Band Problem-What to do?

My band has what, in my opinion, is a huge problem. The band doesn't want to "jam." They just want to practice. They seem so utilitarian about getting together, as if it were a school newpaper meeting ot something.

I say this cause last week we were suppose to get together at my house, but our singer couldn't make it. After I told everyone else that he wasn't coming, they said its was pointless to meet of we didn't have him. They say we can't make any decisions without him but we already have a setlist for a gig. There aren't really any decisions to be made. We can learn the songs ourselves and the singer can come the next week and sing to what we've already gotten together. In other words, he depends on us, not the other way around.

Being in a band is suppose to be fun and not a freakin' job one need to show up to. I've played with just a bass player and we would jam for like an hour making up stuff as we went along.

Anyone have any ideas on what I can do?

Ah, I know this one! They have their heads up their ass.

Yeah, but in some ways it's better this way than "all they want to do is jam." At least their disciplined and focused!

But yah, I agree you need balance and jammin really helps fuel the creative juices. It's where you live and die, learn how to breath through your instrument type of thing. It's also really freaking fun!

Maybe you just gotta tell em you just want to have some FUN with it once in a while!

Dude, I had to quit playing for awhile because it just wasn't fun anymore. It's pointless to play if you're not enjoying it.

Why limit yourself to jamming with them. If they'd rather sit at home and watch TV and you want to jam, find some other people to jam with on the side. You don't have to quit your band or form a new one or anything. Sometimes it's just fun to find somebody who plays something (anything) else and have them come by and make some noise. If anything, it'll expand your playing to play with a wider variety of people because every musician has a different approach to music and brings something new to the table.

We've been having a lot of scheduling problems lately with my band and have kind of fallen out of our regular rehearsal schedule. A few weeks ago we decided to get together without our singer, and we actually had a blast. Everyone took turns sitting in at singing (we all suck vocally) so it was kind of a combination of jamming mixed with a bad kareoke show.

Too bad the guys in your band don't see it the same way.

My band basically never jams. I used to to do a lot of 1am, three-hour sonic wanderings with previous bands so it was really hard to accept that my current band basically is incapable of jamming. We've tried it, and it was horrible- they just don't know how to do it. The closest we get is when we're working on brand new songs, but it's more a controlled experimentation, not really jamming.

It's dissapointing, BUT I love this band and we have great songs, so I deal. I do a lot of playing by myself or along to CDs.

Still miss it though...

My situation is exactly the opposite. All we do is jam. For now, this is ok, as we don't have a singer and it's hard to be structured without vocals. It has really improved our improvisational skills and we have learned to listen to each other. We have a blast with it. It's an open jam every Friday night. Most of the time it's drums, guitar (or 2), bass, keys. Sometimes we have percussion, sax, violin, mandolin, 4 guitars, harmonica; basically who ever shows up. We usually start around 9pm and jam until around 2-3am, though we have gone 'til sunrise a couple of times.

That's awesome, just jamming on and on and on and on and...

One of the reasons our band is the way it is may be because 2 of the four of us have very busy schedules (me not being one of them, I just agree to having them over and just wait...)

Our guitarist is part of a lot of activities like Model UN and a bunch of other stuff I wouldn't like to be in (I prefer engineering stuff, like CARS!) Our keyboardist can just be lazy. One conversation went like this. The names have been changed to protect the guilty:

"So you coming to my house on Sunday?"

"I don't know. If Jimmy (vocals) and Spencer (guitar, I don't know where these names came from) goes."

"But if Jimmy doesn't come, you and Spencer and come anyway and we can just fool around"

"I just don't want to waste (yes she said WASTE) a day of the weekend at band practice."

"What do you mean waste? What would you be doing on a Sunday anyway?"

"Uuuhh... sleeping...?"

Crap like that really make me put her dedication to the band in question. That may sound like im trying to be a control freak and make the band the center of everything or something, but I've never been in a concrete band before and I look foward all week to get together only to be let down again.

I'm not even going to ask when were going to get together again. I'm going to let them settle it out themselves and give me a date so they can get their freakin schedules together. And if they don't get a date together, it's their problem cause i can just play to CDs and learn the songs on my own. Besides, I'm just the drummer. People come to me all the time cause they need a drummer somce there aren't many here. So if they lose me, its their loss, not mine.

All in all, I still want to get them into the whole point of having a band. JAMMING. IMPROVISING. FUN.

EDIT: Jimmy Spencer is a race car drive. Just sorta came subcontiously.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm funny... in my band we do all 3 things......... we practice(meaning getting the vocals,chords lyrics etc. right) then we rehearse(the previous song) then we jam (kinda putting it all together in what we just learned) usually this is how we conduct our "practices".. now thats not 100% all the time but i'd say ohhh probably 85% tho.now no one member said"ok lets do it like this......etc." we just kinda fell into it and fits our time management for practices..maybe you might suggest to your band you try that.... that way your jamm'n AND practice needs will be met.

