Hahaha agreed. I was going to write, “now that I pissed you off here’s my take”
My initial reaction was “shitcan the singer”, but as @MattyD’s cooler head pointed out, if this was her first time on stage, maybe it is excusable. It could be a learning moment about what to do or not to do on gig day.
That being said, it’s only excusable once, and then there needs to be improvement. Sonce you said she doesn’t take feedback well (or at all), there may not be improvement and she needs to GTFO.
Best advice of the thread.
I’ll add to this by saying you should meet up and do a debriefing on how everything went. Get everyone to share what they think went well, what could have gone better, what tangible steps they think you all could do to make things go better.
Excusable to use a tablet for lyrics (my bands singer did for years before I joined) but nip that showing up late s* in the bud.
Sorry to hear about the experience @sunDOG that sucks, truly.
On the other hand it’s show biz, this kind of things happens all the time. That’s how I got into my first “paid” gig. The bassist was/ is a degenerate gambler and he’d pawned instruments such as his bass, band’ backup bass as well as his bandmates instrument. He’d be responsible for bringing all of the instruments to the venue on the day off and he’d showed up empty handed because everything were at the pawn shop.
I’ve worked with singer who’s so drunk and started mouthing off to the customers on stage and the guitarist just literally kicked her off the stage and the backup singer took over, then he got back to the mic and said that’s Hollywood baby,
These have been some really good points made on this thread today, and some interesting stories! Thanks all!!
A bit more about the situation. Plus an update…
Last week’s open mic was actually the third time we’d stood on a stage. While I appreciate that some vocalists might need the crutch of a tablet, and also some musicians for that matter, the guitarist, drummer and I all seem to know our parts, what we need to play and when (ie the song structure, 12 bar verse, 2 bar pre-chorus, 8 bar chorus etc), while the vocalist will know some of the songs, but not all. I think we know the songs ‘cos we practice at home. Me, I tend to practice at 5:30am…in other threads I’ll opine about silent practice and why I’ll almost never use an amp, that’s ’cos I don’t want my wife to kill me at 6am . I think something quite fundamental to a band, and rehearsals, is the thing about practicing at home (alone) and rehearsing together. The vocalist doesn’t do this enough.
Then there is the not taking feedback thing. I’m a management consultant. Professionally, the job is to give feedback to the client, that’s what they pay for, that’s how they improve business operations. It’s how all learning loops work, do something, assess, tweak, have another go, assess, tweak…. However, the vocalist reacts negatively to feedback, whoever is giving it. I’ve even tried posting videos to YouTube (private) of our rehearsals, then sending the link out, asking that we look at them and think about the positives and negatives. Nada / nothing / zilch…
Then the lateness things. Professionally, I’m never late to a client meeting. It was drummed into me from the get-go, be the one who is always ready and always on time. For the vocalist, it seems lateness is cost of doing business.
Anyway, an update. The guitarist, drummer and I had a Teams meeting this evening. It seems that we are pretty aligned on where we want to get to as a band - yay, we have goal congruence!! We also are pretty aligned regarding what we think it will take to get there - rehearsals!! And after discussion, we are also aligned that we do not think the vocalist will actually put in the effort. So the band stays together and we look for / audition a new vocalist
So it sounds like what was really needed here was a more consensus based approach rather than just unilateral decisions to fire the person? Or maybe it just took a minute to sink in for them?
That’s my number one thing.
My dear old father used to say “Being late for people is worse than calling them a c**t because it implies that their time is more important that yours”
Damn @sunDOG !
At least you found some light at the end of the tunnel! I was reading through the first post and I wanted to punch the vocalist! Good that you all managed to try a new approach with the same end goal.
As for the tardiness… that’s the harder thing to train… skills you can, personality and dedication… rarely!
I don’t mind diva as long as they are really diva. Diva usually better than average. I work with a few for sure as long as they add to the ( my) experience I’m all for it. It raises your game and the experience is priceless.
Most of them work much much harder than the rest of us (behind the scene) so they can act like they couldn’t care less but it’s really difficult to fake it. It’s a much better experience than to be in a band where someone always talk theories and worse teach them to you.
@sunDOG I feel you man! If she’s not doing her homework and put the band behind, it’s time to move on.
Sounds to me like a classic case of LSD- lead singer disorder. a gentle reminder to them that how you sound in practice is how you will perform on stage so put in the work. good luck
Tablet for lyrics is a non-issue to me, as long as you don’t have your nose buried in it the whole time.
The not learning the song so you know when to sing those words? That’s unacceptable. And then being late on top of it? Hell to the no. That’ll cost you gigs at some point.
Glad to see you got some consensus with the other instrumentalists, @sunDOG. Finding a new vocalist seems easier than finding/starting a whole new band.
I read the post and thought a mini Axl Rose.
This!
Let this be a warning to all other bands everywhere.
You don’t know the song until you’re leading the song with your part.
I try and get this across to players all the time. When the backing track is on and you’re playing to a recording, most people are responding and reacting to the music. To play on stage, you have to lead everything and know your part even if nothing else is happening, or all is chaos around you.
Lateness, drinks, missing cues… all bad… but - most damning to me - not getting “off book” (as we people who married theater people say).
I support whatever progressive moves you make going forward!
Bands are relationships. Sometimes it doesn’t work out.
In a few centuries, next to a Confucius quote, we’ll read this one.
I don’t think she had the lyrics and being the first time on stage even 3 songs right is a feat. If the behavior continues sure but being late is the only real big deal here
It wasn’t the singer’s or the band’s first time on stage together. @sunDOG laid out the circumstances.
That sounds frustrating @sunDOG but I’m glad you found a way forward.
Maybe your singer just wanted some fun and never planned to treat it more professionally. Anyway, good luck getting a new singer that fits you better
Good decision!
I just rewatched “24 Hour Party People”., cause of another discussion here at BB.
If you want to have a nervous breakdown, just see how the Happy Mondays handled things. The whole band behaved like Godzilla’s evil brother on Coke.
Professionally I would not do an IT project with them … they are not accountants, not developers, not project leads. Never punctual, always drunk or worse, sold their equipment for drugs. Once they delivered an album without lyrics (late, too), just to make a point.
But I would sell my grannie to to just be there at gigs or in be studio - not that it makes a difference to them. Total chaos, yeah!
They were @sshole geniuses…
There are a different kind of Rock’n Roll. You are more the Happy Meetings kind of guy
Well, mark that venue off your list. Sorry you had a bad night, it really shakes your confidence when that stuff starts on stage. Yeah, you’re done with this one. The band I’m in works hard to be the best we can be and this kind of shenanigan’s would get your fired on the spot. If they’re not going to take this seriously then invest your time with others that really want to do it.