Members 12Pack Posted April 2, 2008 Members Share Posted April 2, 2008 Tell them the truth - Not sure what part you play in the band. I take care of the lead guitar work and we have another guitar player (who is extremely dedicated) a bass player and a drummer. When we explore a new song to play - and I can't get to it - I use the excuse, "I just wanted to see how you guys interpreted the song before I lay my part down". Or - feel free to show up with sheet music/cliffnotes for the first time around. I've done that too for practices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Raybies Posted April 2, 2008 Members Share Posted April 2, 2008 Tell them your dog ate your guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members New Trail Posted April 2, 2008 Author Members Share Posted April 2, 2008 I actually was going to tell the truth all along but I just wanted to get some shite started here. Actually, practice would have been cancelled anyway cause the bass player's wife just had a baby last week and she was "in discomfort" whatever that means and the bass player wouldn't have been there. Didn't women used to have babies and go right back to working in the fields? What's wrong with modern wimmenz? And the drummer, who I had previously been in a band with, and who got me into this band, hadn't worked on the songs, either, and was just going to wing it. Tell them the truth - Not sure what part you play in the band. I take care of the lead guitar work and we have another guitar player (who is extremely dedicated) a bass player and a drummer. When we explore a new song to play - and I can't get to it - I use the excuse, "I just wanted to see how you guys interpreted the song before I lay my part down". Or - feel free to show up with sheet music/cliffnotes for the first time around. I've done that too for practices. Ha, good one. Yep, the truth will set you free!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Scafeets Posted April 2, 2008 Members Share Posted April 2, 2008 Yep. Be a man. Tell the truth. But also try and learn one of the friggin songs before practice. Take an hour or two. Heck, Google for a tab if you have to. But show up and demonstrate that you've made some effort. Yeah...Man up, even if it means going into practice and saying; "Guys, I had a rough week -- I don't know this stuff and I'm sorry. But I'm here to try and get it together." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Scafeets Posted April 2, 2008 Members Share Posted April 2, 2008 Whenever I have to flake out from a rehearsal, I just don't tell anybody. Don't answer your phone, just literally disappear for a whole day and avoid all your band members. When they see you again, don't explain anything. Just act like there wasn't even a rehearsal to go to.It's better than lying IMHO. How many bands have you been thrown out of? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GreenAsJade Posted April 3, 2008 Members Share Posted April 3, 2008 It's great to see everyone feeling similarly that I do about the importance of rehearsal. You don't come, you ruin my week. It's like being in a sports team: the team needs you there. Also, I agree with "come, but let them know that you're not ready for those songs". If it's a once off due to whatever good reason, they'll understand, it happens to everyone. If it happens every week you'll be an ex-band member, rightly. Whenever I have to flake out from a rehearsal, I just don't tell anybody. Don't answer your phone, just literally disappear for a whole day and avoid all your band members. When they see you again, don't explain anything. Just act like there wasn't even a rehearsal to go to. We have an ex-band member with exactly the same approach. What an arsehole that guy was. GaJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cherri Posted April 3, 2008 Members Share Posted April 3, 2008 Didn't women used to have babies and go right back to working in the fields? Some. The rest died in childbirth or from post-partum infections. 1 vote for honesty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members blue2blue Posted April 3, 2008 Members Share Posted April 3, 2008 The REAL reason that I feel I should cancel rehearsal is that, for various reasons, I have not had time to work on the songs we are going to learn. But I think that's lame. Should I tell them:1. I have to work late. (Not totally a lie since my work is really busy right now and it would actually be smart to work late and try to catch up, and I could work late if I chose to).2. I'm getting sick. (Not totally a lie either since my seasonal allergies are "starting" to kick up).3. The truth (even if I think its lame). I'm not prepared for rehearsal and I don't want to waste the other bandmembers time so there's no sense rehearsing until I'm prepared. I've learned the hard way that honesty is the best policy. Lies buy more lies and pretty soon you don't know what's real, anymore. Anyhow, that out of the way, making up a good excuse for the guys in the band is NOT like making up a good excuse for the boss. Although it's likely that neither one is going to buy it. But, these guys know you, how you think, how you work things, and just any old excuse is not enough... it's not creative enough. You owe these guys a far more entertaining excuse that you're coming down with allergies. (They don't understand that, anyway, even if they have their own. It's just an allergy, damnit, they'll say, It's not like you're sick!) For this you've got to call on the spirit of Baron von Munchausen... really come up with a good one... something these guys can tell their GFs or wives in bed and laugh about. They're not going to believe you, no matter what... but why insult them with a boring, unimaginative excuse? You owe these guys better... