Hey all - just to respond to the people complaining about the sound quality on this video... This was uploaded in April 2021 when I think I had less than 100 subscribers and was still just learning the ropes. It has since got a massive amount of views - but of course the sound quality etc is pretty basic. These days I use a proper set up, but back then I just had a basic camera and used the built in mic. Never knew it would get so many views when I made it... and so that's why the audio quality is a bit limited. JH

One of my old bassists said: 'if you're not playing with the rest of the band, you're playing with yourself'.

Nothing ruins music like musicians.

Freddy Mercury in an interview: - I am not the leader, I am just the singer.

You forgot about the person who wants to party more than work at the band

I was invited to join my first band by a showboater who was also the self appointed leader. The band was newly formed when I joined but the leader was a bloke with a massive ego who just wanted to play his guitar at full volume and not listen to anyone else. I was the bass player but just couldn’t hear myself as he was playing so loud in the practice studio, so I asked him to turn his amp down. He laughed and told me to man up, as “this is a rock and roll band and we play loud”. I was fired by text message after the first session, and I see they are still looking for a bass player 6 months later. Karma. Edit: I’ve now heard that his band fell apart and now playing in someone else’s band. I hope he’s learned but I doubt it. Thank you Karma! 🙏

Being a band leader, my duties are: 1. Book all the shows 2. Schedule and host practices 3. Find Venues 4. Establish a social media presence. 5. Update, design and pay for the website. 6. Promote and advertise shows. 7. Create band videos 8. Design an entertaining show 9. Contact venues by phone, email or in person 10. Provide insurance 11. Constantly learning about improving the band 12. Direct music 13. Direct vocals 14. Learn how to build a following 15. Create a database of fans 16. Market the band 17. Create promotional materials All I ask of my players is to do three things: 1. Learn the material both musically and vocally, 2. Show up to practice 3. Show up to the gigs and help load in and unload. It's amazing how so few people will put even this little effort to be in a good band...

The Drinker: Proceeds to get pissed before and during the gig, most often leading to sloppy playing.

I clicked on the video to see how I crashed all the bands I've been in.

Being in a band w/4+ personalities, different levels of skill, and commitment, is not for the faint of heart. My best bands have been avg. musicians that enjoyed each others company and "jelled" on a personal level. THEN you have a chance to become better than the sum of your parts, and that's Magic!

7 years before Covid hit, I formed a guitar duo with a guy I didn’t really know well, at the time. That turned out to be THE most fun time I’ve had, in my 45 years of playing music. We jelled perfectly together, and had a wide open accepting attitude of playing whatever song that either desired. We wound up being like a jukebox, lol, as our songlist kept expanding, and we played gigs all over our area. We were together until Covid, and everything shutdown, and meanwhile, grandkids and such came into the picture, so we’re inactive right now, but still great friends and still record original songs together. What a fun time it was, after putting up with that ONE guy or girl, in a full blown band, who ruined everything, eventually.

I was once in a band as the sole horn player. I was accused of being a showboater, and was often told "Less is more." So I did less. And less. And less. You know what they finally decided was "less" enough? Nothing. That's right. Nothing. They didn't tell me they didn't want me in the band. They just whittled my part down to total silence. And then bitched at me when I left.

Axl Rose just raised an eyebrow at “Unreliable man-child”

A twist on #5, the control freak, the band leader who demands you play wrong chords, because they worked it out wrong

I worked with a showboater who had zero technical skill and actually thought up relentless arguments against practicing in general. His stance “actually the more you practice , you lose your creativity “ “the more you practice scales the more your strings will break” “I don’t want to practice because I don’t want to sacrifice my style” and the list went on and on….he currently plays in his room by himself begging to come back yet everything is OUR fault

These are spot on. I've had to deal with ALL of these personalities. I would get so mad when I would go to practice straight from work and tired, and a guy with NO job would always be late and unprepared. Very frustrating.

Had a tantrum-thrower in a community marching band. She threatened to storm off right before we were due to begin leading the town parade because her dance troupe wasn't positioned immediately in front of us. She was the only tubist, so without her, there was no bassline. Never forgot, and while I sometimes had to work with her after that, I ensured that she was never relied on for anything again. Eventually she chucked a tantrum (again) and stormed out after her best friend was removed as director by the remainder of the band. Literally no one ever contacted her about coming back, and I promptly replaced her with another tubist I knew.

