Who here has started a band and/or runs a band?

[Dave Bryce]

Is it possible you are under estimating yourself?

Thanks, brother Mike! Honestly, I really like playing with other people though. I know - weird for a keyboard player.

 

The ones that are playing with me now are the best fun to make music with and hang with. It's an absolute joy, tbh. None of us are really doing it for the $.

 

dB- are you still involved with The Police Cars?

No - the Police Cars pretty much died when our bass player (Matt Bissonette) got the Elton John gig. We tried others...but somehow they didn't stand up. We kinda got spoiled.

 

dB

[MikeT156]

Well Brother Dave,I usually ran into personality problems playing music in local bands. Any successful band would eventually run into at least one member suffering from "Star Syndrome" who felt they were the sole reason the band was any good. Also, living in a small market where current night clubs use DJ's instead of bands, and some downtown clubs collect a dollar cover charge at the door and that's what you get. A dead night? Not much money and the musician loses money.

 

Its been a long time since I visited the West Coast and back then a lot of Clubs had "Pay to Play" instead of actually paying entertainment. Aspiring musicians had to pay the venue for the privilege of playing in their Club.

 

I got tired of trying to put a group together, practicing, learning tunes, buying a decent PA, get a truck, etc. You probably know this already but don't allow one musician in the band to sing lead in every song, especially if he's the lead guitar player. If he quits, you're SOL. Divide up the lead singing duties. Most of the time someone would leave the band and we were all stuck with the bills. It got old.

 

Being that most venues are small in the local market, I lined up an Agent who was Honest. (Imagine that). He had been booking gigs for years in my area and had established organizations that relied on him to get them good entertainment at a reasonable price, and not get blown out at their private party with a band that is just too loud.

 

Using a Motif ES8 I bought when it came out, with the addition of a good PA I already had, a Digitech Vocalist for harmonies, and a lot of time creating sequences paid off in the long run. Being able to play just loud enough to be heard while being soft enough for people attending the party to talk without a loud band in the room went a long way to making my solo effort worth doing. People could get up and dance to my music or just sit and listen.

 

The biggest hassle for me was having to rent a U-Haul trailer to move my equipment and get out of the venue without holding up the people that cleaned up and wanted to get out at a reasonable time. As I got older it got more difficult to do it all. So, after years of playing solo, I called it a career.

 

You are blessed that you have a bunch of musicians that you enjoying working with and to hang with.

 

 

 

Cheers!

 

 

Mike T.

 

 

[RABid]

I've done it a few times, usually as a drummer. Truthfully, a young drummer just about HAS to start a band to get in a good one. Drummers are a dime a dozen. As a keyboardist I have started one band. The biggest obstacle is getting over the booking hump. Once you book jobs, it is easier to book more jobs because you have history and references. Club owners like history and references. Until then it can be a real struggle. Some call it "Start-up Hell."

 

One day I realized that as a keyboardist I never have to go through start-up Hell. If you play keys and have a decent setup up you never have to go through that. There is always a working and looking for keyboardist. Just be patient and choose carefully.

[synthizen2]

I actually started out in music by forming my own band (mid 80s) and writing my own music, with songwriting help from some band mates. It only lasted about a year, and when I listen back on some of those tapes, we ALL were really naive back then!

 

It wasn't until later on that I learned how to be a "hireable keys player", so-to-speak.

 

After that initial "my band" experience... I went through a huge learning curve (learning rock and jazz tunes by the hundreds, learning traditional piano and organ technique)... and before long, already established bands were looking for me, instead of the other way around.

 

It didn't take long for me to get off my ego about having my own band.

 

Me. My Band. Mine. The one I created. And it's mine.

 

 

 

[Marzzz]

dB- are you still involved with The Police Cars?

No - the Police Cars pretty much died when our bass player (Matt Bissonette) got the Elton John gig. We tried others...but somehow they didn't stand up. We kinda got spoiled.

 

dB

Ah, that's too bad- I loved the videos and would have loved to see you guys live. My wife just loved the whole concept of "The Police Cars!" It kinda made me think of putting together similarly themed cover bands, like-

 

Queen Crimson

Styx and Stones

Deep Purple Cream

Talking Head Rush

Sex Pistols and Roses

The Kiss Who

AB BG BA

The Door Jam

Yes You Too...?

