Is it time to make a change?

[mumpfic1]

So my new band has now been playing out for approx 6 months. I don't know about this singer.

First he can sing well his range is not what I would prefer but we make it work and I really do enjoy his vocals.

I don't dislike him. I like him. BUT. I will list below the things that are really making me want to make a change.

 

1) Is never prepared at rehearsal. Pretty much every practice he says " I didn't get a chance to work on stuff this week."

2) At EVERY show he forgets when he is supposed to come in. We play around it. But it's very annoying and last show I almost lost it.

3) Doesn't engage the audience. Rarely says anything to the crowd. Never mentions band's website or FB page or even tell the audience this is the last song before a break. I have to whisper in his ear things like "tell them it's the last song of set" or mention the band page.

4)Our show last week. He was so unprepared for the last show that on the stage he was holding the lyrics in his hand reading them while he sang(and still screwing up when he is supposed to come in).

He didn't do this for every song but still. Hell I would have preferred a music stand to that, or better yet LEARN THE SONGS!!!!!!!!!!!  He was also drunk and slurring words and making it even worse. I can't do it anymore I really can't. I had an offer to join another band that is much higher on the musical food chain- higher pay, more gigs, better rooms. I turned them down because I started this band and didn't want to be part of something where I didn't have any control. 

I'm really at my wits end. I asked the other guys and the drummer agrees with me. The other guitar player sort of does but keeps making excuses for him.  I haven't asked the bass playe yet, but, I really feel that he is holding us back.  On the other hand, I don't want to start over looking for a new singer.  The last time, it took us several months to find this one.  I guess I'm just looking for opinions as to what others would do in this situation.  What would you guys do?

 

[Lee Knight]

Sounds like a keeper

[jeff42]

have you talked with him about this?  if not do so. One on one. If it continues well... you know what to do. 

[RoadRanger]

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Lee Knight wrote:

Sounds like a keeper

[TIMKEYS]

 

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mumpfic1 wrote:

 

 

So my new band has now been playing out for approx 6 months. I don't know about this singer.

 

First he can sing well his range is not what I would prefer but we make it work and I really do enjoy his vocals.

 

I don't dislike him. I like him. BUT. I will list below the things that are really making me want to make a change.

 

 

 

1) Is never prepared at rehearsal. Pretty much every practice he says " I didn't get a chance to work on stuff this week."

 

2) At EVERY show he forgets when he is supposed to come in. We play around it. But it's very annoying and last show I almost lost it.

 

3) Doesn't engage the audience. Rarely says anything to the crowd. Never mentions band's website or FB page or even tell the audience this is the last song before a break. I have to whisper in his ear things like "tell them it's the last song of set" or mention the band page.

 

4)Our show last week. He was so unprepared for the last show that on the stage he was holding the lyrics in his hand reading them while he sang(and still screwing up when he is supposed to come in).

 

He didn't do this for every song but still. Hell I would have preferred a music stand to that, or better yet LEARN THE SONGS!!!!!!!!!!!  He was also drunk and slurring words and making it even worse. I can't do it anymore I really can't. I had an offer to join another band that is much higher on the musical food chain- higher pay, more gigs, better rooms. I turned them down because I started this band and didn't want to be part of something where I didn't have any control. 

 

I'm really at my wits end. I asked the other guys and the drummer agrees with me. The other guitar player sort of does but keeps making excuses for him.  I haven't asked the bass playe yet, but, I really feel that he is holding us back.  On the other hand, I don't want to start over looking for a new singer.  The last time, it took us several months to find this one.  I guess I'm just looking for opinions as to what others would do in this situation.  What would you guys do?

 

 

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If booze is effecting his performance, get rid of him.  Guys in bands have to make up their mind if they want to drink or perform.   I dont mind guys drinking a few beers on stage.  I wont work with drunks.  The booze may well be at the root of all your problems you have with him.  If you have a better offer on the table , i would take it and move on

[mumpfic1]

 

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TIMKEYS wrote:

 

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mumpfic1 wrote:

 

 

So my new band has now been playing out for approx 6 months. I don't know about this singer.

 

First he can sing well his range is not what I would prefer but we make it work and I really do enjoy his vocals.

 

I don't dislike him. I like him. BUT. I will list below the things that are really making me want to make a change.

 

 

 

1) Is never prepared at rehearsal. Pretty much every practice he says " I didn't get a chance to work on stuff this week."

 

2) At EVERY show he forgets when he is supposed to come in. We play around it. But it's very annoying and last show I almost lost it.

 

3) Doesn't engage the audience. Rarely says anything to the crowd. Never mentions band's website or FB page or even tell the audience this is the last song before a break. I have to whisper in his ear things like "tell them it's the last song of set" or mention the band page.

 

4)Our show last week. He was so unprepared for the last show that on the stage he was holding the lyrics in his hand reading them while he sang(and still screwing up when he is supposed to come in).

 

He didn't do this for every song but still. Hell I would have preferred a music stand to that, or better yet LEARN THE SONGS!!!!!!!!!!!  He was also drunk and slurring words and making it even worse. I can't do it anymore I really can't. I had an offer to join another band that is much higher on the musical food chain- higher pay, more gigs, better rooms. I turned them down because I started this band and didn't want to be part of something where I didn't have any control. 

