Musician shop

[Groove58]

Imagine there was a musician shop where you could get a new band member whenever you needed one.

 

After checking out the range, you narrow it down to five models.

 

#1 has great chops, can read and write charts, is available for gigs anywhere and rehearsals anytime, and always replies promptly to calls and messages ... but has no personality or showmanship to speak of.

 

#2 has great chops, can read and write charts, is available for gigs anywhere and rehearsals anytime, gets on well with everyone and has great stage presence ... but answers calls and messages days later, if ever.

 

#3 has great chops, can read and write charts, always replies promptly to calls and messages, and gets on well with everyone and has great stage presence ... but keeps turning down gig dates because they already have something else on, or pulls out of scheduled rehearsals at short notice because of a recurring malaise or something important at home or work.

 

#4 has great chops, is available for gigs anywhere and rehearsals anytime, always replies promptly to calls and messages, and gets on well with everyone and has great stage presence ... but can't read music notes or chord symbols although has a good ear and memory if you can wait while someone walks them through the notes or chords of every new tune and arrangement a few times while they learn it.

 

#5 can read and write charts, is available for gigs anywhere and rehearsals anytime, always replies promptly to calls and messages, and gets on well with everyone and has great stage presence ... but has a fairly ordinary-sounding instrument, hits more than their fair share of wrong notes, keeps drifting a touch out of tune or losing the beat, and has a limited knowledge of chords and a limited soloing ability.

 

Unfortunately, there does not seem to be a model that ticks all the boxes on your list of desirable features ... so which one do you go with?

 

Of course these are caricatures, and real life is rarely as cut and dried as this, so there usually has to be some give and take, but you get the point: what attributes are the biggest deal makers/breakers when it comes to putting/keeping a band together: (1) talent & technique, (2) theory & musicianship, (3) availability, (4) reliability, or (5) personality & showmanship ... or does your band keep looking until they find someone with "all of the above"?

[brenner13]

I tend to indulge in my own mood swings and can resemble each of the listed profiles on any given day. However a band needs reliability and the best musicianship as compared to the level of the rest of the members, so I'd say profile 3 and 5 are out. Number 1 might be a time bomb waiting to go off, but some people (such as myself) are rather introverted in person and at practice, but blossom and morph into enthusiastic rock stars on stage. Narrowed down to 2 and 4...I rarely respond to texts and email...got an old flip-phone and texts cost me 50 cents each way and I am very busy with career, commute, and family and don't often get a chance to completely learn a tune before practice and need to take practice time to listen to the tune and learn my part and set up some rudimentary sounds to be refined in the few moments available to me int the late-evenings before the next gig. But I'm just a weekend warrior in a classic rock cover band. If I were making my living with the muse, I'd certainly have more of my ducks in a row.

 

All in all, it simply must feel right for everyone in the group or there will eventually be animosity and resentment that can tear a group apart. If there are pending gigs with a deadline, have a democratic vote and get on with rehearsals. If looking for a long term band companion, keep searching for the perfect puzzle piece.

 

Remember, it's got to have some level of enjoyment for everyone to be happy. Good luck.

[WesG]

You can probably work with #4 if you explain to him that learning new tunes is what you do at home, not at the rehearsal.

 

Of course, that depends on the type of band it is. I work with both "no charts" and "all charts" bands. In the "no charts" bands, you are expected to memorize your parts. These bands expect musicianship AND showmanship. On the "all charts" bands, you are expected to show up and be handed tonight's charts 10 minutes before stick down. Sitting like a statue is acceptable, but you'd better be able to read.

 

Wes

[JeffLearman]

Wes is dead on: the priorities are very different for different kinds of bands. But about the only case where reliability is unimportant is a jam session.

 

I'm #6: a few great chops but not a wide array, can't read charts in real time, not available for lots of gigs, and have no showmanship. I do show up when I say I will, though!

 

So, I'm fine with most of the above, as long as they bring something to the party, and bring it when they say they will. I've played in bands with all the above (in the same band), and it's the unreliable ones that cause the most problems.

 

It also depends on the instrument. Drummer and bass player don't need to be stellar, but they do need to be able to keep a groove. Even at my amateur level (and my timing is nothing to brag about) I won't waste my time with a drummer who lags the beat when he adds a fill. (BTDT!) Regarding showmanship, I think it's possible to have too much: you don't need that in every player (thank goodness). For theory, you need to have one or two guys who can pick out the subtleties in harmony, etc., (regardless of how it's communicated). But everyone doesn't have to have that skill, as long as they can understand what they're being told.

