Matt and Tom Have A Goal Of Playing As Many Gigs As Possible

   One of the biggest challenges I’ve faced in my live band is getting a group of musicians together that all share the same goals. There are a lot of musicians out there but not all of them want to play in bars. Some musicians just want to jam and don’t want to play any live gigs at all, ever. If your band is going to succeed you really need to have common goals.

   The first thing you need to discuss before you even decide on what type of songs you want to play is where and when you will play gigs. This will determine your song selection as well as whether or not the individual band members are willing to commit to certain types of gigs. Too many bands dive right into learning songs which is always the first goal of any band. Let’s talk about that first goal of learning songs for minute.  

   When you first get a group of musicians together it makes sense to have a common goal of being able to play songs together. If you have a musician that only wants to jam and not learn the songs, it’s easy to get rid of them right at the beginning. There’s no time wasted on a musician that doesn’t want to learn the songs right from the beginning. It’s fun learning to play the songs and being able to play them well. It’s a time investment to reach this goal and depending on how many songs you learn as well as how quickly you learn them the investment in time can be huge.

    The next logical step to take is to be out playing gigs. This is where a lot of bands start to have problems. If a band member suddenly says “I want to play gigs but I won’t play in bars” even though everyone else in the band is fine with playing bars, it can put a huge strain on the band. Especially because you’ve already invested all that time into learning the songs. I’ve been in bands where one member won’t play on Sundays or won’t play anywhere but his basement. It can cause your band to instantly start having trouble. That’s why I recommend the first discussion you have as a band is where and when you will be playing gigs.

   Another common problem I’ve seen sink live bands is touring. If everyone in the band wants to tour but one person can’t because they are working full time to support a family, it makes touring almost impossible. You can make it work, but it takes extra coordination and advance planning. That’s why it needs to be discussed well in advance of the opportunity to tour. I’ve seen the big problems happen when it comes to financing time in a major recording studio to record your band’s first album. You may have a member that refuses to chip in any money for the recording project.

   But it doesn’t have to be that way. Remember way back before you started learning any songs as a band? That’s the time to discuss the evolution of the band and decide on a set of specific goals that you want to reach. That’s the time to discuss things like where you want to play gigs as well as what types of gigs you will and won’t play. Before you learn the songs is the time to discuss touring options. It’s also the time to discuss when you will record your first album and how you plan to finance it.

   A sample set of goals could look like this:

1. Learn or write 30 songs in 3 months
2. Start playing gigs anywhere we can get them (excluding Sunday and Christmas)
3. After 1 year do a mini-tour of the surrounding states
4. Immediatly after tour, enter studio and record album financed with gig earnings with additional costs split equally by all band members

   These are simple goals to lay out in advance and it’s an easy way to weed out band members that aren’t committed to making the band successful. There’s nothing wrong with dreaming and setting high goals. You may never make it to that tour and album recording but at least you’ll have a goal to be working on instead of being stuck playing the same 3 gigs over and over!

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Band Members Must Have Common Goals

Frank Brought His Own Drums And Cords To The Audition

   I’ve played in a lot of live bands over the years and I’ve answered my share of “Musician Wanted” ads as well. Finding auditions are always an interesting process and I’ve always learned something going through the band audition process. Today I’m going to give you a few tips for when you answer a Musician Wanted Ad before you set up an audition.

   Let me start off with a little story. One time when I was about 18, my bass playing friend and I were at the local music store looking at musician wanted ads. We picked one out that said something to the effect of “Wanted, musicians to form rock band. Need guitar, keyboard and bass player.” So naturally we gave them a call. The guy on the phone said “bring all your equipment and come to our practice studio at this address.” We asked what constituted “all our equipment” and the guy said “microphones, amplifiers, mixer, speakers…whatever you have”. Luckily, we didn’t have much but we loaded up our beat-to-crap microphones along with our beginner guitars and amplifiers. We then set out to find the address of the practice studio.   

   The “practice studio” turned out to be an abandoned barn out in the middle of a field, well off the beaten path. The guys were a bunch of rough looking, middle-aged gentlemen in Levi’s and leather. There wasn’t a shred of equipment to be seen other than the stuff me and my buddy brought. Needless to say, it soon became apparent that these guys were looking for music equipment, not musicians. We never played a note while our equipment got closely scrutinized. It was obvious that we’d gotten more than we bargained for answering this “musician’s wanted” ad. Luckily a couple of our friends had tagged along and there were four of us that showed up so the numbers were about equal in terms of us vs. them.