 

I'm really at my wits end. I asked the other guys and the drummer agrees with me. The other guitar player sort of does but keeps making excuses for him.  I haven't asked the bass playe yet, but, I really feel that he is holding us back.  On the other hand, I don't want to start over looking for a new singer.  The last time, it took us several months to find this one.  I guess I'm just looking for opinions as to what others would do in this situation.  What would you guys do?

 

 

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If booze is effecting his performance, get rid of him.  Guys in bands have to make up their mind if they want to drink or perform.   I dont mind guys drinking a few beers on stage.  I wont work with drunks.  The booze may well be at the root of all your problems you have with him.  If you have a better offer on the table , i would take it and move on

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I don't think its just booze. Does allot of those things at practice when he is sober. Another thing I forgot to mention he is in my band and another band. He has a Co front person in that band a female lead singer and she basically runs the show on stage. She acts as the front person and he sings lead on some songs and backgrounds on the rest. My other guitar player sings on about 10 songs however.

[WynnD]

Doesn't engage the audience? Does this mean you don't keep the music running enough to not need a front man? That would be one way to move the blame away from yourself and onto someone else.

[Vito Corleone]

 

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WynnD wrote:

 

Doesn't engage the audience? Does this mean you don't keep the music running enough to not need a front man?

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Just because you keep the music running doesn't mean you don't need a front man who can engage the audience DURING the songs.

A good front man is much more than simply someone who has some good between-song banter.

[JTV59]

Quesions like this are posted here on a pretty regular basis and it's easy to suggest what to do based on "if it we me". I suggest asking yourself a different question: if you were a patron and the vocalist of the band were holding lyrics in his hand to perform, would you stay and watch? My first reaction would be "This band is an effing joke." and if I were with others who wantred to stay, I'd stay but turn my back on the band but if I were out alone I'd leave and let the bar know why.

[BlueStrat]

 

1) Is never prepared at rehearsal. Pretty much every practice he says " I didn't get a chance to work on stuff this week."

 

Translation: "this isn't important enough for me to make time to get it down."

 

When I had my band and someone showed up to rehearsal unprepared, I  would just stand up and say "well, let's go home, boys. No point in wasting time because someone can't be bothered to do their homework. Maybe next week."  And I'd pack up and go home, but before I did I would tell the offender "I don't appreciate having everyone's time wasted. Have it it by next week." They always did, but if they didn't  I'd have let them go unless they had a damn good excuse. I learned this the hard way, keeping a technically good bass player who wouldn't work on stuff at home. He kept assuring me "I'll have it down by the show", but I should have seen the signs that he wasn't going to do it. He ended up playing a big stage festival with charts spread out all over the drum platform with his back to the crowd, and still fumbling around. The festival live recorded on 32 track, and offered the artists a recording for 250 bucks. I heard a prelim rough mix, and there were maybe three songs out of 17 that were useable.That was my breaking point. Until then, I really didn't know how bad it was. When you're playing, singing, and fronting the band, you don't focus on the individual parts, but the recording doesn't lie.  

 

Listen: the best piece of advice I ever got from some older guys I played with in my early 20s was this (to paraphrase): "this is a business and a cutthroat one at that. You wouldn't go into a restaurant and sit down and have a drunk waiter come up and take your order, refuse to engage you personally, and forget what you ordered. would you? So why would you think it's okay as an entertainer? You're being paid to perform a service. There are hundreds of hungry guys out there who work harder at it than you do who are itching to take our gig away from us.We have one chance to make a good first impression.  What's it going to be, a decent show or a half-assed turd fest?"

 

Stop being nice to this guy. People do what's important to them, period. Obviously, learning his craft isn't. He's screwing the entire band, making excuses for it, and worse, you're enabling him to continue doing it. I'd tell him thst based on his lack of passion for it, he clearly isn't cut out for this, but if he wants another chance he has two weeks to memorize his lyrics and start being a frontman who represents the band professionally. If he can't or won't. you'll get someone who will. Will it hurt his feelings? Sure it will. Too bad. He's the one making his own bed and holding the rest of you back. Don't become an emotional hostage to this guy's incompetence  and/or lack of respect for the craft. I fact, getting fired might be the very thing this guy needs to make a decision in his life if this is what he really wants to do.

 

I suggest you watch a very good documentary about the Foo Fighters, called "Back and Forth", where Dave Grohl has some incredibly tough decisions to make regarding playing wih friends. If you cannot make these tough decisions, then you should just get used to frustrasting mediocrity. In the music business, being in a band is great, but ultimately the only person you can promote and be responsible for is yourself, and if you aren't happy doing it, then change your circumstances or get out of it. If I've learned anything after 44 years of doing this, it's that life is too short to waste doing fun stuff with people who destroy the fun in it. Whey you get a group of like-minded guys who love what they're doing musically, love and respect one another, and respect the craft itself, realizing how lucky they are to have the priviledge of stepping on a stage to entertain others, you will wonder why you ever beat your head against the wall trying to turn a turd into a bar of gold. 

[SLScott86]

Talk to him. If he's not meeting your expectations he needs to be told that explicitly.

[Yer Blues]

One of the only reasons I come here is to read blue strat's post.  Always invaluable insight and guidance.