I'm all five rolled into one, which is why I just stick to recording at home with my DAW where I can do no harm!

#6 The Narcissist. Everything they forget, mess up, play wrong etc, is EVERYBODY ELSE'S FAULT. They will also QUIT the band, and not speak to you for 3-4 weeks, and then call you up and lecture you for an hour or two, about why YOU made them mad, and that YOU should be apologizing for what THEY did wrong.

I have a sixth one, The Wheelbarrow. That guy who despite being super talented and easy to get along with, both of those things are greatly eclipsed by his lack of motivation. So you have to keep blowing time and energy picking him up to move forward, but once gaining momentum, if you let go, thinking he'll roll with that momentum... he'll drop and dig his heels in. I spent over a year dealing with that guy and to say that the band went "nowhere" is an utterly generous overstatement.

I had a depressed, alcoholic bass player. He fired four drummers from my band, and then then me. He could only just play, could not sing, but oh boy could he sulk. Even on stage.

"The guy who consistently brings Gf(s) to rehearsals "

I’ve been a musician for 43 years. I hate musicians. 😂

It’s best to be in bands with your friends who you know intimately. You know their strengths and weaknesses as a person and have mutual respect and admiration for each other.

I could literally write a book about problem musicians...here are a few. The "False Promiser." I recently let go of a drummer who promised everything, and delivered nothing. He told me he could sing backups, learn the material, show up to all but a couple of gigs where he had conflicts with his tribute band, promised to buy a monitor, mic stand and microphone, gig shirts, and a bass drum head logo. He did NONE of this. Of course, the first week after being hired, cancelled a gig because his daughter had came in from out of town, then the next week, cancelled because his tribute band picked up another gig, and did it again a couple of weeks later, and again a month later. He refused to practice backup vocals in practice, and I brought a mic stand, cord and mic for him to a couple of gigs. which he didn't practice the vocals for. He then asked me to bring a monitor, and mic the guitars so he could hear us. As the band leader, I have to not only bring the PA system, plus I play guitar and keyboards and have to bring all that stuff too. This drummer was a multi-millionaire, but was too cheap to buy a $150 monitor, and wanted me to provide it. Every time he came to practice, he forgot the songs we worked on the week before, then before a two gig weekend, he cancelled a Friday gig on the previous Monday because his niece was coming into town. He didn't offer to play if I could not find anybody else, either which would have screwed me if I didn't have one guy able to play. I would have had to put an emergency ad up and scramble to set up a last minute practice to get ready for the gig. At the last gig he did, he set his drums up in front of the stage ahead of the amps so he could hear the guitars, but he blocked my access across the stage. He also forgot the special ending we worked out for a certain song, and also screwed up another song which he never learned correctly after playing it at EVERY gig for over three months... Never hire musicians who don't tell you the truth...look at what they do, not what they say.

Ringo was more than an average musician. How dare you. Excellent video.

I was in a duo with a woman who had great vocal talent but was a huge drama queen. We’d written 3 songs and were learning 3 covers and she booked us for a major show. I was actually confident that with our onstage chemistry and the way that we played off each other that we could easily play a half hr set, but she was concerned that the 2 of us wasn’t enough. She hired a backup band from out of town. I agreed, because with how she was worrying, I was afraid she’d get cold feet and we would end up not playing at all. Anyways, the band didn’t bother to learn the songs we had written, even though I transcribed them. We went on without a sound check. It was a huge disaster and major embarrassment. The band didn’t want me playing with them because their guitarist was a showboater and didn’t think I could keep up. I was essentially knocked down to a stage hand and the show fell apart 2 songs in. She walked off the stage when the showboater started noodling while she was singing and completely destroyed the vibe. She ended up paying them 500 for only playing 1 and a half songs. I loved how her and I were together when we played, but felt betrayed when she felt we couldn’t handle a show on our own. We were never the same again. We split ways and she ended up reinventing herself and starred for one season on a trash tv reality show on basic cable.

I was once in a band where the bass player arrived with a keyboard one day. We already had a keyboard player. He said he was going to play "2nd keyboards" and have the original keyboard player play basslines. We didn't let him stay in the band.

You forgot the drunk or stoner? Turns up so ripped that they can’t string a sentence together let alone play a instrument.