 

:cofee:

[Quai34]

A lot of great stuff here from the other members, here is mine:

"Being a great leader".... I apply the same "take care of your people" that I've been doing in my daily jobs for years as marketing and sales director or store general manager....I do the same with this new band.

Finding right people....It took me one year and half (and I even left a group that I Had put together just because the guitarist changed the vision of the band and wanted to take the lead....we were pearling at his place....) to find great female singers, which means, sing well, on pitch, not thinking they are the stars, staying humble despite being at the front, young and cute enough to have the agents booking you and accepting advices from me. Finding a guitarist - and only one - not two....that you have to tell to TURN UP a bit....or who ask regularly if he's not too loud (ok, I know, I'm lucky, there is only one in Canada and he's in my band!!!!)....in fact, he found me when I was checking him on Bandmix and decided to not go ahead because he had put " blues/rock" in his profile....and we play Funk/pop/dance...

Same thing for a drummer who learn his part, don't over play, play for the others, play on a click very tight and has a great groove at the same time...

 

How I did that:

1) two pages of a "covenant" that everyone have seen, "mentally "signed", I didn't asked but they know it's like it, where all stuff described below are in....you want to join, this is the deal.

2) Marketing plan even before starting to look for people, no way I was going to put all the burden on me it it wasn't to be in a band that will be booked in an already crowded market.

3) Vision/Mission/values....Are in this marketing plan. They all have it, seen it, accepted it....

When you have that, never ever let anyone new potential member trying to change it for any reasons, or you are screwed....you will end up being another band like all the others just because the last one who joined says "we should do this....it worked well with my precious band I was in"....especially if it's not in the vision of the band....

4) Offer help, everything is already prepared in my Dropbox, scores, MP3, infos, under each song file, even drums scores and bass guitar scores etc..., plus "administrative" files etc....with sing last for each practice, few weeks in advance so they know what we will be playing/practicing and they could manage well their own time....

5) Always recognize a job well done!!! And even if on the opposite, you have to be a bit tough sometimes....if you have to, to pass the message...even if you have to apologize for your "behaviour"....finaly, they always say, "yes, you were right, all good, it had to be said"....

6) Find musicians that have extra skills: my guitarist is a semi-retired producer and has his own media company. My bassist is a bass teacher, my drummer has toured all across Canada when he was young and is a strong believer of tight and great practice....My Soprano has toured 5 years in cruise but wants a more stable "job" now and does!mt want music to be his only income too....If all have day jobs it's even easier because no pressure on anyone....

7) Give them a nice place to practice with nice gear and a system that is "ears candy" compared to what band usually have (IEM, drums on site, Amp, guitars etc, pedalboards, monitors etc....so they have no excuses to play wrong...they can hear themselves and the others...

8) Decide on a finalized Setlist that is in lign with the vision and your marketing plan and stick to it....Give them the possibility to have some inputs when finally one or two songs need to be replaced, put it on vote but for me, they all know that personal inputs will be acceptable only when all have delivered on the first Setlist...."you want to play songs you like, ok, but not now, not at the the start, only when the "base" is covered....or you will be ending with permanent proposals over and over and always changing Setlist instead of practicing...

9) Use all your experience in managing/leading people to play a multiple role, BL, MD, Booking guy etc....This is on me, but delegate stuff when people are better than you....Media for my guitarist, example of "good practice rules" given by your drummer for my band, even if I did the "check list before all practice" for all musicians....leading role for one of the singer to decide who sings what and who does the harmonies etc....so, have them having a participative role and be inclusive...

10) Have fun but keep in mind your final goal with the level of performance you want and stick to it, don't lower your expectations just because someone wants to go faster or play earlier. And share all your thought and "hesitation,, they will see that you are not bossy, ask their help and finally, they will all say, "ok, Phil, decide, it's up to you, you are the BL for a reason...."

 

As a conclusion: it's like starting a company, consider it the same but it's way more fun if the subject/object of the company is your passion...and it seems to work well, they all say, I'm very good as a BL, as an MD and as the Sound guy for the band....

 

Ha yes....And find the right guitarist!!!! Did I have already said that????

