# Band going down the shitter...



## Cyanide_Anima (Sep 23, 2008)

fuck dudes. i need some advice! i'll give ya guys the rundown...

so my 'band' has been around for about 4 years now. thats including the first 2 years just trying to get some consistent members. that was hard. finally, got a band going. about a year of writing, practicing we started playing shows. we played like 4 or 5 shows before our drummer just didn't want to do it anymore. so we parted with him and it was another year before we got a drummer. our sing quit playing bass and singing, and just wanted to sing. we hired a good friend of mine. ok. lets do this again... practice. practice. co-guitarist never shows up anymore, the rest of us practice, practice, practice. progress is SLOW. drummer isn't used to the ways of the Djent.  singer doesn't feel we are progressing anymore. he leaves. i have to hold my bass player's (friend) hand. now im extremely bored with this 'band'. i put all my energy into writing music on my own, and occasionally posting one here and there on soundclick. i have put a lot of time and energy into this 'band', and i'm feeling really unispired with it ATM. what would you do?


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## The Dark Wolf (Sep 23, 2008)

I'm in the same boat in a lot of ways, because I'm just burned out after years and years of the same sort of thing.

Believe me, I can relate. For myself, I'm thinking sabbatical. Take a nice couple of weeks vacation, see how I feel. Really, I'd rather focus on writing and recording my own music for the most part anyway.


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## TomAwesome (Sep 23, 2008)

How much of a chance do you feel there is for things to start going in the right direction? Being in a band is great, but if it has become more of a drag than a positive experience, and there's little chance of that changing, it's probably not worth it. It's like staying with a girl who just doesn't make you happy anymore.


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## stuh84 (Sep 23, 2008)

Leave it, get your creative energies firing again, start from scratch with new members when you have the motivation back again.

Do not be tempted to get the same members again though, as you already know they cause problems.

Thats what I would do anyway, I'm not one to stick around in situations I know aren't going to work for the sake of being nice or anything like that. I'm finally in the band I always wanted to be in, and its took about 4-5 years of failed attempts thus far.


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## Vairocarnal (Sep 23, 2008)

While Tom, Rob and Stu have each given some excellent, on-par advice, I would handle it a little differently...please bare with me, I have a few options:

1:If you REALLY don't want to go through the hassle of re-forming, I'd suggest focusing on the strengths your band has instead what ya'll don't have. I was unhappy with my drummer's footwork and our overall synchronization so I started focusing on his blasting and my trill picking and next thing I knew, he started matching my polyrhythms like Raymond and Dino.

2: Seek new members: This is a drastic-ish move but it's necessary for a failing band to trim the herd, so to speak. I had a guitarist that was "in the band" for a year or so that never bothered to learn more than 1 incomplete riff from one song. After he destroyed my infamous patience I placed an ad on craigslist and (Miraculously) found our lead guitarist who had coincidentally left New York for Austin on a whim around the same time I placed the add. Anyways, after a brief phone call he came to my place where I played one of our songs for him on my guitar then I handed it over to him and he played the song back to me...note for note, it was FUCKING incredible. 

The lesson of this paragraph is at least try to find people as a last ditch effort, it may light a fire under some people's asses and get some work done.

3: Give up control and see what happens. Now, I don't know if you're the keeper and or originator of the bands musical vision but for the sake of argument let's assume you are:
I'm not saying abandon the band, I'm saying take a step or two back and let the pieces fall where they may. If the band is draining your energies your inspiration may be next. 

4:Have a powwow. Be blunt and honest. Brutal, if you NEED to, but overall EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU needs to voice what you want and need from the band and the lot of you need to figure out where to go from there.

5: Find a shaman. Go on a spirit quest. 

I hope this helps, and on a side-note: it's good that you came to the forums for help on this issue. I was too scared because I didn't have any "Friends" here...wish I would have but then again it all worked out, I suppose.


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## Nick (Sep 23, 2008)

my old band disolved about 18 months ago now. I took a break from being in a band for about 10 months and i have to say i loved it. I was writting most of the stuff in my old band and it felt good to not have to be thinking about organising studio time (i was pretty much in charge of everything) organising people to show up at gigs at the right time and it was just a weight of my shoulders because the music we were playing wasnt what i wanted to do anymore.

So like i said i took a break and at the end of that 10 months i was really motivated to get back into a band and after a few months of searching im in a really great band now with guys all on the same page and all motivated and in a really great situation. It was a great decision to begin with i think.

so my advice would be take a break from it all together. play guitar just for the sake of it and dont feel under pressure to be creative. itl come and then youl find the motivation again.