 

One of the best guitarists I know and who I play with any chance I get -- I'm now in the third band with him -- is a blues player with fantastic feel, nuance, rhythm chops, dynamics, ability to play with another guitarist and not blow the roof off, and delectably tasty leads. But he has no stage presence. You can almost tell the guitarists in the audience when he's playing a lead, because they're hanging on his every lick, while everyone else just enjoys the band. Also, he's weak on theory: he doesn't know a number of jazz voicings or can't play a more sophisticated chord by name, but I can show him a couple voicings and he'll go home and woodshed and have them down the next practice. I'll take that any day.

 

[MorayM]

Very interesting idea, I like it!

 

I mostly play technical original material, with no charts, so I'd go for #1 or #4. It's expected to learn the material in your own time, how you do it is irrelevant. Obviously #5 is not suitable, and as gigs for original material are very hard to come by, I've got no time for #3. I'd consider #2, but they'd have to get on very well with everyone and have outstanding chops.

[CEB]

I'm the keyboard player. I'm too busy to be a showman. I've got my hands full.

[richforman]

One thing seems a little off in a few of the scenarios....in that if a guy (let's assume we're talking about keyboardists) has chops and knowledge, can play and has a good normal personality and is reliable and easy to work with.....then I would be very surprised to hear that he's "available for gigs and rehearsals any time," would have to dig a little deeper to see how that could possibly be, there must be something else wrong with him, most guys with even some of those qualifications, that want to play out, are pretty busy or should be.

[CEB]

The scenarios are over thought.

 

Around here the players know who the players are. My 2 current gigs were unsolicited. Word got out that my last band folded after a 5 year run and I started getting contacted by a bunch of bands. I wasted a bunch of time trying to craft a job wanted ad.

 

There are more keyboard players playing around here now than I first thought but there still are not a lot of us.

 

The music community is pretty tight. Even if someone may not know you they know a lot of people who do. People probably know more about what kind of player I really am than what I think I am. or ....who knows.

[MotiDave]

The scenarios are over thought.

 

Around here the players know who the players are. My 2 current gigs were unsolicited. Word got out that my last band folded after a 5 year run and I started getting contacted by a bunch of bands. I wasted a bunch of time trying to craft a job wanted ad.

 

There are more keyboard players playing around here now than I first thought but there still are not a lot of us.

 

The music community is pretty tight. Even if someone may not know you they know a lot of people who do. People probably know more about what kind of player I really am than what I think I am. or ....who knows.

 

Same here in San Diego, or should I say the aging veteran pro rock musician scene is very tightly connected. I have no idea what the kids are doing out there. Probably something crazy like writing their own songs and dreaming big dreams, partying all night and livin' the dream.

 

I'm just an average competetent rock keyboardist, i'm no Jon Lord, Rick Wakeman ... i get calls almost every month by someone with a project.

 

I think its funny, my wife doesn't, it worries her. I'm up to 4 projects.

 

i don't fit into any of those categories the OP started with.

[JeffLearman]

I'm the keyboard player. I'm too busy to be a showman. I've got my hands full.

Yeah, me too. However, my wife and I saw a band not long ago, a serious showy soul band with horns, three different lead vocalists (who left the stage when not singing), backup singers, the whole shooting match.

 

The MD was the keyboard player, who in addition to wearing a red sequin suit, tophat, and 4" platform boots, stood at his rig and JUMPED a lot, waved his hands, and sang some baxvox, in addition to holding down creditable keyboard parts. My wife asked me if I wanted any red sequin 4" platform boots. Hell, I can't even jump like that in tennis shoes! Keyboard or no keyboard.

 

At the barrel-scraping end of things, there are few enough keyboard players that I can pretty much have my choice of good bands, playing with people who are generally over my head in terms of expertise and experience. The trick is finding people I actually want to play with (who aren't trying to make ears bleed, are musically sympatico, and who play about once a week, gig or practice.)