[David R]

Started and run many bands over the years. Got really burned out at the end of my 20s and took a step back to focus on being a sideman. Since going back for my Master's, I realize that being a bandleader is a compulsion that I suffer from I have to have projects that I lead and am responsible for. *shrug*

[area51recording]

I didn't lead my own band until maybe 7-8 years ago when I got an offer to do a once a month thing at one of the "animal clubs" in my little town and put something together for that. From there we branched out to some one shot deals and eventually a regular monthly gig at the local casino. When I could get the guys I wanted it was a blast, but in this area to make any money at all everyone (including me) tend to be involved with several projects. There are some really good players, but it's not a deep talent pool, so when you got past your first two choices on any instrument things got hairy fast. More than anything the inability to come up with a consistent product on a regular basis pretty much led me to bag it after a while. These days I do the sideman thing in 3-4 bands and solo stuff and it's much less of a headache....

[MikeT156]

I've been watching and listening to Dave's band "The Police Cars". What a great group! I can honestly say that some of the "original bands" that recorded those songs would be hard pressed to sound that great. Honestly. Great mix, wonderful balance. Every part that needs to stand out is right there. THAT my friends is what we strive for in a band.

 

I'd say its great that your bass player got a gig with Elton John, but that goes to show all of us the level of talent in the group. I'm listening to some of the videos of Dave's other videos, great stuff.

 

Thanks for the music.

 

 

 

Mike T.

[Dave Bryce]

I've been watching and listening to Dave's band "The Police Cars". What a great group! I can honestly say that some of the "original bands" that recorded those songs would be hard pressed to sound that great. Honestly. Great mix, wonderful balance. Every part that needs to stand out is right there. THAT my friends is what we strive for in a band.

 

I'd say its great that your bass player got a gig with Elton John, but that goes to show all of us the level of talent in the group. I'm listening to some of the videos of Dave's other videos, great stuff.

 

Thanks for the music.

Thanks, Mike!

 

To be clear, the guy in the video that's playing the bass isn't Matt - he had already left the band when we made that video. Matt did cut the bass track in the audio that we're "playing" to in the video, though.

 

dB

[MikeT156]

What I heard on the video was great, too bad Matt had to leave you guys, but he got a great gig and I'm sure you didn't want to hold him back.

 

Great music brother Dave!

 

 

Mike T.

[BluesKeys]

I started a band with wife #3 and handle everything except booking (her job, and Singer) I have to say I despised it!!! The stupid band members who refuse to read the entire emails (load in, start/play times, attire, address) and ask questions about ALL of those details. Then question the $$$ and disrupt rehearsals with minutia...NOT MY CUP OF TEA!!!

 

However I find myself back in that situation with my Trio! I use it to fill dates on the calendar so it is not full time, but I get tired of musicians belly aching. JUST shut up and play!!!

[cphollis]

I have not created a band from scratch, but -- as mentioned elsewhere -- I'm near the end of a band rehab project where I have taken a (virtual) BL role.

 

Sort of like the difference between rehabbing an older house vs. new construction? When you rehab an older house, you try to work with what you have if possible.

 

The existing BL could get great gigs (and liked fronting the band) but many other aspects needed help.

 

Things that helped:

- decent PA and monitors so people could hear themselves

- dedicated, acoustically treated space to rehearse

- rehearsal plans (e.g. we're going to work on X) in advance

- recording rehearsals and distributing for review and comment

- swapping out the bass player and lead guitarist (big win)

- sound person at every gig

- revamped set list to focus on people's strengths vs. weaknesses while staying true to genre

 

BL is still BL (gets gigs, distributes $$$, fronts the band) but most other aspects are no longer his responsibility. We are sounding much, much better as a result and everyone is much happier, including me.

[Joe Muscara]

I started a band with wife #3 and handle everything except booking (her job, and Singer) I have to say I despised it!!! The stupid band members who refuse to read the entire emails (load in, start/play times, attire, address) and ask questions about ALL of those details. Then question the $$$ and disrupt rehearsals with minutia...NOT MY CUP OF TEA!!!

 

However I find myself back in that situation with my Trio! I use it to fill dates on the calendar so it is not full time, but I get tired of musicians belly aching. JUST shut up and play!!!

Do you want them to shut up and play or do you want them to read the emails?

