Tommy Boy
Active Member
This is a tough situation, but one that we've all faced and probably will continue to face as long as we're playing. IMHO, it all starts with clearly communicated objectives of what you want to accomplish as a band. What are your shared goals, and what do you need to do TOGETHER to achieve them. If you find that a team member is not holding up his/her end of the bargain relative to achieving these goals, they're expendable.
When we put my current band together, it was with four guys with whom I'd gone to high school and college - these guys were definitely friends of long-standing. We first sat down and talked about what we wanted to do. We all agreed that we would all learn our parts to play songs as tight as possible, with everyone pulling their weight, get some good gigs, and see what happened. After the first year, we started getting a little tired of our lead singer using a music stand and printed lyrics to help him get through the songs, so we asked him to start memorizing the songs, which he agreed to do. After another six months or so, it was clear that he wasn't willing/interested in memorizing his parts, and the music stand/printed lyrics thing really started to wear on the rest of the band (and made us look a little silly in the process). Because two of the other guys threatened to walk, we once more confronted the situation, and when it was clear he wasn't going to put forth the effort required to learn the songs, we decided to let him go.
It was tough (I was the one who broke the news to him), but because we had all agreed on how this was going to work ahead of time, it wasn't like this came out of left field. We were honest, candid and didn't try to pull any B.S. It was just a matter of one guy not doing his job that was negatively impacting the band. He was hurt, pissed, but ultimately he had no one to blame but himself for not making a commitment to the band.
I'm happy to say that we've split lead vocal duties between myself and the bass player, and we've never sounded better. Certainly a much happier ending than if the band had imploded because one guy wasn't pulling his weight.
When we put my current band together, it was with four guys with whom I'd gone to high school and college - these guys were definitely friends of long-standing. We first sat down and talked about what we wanted to do. We all agreed that we would all learn our parts to play songs as tight as possible, with everyone pulling their weight, get some good gigs, and see what happened. After the first year, we started getting a little tired of our lead singer using a music stand and printed lyrics to help him get through the songs, so we asked him to start memorizing the songs, which he agreed to do. After another six months or so, it was clear that he wasn't willing/interested in memorizing his parts, and the music stand/printed lyrics thing really started to wear on the rest of the band (and made us look a little silly in the process). Because two of the other guys threatened to walk, we once more confronted the situation, and when it was clear he wasn't going to put forth the effort required to learn the songs, we decided to let him go.
It was tough (I was the one who broke the news to him), but because we had all agreed on how this was going to work ahead of time, it wasn't like this came out of left field. We were honest, candid and didn't try to pull any B.S. It was just a matter of one guy not doing his job that was negatively impacting the band. He was hurt, pissed, but ultimately he had no one to blame but himself for not making a commitment to the band.
I'm happy to say that we've split lead vocal duties between myself and the bass player, and we've never sounded better. Certainly a much happier ending than if the band had imploded because one guy wasn't pulling his weight.
:cool2:
Tell him straighten up or he's history. As an ex employer and secretary of many organasation I usually get the job of dumping the ballast overside, its not fun. I have had to do it to a friend twice, but managed to stay friends by staying calm and factual.If you are firing him make sure all the band agree first the tell him straight and quick. Have a list of his dirty deeds drawn up and ready in case he asks "Why?" Also it helps to look for a replacement first so you dont have a gap with no Bass player to rehearse with. I know it sounds sneaky but a band isnt one person. One person shouldnt be ruining the band for everyone else.