This one of the BEST videos I’ve found for musicians of every level. Clear, simple advice to navigate through your music world; no matter how big or small…. Well done!

Dont bite the hand that feeds you. But dont fight the band that heeds you.

I'd like to add one more to your list. The know it all. The one who tries to convince you that you don't know what you know and that they know better about everything.

Hey, Ringo was pretty amazing in reality, he just didn’t showboat.

The past few years I've been playing in a great cover band. I came from a different band in which I was the leader. I was looking forward to not have to deal with everything i used to and just being a good player who added to the fray and enjoy playing. When I got there I saw that the leader of this band was struggling with a lot of stress. He did all the booking, paid the band, scheduled rehearsal and did the social media marketing. The whole time he had to fight with personalities within the band, nothing out of the ordinary, but some were somewhat lacking in the professionalism that might make them a bit more money. Knowing that this could not be sustained I offered my help to him and now we split duties. He concentrates on the venues and the money and I concentrate on getting the guys to be more into what they're playing, know how to pick a better song, and knowing when to play and not to play. That is a big thing! So, some think it's an easy job to be the band leader but it's not. Sometimes it's even completely thankless. That being said, we're now kicking ass and taking names! Survivors! 🤘😎

I'm older (63) and have been playing guitar for a very long time. I have always had a sweet spot for two guitar bands. It adds a lot of texture to the music, but requires so much more work to coordinate parts. I was with a core group (me, 2 singers, and a bass player). We played to a click track for a dozen or so rehearsals and had gotten tight on about 18 songs. This was all while looking for a drummer. My new neighbor is a medical doctor and had taken notice. He asked if he could sit in as the second guitar after showing me his dedicated rehearsal space. It was large and set up (PA, Drums, stand, etc). I listened to him play and wow! great chops! Red Flag Alert- At introductions with the others, someone asked where he was from. He responded, "Why does that matter?" A few short minutes into first group rehearsal, he stops us and advised that he did not have time to learn the first 5 songs (his picks from our set list). He then proceeded to look up the first song on his laptop and play it through the PA while picked through it from start to finish. He did this with each song. The first 2 rehearsals, he never made it through an entire song without stopping the band so that we could show him his parts or with him playing the original on the PA. Midway through rehearsal #3, once again, he once again stopped playing in the middle of a song, walked into another room and cooked his dinner. He then calmly sat down and ate at his guitar chair, while we rehearsed without him. NOT KIDDING! Before rehearsal #4, he forwarded his DEMANDS to go forward: 1) He wanted us to throw away our set list and replace with his songs. 2) Change rehearsal from Thursday nights 6-9pm to Sunday afternoons noon-3pm 3) Make him the music director with final say on everything 4) He thought that our humor was inappropriate and needed to be less "caustic," so as not to hurt someone's feelings. Quick Bios - Me- Retired high ranking police investigative supervisor. Bass- retired construction superintendent for one of the largest govt agencies in Chicago. Singer #1 - Retired Sr VP of an international corporation. Singer #2 retired Sr Fire superintendent from a large NE city. We were not teens, and all have a great deal of experience. We all concurred that he was the worst bandmate that any of us have ever had. I informed him that it was not working out. We did not agree with his demands and that we ALL had an issue with his lack of commitment. His ego would did not hear a blunt, but polite "fired." - He responded, "this is not working out, so I quit." Oh, and the caustic joke? First rehearsal, the bass player (not a singer) sang on one at first run through of a new song until the singers decided who would take the song permanently. When done, the bass player says on the mic, " I won't do that again." To which I responded, "Thank you." EVERYONE laughed except for the doc.

Whilst I agree wholeheartedly with all of this, it’s very difficult to get 4/5 musicians in a room without at least one of these being present. Musicians as a rule, particularly songwriters, have a touch of ego. Which brings out the perfectionist, and the power trip. Noel is a perfect example. Granted, NG made it work. But that’s a rare occurrence.

How about #6 , the guys who respond to your ads and act all excited and then ghost when you send them any of your stuff, like they're sitting on the next Hybrid Theory or something.

I'm 25. Recently started writing music. I'd love to be in a band!

The bass player story killed me🤣 Brilliant video!

First clue to immediately dismiss someone: when they begin their first sentence with "I get my license back in..." (insert time frame - weeks, months, etc. - here).