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members OverdrivenEL34s Posted April 3, 2008 Members Share Posted April 3, 2008 tell them your wife just had a baby last week and she is"in discomfort". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members OverdrivenEL34s Posted April 3, 2008 Members Share Posted April 3, 2008 how about spending some time getting prepared rather then posting on here? just listening to the songs a lot can help in getting familier with and speed up learning them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GreenAsJade Posted April 3, 2008 Members Share Posted April 3, 2008 Heh heh best suggestion yet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members elephantman Posted April 3, 2008 Members Share Posted April 3, 2008 how about spending some time getting prepared rather then posting on here? just listening to the songs a lot can help in getting familier with and speed up learning them. We have a winner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TotalPoser Posted April 3, 2008 Members Share Posted April 3, 2008 Don't be a chicken {censored}. I can't believe how passive aggressive some people are on here. "Avoid your band members and pretend you didn't miss anything." Pretty spineless and pathetic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GCDEF Posted April 3, 2008 Members Share Posted April 3, 2008 Call them up and tell them to find somebody who actually gives a damn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ProjectBert Posted April 3, 2008 Members Share Posted April 3, 2008 truth compared with job excuse, like duh! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SpaceNorman Posted April 3, 2008 Members Share Posted April 3, 2008 Or - feel free to show up with sheet music/cliffnotes for the first time around. I've done that too for practices. Just curious about this last one...I can't tell if you feel this is normally a bad thing.... In most of my projects, folks often show up with "cliffnotes" for songs we're attempting for the first time. Personally, I find that working from "cliffnotes" helps when it comes to reconciling chord changes that were learned by ear - as well as an aid in terms of commiting changes as well as song format to memory. More and more, I find myself creating a one page "cliffnote" cheatsheet for every tune I learn. It comes with me to practice at first so that I can adjust the chords and format for however our final arrangement of the tune ends up. I then use is during my personal practice to help me commit changes to memory. Finally, I file it for future reference. Now that I'm only gigging once or twice a month - I find that a quick run through playlist a couple of times a day or two before a gig just to refresh the changes in "muscle memory" makes a HUGE difference in the quality of my performance. A couple of passes through the playlist on my own a day or two before a gig pretty certainly helps me avoid if not eliminate episodes of CRS (can't remember {censored}e!). Having my "cliffnotes" readily available makes those refresher sessions go smooth. Does your act discourage using "cliffnotes" at a learning practice? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members picker13 Posted April 3, 2008 Members Share Posted April 3, 2008 Didn't your parents teach you anything? THE TRUTH! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ivoredone Posted April 3, 2008 Members Share Posted April 3, 2008 Yeah...Man up, even if it means going into practice and saying; "Guys, I had a rough week -- I don't know this stuff and I'm sorry. But I'm here to try and get it together." I suspect most of us have all been in this postion at some stage. One week for various reasons I could not pick the guitar up to do any work between rehearsals. I made sure listened to the songs in the car on the way to and from work and turned up with the tabs printed out. There were only three songs, but we managed to get them nailed in about an hour. The other three guys had done the work, I knew the arrangements and we went for it. I can't pretend the rest of the band was particularly impressed with me, but at least we managed to do something constructive despite my lack of preparation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MartinC Posted April 3, 2008 Members Share Posted April 3, 2008 Get some red bull's , some coffee, or um, something stronger and stay up and learn the music, then show up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators BATCAT Posted April 3, 2008 Moderators Share Posted April 3, 2008 Some of you guys are really taking this thread too seriously. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members New Trail Posted April 3, 2008 Author Members Share Posted April 3, 2008 First of all, did anyone read my second post? Rehearsal would have been cancelled anyway, or the bass player for sure wouldn't have made it, and the drummer hadn't worked on the songs. In a guitar/bass/drums/singer line-up that doesn't leave a lot of people to work on the music. Some of you guys are really taking this thread too seriously. YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members elbow Posted April 3, 2008 Members Share Posted April 3, 2008 Tell them that you have to get ready for an audition with a cool band. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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