Solo and Band

[richardmac]

How many people here do the solo gig AND are in a band?

 

I have an invitation to join a band that I think will get some pretty decent gigs. I've always said no in the past to things like this, but my solo gigs seem few and far between these days. I just don't know.

 

For those of you who do both, how is it working out for you? Any advice if I decide to go through with this?

[Jersey Jack]

I've always done both. No trouble, other than some mood-swings: sometimes I feel that the band's the thing and drift away from the solo stuff; sometimes it goes the other way. Very often one's hot, the other's cold.

 

But I find both formats satisfying. And with the band I get to play some electric and rawk out a bit!

[ProToneThinline]

Hi Richard. I been doing both for a while, although lately I've been busier as a solo than with the band. Around here there seems to be more solo/duo work than band work.

 

I like the variety that doing both gives me. My solo material is different than the band stuff, so "mixing it up" helps keep both songlists fresh for me. Plus, for the most part, the venues are different.

 

Up to this point, scheduling hasn't been a problem, since the band doesn't play every weekend. If they were busier it might be an issue, but at this point it is not.

 

I'll pass on some advice my grandfather gave me years ago. He always used to say "work when the work is there". If you have a chance to pick up some band gigs, go for it. At the very least, it will help you improve your solo act, and put some extra money in your pocket.

[ProToneThinline]

I've always done both. No trouble, other than some mood-swings: sometimes I feel that the band's the thing and drift away from the solo stuff; sometimes it goes the other way. Very often one's hot, the other's cold. But I find both formats satisfying. And with the band I get to play some electric and rawk out a bit!

 

^ This, too.

[richardmac]

 

Hi Richard. I been doing both for a while, although lately I've been busier as a solo than with the band. Around here there seems to be more solo/duo work than band work. I like the variety that doing both gives me. My solo material is different than the band stuff, so "mixing it up" helps keep both songlists fresh for me. Plus, for the most part, the venues are different. Up to this point, scheduling hasn't been a problem, since the band doesn't play every weekend. If they were busier it might be an issue, but at this point it is not. I'll pass on some advice my grandfather gave me years ago. He always used to say "work when the work is there". If you have a chance to pick up some band gigs, go for it. At the very least, it will help you improve your solo act, and put some extra money in your pocket.

 

 

That's a good point. And if I get to the point where the band and my solo stuff both have too many gigs and are competing with each other, well, I guess that's a good problem to have.

[Louis Schwartz]

My band gigs about twice a month, sometimes more often, sometimes less, and I do a solo gig on the side about once a month. Last two months the band gigs have been thinner because one of our regular venues, a local coffee house, has shut down. It's been nice to have the little solo gigs right now to keep me performing at least a bit while I search for new venues for the band. The band plays a mix of eastern European ethnic musics, so it's also nice when I play solo to do some folk rock and country covers and some traditional North American folk songs.

 

Louis

[richardmac]

Unfortunately the phrase "local coffee house has shut down" is a very, very common thing. If I had a dollar for every coffee house I've been to that has shut down, I'd have a lot of money. Or at least dozens of dollars.

[Louis Schwartz]

I know what you mean. It's particularly hard given that only a small percentage of these coming and going places is both big enough to host a band like ours and friendly enough to music that's off the beaten path. So we're working with a pool that's just as unstable, but even smaller than the usual.

 

Louis

[Shaster]

I do both and it usually works for me.

 

I work in a variety of bands, sometimes I'm the singer, sometimes I'm not. When I am the singer in a band I try to further my own cause by doing the same basic material in my solo as in the band. That means if I'm learning tunes for my solo I can take them to the band, and if I'm learning tunes for the band, they will translate to my solo.

 

I should state that none of the bands I work in regulary rehearse, so I'm not wasting countless hours waiting for the other members to learn and memorize their parts. When a gig comes up we might have a rehearsal a few days before but basically everyone in the band is responsible for learning the songs and arrangements, and writing their own charts (if needs be).

 

I did a band gig last night where I just supplied the list of songs I was doing, got to the gig and we played. Funny, the staff told us we were one of the best bands they've had (and they've had some good ones). That's because everyone in the band was good individually, and then the sum became greater than the parts.

 

So my point is; keep working on yourself whether you're in a band or not. if you do join a band that rehearses all the time you're spending time on the band and not on your own career, so that's my only caveat. Don't lose yourself in a band, unless they're writing great material and about to be signed, or going out on a profitable tour or......

 

Good luck.

[tim_7string]

 

How many people here do the solo gig AND are in a band? I have an invitation to join a band that I think will get some pretty decent gigs. I've always said no in the past to things like this, but my solo gigs seem few and far between these days. I just don't know. For those of you who do both, how is it working out for you? Any advice if I decide to go through with this?