Some more that might be included: 1) The Substance abuse guy who starts practices/gigs fine but then gets too fucked up to play well and/or makes scenes, 2) the Heartbreaker (usually female) with a history of breaking up bands and marriages after torrid affairs with other band members, 3) the otherwise great but Too Busy guy-not available for practice or gigs due to all their other commitments. For example, find out if the person travels frequently for work or pleasure such that practices and gig would be missed.

This is so true. Personalities don't change and the things you said apply to every working space. I always choose the people I work with based on their personality because I cannot afford to have a disregulated and toxic work environment - in any way.

I'm in a band where we're all really successful and senior in our day jobs, and two of the band are former army officers, so we're no strangers to leadership. Conversely, it means that we're ultra-careful when we do need to offer constructive criticism or need to take the lead. The band is our chance to *NOT* be in charge for once 😂😂😂

Add to the list: The angry guy/girl who doesn't know what he/she is angry about, but carries a cloud and has a resentment towards the idea of success... They go nowhere, and you will go nowhere with them.

I have to add a personality type to your 5. The jealous guy. I played with a singer/guitar player who was always worried that I was trying to take his spot. Yes, I've lead bands for years, play many instruments, but I would never try to take a leaders spot. All I did was do my best to help the band by being my best "stage" actor, back him up in anyway I could find. Well, that lead to him thinking I was trying to out shine him, he even accused me of trying to take his place as the person who deals with the club owners. No matter how good I was playing, he thought I was shaming him in some way. He was used to Nashville Tennessee where, I guess, there's so much competition that every musician had to watch their back. But he came to Tucson, AZ and we're more laid back and not trying to get a recording contract and become a star necessarily. This kind of personality is poison for a good team that's trying to gel and get really tight.

I think I've done all these things at one point...After all these years the hardest things for me are still just being prepared enough and being a nice guy.

Great video, can’t stop sniggering at the 20 minute set up at the garrison. I had a similar experience whilst supporting a famous band, who took so long sound checking that we literally had to throw our gear onto the stage and start playing instantly. It’s was truly awful, stressful and the worst gig I’ve ever taken part in. Weirdly, the people who came to see us reckoned it was the best they’d ever seen us play, which made me wonder what the hell people are actually focussing on when they watch bands 😆😆😆

Have a oasis/ stone roses cover band on the go and my uncle was in it, but he was one of them who jumped about the place then ran through the audience accidentally bumping into people and playing wrong notes. Whenever you tried saying “could you maybe not do that” he would instantly reply saying “why” and challenge us. And if anything went wrong he’d always blame me so yea gave him the boot and so the rest of the band had a celebration party 😂

I as a bass player have met multiple musicians. One thing i can say is you do not want a person who undermines the role of a part of the band (ive been looked down a lot for bass being "easy" and mocked so my ideas were usually thrown out.)

Great video James! I've had an unpleasant experience with a sort of Showboater/Pretender hybrid. Steadfastly REFUSED to turn down his amp and wasn't happy with how the band was being run. Before long this guy started making phone calls to each member to get the lads onside, "let's keep this between us", started criticising the setlist, and even the order of the setlist. Started taking bookings with a separate diary, and tried to look for extra money for taking bookings. Eventually he floated the idea of him being our " Musical Director". As you'd expect, the band folded completely in the end, but most of the lads have gigged together since, minus the guy in question.

Saw the title and came looking for a load of anecdotes about well-known musical journeymen who joined famous bands and derailled them.... but instead got some great advice about bands. Great video!

One of the most entertaining examples of "The Showboater" is in the video of Alcatrazz's 1984 concert in Japan. The band's guitar player some guy called Yngwie, takes over the whole concert in a way that later gets him fired. The whole thing was fun to watch but was probably a complete nightmare for everybody involved whose name wasn't Yngwie.

Couldn't agree more with this video. My bands previous singer was pretty much all 5 of these personalities rolled into one. She'd usually sign us up to gigs no one would want to do except her, only to arrive at a crummy outdoor location while its bucketing down, just for her to say she wasn't interested in the gig anymore. When she moved away for uni in September this year, she would still try and run the band and take part. We would politely advise her against it and to come back after her course was over, to which she would have a tantrum. We finally had to exile her from the band to get us to move forward, which lead her friends and family harassing our Instagram account.

If you are not half an hour early... you're late

This is a great commentary on all kinds of teams: musician, software engineers, etc.