   Finally the guys looking over our equipment conferred together in a huddle and had a good hard laugh. They told us if that was all the equipment we had, then they’d have to keep looking for “musician’s” and that we were free to go. Let me tell you, we loaded up as fast as we could and sped on out of there. We knew these guys were looking to steal somebodies equipment and we were glad we didn’t have anything worth stealing that day. I learned a very valuable lesson from this experience.

   Now, I’m going to give you a few simple tips when answering “Musician Wanted” ads. First and foremost, take the time to check out who you are going to meet up with and audition for. Be sure to get full names and a bio from the people you are meeting. Ask where they’ve played, how long they’ve played and where they plan to take the project you are auditioning for.

   If you can get names of clubs that the other musician’s have played at, try to get some references you can call and check out. In todays world of social media it’s a good idea to check out MySpace or Facebook pages as well. The more you know about the people and live band you are auditioning for, the better you can prepare and the safer you’ll be. It’s also good to see if they have a clear idea of where they want to take the project as well. If they’re vague about their goals, that’s a warning flag for you.

   It’s always a good idea to bring a friend or two along with you. It can be risky business meeting strangers alone especially if you have some expensive music equipment with you. Which brings me to another tip, don’t take your prized instruments with you when you audition. If you have a collectors Gibson Les Paul Custom, leave it home and take your trusty old Les Paul Studio guitar and a practice amp. Unless you’re answering an Ad seeking a musician with P.A. equpment, A serious band will already have micrphones and P.A. equipment for you to audition through.

   Finally you’ll want to know in advance what songs they want you to play. If they say “just come over, and we’ll jam” then you can be sure that it will be a very short meeting. It may be that they don’t even know how to play any complete songs and that would definitely be a waste of your time. Try to agree on at least 3 songs that everyone will know how to play so that you can get a gauge on everyone’s talent level. Even if they’re planning to play original music, you should be able to play a few cover songs that everyone should know.

   I wish you success in finding other musicians to play with. There’s nothing wrong at all with answering “musician wanted” ads and you may even find that band that you’ve always dreamed about being a part of. Just make sure and follow the simple tips in this article and you’ll have an even greater chance for success!

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Tips For Answering “Musician Wanted For Live Band” Ads

A Weak Bass Player Is No Problem At All For AC/DC

   What can you do when one member of your band will only play their instrument when the band gets together to practice? I get this question all the time from friends and colleagues that play in live bands. It’s actually a lot more common than you may think to have a band member only practice when the band gets together as a group to practice. It’s something that you may have to deal with in your live band so let’s discuss some of your options.

   It may seem like a no-brainer to just kick the offending member out of the band. That may seem like the easiest solution but let’s face it, this person may have other qualities that make them very hard to replace. For example, I was working with a young band that consisted of 3 brothers and it was a great marketing opportunity having 3 brothers in the same band. The problem is, one of the brothers would never practice his instrument unless it was band practice. It was very obvious that this brother was far behind the other two in terms of being prepared and also in his actual playing ability. But, it was crucial to keep this brother in the band.  

  Here’s another example, I’ve worked with a band that had a member that was fantastic on their instrument but would never learn and practice the backup singing. The band wanted to do a lot of music that had four-part harmony and many agonizing hours were spent at practice trying to get this member to learn his singing parts. Needless to say, things sounded good but could have been much better if that member had learned and practiced his parts on his own outside of band practice.

   So what can you do when you have a member that will not practice unless the band gets together to rehearse. As I said before you can kick the person out and find a replacement. But you have to take a serious look and see what you’ll be giving up in other areas such as stage presence, personality and band related administration such as booking gigs. If the member has other qualities that make you want to keep that person in the band then it is possible to work around their limitations.

   That’s the key to making the band work with a member that will not practice on their own. If you have a drummer that won’t practice and improve his skills but they have some good basic skills then you’ll have to pick songs that the drummer can easily play. You probably won’t be playing any Rush cover songs with that drummer but you can surely play some Creedence cover songs. There’s no need to spend hours at rehearsal while this member learns the songs. Just pick songs that are easy for that person to play on their instrument so you can minimize wasted rehearsal time.

   That’s really the secret to making your band work with someone who is important to the band but isn’t as rehearsed or prepared as the rest of the band. You just have to pick your songs around that weakness. There are millions of songs out there and it’s possible to put a setlist together that will allow your weak band member to put in minimal practice and still have the band as a whole sound good.

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What To Do When One Of Your Band Members Won’t Practice

The Beatles With Guest Musician Billy Preston

If you’ve been playing in with the same group of musicians in the same live band for a while it’s pretty common for things to become routine. A problem arises when the doing the same old routine every time you get together starts to get boring and stale. This happens to a lot of bands over the course of their career and it doesn’t matter what your bands routine is.