Our band is facing a similar problem. Our gutairist/vocalist is willing to practice, but when we start he'll play stuff like with one hand or sumthing because he's bored, and he won't sing, and he never counts and he messes up and its me who ends up keeping the beat. Or, he'll go over to the computer (its in the other room but we can see into it) and he'll play with one hand then talk online with the other. I get mad and me and the bass player play a little. Then usually stop and the gutairist makes up some lame excuse like lets go out or something this is stupid. OR he'll play something else like practice solos while me and bass try to practice and we can't over power his half stack so its all him. Then I get pissed and maybe maybe if we play a song we will play like 3 songs all the way throught with vocals and everything then it will go to like the two scenerios above. I dont know whats up with him.

P.S. Sorry if I repeated stuff.

Some people just don

Originally posted by ulank Tell us how you really feel.

Ummm...

Jamming Sucks?

I miss jaming. Ever since I started playing professionaly Jamming has all together disapeard. Our guitar player cant jam. It has been two years now and every time our Bass player and me start jaming, he starts playing something way off or he most often slips back into comfortable ground and starts playing our songs over the jam. It just dosn't work. It get frustrating to the point we just quite playing and let him play our song that has all ready been written.

Thats it thats my rant.

Everybody's got a happy medium, but unfortunately that space is different for everyone. Same with priorities...for some the band may be #1, but somebody else's job or another activity might be #1.

That, to me, sums up why ALL bands eventually fail...different wants/needs, and different priorities. The successful bands, IMHO, are the ones who can have the same goals and priorities and keep them aligned the longest. The other unfortunate thing is that you can't blame people for having different goals/wants/needs/priorities. Everyone has to live their own life on their own terms. Some people just aren't meant to be in the same groups.

The OTHER thing that I see going on is that it appears that you don't have any pressing goals that need to be accomplished. Everyone is allowing the band (jamming or working) to take a secondary role because there's no need to do anything right away. This happens to all bands as well. In my experience, there's nothing that will focus a band more quickly than putting an important gig or recording session on the calendar. NOBODY wants to play a big gig and look like a jackass, and NOBODY wants to be the weak link in the studio. If you want these guys to get focused back on the band, plan a gig in the next month or so. Even if you're just playing at somebody's house party, or if you have one yourself (sounds like you're still in high school), it'll bring the guys back to rehearsal. So on Sunday, when they've blown you off, spend the day planning a gig somewhere. Hell, Thanksgiving is coming up in a month, and the Wednesday night before is always a big party night, and the day after is also a good night because nobody has work or school, and everyone who isn't traveling is usually sitting around with nothing to do.

Good luck.

I love you, Steve...!

Dude...that's sooooo gay.

Official Politically Correct Disclaimer: "Not that there's anything wrong with that, really, it's just not my thing."

Excellent point,

This is how I got our band to finally finish our CD. We were working on it for months, and at one point we were shooting for a Sept. release party. As we got to about a month from officially planning it the rest of the guys had the opinion "Well, we might not be done by then so lets not plan it".

Baloney!!! I spoke up and said exactly what you just said, Old Steve; lets give ourselves a target and come hell or high water we will get it done.

It was just what we needed to get motivated and we not only finished the CD on time but had a great release party

And to think, we could STILL be in the studio putzing around with no end in sight...

I didn't MEAN it...

That's just great, if not, the perfect piece of advice.

(Great, now people think I'm gay... (see Steve's disclaimer)

EDIT: The gig we're practicing for isn't until May. So I guess as it gets closer they'll have to practice if they want to get it right. BUT I STILL WANT TO JAM!!!

Well, the fact that you're in a Villiage People Tribute band kind of sends a not-so-subtle signal.

BTW, I think I'm a Lesbian...

LOL, Village People Tribute band? Where'd that come from?

The voices in my head told me about it. Now that I'm on heavy medication, they've stopped chanting "Kill Kill Kill" and have actually calmed down quite a bit (which is good news in more ways than you'd think.)

Anyway, I gotta go take another fistful of "happy pills" now...the voices just suggested that the neighbor's cat is out to get me and I gotta shut them up before something bad happens again.

HAHAHA!!!! You crack me up.

Back on topic: Anyone else have any ideas on what to do with the band? Getting a gig soon would be a great way to force the band to practice, but they're arent many places to have a gig around here and with the guy's tight schedules of sleeping and meetings, it would probably end up getting canceled anyway.