Great video mate, so many Spinal Tap-esque things mentioned, and without mentioning the movie! Very well thought out and articulated 👏

My pet peeve are the guys who take three days to respond to a text. I had a drummer who was a friend, great musician and a great guy, but I couldn't book gigs with him in the band. Booking one gig can be many numerous texts, calls or emails. You need your band mates to get back to you asap or at least the same day; and nothing will infuriate you more than the guy who takes three days to get back to you, only to say no. If your band mate asks you if you're available on a certain day and you don't know yet, then respond promptly saying: I have to check, I can let you know by such and such time? Other than that, look out for older guys who have been jaded by all the years gigging. I live in Chicago, and you see that all the time in the Blues scene.

One of the big splits we had in a Irish/Scottish Trad band for 18 years, came from a member who vehemently started going on about the need for nore slow ballads. We were a pub band first and foremost. The patrons enjoyed the fast and funny, not the ballad after ballad. For every ballad we would do, we needed 4 to 5 upbeat tunes to compensate, otherwise, patrons start walking out. That particular player took our 6 piece group down to a 4 piece as another member followed her out the door. While it meant considerable effort revoicing, rearranging, and revision of our set lists, musically, I think we improved musically with the 2 members. Had we been performing in Concert venues, I might have agreed with her, but her ability to judge our audience was based solely on her friends that wanted to hear her "ballads." The rest of the pub however, didn't want to hear it. Our prime fiddler, was our leader for the most part, and he did a good job of democratically listening to the two of us, who along with him, were the core of the group.

Very VERY good video! I am both a musician guitar player ( 43 + years playing) and also an A list guitar tech ( retired) who has worked for everyone who's anyone in metal in the states. You nailed it bro. On every personality type. Well done mate!

What a brilliant video! James gives a fair shakedown of exactly what goes on in bands..I have been ALL of these terrible band members LOL!! ..And I have been the wise bandleader listening to the band members and putting up with these 5 types.... But only for money. My first bandleader told me that If you weren't working as hard as a musician as you would in a day job, then you aint' doing it correctly. Working with musicians is like herding cats...And drummers are even worse! Good luck to all the bands out there.

The guy who is a wolf in sheep’s clothing… one of the guitarist in a JAM band was reasonably pleasant for about 6 months. Then suddenly he flipped and falsely accused a couple of us with conspiracies. Destroying the mantra all we want to do is have fun. We were Shocked, then pissed, then we banned him from ever showing up.

Gotta agree with you and over 20yrs you get an idea within a short time what type of person they are and i think you have to go through a number of members before you pick up the good ones over time. Great video amd bang on advise.

To quote a friend of mine, "somebody's gotta be Spock". That has served me very well in my ongoing 20+ year collaboration with a brilliant singer/songwriter, someone who values my opinion and vision as much as his own.

this is the best video i've seen from you yet. i really REALLY enjoy your artist focus videos, but this is gold. even as a dj who ran club nights, i can confirm everyone of these. there are 2 ways to do things. the right way & the wrong way. this is 5 steps towards the right way. great stuff

James being in a band is like creating that five a side football team. Someone has to man up to be captain of the ship and then say to one of the other four "Sorry mate your goalie for us tonight. Always have that feeling that goalkeepers are treated the same as drummers. You always felt that with John Squire in his Seahorses time it was all about him and his guitar on the stage. I'm sure his blood must of boiled a lot if Chris got more camera shot than him on the tele. I think the last bands I remember hit a lot with what you talked about in this video was Liberties and Babyshambles with Pete Doherty. A lot of the time they would just turn up late. Pretty much taking their fans for a ride at the time and great video once again.

Good advice here. I think that it is important to talk about and define goals with the band members. Hopefully, everyone is honest and, if someone is the outlier, that they exit sooner than later, or don’t even begin in the first place. For a number of years I played in a band that did originals and rearranged covers. That experience set the standard for which I measure all other playing opportunities. Today, I can work for anyone under their vision if I am a hired gun, but if I am a full member, then my standard applies. Recently, a friend asked me to join his covers band with the stipulation that I would have to play the exact keyboard parts, nail the synth patches and not expect to take improvised solos. That is a definite no-go for me, but I appreciate that he stated the conditions up front so that I could respectfully decline the offer instead of putting everyone, including myself, through any agitation. I have been there and done that and now I would have found that experience to be soul sucking. It would be unfair to put anyone else that thought differently through that.