 

 

This is something I would like to do soon. I enjoy my band, but I would still like to have the opportunity to play some gigs in a solo or duo format. I also plan on having a "power trio" type band, and a quintet specifically designed to perform my original songs that I write and arrange, so I'd actually have five configurations total. The trio and quintet wouldn't play very often at all, so they would probably be made up of hired guns where those bands would be low priority (as they would be for me).

 

Can't really give any advice other than being upfront with the band that your solo project takes precedence over their band and hopefully they will be fine with that. Our first bass player made it clear that his one-man band show (vocal/guitar w/backing tracks) is his priority and that he would help us when he could when he wasn't playing. We wanted someone who considered the band the priority, so when we found someone else, he was fine with it and we have continued to stay friends (I still correspond with him from time to time).

 

If I were asked to be in somebody else's band as their lead singer/guitarist, I would politely decline, because I'm busy enough in my own band as it is. I don't want to have to balance steady weekend gigs between two or three different bands. That would be stressful. However, doing a solo/duo thing on any nights other than the weekend (Sun-Thur) would be perfectly fine with me.

[MDLMUSIC]

I do both, also. In fact, on Saturday, I did a solo gig playing keyboard and singing Christmas songs at a local senior center from 4:30-5:30, then packed up and drove 60 miles to a country club to work as the hired gun guitar player for an oldies/classic rock band starting at 8:00PM.

 

It's fun to do both and it keeps me busy. I just have to make sure I don't double book myself.

[Terry Allan Hall]

I've always done both. No trouble, other than some mood-swings: sometimes I feel that the band's the thing and drift away from the solo stuff; sometimes it goes the other way. Very often one's hot, the other's cold. But I find both formats satisfying. And with the band I get to play some electric and rawk out a bit!

 

^^ This ^^

[daddymack]

I really want to get on the solo/duo more, but as I am finding, there are not a lot of places here to really do it on a regular basis and make any $, and I won't do this for free...I just need to find one venue and get going...

my band, on the other hand, has not been playing enough the last couple of years as the economy faltered..we do strictly 'corporates' and those entertainment budgets vanished in mid 2009...we have one booking so far for next year...one...

[BlueStrat]

 

How many people here do the solo gig AND are in a band? I have an invitation to join a band that I think will get some pretty decent gigs. I've always said no in the past to things like this, but my solo gigs seem few and far between these days. I just don't know. For those of you who do both, how is it working out for you? Any advice if I decide to go through with this?

 

 

Works good for me. I only do solo gigs on weekends rarely, mostly they're weeknights. I'm doing one next Friday at a gallery but it's over at 8 so if I did have a club gig I'd be okay to do both. Like Jack, I find satisfaction in doing both, and the setlists are completely different with maybe a 5% overlap.

[BlueStrat]

 

Unfortunately the phrase "local coffee house has shut down" is a very, very common thing. If I had a dollar for every coffee house I've been to that has shut down, I'd have a lot of money. Or at least dozens of dollars.

 

 

Forget coffee houses. Go after restaurants and/or wine bar gigs. They usually pay better, they feed you and you make decent tips.

[dparr]

I use to play in some bands on the weekends.

 

Now I have five regular gigs a week playing as a solo act.

 

No time anymore.

[richardmac]

 

Forget coffee houses. Go after restaurants and/or wine bar gigs. They usually pay better, they feed you and you make decent tips.

 

 

No problem forgetting them - they're all gone at this point! Round here, at least...

[Louis Schwartz]

Thing is, for me, coffee houses have tended to be more friendly to the sort of ethnic music I like to play. Wine bars and restaurants are generally looking for something that will be a more familiar fit for their crowd. Some of the coffee houses around here have tried to support a wide variety of local musics, but it's hard for everyone to make enough money at it. Most clubs, on the other hand, are looking for rock and roll or R&B of one kind or another. So we play the coffee houses that are interested, do club gigs when we can, and we also play community events and at cultural arts centers, art galleries, and museums. Sometimes we play a private party for decent pay, but we're not in it for the money (and it's a lucky thing, too)! Everyone in the band either has a day job or other musical gigs that actually pay well (and one of us is a law student, another is a retired psychotherapist).

 

Louis

[BlueStrat]

 

Thing is, for me, coffee houses have tended to be more friendly to the sort of ethnic music I like to play. Wine bars and restaurants are generally looking for something that will be a more familiar fit for their crowd. Some of the coffee houses around here have tried to support a wide variety of local musics, but it's hard for everyone to make enough money at it. Most clubs, on the other hand, are looking for rock and roll or R&B of one kind or another. So we play the coffee houses that are interested, do club gigs when we can, and we also play community events and at cultural arts centers, art galleries, and museums. Sometimes we play a private party for decent pay, but we're not in it for the money (and it's a lucky thing, too)! Everyone in the band either has a day job or other musical gigs that actually pay well (and one of us is a law student, another is a retired psychotherapist). Louis

 

 

That's odd. I play mostly original and obscure singer/songwriter folky alt country and blues stuff sprinkled in with some old classics (Simon & Garfunkel, Stones, Whitney Houston (!), Van Morrison, etc.) and I get booked a lot. Out of 60-odd songs I'll play in 3 hours, maybe 10 of them were hits. I think it has more to do with the tempo and feel of the music than in the specific songs themselves. Since it's dinner and wine music I play, it's more slower and medium tempo laid back stuff with more uptempo songs later in the evening. I don't try to play pop rock hits acoustically; it just never sounded right to me. I guess it just depends on where you live, but there is hardly anyone doing what I do and I get a lot of gigs. Other guys playing hits do too, of course, but not playing then hasn't hurt me.

