in our hometown. We do only private events--- weddings, corporate events, private parties. We book them via our website, online booking agencies, and regional talent agencies. We cover most of the Northern California and Northern Nevada areas. Anything within a 4-5 hour drive is fair game. Even further if the price is right. We play about 30-40 gigs a year. It's just a weekend thing for most of us. How many bands are you in? This is my only band. Personally, I'm not a fan of the multi-band thing. I have total respect for those here that play with a lot of bands, but it's just not my thing. When I've done it in the past, eventually I'm turning down a gig with one band or another because I'm already booked and I hate letting people down in that manner. Similarly, I don't like having it done to me. Luckily, everyone in my band is pretty much on the same page so it works. Our guitarist drums with a very low-key local band on the side, but it's very low key and he'd never turn down one of our gigs because he had something else going on with them. Our new singer needs the money more than the rest of us right now (the rest of us all of day jobs) so we came to an agreement when she joined that she could do fill-in work with other bands when she could, but we would be her main priority. Our other singer? Well, I told the story of her involvement with musical theater. Created a conflict but at the end she chose the band. Local community theater doesn't pay. We do. Money talks. But we also have a pretty tight "family" feel to what we do as well. It works best to be able to pay people well but to also offer them a fun, safe, easy going environment for them to work with. We don't have much drama. I'm way too old for any of that anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wesg Posted October 24, 2015 Members Share Posted October 24, 2015 Two of the ways I make the multi-band thing work is - Be in multiple bands with some of the same guys - Be in completely different types of bands My rock band is completely different from my other bands, which are of the Dixieland/Swing/BigBand/Jazz Trio variety. Since they are completely different, they tend to have different gig "tempoes" - different busy days, times, months. They also tend to book out months in advance. And aside from my rock band, there is one constant guy in all of the other bands. He leads some of them. He is kind of like a semaphore in multithreaded software -- if I am free from Rock band duties and Ed can make the gig -- so can I. The rock band is a cooperative band -- a "poker band" at that -- and works because we are basically all of the same mind with respect to the music and our place in life. The others are not, and when players can't make it, a sub is hired, and it's the bandleader's job to make it work. The rock band has had a stable lineup now, three years into existence, and the lineup has been stable for about 14 months. We are now working once a month, which is about what we want out of this. The drummer is the major variable, he vacations a lot, but we have a sub drummer we can call (maybe two - I had a different guy at a rehearsal the other night and he killed it). The drummer has missed a couple of gigs because of this, but we have no plans to replace him. He adds a lot to the band; not only is he a great drummer, but he sings really nice harmony, has a great attitude, is very musical (occasionally provides great insight into others' parts, like a music director), and has a personality that helps us push forward on the professionalism front. Wes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Outkaster Posted October 26, 2015 Members Share Posted October 26, 2015 Working with women singers is tough Guido. As you know I do OK, as I have a good singer in my band Noble Vibes. Then I got a second keyboardist with a degree in music and plays flute and piano. She is a perfect fit for harmonies and utility type duties. They only have to get along and thank god they do for the most part. It's more of a sister relationship with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wheresgrant3 Posted October 26, 2015 Members Share Posted October 26, 2015 Outkaster.... say it aint so. People often ask me how my last band lasted so long (100 shows per year x 12 years) and the answer.... we didn't have any females in the band. LOL I'm only kidding about that generalization, but I do often find the life cycle of most female fronted cover bands in my area is 3-5 years UNLESS the founder is a female. Usually marriage or childbirth creates some serious challenges down the road. The fact that Guido is the band leader and... extremely patient guy lends to the success and longevity of his project. This is a somewhat funny aside. I recently got a call from a well know local wedding band. The bandleader wanted to know if I had any leads on capable drummers who could also sing. I knew of only one (sad I know) yet he was a very young Kid (22 or 23 I think). So when I mentioned him the band member chuckled and said "Well he would have been a good choice if he wasn't the guy I'm replacing". I was like "Oh man, sorry, I didn't even know he was gigging with you. How long ago did he join up." And the band leader replied that he just audtioned him a month ago. Two rehearsals went great... but by the third he couldn't help but notice the flirtation between him and the singer. So when he pulled him aside to ask him if he was interested in the singer, he found out already that they were already dating. LOL and had been since the first rehearsal. Mind you.... there's a 25 year age difference between the two. So the band leader said firmly... well you can date... or play in the band. One or the other. This isn't a decision.... I'll make the decision for you. Harsh, but true he let him go. LOL His point... this was not Fleetwood Mac and work place romances have no place in a working band. My response: Well I'm not sure whether to feel bad for the kid or give him the high five! The singer despite her age is pretty hot! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vito Corleone Posted October 26, 2015 Author Members Share Posted October 26, 2015 I will only say that I've worked with a lot of females over the years and that while some of their issues are necessarily different, I haven't found them to be any more difficult overall than working with males. Male musicians can be just as big of whiners and babies about things like taking time off to be with family, quitting the band because their new girlfriend doesn't like them playing music, etc. I've also worked with girls who can be just as serious and committed as any dude. In all honesty, I think a certain degree of misogynism turns up in people's attitudes towards female musicians. It's the same you see with female businesswomen or politicians--- a guy with an attitude is "tough" or "takes no BS". A girl with the same attitude is a "bitch" or "on the rag". As far as inter-band romances goes? Yeah well....I discourage those in ANY workplace. Never going to go well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gismo recording Posted October 27, 2015 Members Share Posted October 27, 2015 Interesting take in inter band romances. The band I'm in now has three female backup singers, one of which is the band leader's wife. That hasn't worked out well in the past but in this band so far it hasn't caused any issues. In other bands I've been in with a situaltion like that, it has not worked out well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Outkaster Posted October 29, 2015 Members Share Posted October 29, 2015 I get asked all the time about sleeping with women in the band by guys and patrons around the band. I tell them I couldn't run the business if we were doing that effectively as issues of favoritism pop up when you blur the lines. Both of the girls in the band are from similar backgrounds but one has kids and the back up girl has none and went to college. Sometimes those backgrounds don't mesh well and I can sense tensions. It's funny sometimes until I get the call from one or the other bitching about the other one. Welcome to my world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators MarkGifford-1 Posted October 30, 2015 Moderators Share Posted October 30, 2015 I've been in many bands w/female singers and in my experience, you generally get about a year or so out of one and then they move on. I don't think they're any more difficult to work with, but you just need to understand that most of them have different priorities and philosophies about life than the average male musician. You think you've got the bases covered, but it's always something you never have made allowances for or even considered... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.