In 2012 I developed a problem in my fretting hand. The pain was so bad that I couldn't practice for more than 10 - 15 minutes. I more or less stopped playing until I finally found a doctor who suggested hand surgery. I tried everything else, so I figured, what the hell. He thought it was 70 -80 percent likely to resolve the problem. So in 2019 I finally got the surgery (right as the pandemic started). 5 years later now, my hand is about 80 percent back to where it used to be and I can practice and play mostly without pain. So I decided to join a band. I joined band mix and found a contender that practices about 25 minutes from my house. They have gigs and a killer singer who nails classics like White Rabbit (she sounds just like Grace Slick) and Piece of My Heart (she also does an amazing job singing like Janis Joplin). Hot dog!
I go for an audition and they like my playing. And they invite my to join, but there's a catch. They already have a lead guitarist. They just want me to stand in for him because he's in two other bands and they have a big upcoming gig (June 29th) that he can't play at. They ask me to learn 40 songs for this gig, with no promises about future gigs. BUT, there's a chance that the other guitarist will leave the band because he's over-committed, so I might ACTUALLY become a full member of the band (I'm saying this with sarcasm). I've been in bands for decades (I'm 63) so I know how this goes. But once again, I figure what the hell. I'm not playing in another band right now. I live in a smaller town about an hour South of Seattle, so finding a band is not so easy, unless I want to brave traffic and long drives.
So I go to practice. It's kind of a mess. There are 7 members, excluding me. Two of them are nice people, but not skilled musicians. I am being asked to fit in with a cacophony with no immediate guidance about how the band leader wants me to fit in to their unique arrangements of classic songs. Though I'm designated as "Lead Guitarist" I don't have anything more than a head nod to indicate when they want me to play a ripping lead. And, sometimes the other lead guitarist is there, so it's unclear when I'm supposed to play vs when the other guy is supposed to play. He's a really nice guy, so there isn't any competition. Just a lack of clarity. I figure, what the hell, I'm game for a challenge. But I'm also feeling a fair amount of pressure. The upcoming June 29th gig is a big one for the band. They only practice once a week, so we only have 5 - 6 practices before the gig. At least they have charts, though several of them are in a different key than they play the song, and about 50% don't accurately reflect the arrangement that they actually play. But I pride myself on my ability to adapt. I can figure this out, I tell myself.
Then last Wednesday, we just complete practice, and the keyboard player (one of the lessor skilled musicians of the bunch), right in front of me, starts talking about my not attending practice when the other lead guitarist is present. She spoke as if I wasn't even in the room. I try to speak up - "if you don't let me go to practice then I will not be able to learn your arrangements, and we only have 5 or 6 practices before the gig, and you want me to miss half of them?" Nobody listens. It's as if I'm invisible.
So they want me to learn 40 songs (I have previously played about 5 of the songs, but their arrangements are unique) for one gig, I'll only be asked to play when the other guy can't make it, oh, and we won't have you come to practice when the other guy is there. And I can't count on the charts to be accurate. Plus, we don't value you or your contributions enough to see how you feel about playing an important gig with 3 practices under your belt. Fuck
To top it off, the keyboardist is roughly my age and unattached. She has other members of the band periodically do a "honey list" - move things, lift things. She suggests that I get to help too. Lucky me . . . The worst of it is that she's kind of a nice lady, just oblivious to boundaries and professionalism.
So I wrote the band an email. It was one of those email that I should have waited 24 hours to send, because I was pissed, and didn't put my best foot forward, at least when it comes to behaving professionally. There isn't enough time for them to find someone else for the June 29th gig, and I am the sort of person who believes that I should keep my word. I promised that I would play June 29th, so dammit, I'll play, come hell or high water.
Then yesterday, I got together with the band leader to go over songs. He starts micromanaging my playing, asking me to play parts precisely on tunes that I've never played before, and then getting on my shit when I don't make a chord change cleanly, or when I lose the rhythm (it was just the two of us, not bass or drums), or I don't play a part properly that isn't even on the chart. He also talks to me like I'm a child because I'm jumping around on my FM9 trying to find patches that fit what he wants. And some of my levels are off because I haven't properly leveled them. But I fancy that I'm a "professional", so I put up with it and pretend it doesn't bother me. But inside, I'm really hating this whole fucking thing. And, to top it off, I can tell that he's drunk or stoned, or both (at 3pm). And the direction that he is giving me is inconsistent. And he doesn't even realize it. One minute he wants me to just play the top 3 notes of a chord, then next it's the top 4 notes of the chord. I'm just gritting my teeth.
