Nervous: Need a little help

[Ross Brown]

And another thing...

 

We rehearsed in the drummers basement. He had spiders the size of mice down there. I am so stinkin' creaped out by bugs. Every practice i would see one crawling near my cord or on the wall.

 

BTW, the guitarist that left with the sound equipment appologized and explained himself (or his thinking). I can deal with that. I can't deal with liers/flakes very well.

[BenLoy]

Guitarist with PA equipment blew a fuse and said. it takes me 1 hour and 15 minutes to set up once we are unloaded. I signed for $10,000 worth of equipment and I am not setting it up in a hurry, in a crowd, with the drummers buddy. I am outta here. He left.

This is inexcusable. Yes, the drummer was obviously a flake, and setting up in front of a crowd is not fun...but taking your ball and going home before the gig starts is not cool for any reason. It's ridiculously unprofessional. The show must go on.

 

BTW, the guitarist that left with the sound equipment appologized and explained himself (or his thinking). I can deal with that. I can't deal with liers/flakes very well.

Good thing you fired the drummer...but the guitarist needs to change his attitude. It's never cool to walk away from a gig just because everything isn't going smoothly.

 

I've set up PA systems in 20 minutes before. Was it ideal? No. Were there sound problems during the first song? Yes. Did we fix them and move on? Yes, and everything worked out OK.

[Ross Brown]

Originally posted by BenLoy:

...but the guitarist needs to change his attitude. It's never cool to walk away from a gig just because everything isn't going smoothly.

 

I've set up PA systems in 20 minutes before. Was it ideal? No. Were there sound problems during the first song? Yes. Did we fix them and move on? Yes, and everything worked out OK. [/QB]

Right. We did discuss the events that led to him leaving and that he needs to learn to be much more flexible. He agreed. This is a guy that has historically busted his butt for the band. He works hard, is always on time or early, and the chemistry is good. The drummer on the other hand... wow. He is way way out there.

 

They were both wrong. The drummer was wronger (is that a word?). Either way, someone had to go and the band can easily bounce back from the Guitarists mistake. The drummer is lethal to our success. The guitarist has stood behind the lead guitarist and myself on prior occasions. The drummer lied to me (us).

 

Since he viewed it as wrong to have left us there and appologized. I can view it as a bonding experience that will be a good story someday. I may be wrong, but I don't think so.

[Danzilla]

Originally posted by Ross Brown:

Gig was at Inner Harbor Ampitheater in Baltimore.

Ross- why didn't ya say so? I could have popped down, maybe. My son was down there that afternoon; I could have brought you a spare fuse when I picked him up!

Sorry it didn't happen. Live, learn, and move on, right?

[Ross Brown]

Very cool. Thanks. Next time.

 

The place was jam packed too. The Orioles game let out and the weather was beautiful...

 

Unfortunatly the blown fuse was in his head. I don't think you could have helped.

[Tom Capasso]

Originally posted by Ross Brown:

Bad, bad chemistry.

On more than one level, it seems.

 

Sounds like a big place to walk away from.

 

You and your guitarist seem like you are "wound a bit tight". The best thing to do for that (I think) is to use those tendencies to control as much of the goings-on as you can. You guys should handle the bookings, planning, equip, and so on. You sound like you'll take the time to do it right. That's kind of what I do for my band (not the bookings, but the planning/setup/equip).

 

The real trick when you have those tendencies is to recognize when it just isn't going to work and laugh about it. I'm still learning that part...

 

Hope the future is better!

 

Tom

[Ross Brown]

Originally posted by Tom Capasso:

Originally posted by Ross Brown:

Bad, bad chemistry.

Sounds like a big place to walk away from.

 

You and your guitarist seem like you are "wound a bit tight".

Tom

Yes, I know I am wound tight for certain things. This is one of them. My wife and I had a long talk about this, in relation to this bungle.

 

In my day job, I manage a large laboratory operation with many people. I have a strong philosophy of letting good people do good work. I try to stay out of their way and essentially provide what they need to do their jobs. I mentor a little and work a lot "behind the scenes".

 

When I say bad chemistry, I accept the responsibility for that. Like oil and water. Oil is good. Water is good. But they don't mix well.

 

My strength is organizing, attention to details, foresight to see when "it ain't gonna work like that" and desire to make it work. I am not a control freak in that if someone else has it handled, I am fine with that. I do lose it when no one sees that what is right in front of them is a disaster. I can prevent that, but I don't like playing clean up. So, yes, I am wound tight.

 

The guitarist was wrong for leaving, but the real problem occurred days before that. Critical details were missing and many mistakes were made. Turns out also, that the drummer neglected the fact that we also needed to bring a generator since the available power would not handle a rock band. I found this out post facto by making some phone calls to the Ampitheater office. (I had other questions).

 

The drummer was one of the types that kept his arms around critical information so that it was not available to others, yet didn't use the information appropriately. That is bad chemistry for me.

 

Thanks for your reply, Tom. I appreciate your thoughts that I should just accept my role and use it for positive gain.

[Ross Brown]

Also, Guitarist drives 70 miles round trip to each weekly rehearsal. Never late, never misses. He has to arrange for someone to stay with his kids and handicapped wife each time. Never complains.

 

Perhaps not relevant. Certainly not an excuse, but does put into context why he might have lost his composure. Particularly since the drummer hadn't even taken the time to make sure the rest of the details were under control.