Members Scheming Demon Posted June 16, 2002 Members Share Posted June 16, 2002 Grutko, Our band works very similar to yours, except we use an Excel spreadsheet to track all income and payments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bigjohn Posted June 16, 2002 Members Share Posted June 16, 2002 Having gone through the "Wanna be a Rock Star" phase years ago, these days I prefer to be in a band that has one person in charge like Bluestrat. My only goal these days is to make enough money by playing that I don't have to work at some {censored} factory job to make ends meet. I just wanna show up at the gig, set up, play drums, pack up, get paid and go home Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Scheming Demon Posted June 17, 2002 Members Share Posted June 17, 2002 Originally posted by Bigjohn My only goal these days is to make enough money by playing that I don't have to work at some {censored} factory job to make ends meet. I just wanna show up at the gig, set up, play drums, pack up, get paid and go home So basically you want to enjoy the spoils of success without having to earn it? That's assuming you're lucky enough to join a successful band that's willing to have you under those conditions. Wouldn't it be nice if everyone in a band worked towards trying to make the band a success? You'd have 4, 5, whatever, people working together, combining talents to achieve a common goal as opposed to 1 or maybe 2 people. Imagine how much faster a band might progress towards its goal under those conditions? Well we live in the real world don't we. If you're in a situation similar to mine and I'm guessing many others are, than you'd be willing to put up with a certain amount of crap and put in the extra effort because you want to be successful and you won't allow yourself to fail based on someone else's inactivity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bigjohn Posted June 18, 2002 Members Share Posted June 18, 2002 Originally posted by Scheming Demon So basically you want to enjoy the spoils of success without having to earn it? That's assuming you're lucky enough to join a successful band that's willing to have you under those conditions. Without earning it? whadda{censored} is THAT supposed to mean? My whole point is that I don't mind working for someone that OWNS the band, and makes the majority of decisions, It's called being a sideman, and there's no shame in it My non-playing specialty is electronics, so I take it upon myself to do repairs on amps, cords, speakers etc... for the band and I don't get extra money for it, and I don't mind. I do more than my share of roadie work, I show up at rehearsal sober and with my parts down, I earn every penny I make. Wouldn't it be nice if everyone in a band worked towards trying to make the band a success? You'd have 4, 5, whatever, people working together, combining talents to achieve a common goal as opposed to 1 or maybe 2 people. Imagine how much faster a band might progress towards its goal under those conditions? I guess it all depends on your idea of success, to me, success is playing in a smokin' band that plays out at least 3 or 4 nights a week, and having $100 or $200 in my pocket at the end of the night. SD, I'm 38 years old now and the "Rock Star" ship left port without me years ago. Well we live in the real world don't we. If you're in a situation similar to mine and I'm guessing many others are, than you'd be willing to put up with a certain amount of crap and put in the extra effort because you want to be successful and you won't allow yourself to fail based on someone else's inactivity. Well I hope to see ya on MTV someday Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Scheming Demon Posted June 18, 2002 Members Share Posted June 18, 2002 I was not coming down on you personally but I see how my comments could have been interpreted that way. I didn't want to post a novel and I apologize. I agree there is no shame in being a sideman. I'm also glad you show up to practice on time, sober, with your parts down and assist with roadie labor. However, that is a given and is the bare minimum for being in a band, IMO. A lot of people (not necessarily you personally) think because they do all that, that they are doing everything they can possibly do. What about booking gigs? Making phone calls and driving all over creation to get work. What about making arrangements to record a demo, putting together a press pkg, getting pictures taken, arranging artwork, contacting papers, radio for advertising, writing the copy for the ads, making flyers, going to the club you're playing and hanging up flyers, maintaining a mailing list, sending them your schedule, making up and printing out setlists, making and giving out samplers, looking for an agent, lawyer, manager or record deal, setting up and maintaining a website, hiring sound & lights (if it applies), managing band accounts, tracking income and expenses, hiring an accountant and doing taxes (if it applies), maintaining working relationships with all the above AND showing up to rehearsals on time, sober, with your parts down and help carry equipment. Not to mention write new songs if you're an original band. What about being a nursemaid to wounded egos and trying to keep peace when people start acting like babies? Probably the most difficult thing in any band is keeping all the personalities in harmony as best as possible avoid personal disagreements, which is the killer of most bands. I'm sure I'm leaving out a host of other activities as well but I think you get the point. There's a lot more work involved to get a band to the point where you can play out 3-4 nights and make some money. Its the bands that take care of those little details that achieve some measure of success. (Oops, there I go again off on the soapbox) By the way, I hope you never see me on MTV unless it's the premier of my new show Asshole premiering right after Jackass. Sunday nights at 3am. You think I could've got a better time slot but Sharon Osbourne wouldn't allow it. Play time with Kelly will be in prime time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bigjohn Posted June 18, 2002 Members Share Posted June 18, 2002 Originally posted by Scheming Demon I was not coming down on you personally but I see how my comments could have been interpreted that way. I didn't want to post a novel and I apologize. I agree there is no shame in being a sideman. I'm also glad you show up to practice on time, sober, with your parts down and assist with roadie labor. However, that is a given and is the bare minimum for being in a band, IMO. A lot of people (not necessarily you personally) think because they do all that, that they are doing everything they can possibly do. What about booking gigs? Making phone calls and driving all over creation to get work. What about making arrangements to record a demo, putting together a press pkg, getting pictures taken, arranging artwork, contacting papers, radio for advertising, writing the copy for the ads, making flyers, going to the club you're playing and hanging up flyers, maintaining a mailing list, sending them your schedule, making up and printing out setlists, making and giving out samplers, looking for an agent, lawyer, manager or record deal, setting up and maintaining a website, hiring sound & lights (if it applies), managing band accounts, tracking income and expenses, hiring an accountant and doing taxes (if it applies), maintaining working relationships with all the above AND showing up to rehearsals on time, sober, with your parts down and help carry equipment. Not to mention write new songs if you're an original band. What about being a nursemaid to wounded egos and trying to keep peace when people start acting like babies? Probably the most difficult thing in any band is keeping all the personalities in harmony as best as possible avoid personal disagreements, which is the killer of most bands. I'm sure I'm leaving out a host of other activities as well but I think you get the point. There's a lot more work involved to get a band to the point where you can play out 3-4 nights and make some money. Its the bands that take care of those little details that achieve some measure of success. (Oops, there I go again off on the soapbox) By the way, I hope you never see me on MTV unless it's the premier of my new show Asshole premiering right after Jackass. Sunday nights at 3am. You think I could've got a better time slot but Sharon Osbourne wouldn't allow it. Play time with Kelly will be in prime time. Ok, I'm relaxed now I agree that there's alot of work involved in running a successful band. I don't do any booking right now because I'm relatively new to this area and I don't have any contacts yet. I don't handle money matters because I'm a complete financial idiot that can barely keep my checkbook balanced But this is just with the current band I'm in as a sideman, we are putting together a spinoff band from this that I will be MUCH more involved with in the near future Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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