The Gigs! The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

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Oh, and in relation to not all bands being good; I remember a band playing in a pub we drank in a lot (or did we drink a lot in the pub?), and after they’d done 4 songs the landlord called down from the balcony “Why don’t you guys take 5 and come see me for a chat.” He was sitting a few tables from us and the place was quite quiet so we heard the conversation which went along the lines of them being told not to worry about the next set. I’m sure he said something along the lines of “Clearly you’re not ready for this and nobody’s enjoying your practice, so let’s call it a night, eh?”. He wasn’t harsh with them, just honest. They were pretty ropey and there was a murmur of appreciation when it was clear they were packing up.

They must’ve taken something from that experience though because 20 years later I still see their name up on pub gig boards, and I’ve even heard of them playing further afield.

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Yes, true, but it feels to me that bands, on average, are trying to be more professional, or at least have higher ambition levels and expectations than perhaps 20 years ago. So, the entry bar is somewhat higher…

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I don’t know, I’m sure there are thousands of bands that have exactly the same level of ambition/talent imbalance as there always has been. The ability to make higher quality recordings AND reach a larger audience via online outlets than 20 years ago may make it appear that there’s more ambition, but I suspect it just allows bands to get a bit more exposure before bailing out. Iv’e not had a great nights sleep so I may just be a little grumpy and negative this morning, sorry. :unamused: :sleeping:

The band I was (briefly) in at school was made of up guys who, in their own minds, were going to make it big. To be fair, the drummer is still playing every spare moment and has even done some session work with China Crisis and some local aspiring bands, the keyboard player is a professional teacher and his son has just got a recording contract, the first singer is still gigging in a band that is well booked for regional work, the first guitarist made it fairly big in his own band and is well established in niche circles, the second guitarist went on to play in his brothers band and had some chart success, and the second singer went on to be James Bond (so not much musical talent on display). I really was the runt of that litter.

But the other bands around school at the time, and for a long time after, were just as keen but all disappeared without a trace.

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24

very true !

Another thing is that, before playing in a band, you can learn some simple (and ideally popular) songs in the style you want to play. Many advantages :

  • It would be a very good training, focused on what you want to play
  • It would build some confidence about your ability to play in a full-song context
  • When you will search for your band you’ll already have some songs to play with the other musicians
  • You could record some covers and share them on the dedicated post :grin: , those tracks will be useful if someone asks you about your level
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25

You realize that you’re going to have to tell this story now, right? :slight_smile:

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Not to worry - I am having a slight fever this morning, so perhaps I am bit over-loquacious this morning myself :grin:

Cool stories of how your former band mates turned out! I also used to play with a bass player (another one) with high ambitions back when - he is now teaching bass and playing in local bands. At least, he made his passion into his profession!!

Anyways, good luck with finding the right musical buddies to all of us!!

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What’s to tell, @howard? I’m 51 years old, so it wasn’t Sean Connery or Roger Moore. Besides, he’s almost finished with the role anyway so no more bragging rights in a few months.

Come to think of it, that might be why he wants to get the band back together… :thinking:

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I wonder, is there any mileage in “famous people we played with before they were famous (or even any good)?” thread?

You never know, one of us might be the subject in a few years.

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Ah, this is where I come back in… I grew up with all the same dreams as most in Cheltenham, England. A strange little town as it is home to GCHQ. Anyway I started in bands at 15 (all above stories appropriate :grinning: ) but I also started as a roadie for a great covers band from my local youth club. This proved to be an excellent jumping point to other bands and a sort of semi profession. Among those other bands were - The Index, The Deckchairs and Bunter/A band called Bastard. No one here will have a clue right? Well the guitarist from Index was Mal (Troy) Tate, who went on to join Teardrop Explodes. The guitarist from Bunter/Bastard was Wurzel (rip) who went on to join Motorhead and the singer from Deckchairs was Jaz Coleman who formed Killing Joke. I then spent some of the late 70’s as a roadie for all the bands with an X in their name! Xray Spex, XTC - who were unbelievably good, and GenX. More bands too that was just the X’s! What did I learn from all this? If you dedicate yourself it will sometimes work out. Not always, but if you don’t give yourself a shot no-one else is going to do it for you.