[CEB]

I dress like I belong in a band but this stuff is so keyboard driven I just show up dressed to play but sit in the back and play the music while the entertainers entertain. I'm like the pit orchestra

 

But I do setup on a riser in case all the chickas get up on stage. They stay up front where all the attention is and would have to work to climb up on the KB riser.

 

Here is how we setup depending on space.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y70/CEB2/Boondock%201_zpsks2wv2eb.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y70/CEB2/Boon5_zps703131c5.jpg

 

 

[ElmerJFudd]

sheesh, what a list. are some of these for real? a few seem unlikely. Like, what dude knows how to read and write charts but can't build a chord?

 

 

[SpaceNorman]

I think you'd need a #7 to accurate categories me. The "has great chops" component of categories #1 - #4 exclude me - as does the "hits more than their fair share of wrong notes, keeps drifting a touch out of tune or losing the beat" of category #5.

 

My self assessment is that I have "OK" chops (not "great") ... but that my playing within the limits of my "OK" chops is consistent, in touch with the tune, and with good sense of time. I'm a strong rhythm player - but certainly not a virtuoso. I'm not great with charts, nor am I what a would consider a strong soloist. I have sufficient understanding of chord/chord structure and can follow simple charts in the genres that I work in (rock, pop, etc.) The substitution filled world of jazz ... not so much.

 

I prioritize playing above pretty much everything else - but I'm not "available for gigs and rehearsals any time". I work with multiple bands - always on a first come, first booked basis. I'm very organized - and can be counted on be where I say I'll be, when I say I'll be there and to be reasonably well prepared to deliver my best. I always carry my weight and then some. I don't hide from load-ins and load-outs and am a firm believer that a gig starts at load-in and isn't over until the van doors are closed and everybody's gear loaded.

 

There are lots of guys with more talent than I who can play circles around me - but it's rare that I don't carry my weight musically and/or that I get outworked in the other aspects of a gig.

[WesG]

Boy, Ed - you sure set up differently than we do. Of course, we have very different bands! You're playing modern pop, I'm playing Classic Rock.

 

http://i62.tinypic.com/13zbuw1.jpg

 

Norman's last paragraph describes me pretty well, too. I can read, but not as well as the cats who can really read. I can improvise, but not as well as the cats who can really improvise. I can hear, but not as well as the cats who can really hear. I can play, not as well as the cats who can really play. But I do my homework, am easy to get along with, and work my butt off. I do PA and minimal lights when required, provide most of the technical expertise the bands need, and in my rock band, I also do promo, try to get gigs, provide the practice space, etc.

[Groove58]

Thanks for the interesting range of thoughts so far.

 

What actually prompted the question was a recent experience with a succession of #3 types, who appear to tick all the boxes and say they are keen and available for regular rehearsals to get a project up and running but then start pulling out of scheduled rehearsals because other things start cropping up, so plans keep having to be delayed. They appear to remain keen (at least to gig if not to rehearse) but not to be as committed as they say they are, and of course, it's always possible to move on and find someone else, but going back to square one repeatedly gets to be a poor return on the time and effort invested each time around, and I wondered whether it was a common story or just our luck.

 

Of course, things vary somewhat across the spectrum from a band doing 12-bar blues covers by ear to one doing avant garde jazz originals with complex charts, and this particular issue probably applies more to bands with substantial playlists of detailed arrangements that need to be worked up (which is where reading ability pays off), and less to bands doing simple/standard material where any reasonably competent player can come in and start playing with little preparation needed.

 

[Brad Kaenel]

I tell my students, if you want to get hired to play on other folks' projects, remember:

 

Attitude (do be grateful for the work, don't be a jerk)

Availability (do be on-time, don't be hard to contact)

Artistry (do practice to play well, don't show off)

 

Essentially the same attributes as your list, but a little more condensed. All things being equal (and granted, they rarely are), in my book, Availability trumps Attitude and Artistry. If I can't even get you to the rehearsal or the gig, it doesn't matter how well you can play, nor how easy you are to get along with.

 

In other words, Availability will get you hired the *first* time. Artistry and Attitude will determine if you get hired the *second* time.

 

 

[WesG]

I am like meatloaf....two outta three ain't bad

[Groove58]

All things being equal (and granted, they rarely are), in my book, Availability trumps Attitude and Artistry. If I can't even get you to the rehearsal or the gig, it doesn't matter how well you can play, nor how easy you are to get along with.

 

Yes, that's it.