What a fucking mess . . . I'm not sure what the lesson is here. But I know that I chose to be in the situation. If only I had a time machine so I could go back and decline the "opportunity". Or I lacked a conscience so I could just fire them and move on. I'm not really looking for advice here. I just want to bitch and moan, and hear about other folks' experiences with their "band from hell".
[I made so small edits to correct grammer and typos]
I go for an audition and they like my playing. And they invite my to join, but there's a catch. They already have a lead guitarist. They just want me to stand in for him because he's in two other bands and they have a big upcoming gig (June 29th) that he can't play at. They ask me to learn 40 songs for this gig, with no promises about future gigs. BUT, there's a chance that the other guitarist will leave the band because he's over-committed, so I might ACTUALLY become a full member of the band (I'm saying this with sarcasm). I've been in bands for decades (I'm 63) so I know how this goes. But once again, I figure what the hell. I'm not playing in another band right now. I live in a smaller town about an hour South of Seattle, so finding a band is not so easy, unless I want to brave traffic and long drives.
So I go to practice. It's kind of a mess. There are 7 members, excluding me. Two of them are nice people, but not skilled musicians. I am being asked to fit in with a cacophony with no immediate guidance about how the band leader wants me to fit in to their unique arrangements of classic songs. Though I'm designated as "Lead Guitarist" I don't have anything more than a head nod to indicate when they want me to play a ripping lead. And, sometimes the other lead guitarist is there, so it's unclear when I'm supposed to play vs when the other guy is supposed to play. He's a really nice guy, so there isn't any competition. Just a lack of clarity. I figure, what the hell, I'm game for a challenge. But I'm also feeling a fair amount of pressure. The upcoming June 29th gig is a big one for the band. They only practice once a week, so we only have 5 - 6 practices before the gig. At least they have charts, though several of them are in a different key than they play the song, and about 50% don't accurately reflect the arrangement that they actually play. But I pride myself on my ability to adapt. I can figure this out, I tell myself.
Then last Wednesday, we just complete practice, and the keyboard player (one of the lessor skilled musicians of the bunch), right in front of me, starts talking about my not attending practice when the other lead guitarist is present. She spoke as if I wasn't even in the room. I try to speak up - "if you don't let me go to practice then I will not be able to learn your arrangements, and we only have 5 or 6 practices before the gig, and you want me to miss half of them?" Nobody listens. It's as if I'm invisible.
So they want me to learn 40 songs (I have previously played about 5 of the songs, but their arrangements are unique) for one gig, I'll only be asked to play when the other guy can't make it, oh, and we won't have you come to practice when the other guy is there. And I can't count on the charts to be accurate. Plus, we don't value you or your contributions enough to see how you feel about playing an important gig with 3 practices under your belt. Fuck
To top it off, the keyboardist is roughly my age and unattached. She has other members of the band periodically do a "honey list" - move things, lift things. She suggests that I get to help too. Lucky me . . . The worst of it is that she's kind of a nice lady, just oblivious to boundaries and professionalism.
So I wrote the band an email. It was one of those email that I should have waited 24 hours to send, because I was pissed, and didn't put my best foot forward, at least when it comes to behaving professionally. There isn't enough time for them to find someone else for the June 29th gig, and I am the sort of person who believes that I should keep my word. I promised that I would play June 29th, so dammit, I'll play, come hell or high water.
Then yesterday, I got together with the band leader to go over songs. He starts micromanaging my playing, asking me to play parts precisely on tunes that I've never played before, and then getting on my shit when I don't make a chord change cleanly, or when I lose the rhythm (it was just the two of us, not bass or drums), or I don't play a part properly that isn't even on the chart. He also talks to me like I'm a child because I'm jumping around on my FM9 trying to find patches that fit what he wants. And some of my levels are off because I haven't properly leveled them. But I fancy that I'm a "professional", so I put up with it and pretend it doesn't bother me. But inside, I'm really hating this whole fucking thing. And, to top it off, I can tell that he's drunk or stoned, or both (at 3pm). And the direction that he is giving me is inconsistent. And he doesn't even realize it. One minute he wants me to just play the top 3 notes of a chord, then next it's the top 4 notes of the chord. I'm just gritting my teeth.
What a fucking mess . . . I'm not sure what the lesson is here. But I know that I chose to be in the situation. If only I had a time machine so I could go back and decline the "opportunity". Or I lacked a conscience so I could just fire them and move on. I'm not really looking for advice here. I just want to bitch and moan, and hear about other folks' experiences with their "band from hell".
[I made so small edits to correct grammer and typos]
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