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Wow, that sounds pretty scary, @Gio . . . :grimacing:

Glad you got through it OK, and hope you’re feeling better.

Cheers, Joe

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There is so much awesome stuff in this thread, I don’t even know where to start. I love reading these stories.

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PS . . . I hope this was an isolated incident, @Gio ?

If not, you might have an underlying medical problem which needs attention.

All best, Joe

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Not even from a fellow Brit, no, but that doesn’t mean much coming from me. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

However, persistence, like a bad smell, can sometimes lead to something good - like a mature blue cheese.

Now, XTC: I’m impressed and envious. Perhaps there is a thread to be had from this subject.

I was listening to the singles CD this week and thinking (yet again) what an underrated band they were, and didn’t get the broad credit they deserve. Towers of London: forget “more cowbell”, how about “more iron bar struck with a sledgehammer”?

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Is that the fingerpops album? They are one of the bands that I still listen to and have been regularly on the music player for 40+ years. That went by fast! Never really got to talk much with them 'cos of time and work but Dave Gregory is still one of my favourite people… Senses working overtime, and, and, no, there are too many brilliant songs to single out a single!

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I think the problem, at least back then, was not that XTC was underrated. It was more that much like Modern English, XTC became most famous for one of their lesser songs. “Dear God” wasn’t a bad song, but it was not among their best.

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I didn’t get that either. Maybe because it offends Bible Belt America so much? Lyrically they are up there in the top 1%. Ah, but the tunes, the melodies. At the start I used to equate it like The Beatles/Stones thing but with XTC/Magazine. Both amazing but sooo different.

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Yes, really a great thread here, some good stories, and interesting insights!

So many here got pretty involved in playing music earlier in life, and I think that helps. I was always an admirer of music, have always gone to venues, concerts, hung out with friends involved in bands when I was younger. I think one’s teens or early 20s are such an ideal time in life to begin playing, as I find that, in my early 40s, none of my friends are really into music anymore nearly as much. It’s understandable - family, career, life seems to take priority much more in this decade.

My situation is such that, for the first time, I actually have time, and quite a bit of it, just from opting to live a simpler existence. (That’s the greatest commodity, really) And just the means to not worry about scraping by, or societal expectations, or any of that anymore. It’s a good feeling, liberating.

I think there’s a way to connect with somewhat local musicians, and my thoughts right now are to just keep an open mind, play with people 20-80, if they’re willing, across genres, and be willing to take some Ugly, some Bad, before hitting upon some Good.

For now, really grateful for this community, and these insights - I’ve learned today that gigging, being in a band, and jamming are related, but different things (I was lumping all this together in my beginner mind.) And that there are so many different levels of bands, some very beginner, all the way up to pro (they all seem like pros from my standpoint). Seems like common sense, but somehow it didn’t really click until now!

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I’m pretty sure that helps too, @Vik. you have educated your ears, your rythmic feeling, your sensitivity to sound and music. all that has a great value and will serve you greatly as a musician, I promise !

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Yeah I hadn’t really thought about it but even grade school and high school band was kind of a leg up for me in certain ways - I mean, just being able to read music, even poorly, is huge - not to mention basic theory.

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Vik - this is a killer question.
I’m gunna start a new thread to this. I think it’s real real important.

This happens on a regular basis no matter the experience and caliber of the musicians. I play a regular gig, and the tempos of the songs can be comically different week to week!! You’re definitely not alone, and at least you can blame it on being new to the gig world!

Ahh!! So great!!! This reminds me of a time I sat in with a band in Italy. They wanted to jam the blues, but I had never jammed anything in a traditional jazz context (as in: play a melody, everybody trades solos) and I literally just slapped like mad over one chord the entire time. The dudes in the band were smiling, and just like… “dude… these Americans are stupid…”
I didn’t know how rude I was until years later when I learned the unspoken rules of the jazz jam.

And, yes - thanks @Jazzbass19! This was a singular event… although I have noticed that I get real weird in the head if I slam espresso right before playing. But that’s a separate issue.

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