Your band may be playing the same 3 clubs over and over to the point of boredom. Or you may get together regularly to create music in the studio and make recordings but never play out. The Beatles became a recording studio band and guess what? It still got stale and boring even for The Beatles! So what did The Beatles do to get some fresh ideas and some new life in the band? They brought in guest musicians to play on their recordings.    

The Beatles brought in Eric Clapton to play his famous lead guitar parts on the George Harrison song “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”. The band enjoyed it so much that they invited Billy Preston to come to the studio and play keyboards on many of the bands later recordings. Having that extra musician who was not an official member of the band really brought some much needed vitality to The Beatles.

The same thing can work for your band as well and it can really improve your band chemistry. I know my band Shufflin’ Noah tends to get in a rut when all we do is get together every week to write and record new songs. It’s totally fun to bring in a guest a guest musician to create music with. On different occasions we’ve brought in other guitarists, keyboardists, sax players or singers to record with. We’ve brought in a lot of different musicians over the course of our career and it’s never failed to raise the fun level. We’ve been able to make some excellent and unique recordings with these guest musicians.

We’ve done the same thing in my live band, In Stereo. We’ll have guest musicians come and rehearse with us and then get onstage at our shows and play a gig with us. It’s always exciting to have a new person there who is not a permanent member of the band. The crowd always seems to enjoy seeing a new person up there with us and we’ve gotten some of our biggest applause when we’ve brought a guest musician onstage with us.

So my point is simple, if things are feeling boring and stale but you definitely don’t want to break up your band then you should try bringing in some guest musicians to liven things up. It’s really fun and good for your band as well. It’s a great way to network with other musicians and gain a few more fans along the way too.

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Is Your Live Band Feeling Stale? Bring In A Guest Musician

Brian Johnson Developed Into A Perfect New Singer For AC/DC

   When you start a new live band it can be difficult to find an entire group of top level players. Sometimes you won’t be able to find the perfect player for your band. If you find yourself in this situation, don’t give up on the idea of getting your band off the ground. You can really help out an aspiring player as well as your band if you take the time to do some work and develop a player that shows good potential.

   The other day I wrote about holding auditions for new band members. One of the challenges you will face when adding a new member is developing their ability to blend with the rest of the band. Remember that everyone grows the more they play in a live band. If you find someone that is showing some good potential that you really like and seem to get along with, give them a chance. Even if they’re not the greatest player in the world you may find someone that will grow and become the best member of the band.   

   So what can you do to develop a new band member? The first thing you need to do is evaluate their strengths and weaknesses. You need to know what the new members strengths are so you can utilize those right now to help the band out. If you have a player that’s excellent at playing classic rock songs but not so good at playing funk music, you can learn more classic rock songs to play instantly while you work on developing some funk ability.

   Playing to a new member’s strengths will give them the confidence they’ll need to survive in the band. As they get more confidence you can begin to throw some more challenging things their way. That’s why you need to evaluate their weaknesses as well so you know what types of challenges to give the new player.

   If a player has a slight problem playing country music but is completely lost playing complex rock solos, work on the country music playing first. Throw them some easy ones like “Folsom Prison” and they’ll start to develop their country music playing ability. You can work on the complex rock stuff a little bit at at time.

   The biggest factor in developing a new member of your band is to make sure they have a good work ethic. Are they practicing and trying hard to learn the songs? If they are, then that’s a huge step in their development as a player. Make sure you set the example by having regular band practices and new material to work on. Most members will work as hard as they see the rest of the band working. But if your band is lazy most of the time, you can expect the new member to soon be as lazy as the rest of the band.

   Set a good example and make sure your band has a good leader. You’ll be able to develop some marginal musicians into great musicians. It’s very satisfying to see a new band member grow into the job and excel with you onstage.

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Developing A New Member Of Your Live Band

Paul Rodgers Passed The Audition To Replace Freddie Mercury In Queen

   Every live band will go through personnel changes throughout the life span of the band. Members of the band will quit for all sorts of reasons from health issues to the ever popular “artistic differences” which is really just code for personality conflicts. Whatever the reason, if your live band is going to continue you will have to find a new member to replace the one who is leaving.

   Sometimes you’ll be lucky and know a musician that can step right in and replace the person who is leaving. Most of the time you’re going to have to do some asking around  and find a few musicians who would be interested in joining your band. Once you have a few names, it’s time to have an audition session and give the candidates a chance to show you what they can do.  

