| MY THOUGHTS ON BEING IN BANDS What my thoughts are after 30 years of being a musician |
I've been on a bit of a music kick this summer, mostly due to the fact I'm taking a break from Video Games and COmputers for awhile to retain my sanity, and because I don't really have any pressing guitar builds, and then a series of issues sorta lead to working out improvements in my gear and production situations.
So you wanna' be in a band eh' So let's talk about some things first about why you'd want to (or not want to) being a band. A Band is basically like a family, a marriage, and a street gang in one fell swoop. YOu got your values, culture, standards, and colors, but in my experience, these are best cultivated by just letting the cards fall where they may, rather than creating orchestrated constructs, unless those visions and constructs are VERY clear from minute one. This is a big reason the concept of a "Band" is failing in 2025. Most people can't figure out how to stay married, not stab each other in the back, and not bone each other's relationships. Let's face it, in 2025, most people are pretty shitty, a lot of bullies, a lot of people who like to cram their opinions and judgement down your throat. This might be the one thing I am judgy about. The best way bands have formed, with Lithium and Smokin' 66' being the best examples of how to start one, is just letting everyone who joins bring their own piece of what makes them unique as a musician to the table. This also applies to image. Even something as cohesive as The Cars or Loverboy, it's pretty easy to see whose who in the group personality wise. I find if things are too restrictive, you don't have a band, you have a solo artist (lead singer) who has a backing band scenario starting up. You WANT to stand out, which is why I'm such a big fan of the death of clique-based "music tribes". Musicians themselves always found that stuff ridiculous, but the audience is waking up to why that is finally. The most important thing at the onset is communication. Which is one place ALL bands suck - actually, all HUMANS suck at it in my experience. And everyone communicates differently. Some people text a lot, others might prefer a phone call, others might find it easer to use online chat at a specific time or maybe just let things simmer until the next time everyone is in person. For example, I'm not big on doing everything through text. Not everyone in the band will be a career musician - especially in today's economic climate. Some of us have jobs, in my case I have a career, and I am on-call - and I'm sure others are in the same boat. Outdated Crap that Needs to die One of the first ones is that age matters. I once had a drummer/guitarist in the Seattle scene tell me "once you're over 40 you look like a joke". Not if your intentions are honest IMHO. For starters, people look younger with each passing generation at older ages. I'm 42, I could pass for 28 or 30-something. My wife is the same. Gen Z at 30 looks like kids from my high school in the late 1990's. Crazy, huh? Next, almost nobody in the know would be getting in a band right now to "make it big" like we used to fantasize about in the 1990's and earlier. |
