The Steel Guitar Forum Store 

Post new topic Band Truths
Reply to topic
Author Topic:  Band Truths
b0b


From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
Post  Posted 9 Aug 2019 9:29 am    
Reply with quote

Author Unknown wrote:
  1. Great bands are built around great vocals. Nobody sings along with the guitar solo.
  2. If you don't have a first rate bass player, your band will never rise above the mediocre.
  3. The best all around guitar amp for gigging is the Fender AB763 Deluxe Reverb.
  4. Great guitar players are a dime a dozen. If you don't sing, you don't get a lot of work. (see #1)
  5. The typical consumer of live music does not appreciate your skill as a musician. They are mainly interested in dancing and/or singing along with the vocalist. (see #1)
  6. Drummers are terrible time keepers. The job of keeping time in a band belongs to the bass player. (see #2)
  7. The person who books the most gigs is almost always the weakest player in the band.
  8. You should never play for "the door" or "exposure". By doing so, you're lowering the value of your product. The only exception would be a legitimate charity event that you enthusiastically support.
  9. Karaoke is the worst thing to ever happen to live music.
  10. Never let an unknown club patron sit in with the band.
  11. Bands with a female singer usually break up within the first year.
  12. You can cover any gig with a Fender Stratocaster and/or a Gibson ES-335. (see also #3)
  13. Club owners don't care how great your band is. They only care how many buddies you have that drink beer.
  14. "Pay to Play" is for 14 year olds. (see #8 )
  15. Bands with more than 4 members are usually a pain in the ass.
  16. A large percentage of gigging musicians are alcoholics, recovered alcoholics, or pot heads. Especially drummers, in my experience. (see #6)
  17. 100 watt amplifiers are as useful as tits on a bull unless you're playing outdoors. (see #3, and always have a spare SM-57 and cable in your gig bag.)
  18. If it takes more than two trips to the car, you're bringing too much gear to the gig.
  19. Pay attention to your personal appearance.
  20. If it's not fun, it's time to move on. You're better off staying home than bringing your bandmates down with a lousy attitude.
  21. Bands that are run as a ''democracy'' almost always self destruct. Somebody has to take charge.
  22. Always help load the P/A in and out.
  23. If you book the gig, be prepared to pay the other musicians at the end of the night. If you get a check, they get a check. If you get cash, they get cash.
  24. Horn players are usually prima-donnas with less than perfect pitch.
  25. At least once a month, hand your wife the cash from the gig. Winking


_________________
-𝕓𝕆𝕓- (admin) - Robert P. Lee - Recordings - Breathe - D6th - Video
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website

Doug Palmer


From:
Greensboro, North Carolina, USA
Post  Posted 9 Aug 2019 12:42 pm     Band rules
Reply with quote

26. No harmony is better than bad harmony.
_________________
Emmons D-10, ST-10,LD-10 III, NV-112,Fender Deluxe Reverb. Authorized wholesale dealer musicorp.com!
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail

Dave Little


From:
Atlanta
Post  Posted 9 Aug 2019 12:59 pm    
Reply with quote

I didn’t write those rules.... but I could have.
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail

Brooks Montgomery


From:
Idaho, USA
Post  Posted 9 Aug 2019 1:03 pm    
Reply with quote

27. If it’s an uncovered outdoor stage and there’s a chance of rain, it will rain.
_________________
A banjo, like a pet monkey, seems like a good idea at first.
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail

Terry Winter

 

From:
Saskatchewan, Canada
Post  Posted 9 Aug 2019 8:33 pm    
Reply with quote

No argument with any of the 25.
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail

Ian Rae


From:
Redditch, England
Post  Posted 9 Aug 2019 10:01 pm    
Reply with quote

The three commonest music lies are:-

The cheque's in the mail
I asked you before I asked anyone else
(just realised the 3rd one's not family-friendly)
_________________
Make sleeping dogs tell the truth!
Homebuilt keyless U12 7x5, Excel keyless U12 8x8, Williams keyless U12 7x8, Telonics rack and 15" cabs
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website

Frank Freniere


From:
The First Coast
Post  Posted 10 Aug 2019 9:04 am    
Reply with quote

No. 22 is getting harder and harder.
View user's profile Send private message

Ian Rae


From:
Redditch, England
Post  Posted 10 Aug 2019 9:54 am    
Reply with quote

By the time I've packed and loaded all my stuff the PA's long gone Smile
_________________
Make sleeping dogs tell the truth!
Homebuilt keyless U12 7x5, Excel keyless U12 8x8, Williams keyless U12 7x8, Telonics rack and 15" cabs
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website

Tony Palmer


From:
St Augustine,FL
Post  Posted 11 Aug 2019 11:27 am    
Reply with quote

As a musician I agree with just about all of those but when I assume the role as a professional musician (which means im getting paid), number ONE is the most important.
_________________
Sierra S10 (three!), Peavey 112 and 115, Benoit dobro, Beard Model E dobro, Beard Roadophonic, MSA Superslide, Dean Nickless custom dobro
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail

Lee Baucum


From:
McAllen, Texas (Extreme South) The Final Frontier
Post  Posted 11 Aug 2019 2:54 pm    
Reply with quote

I disagree with #6 and #15.
_________________
Lee, from South Texas - Down On The Rio Grande

There are only two options as I see it.
Either I'm right, or there is a sinister conspiracy to conceal the fact that I'm right.


