ChiefDanG Posted April 21, 2018 Share Posted April 21, 2018 I was MD in bands for quite a while. Consequently, there are a few bass players and a couple drummers that will never play with me again. One band hired me specifically to arrange intros/endings, get the right parts going, etc. The first thing I told them (husband & wife BLs) was to replace the drummer and bassist. They eventually did, but replacing people left scars in the BLs' circle of friends. Later on some resentments started rise up. Left them when they decided to get a third guitarist and go in a more country direction. In the space of a couple years I got them sounding pretty tight and professional - then they decided to start over and bring back some sloppy, jammy, poorly arranged crap from their past. Not to my surprise, they were done a couple months later. The band I'm in now had been together for years before I joined, so I didn't think any MD skills were needed of me. To this day, 3 years on, I have to bite my lip instead of saying "Really? That's the ending you came up with?" "Why don't you just lay-out in that section?" "Do you have to do fills all the time?" Point is, MD is fun and rewarding when it all comes together. But it also can be frustrating and thankless if the band members are "me" oriented and can't see the big picture. The only thing worse is not being MD where one is sorely needed. Professional musician = great source of poverty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I-missRichardTee Posted April 21, 2018 Share Posted April 21, 2018 semi OT My hot temper precludes ( a bad idea for Tee as your BL or MD or Doctor even ) me from being a leader of men. I am usually stronger than most. And I am so conflicted between my devotion to musicality and hurting feelings. I am thinking solo is only safe way for me. Hey Bobby C, "get me on it" You don't have ideas, ideas have you We see the world, not as it is, but as we are. "One mans food is another mans poison". I defend your right to speak hate. Tolerance to a point, not agreement Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I-missRichardTee Posted April 21, 2018 Share Posted April 21, 2018 ......because the guitar player, bassist and drummer usually have their hands full with the groupies, which is a distraction that we don't usually have to deal with..... Cannot ignore this... one funny bit, Dude. You don't have ideas, ideas have you We see the world, not as it is, but as we are. "One mans food is another mans poison". I defend your right to speak hate. Tolerance to a point, not agreement Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotiDave Posted April 21, 2018 Share Posted April 21, 2018 ......because the guitar player, bassist and drummer usually have their hands full with the groupies, which is a distraction that we don't usually have to deal with..... Cannot ignore this... one funny bit, Dude. it happens to her all the time ... The baiting I do is purely for entertainment value. Please feel free to ignore it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksoper Posted April 21, 2018 Share Posted April 21, 2018 I don't know that a particular instrument or player determines who ends up being MD. Like Steve Nathan, I know MDs of all stripes. But in my case, the MD did the hiring and firing. The Artist needed someone competent enough to put together a great band plus someone with the spine to fire someone who wasn't working out. Turned out I was enough of a prick to be bandleader and tour manager. My first duty as TM was to fire the old TM. 9 Moog things, 3 Roland things, 2 Hammond things and a computer with stuff on it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synthaholic Posted April 22, 2018 Share Posted April 22, 2018 There are prominent exceptions. The criminally under-appreciated guitarist Davey Johnstone has been Eltons musical director for ages. And doesnt the sax player fill that role for Billy Joel? The fact there's a Highway To Hell and only a Stairway To Heaven says a lot about anticipated traffic numbers People only say "It's a free country" when they're doing something shitty-Demetri Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I-missRichardTee Posted April 22, 2018 Share Posted April 22, 2018 There are prominent exceptions. The criminally under-appreciated guitarist Davey Johnstone has been Eltons musical director for ages. And doesnt the sax player fill that role for Billy Joel? Don't tell me Joel, is still using his original alto player... His first name was Richie! You don't have ideas, ideas have you We see the world, not as it is, but as we are. "One mans food is another mans poison". I defend your right to speak hate. Tolerance to a point, not agreement Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raddtunes Posted April 23, 2018 Share Posted April 23, 2018 If you're asked to be the MD, but you're not the bandleader, you have to be very careful about accepting ANY MD duties. In order to effectively be the MD, you're going to have to take the reigns of the band in some situations, and you're going to appear smarter than the leader in many ways. Good luck with that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legatoboy Posted April 23, 2018 Share Posted April 23, 2018 I got squashed due to a similar situation.. I agree that can get dicey... I have gotten into trouble looking smarter than the leader and that person went out of his way to 'ridicule' me after that gig after gig to ensure it would never happen again for what essentially came down to just being competent in our world . .no good deed goes unpunished sometimes . . some folk's egos hang by a thread . scares them about losing control . poor souls I pray for them (sometimes) I'm very careful now who I play with...I hate that part of show business immensely...I progress more alone anyway but I also love to play out with a band unfortunately. . CP-50, YC 73, FP-80, PX5-S, NE-5d61, Kurzweil SP6, XK-3, CX-3, Hammond XK-3, Yamaha YUX Upright, '66 B3/Leslie 145/122 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outkaster Posted April 23, 2018 Share Posted April 23, 2018 That's because musicians are passive - aggressive and emotionally immature most times. Everything is always so personal when in reality it's more business than anything. "Danny, ci manchi a tutti. La E-Street Band non e' la stessa senza di te. Riposa in pace, fratello" noblevibes.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotiDave Posted April 23, 2018 Share Posted April 23, 2018 I've never played in a band so hierarchical as to have a formally designated MD and BL. most of my bands are free for all bitch fests. One band has a BL, he's definitely BL as he books all gigs through his entertainment company - he's generally "the MD" in the high level sense but he doesn't command the fine musical details - he's a singer, how could he The baiting I do is purely for entertainment value. Please feel free to ignore it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
synthizen2 Posted April 23, 2018 Share Posted April 23, 2018 I am often called upon to "shore up" the occasional musical flow problem in the 2 bands I'm in (i.e. "guitarist should play a different inversion of that chord", or "let me lay down a more staccato organ passage here, instead of regular padding"... and so on)... But I am not BL in either band... just the guy they turn to for technical musical stuff here and there. No ego problem with me giving the advice in either band. Kurzweil PC3, Yamaha MOX8, Alesis Ion, Kawai K3M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CowboyNQ Posted April 23, 2018 Share Posted April 23, 2018 Do you ever resist and just sit quiet and not "Accept" the lead role because you don't want to deal with the drama/egos? I admit I do this a lot because I don't want to be the guy that tells the drummer he sucks or the singer she's flat. How do you deal with this? To answer the question posed in the thread title, I've found the keys player is "often" rather than "always" the MD. When this IS the case, I've found it's because the keys player has a better grasp on music theory than their band mates, so it's just easier for them to co-ordinate the various bits and pieces. To answer the questions posed in the quotes I pulled out, I approach any new project with the view that I'm happy to let others take these roles. However if no-one else has the desire or capability, I'm equally happy to be MD. It's far less frustrating than sitting back and saying "why don't they just do this..." I've only ever played in rock bands and have found the role of MD is rarely formally conferred on anyone, as mentioned by MotiDave above. People tend to pretty quickly gravitate towards the role based on capability and leadership presence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barryjam Posted April 23, 2018 Share Posted April 23, 2018 This is what happens to me: I join a band doing jazz influenced rock. they play a Bb7 chord when it is obvious that the real chord is Bb13#11. I try to bite my tongue, but I cannot resist showing the difference. Once they hear it, I'm pretty much destined to fix all the chord charts. It may sound like bragging, but it is actually a blessing and curse! Barry Home: Steinway L, Montage 8 Gigs: Yamaha CP88, Crumar Mojo 61, A&H SQ5 mixer, ME1 IEM, MiPro 909 IEMs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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