   When holding auditions for new members it’s important to select a good variety of music that your band plays. You’ll want to choose three to five songs that will challenge the auditionees in different ways. The songs you pick should challenge their ability to play difficult songs, test their ability to take a solo and check their ability to stay in sync with the band. Make sure the musicians that will be auditioning all have copies of the songs that they will be auditioning on.

   For example, if you’re auditioning for a new singer you will obviously want to have them audition on a song that will challenge their vocal range. Pick a song that has a lot of high notes as well as a song that will test them in the low ranges as well.

   When holding the audition, make sure you’re nice to everyone. Make them feel comfortable and offer them a drink and a place to sit down. I’ve been to some auditions where I felt like I was herded through a cattle chute. When you’re ready to start playing, make sure the auditionee can hear themselves.

   As you play, make sure you listen to how accurately the auditionee is playing the song. Are they paying attention to the little details? Hitting the fills in the right places and not overplaying? If they’re injecting their own personal style into a song is it working? If it is, then that’s a good thing!

   There are a couple things to watch out for when auditioning replacement players. You have to remember that it’s unfair to expect a new member to play things exactly like the person they are replacing. Everyone plays a little bit different. Music is an art and not a science so there’s no way for the new player to play everything exactly like the old guy. The key is to find someone who can make good music with you.

   You also want to make sure you don’t fall into the “2nd marriage” syndrome and expect the new player to be perfect. A lot of times problem band members will be kicked out with the illusion that the new band member won’t have any of the problems that the old guy had. What you’ll really get is a new player that may have some of the same problems as the old guy or different problems to deal with altogether. There’s no such thing as a “perfect” band member.

   After you decide on who you will ask to join your band be sure you let everyone who auditioned know that they did not get the gig. Remember to be gentle and tell them they did an excellent job but that you have found someone else who was a better fit. It’s a good idea to have some constructive criticism ready if they ask specifically why they didn’t get the slot in your band. Don’t just say “because you sucked!” even though that may be true. It’s always better to say things like “you had a hard time hitting high notes in tune” or “your solos weren’t as accurate as we would have liked”.

   It’s a good idea to ask if it would be okay to keep their number handy in case things don’t work out with the new member. Networking with other musicians is critical in your personal success as a musician. That’s why it’s always a good idea to be kind and professional before, during and after and audition.

   The audition process can be taxing for you and the musicians you are auditioning. There’s a lot of anxiety for everyone involved but if you’re careful and make sure you find the best person for your band, everyone is going to be better for it. The real winner will be the audience that will be cheering you on as your live band gets onstage and delivers an excellent show!

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Holding Auditions For New Band Members

Frank and Kyle Are Both Multi-Instrumentalists

 One thing I’ve noticed in my years of playing in a live band is how important members are that can do multiple things in the band. I was in a band where we had a lead guitar player that was a good lead guitar player, but that’s all he did. He didn’t sing lead or sing backup, he only brought his guitar and his amp and he didn’t book any of the gigs. Yes he would have the songs all learned and he played his parts perfectly but he just didn’t seem to contribute as much as the other members of the band.

   In the same band we had a keyboard player that was a good keyboard player, maybe not the best keyboard player in the world but good enough to cover the parts he needed to for the songs. The keyboard player also built a lighting system that he brought to every gig and which he also set up and ran at the gigs. The keyboard player also sang lead on a few songs and sang a lot of backup vocals. Not only did the keyboard player do these things, he also printed band promotional material such as flyers, business cards and CD inserts. As you can see the keyboard player had a lot more value to the band than the lead guitar player even though he may not have been as good of a player. I’ll tell you, the keyboard player has been playing in live bands a lot longer than the guitarist did.

   In todays picture, I posted up two guys from my band. Frank Lee and Kyle Johson are both multi-instrumentalists. Between them they play drums, keyboards, saxophone, trombone and guitar. They both also sing lead as well as singing loads of backup vocals. That’s a lot of added value from two band members.

   So what are some easy ways to increase your skills which will increase your value in the band? The easiest and best thing you can possibly do is work on your singing. Being able to sing in tune is incredibly important in a band. Even if you don’t sing lead on any songs you will be extremely valuable if you’re able to carry a good harmony singing part. In the best bands, everybody can sing. Make sure you have a good vocal microphone such as a Shure SM58 or the Shure Beta 58A. It’s cheap to get  a good microphone and you increase your value when you have the right equipment.

   Another easy way to increase your value to the band is to pitch in with P.A. equipment or lighting equipment. If you own some P.A. equipment and can set it up and run it, you will be a very important member of the band. The same thing goes for lighting which is overlooked by many bands.

