JasonE
Roadie
- Messages
- 818
The memories will come back really fast.I’m not even giving much of a shit about the songs, there’s 3 Doors Down in the setlist, I CAN’T.
My entire reason for doing this is to play through a cranked up amp and to get on some stages in some dive bars. I’m sure after the first year I’ll have all kinds of issues I’m navigating away from, it’s been 7 years since my last band and long enough to not remember all the BS.![]()
The last band I was in was with a bunch of musician friends that I have never been in a band with. We all used to show up at each other's gigs and do guest appearance and drink a few beers. We always get each other up to play a few songs and have fun with it. Things started off pretty good but I quickly saw a side of all of them that I had not seen before. They were hard to work with jerks.
I probably know the most about music theory in the group. They would start talking about new songs at our weekly practice then start trying to figure them out. That never works as a group. I just went with it for a while. I had to keep chiming in and correcting them on what the chord progressions were and telling them that in the key the song is in this chord is a minor, not a major. Then they try it and say, that sounds much better. Then in the next few minutes they tell me I have something wrong and I have to prove it is right by playing it for them. Never again.
I found out that they were pretty jerky with getting things set up and tore down. I purposely didn't offer to bring any of my PA gear to the gigs. I knew where that would go and I am not hauling all that gear at this point. I brought everything I needed for myself. I would also be the guy to walk out and then make adjustments to the mixer. People started noticing the band sounded a lot better with my added playing parts and mix changes.
Some of the things that were said at practice and at gigs were pretty harsh. I couldn't believe this was the same group of guys that I had been friends with for a good while. This was the fist band we were all together in. I had seen some very small signs of some of these things in the past but I knew the back story on them and knew that the person they got snippy with had butted heads with them and that was what was driving it. When I got in a band with them this stuff just started happening with nothing driving it. I don't know if they were so used to doing that and I had not seen it that they just kept doing it. They had some issues with the guy I replaced in the band and I think I was taking some of his beating even though he was gone and things were sounding much better. I finally had to drop from the band. I was getting busy with work and getting tired of the atmosphere in the band so it just made sense to put an end to it. They have had infighting since I left. They tried to replace me and that guy didn't stick with it. I have the feeling I know why.
I guess I need to go back to how I used to do things before that band. It was much more relaxed and the gigs were much more fun. The things that seem small in the beginning become big over time.