Great video . Very insightful . I will take this as a list of people not to be for myself . My mates are all very welcome for what they bring to the situation as people , and musicians .

Thanks for your video. Great advice and neat editing.

This is why I use drum machines. Drum machines don't use drugs, they don't have girlfriends, they're never late for practice, they don't need rides to gigs, and they never make mistakes.

There are some people who have all those 5 traits in a single package.

Thanks for sharing! This is great info on either side of the pond.

This is a great video. As the leader of a band trying to make it, I have definitely experienced most, if not all of these musicians in just the past five years alone. It’s tough out there, so we need to stay together and help one another when we can. Cheers!

My least favourite musician type is one with a fragile ego when it comes to learning theory/technique. There were so many guys and girls I jammed with who just needed to tune a few things up to be great players, but there is just NO RIGHT WAY to broach telling them how to improve. They instantly get defensive and sad-sack on you instead of just being willing to learn. I knew a guitarist who had very good rhythm-hand chops and played pentatonic solos tastefully, but ONLY pentatonic and would solo the same (usually wrong) scale over any song. I tried to point out he sounded great, just in the wrong key, and it was like letting the air out of a balloon, as if I'd said "YOU SUCK, PLAY IT RIGHT!!" Very frustrating. I do everything on my own in a DAW now and it's honestly more fun.

People who are always late, need to go early, and say - "that wont go down well" - without ever saying why, and without offering any kind of alternative. I often think why do they join a band? Is it so they can say, - "I'll learn it properly for next time" at every rehearsal. My favourite is when they refuse gigs (with no prior notice of unavailabilty at that time) without EVER trying to find any.

Great video - it made me chuckle a bit to think back over some of the people I've been bands with - I've encountered all those types over my years of playing. Thankfully I find myself now in a band where everyone is pretty easy going. A type you didn't mention is the musician who's in more than one band and the problems that can arise from that when gig dates clash etc.

Totally agree on the ability to talk openly and very frankly. Rebel Death was a school band, we split up when we all went our separate ways to universities, we got back together later in life for the shits and giggles. Having such long-standing friendships means we can be obnoxious to each other and it's water off a duck's back. It means we get stuff done faster, and with a lot more laughs along the way. It's tricky to emulate that closeness in new bands.

I have no idea of music whatsoever and I'm as far as you can possibly be from playing any instrument, but this video almost makes me want to join a band Well, this and seeing how biblical Noel and Liam looked in Oasis, on and off-stage

Thanks for another great video James

Perfectionist: “I want you to play the multiple clavinet parts on ‘Superstition’, the horn parts exactly and sing harmonies. Oh, and we play the song in E, not the original E flat AND the guitar player is going to do all of the soloing really, really loud, because he only learned the Stevie Ray Vaughan version.” Me: Goodbye.

Great video. The ship on fire almost took me out: the LHD-6 Bohamme Richard.

This is brilliant! Great advice, I’ve experienced all of this, and still sometimes experience it. It’s unbelievable but happens... 😂😂😂 Nice to know I’m not alone !

Rehearse, Rehearse, Rehearse, - every Thursday - but do no gigs - I left.

I needed so so so much to listen to this.thank you!!!!!

Great advice! I've been through most of these band musicians and must say I totally agree.

Ep release date? #takebackthecharts

I remember our first drummer who kept looking at his biceps in the mirror when we were trying to work on a section of a song. There were times when I dropped my guitar on the floor and took a break. When we fucked him off, the other guitarist took over the drums, barely knowing how to groove. Half a year later, he grooves just fine and sees it from a guitar player's perspective, which is ideal for me. Just sharing my experience because I liked what James has to say about this, so yeah... No matter how talented some musicians are, they just can't zoom out and see the bigger picture. "Let's not talk about you being a hard man" kinda stuff, but come on, you're not Liam mate, you're a mediocre drummer. If the chances of doing anything are slim, he made sure they were zero.

All you delineated here are so absolutely true and I’ve come in contact with over the years.

Now. I wanna believe you know what you’re talking about…but that hi end whistle is KILLING me bro!!