[Louis Schwartz]

 

That's odd. I play mostly original and obscure singer/songwriter folky alt country and blues stuff sprinkled in with some old classics (Simon & Garfunkel, Stones, Whitney Houston (!), Van Morrison, etc.) and I get booked a lot. Out of 60-odd songs I'll play in 3 hours, maybe 10 of them were hits. I think it has more to do with the tempo and feel of the music than in the specific songs themselves. Since it's dinner and wine music I play, it's more slower and medium tempo laid back stuff with more uptempo songs later in the evening. I don't try to play pop rock hits acoustically; it just never sounded right to me. I guess it just depends on where you live, but there is hardly anyone doing what I do and I get a lot of gigs. Other guys playing hits do too, of course, but not playing then hasn't hurt me.

 

 

I don't think it's odd at all. You may not play hits, but still you're playing in genres that are familiar to the clientele and that are the sort of thing that they more or less expect to hear over wine and dinner, even if many of the particular songs are new to them. I suspect that the main reason you get booked a lot is the fact that you play with skill, passion, and an original approach to the material you compose and choose, but it also has something to do with the fit between what you play and the context and the expectations of both the crowd and the owners. I suspect that it might be harder to get hired if you sang songs in several foreign languages and played dance music for dances that few people in the US know how to do (and in odd meters sometimes and with strange percussion). I could slip some of the song material we do in the band into a mellow solo set, and it might add some nice spice, but I'd have to be playing mostly more familiar types of music the rest of the time to get booked at most wine bars and most restaurants for dinner music. When the band gets booked for a "World Music Night" at a local club or gets hired to play at a "Jewish Food Festival" fundraiser, or for a private party or as part of a folk music performance series--or when I get asked to play solo/duo for an art opening--it's because the people hiring us and the audience we attract are either looking to hear something generally exotic, or to hear music from one or more of the particular traditions we work with. Same thing with some of the funkier coffeehouses we've been able to play.

 

Louis

[richardmac]

Well, the short end to the story is that after talking it over with my wife, we decided that it was more important for me to be home helping our kids with their homework and all that jazz than to be at "band practice." That's what "we" decided. So I'm back to being a solo guy.

[pogo97]

I can play solo or I can play in a band. But when I play solo, I'm in control of how hard I practise. I find that with bands, folks around here think that a single rehearsal just before the gig is the mark of a pro. Maybe they think only newbies feel the need to rehearse extensively, but it drives me nuts. Every performance, I want to sound as good as I'm capable of playing. And if that means lots of rehearsing, so be it.

 

I will never never never tell an audience "we only had the chance to go over this once" or "we've never played this song together before" as I've heard others say too many times before. It may be true, but it's nothing to be proud of.

[n8cJohn]

Band guy first - duo or unplugged trio guy second. Band is called "nine 8 central" - the side acoustic projects that involve me and any other member of n8c are billed as "Half Past". We play mostly the same materials for each act - with a few exceptions that dont translate well one way or the other. The duo thing is usually me on acoustic guitar and vocals - plus the bass player - who can do a tasteful lead bass where appropriate. If there is stage room - we will plug in either the drummer from n8c on hand drums - or the lead guitar player depending upon availability.

 

We also do a full band - unplugged show - with a Taye Go-Kit drumset (played with hot rods for the most part) at smaller venues that are suitable for this set up.

 

Outside of the n8c sphere - i sit in on a duo with another lead guitar player from a different local cover band. He books these shows - and I just show up. We usually rehearse once or twice beforehand.

 

Basically - I get a lot of mileage out of a single repetoire. All the rehearsal that I do on my own - translates well to almost all my acts. I am not certain that I am talented enough to go totally solo - and carry the show with confidence - but honestly - I have never tried outside of my home basement bar.

[tim_7string]

That's what "we" decided. So I'm back to being a solo guy.

 

So you're more like a duo than a solo after all.

 

Same here.

 

[daddymack]

That's what "we" decided. So I'm back to being a solo guy.

yes, but not 'solo' for life Keep peace in the family...a lesson learned the hard way many years ago ...when, after a long hiatus, and having a fairly lucrative 'studio thing' going on, I announced I wanted to let the studio work go and get back to playing in a band...and was divorced within two years... is there a connection there? perhaps...