Williams Keyless S-10, BMI S-10, Evans FET-500LV, Fender Steel King, 2 Roland Cube 80XL's,
Sarno FreeLoader, Goodrich Passive Volume Pedals, Vintage ACE Pack-A-Seat
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail

Donny Hinson

 

From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
Post  Posted 11 Aug 2019 3:35 pm    
Reply with quote

I think those "rules" were written as an attempt at humor. Half may be occasionally valid, but the rest are like jokes, or they're outright just wrong.

1. Great bands are built around great vocals. Nobody sings along with the guitar solo.

Horsehockey. I guess nobody's heard of The Ventures, The Buddy Rich Band, Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, The Surfaris, Hal McIntyre, Booker T. and the M.G.s, The Doc Severinsen Band. Wow people, give me a break!

I could go on - almost endlessly, but that's enough to make the point (I think!)

Mr. Green
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail

Ian Rae


From:
Redditch, England
Post  Posted 11 Aug 2019 9:26 pm    
Reply with quote

Lee, as a former (and occasionally current) bass player I'm inclined to agree with #6.

As for #15, social dynamics make 5 a difficult number as at any given time someone is the outsider. After that it just gets unwieldy. Luckily I'm happy to be the outsider in a 5-piece and just play Smile
_________________
Make sleeping dogs tell the truth!
Homebuilt keyless U12 7x5, Excel keyless U12 8x8, Williams keyless U12 7x8, Telonics rack and 15" cabs
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website

b0b


From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
Post  Posted 11 Aug 2019 9:36 pm    
Reply with quote

I love the musical dynamics of a quartet more than any other configuration. Haven't had the good fortune to play in one for quite a while, though. Oh Well
_________________
-𝕓𝕆𝕓- (admin) - Robert P. Lee - Recordings - Breathe - D6th - Video
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website

Richard Sinkler


From:
aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana
Post  Posted 12 Aug 2019 7:06 am    
Reply with quote

I prefer a 5 or more piece band. I really don't like having to cover the rhythm guitar (or other rhythm section instrument) parts. Sounds much better than a steel trying to cover that part.

A few years ago, I was in an 8 piece band, and loved it. Me, 2 guitars (different styles and vocals from one of them), acoustic player (guitar, mandolin, banjo-guitar, vocals), keyboards, bass, drums, killer female vocalist. One of the funnest bands I have ever played in. Very well rehearsed, no one stepping on each other.

When I make my move to Montana next month, I will be working in a 4 piece again. I went up there last weekend and did 2 gigs with them. Can't wait to move there.
_________________
Carter D10 8p/8k, Dekley S10 3p/4k C6 setup,Regal RD40 Dobro, NV400, NV112 . Playing for 54 years and still counting.
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail

Fred Treece


From:
California, USA
Post  Posted 12 Aug 2019 8:39 am    
Reply with quote

Grateful Dead knocks #1 off the list. And as Donny said, there have been so many great bands that featured no vocals, let alone bad ones. Also, I have worked with only female lead vocalists forever now. Most of them lasted well beyond a year, one of them went for 20.

The rest of the list is pretty good, accurate, and funny, but I would refer every one of those rules back to #2. My band life since 2005 is proof. I live in a bass player desert.
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail

Ian Rae


From:
Redditch, England
Post  Posted 12 Aug 2019 9:20 am    
Reply with quote

The Dead had no vocals and no bass player either, but they seem to have been successful without following any rules, indeed by breaking them Smile
_________________
Make sleeping dogs tell the truth!
Homebuilt keyless U12 7x5, Excel keyless U12 8x8, Williams keyless U12 7x8, Telonics rack and 15" cabs
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website

Fred Treece


From:
California, USA
Post  Posted 12 Aug 2019 9:32 am    
Reply with quote

Phil Lesh did what he could with endless one- and two-chord jams, and could establish a very solid groove when the song called for it (i.e., Bertha). But you’re right, Ian - The Dead probably are not a great example for applying generalized rules and truths like the ones in the OP. I think #1 is largely accurate, but #2 is Dead on, so to speak...
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail


All times are GMT - 8 Hours
Jump to:  

Our Online Catalog
Strings, CDs, instruction,
steel guitars & accessories

www.SteelGuitarShopper.com

Please review our Forum Rules and Policies

Steel Guitar Forum LLC
PO Box 237
Mount Horeb, WI 53572 USA


Click Here to Send a Donation

Email admin@steelguitarforum.com for technical support.


BIAB Styles
Ray Price Shuffles for
Band-in-a-Box

by Jim Baron
HTTP