So basically, I'm the lead guitarist and main song writer (music and lyrics) in a 5-piece indie pop/rock band based in Glasgow. We've been together for over 3 years now, and except for a few bumps along the road (had to change one or two members) we were doing pretty well for ourselves before the covid pandemic hit the UK in March last year. We had regular gigs around Glasgow, playing some of the best venues in Scotland (headlined King Tuts where Oasis was signed and we were due to headline it a second time before lockdown was announced). Before covid we all genuinely thought we were going places with it as each gig was getting a bigger and better audience. When the pandemic started I moved back home and over this period I started working on more songs on my own, making demos. We've got a virtual type gig coming up next month, and although I'm looking forward to it, I think I want to leave the band after this gig to start a new group elsewhere. My issue is with the bassist and singer - they are both showboaters and both make the important decisions in the group without discussing anything with the rest of us. Also, the bassist cannot bear to play quietly or leave space in the music, and worse than this he bosses all of us around when we all know he is the weakest musician in the group. And he has never made an effort to improve or learn something new about the instrument. The singer has a decent voice and is very at ease on stage but writes unimaginative songs and lyrics (his heroes are Ed Sheeran and McFly). And the pair of them back each other up on every decision and have little patience for my suggestions or suggestions from the other lads. But despite the group going down very well with crowds over the past couple years (with my tunes getting the better reaction), my instincts tell me there is a more suitable band for me and more talented people in the UK to collaborate with. This band definitely feels like two opposing teams now. Am I just being an egotistical arse or should I listen to my instincts on this?

#5 sounds very familiar. I was in a band with someone who was a perfectionist. It used to be immensely frustrating because everything had to be perfect before we even had a micro thought about approaching a stage. Many times I argued that doing some shows would strengthen the band and provide some direction. We had a handful of songs and had done some covers, so we easily had enough material for a 6 song first band on type slot. But it was always no, no we have to be perfect. It was a far cry from a band I had willingly left to devote full attention to this band. The previous band were a britpop type outfit, though I liked to throw in some heavier guitars when it called for it because I liked metal too. I do regret leaving, i didn't think I could do both at the time. Myself and the other guitarist/singer were the main songwriters of that band and we had a pretty good chemistry and my leaving efffefticely killed the band, sadly (not tyring to sound egotistical, It's just the way it played out).

A great video! I was in different bands two decades, and it is difficult to make it work on personal level. People have so different motives when they join. Some female singers just want company of good looking guys, they don't have much musical ambitions. Problem is these type of people is think everybody else has the same motive, so they think other members are looking for her company primarly and think the band is only secondary motive. Then some people are in it for the money purely right from the start, which can sound pretty wild. They arrive at first rehearsals, and ask right away "how much money i will make?":) Most common type IMHO is that lazy type who is always late and is signaling that he is not that keen really. Then there is this type, that can play ok but has a zero creativity, and is asking all the time "what do i play here?". like from note to note, all the time. If you tell him "try to come up with something", you just get a blank stare. Btw, i worked ten meters away from Noel as a stage roadie in Ilosaarirock in 1992 i think it was. We were prepping up the stage for Inspiral Carpets. Of course he was nobody still then, i did not pay any special attention. I have also lived in Whalley Range in 1994, quite close to Burnage.

We had a guitar player in the band who would just walk back and forth without carrying anything. He would just bullshit with everyone while we carried the equipment either into the venue or into the vans. And he was the biggest man’s child I’ve ever met.

You got a nice head of hair mate. I’m as bald as bonehead

I don’t think the Don Felder reference is fair. He’s only ever had admiration for his former band mates. The issue was that they made him Chief Finance Officer and then hid the books from him, deciding they deserved much much more money than anyone else without agreement and reducing his share of the profits. All he wanted was to see where the money was going and because he wouldn’t back down, they fired him (resulting in an out of court settlement for an undisclosed sum!). I feel they also somewhat resented the fact that their biggest hit by far was built on the foundation of Felder’s composition.

Best vid I've watched in a while. Thank you!

I think the most important thing of all is be friends that have a good relationship with each other, to be open to advice, and LISTEN in all aspects. If there’s no element of fun, it’s not worth your time.

My band did a gig at Catterick army barracks a few years back, was an eventful afternoon to say the least 😆

I have an amazing jazz drummer but he's always fuckin' late and answers hours or days later on messages 😩

loving the channel mate

Bang on! Ive had a 2 and 3 in previous bands, just narrowly avoided bringing a 5 into the band last month.