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## Sang-Drax (Sep 25, 2008)

Nick said:


> my old band disolved about 18 months ago now. I took a break from being in a band for about 10 months and i have to say i loved it. I was writting most of the stuff in my old band and it felt good to not have to be thinking about organising studio time (i was pretty much in charge of everything) organising people to show up at gigs at the right time and it was just a weight of my shoulders because the music we were playing wasnt what i wanted to do anymore.
> 
> So like i said i took a break and at the end of that 10 months i was really motivated to get back into a band and after a few months of searching im in a really great band now with guys all on the same page and all motivated and in a really great situation. It was a great decision to begin with i think.
> 
> so my advice would be take a break from it all together. play guitar just for the sake of it and dont feel under pressure to be creative. itl come and then youl find the motivation again.



Same here. I dragged a band for years with musicians that, while good, didn't really care for the band. I spent way too much effort for nothing until it finally broke apart, almost 2 years ago. 

Now, I was just invited to join a really cool band with awesome people. Not as heavy or progressive as I wanted, but hey, perhaps I can change things from the inside


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## Mattmc74 (Sep 30, 2008)

I feel your pain. The band I was in about 2 years ago was just like that! Some people would show up whenever they felt like it. The singer was a total ego maniac! All he wanted to do was party. 

I play in 2 bands now. A metal band and a classic rock band. All with different members in them. Playing different styles of music and people keep me from getting bored of the same thing.

Good Luck man!!!!


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## budda (Sep 30, 2008)

I vote #5.


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## opennnthegate (Oct 29, 2008)

I agree with Vairocarnal. This is exactly what I did, with the exception of #5 (lol) and we are doing really well. Definately don't break it off alltogether. Too many bands do that. Find out how to make it work and do it.


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## Richardscuro (Nov 2, 2008)

I have found that personality is the single most important factor in creating a lasting band. If you don't get along with a person or do not enjoy spending time with them, there is no point in being in a band with them. Ability and chops can be developed over time, a personality cannot.

If things are slow because you have to go through some personel changes that's okay. Just make sure your next picks are people who have the same vision as you. If you are just tired of being in the band and carrying the burden by yourself, let go of the reigns and see if the other guys pick up some of the slack on their own.


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## budda (Nov 2, 2008)

month-old bump, kiddies!


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## auxioluck (Nov 2, 2008)

Dude, all I can say is that I left my last band because I was horribly uninspired. I have a new project going, and I couldn't be happier. There's no happiness to me unless my other bandmates are pushing me to improve.


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## SteveDendura (Nov 4, 2008)

One of the hardest things to do is find people who want to play the same music you want to write and play. Sometimes, it seems every drummer, bassist, and guitarist you audition is some form of a popular generic metal band. (Tool, for example, in my area). 

My band has auditioned over 30 some drummers, 7 bassists, and about 4 keyboardists. We've had about 6 drummers, 2 bassists, and a fill in bassist, and we gave up on keys, about 2 years ago. Some drummers couldn't play to a metronome, or play an odd time signature. Some bassists wanted to solo and play slap. And I've seen about 4 keyboardists that couldn't play to a metronome and they always wanted to play lots of arpeggios over everything.......it all sounded to same. Aziza and I are the only original members now. But we stood up for what we wanted in music and now everyone is a part of the writing process. We play lots of harmonized guitar stuff and I always try to get our drummer and bassist involved in some kind of clever rythmn. It's a blast writing with everyone excited about the music. 

A good way to approach this is to always be up front, but not a douchebag, with how you feel about everything. But, sometimes you must let things go, because the band is more than just _you_. If you don't like a particular rythmn, instead of bitching about how it sounds just like another band, try and alter it and see if anyone likes it better. Add a rest or a triplet to it. Make it different, but don't force it on everyone else. Just see if they like it. Most of the time, if I write something and play it for someone else, they play it back different and sometimes their way sounds better. Sometimes we use both versions. 

I would have to say the best thing you could ever do is, record all your material and listen back to it yourself. Then rearrange or change anything you don't like. Be brutally honest about how it sounds! (Produce it). The final product will be YOUR sound. See if the guys you play with now like it. Then let potential band mates listen and the ones that like it are the ones you should try out. But make sure they can play to a metronome and have the skill. (If they don't like it, they'll try to change it all the time. You want people who like what you have already, so you can work WITH them.)


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