[BluesKeys]

Joe, I would like BOTH!!! But under the circumstances Shut up and Play!!! LOL

[Groove58]

I've reluctantly stepped up and "run" a band when nobody else could/would do it, and I've found musicians to be one of those things where it's easy to get any two attributes but getting all three is hard:

1. Has good chops and good gear.

2. Shares the vision and is OK to hang out with.

3. Reads the emails, replies promptly, and turns up on time and ready to roll -- in short, is responsive and reliable.

 

#3 seems to be the rarest.

[Quai34]

I've reluctantly stepped up and "run" a band when nobody else could/would do it, and I've found musicians to be one of those things where it's easy to get any two attributes but getting all three is hard:

1. Has good chops and good gear.

2. Shares the vision and is OK to hang out with.

3. Reads the emails, replies promptly, and turns up on time and ready to roll -- in short, is responsive and reliable.

 

#3 seems to be the rarest.

 

That's very true:

It took me one year and a find all 5 members to be 1)- good chops, though guitarist and bassist were found almost at first, the difficult kart was drummer and singers....for good gear, I provide the gear, my guitarist has chosen D to use my pedalboard and my Amp and 2 of my guitars because they sound better than his for specific songs,,,he sues 2/3 of his though, again, depending on the one.

2) Share the vision and are ok to hand out with....same reason it took me 1 year and a half....some were very good but not a all suited for the vision and even worse to hang out with....

3) I still have issue with one, only one when it comes to show up on time and ready to roll....I still have issues with emails but they said I send too much emails....when I send very few, they still respond within a delay between one hoour to one week...depending on their mood, work on their day job or computer working or not or their cell being charged or not....

 

[Mark Schmieder]

I run two line-ups and belong to three or four others. I had only been musical director of various bands, film studio projects, live theatre, etc., over the years, but not actual "bandleader". It's a LOT of work and I haven't the time, but it fell on my shoulders when my bandleader died two years ago. I have grown into it, and delegate as much as I can, but what I hate most is being the one responsible for making sure there's a quorum for already-promised gigs when someone cancels (which is frequent).

 

Not sure what's been talked about so far; I'll try to catch up later this week. Life has been rather hectic lately because of, you know, being a bandleader.

[J. Dan]

...but what I hate most is being the one responsible for making sure there's a quorum for already-promised gigs when someone cancels (which is frequent).

 

That's a good point - I'll classify that one as always being prepared with a contingency plan.

 

I always had a number of people on call for each position that could fill in if needed. It seemed like normally it was drums - I had to have a long list of drummers, start calling in order with my ideal pick and if they aren't available, start working down the call list.

 

Same for production. We hired out all the sound and lights, so depending on the show, location, amount of production needed, and stuff going on around town, I also needed to have a list of sound and light guys and it helped to have relationships with each of them. It became challenging when we did out of town gigs that became prohibitively expensive for a local guy to pull all the gear, because I didn't have those local contacts and relationships.

 

The final contingency I'd say depending on the situation could be gear. We hired production, but owned our own monitor system with IEM's and I was responsible for maintaining that along with the splitter snake, cabling, etc. We had a utility drawer in the rack with tools, soldering iron, connectors, etc for on-stage repairs.

[Mark Schmieder]

Interesting. I am currently forming new contingency plans because I have had to invoke the old one over 50% of the time lately and the result is a diminishing of the brand quality, so to speak.

 

What I find hardest to find are guitarists. Strange, isn't it? My drummer is super-reliable, but even if he wasn't, I have at least several dozen I could call. I even have a few bassists I could call, allowing me to switch to clarinet, but that need never arises as it is also trivial to find horn players.

 

Keyboardists are actually the hardest to get to agree to take on a gig, as the majority of them will only play if there is a piano at the venue; they do not want to drag a digital piano and/or amp or P/A. Too much trouble, unless the pay is SUPER high, which is isn't now that I'm doing jazz again instead of dance music.

 

I find that guitarists are the ones most likely to cancel an hour before the gig. And when there's also no keyboardists, that leaves me VERY exposed. I even start playing double-stops on the bass to compensate.

 

I tried a dozen jazz standards on organ last weekend to see if I could pull a gig off on my own with just a drummer and horn player, but concluded that without pedals it's a no-go, and I'm not comfortable on pedals and also don't own them. I need both hands for the regular playing, so if I push the left hand to walking bass duties, the right-hand playing doesn't cover enough ground for a full show (or even a few songs) to keep it interesting, and anyway I don't really care much for organ in large doses (in any genre).