   If you can play multiple instruments then you will also bring added value to the band. I currently play with a player that plays keyboards, guitar and sings lead on a lot of the songs. Needless to say, he’s a very important member of the band. He also owns all the lighting, sets it up and runs it every gig. If you do things like that, your position in the band will be very solid.

   Remember to look for any way you can help out. It could be as simple as owning the truck that hauls all the equipment to every gig. Having multiple skills and talents will definitely increase your value in the band.

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In A Live Band, Multiple Skills Will Increase Your Value

The Core = Guitar, Bass and Drums

Over the years I’ve played in a lot of various live band lineups. I’ve played in 3, 4, 5 and 6-piece rock bands as well as some 20 person Jazz bands. One thing I’ve noticed over the years is the bigger the band, the bigger the problems. I’m talking about scheduling problems, personality conflicts, incompatible work ethic, weak skill levels and mismatched goals for the band. It can be a real challenge in a band with a lot of people to keep it functioning. Fortunately there is an excellent solution to this problem. All you really have to do is have a compatible, stable group of core musicians.

When I’m talking about the core of a band I’m talking about the most essential instruments required to make performing as a live band possible. In my case the most essential instruments are Drums, Bass Guitar and Guitar with the players of those instruments being able to carry the lead and harmony vocals as well. That means you must have a drummer, bassist and guitarist together that share the same work ethic and have the same artistic vision for the band. The three people that make up the core of the band must be available for all booked gigs and practices. They must lead the way when learning new songs as well as being flexible enough to cover missing parts when only the three core members can make it to the gig. It’s a very good idea to have an entire nights worth of music that can be played by only the core members of your live band.

Once you have your core members the band can grow in size from there. You may want to add a keyboard player, one or two lead singers, a second guitarist or even an entire horn section. The beauty of having a stable core group of players becomes evident when your horn section is unable to show up to a gig. You will still be fine with the core group there ready to play. It’s the same for any of the other “extra” members of the band. If your keyboard player can’t make it to the gig or quits unexpectedly, that’s fine because your core of guitar, bass and drums will be able to carry the extra load until the keyboard player makes the next gig or you find a new one.

There is really a lot of freedom that comes when you have an established core group of players in the band. It becomes a lot easier to commit to gigs when you only have to be 100% sure that three people can make it instead of seven. There’s also a lot less pressure to carry along a weak member when that member is not as essential to the groups functionality. You will still need one core member to be the band leader and it will be essential that all active members of the band feel like they’re full contributing members of the band. In all honesty the band will always be better with a great keyboard player or lead singer. But the core members of the band will know where the true stability lies.

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Your Live Band Must Have A Stable Core Group Of Musicians

In Stereo Gets Along

   That’s right, getting along is more important than musicianship. This is band chemistry 101 for all you live musicians out there. I’ve played with some of the most incredible musicians I’ve ever heard and I’ve also seen them not able to function in a band for more than a year. The musicians I play with now are all excellent. Maybe not the best in the world, but excellent players. My two bands have been together for 18 years and 14 years respectively. Let me tell you why we’ve been together for so long.

   It all has to do with the fact that we can get along with each other. The musicians that I play with know how to function as a team. There are several basic reasons why my bands function so well as a team. The first and most important is we know how to communicate with each other. When someone is having a problem with another person in the band, there’s rarely a big confrontation. The disagreements are usually handled between the two people having the problem and they’re usually handled in private. Sometimes a 3rd member will be asked to mediate between the members having the problem. Sometimes all four members will sit down and resolve disputes as a group. My point is that my bands will talk to each other. Talking out problems is better than trying to get revenge on each other.

   The next reason we’ve been together for so long is that each member is willing to give a little bit when someone else is really pushing something. The ability to give and take is a huge reason for my bands staying together. I know that each member in my band has tried something that they haven’t wanted to do just because someone else in the band really wanted to do it. Either they’ve learned songs they didn’t like, played gigs they didn’t want to or come to band practice when it wasn’t convenient. The fact is, they did it for the good of the band. It’s those little sacrifices that keep the band together.

   Each member of the band has a defined role in the way the band functions. One member will usually be in charge of the music and making sure all the parts and sequences are there and the songs sound good enough to play out. Another member is in charge of booking the band and dealing with the agents. Another member is in charge of the P.A. system. Other roles in the band include running the light show, getting drinks, tuning guitars and putting together contact information to hand out at the gigs. So another reason my bands have stayed together for so long is that we all take on a role in the band and we make sure our jobs are getting done. It all adds up to a smooth functioning band.

   Finally, we enjoy being around each other and telling jokes and sharing stories. We all take turns speaking and listening and it’s really fun being around each other. That’s a really rare and wonderful thing to be around musicians that can listen to each other when someone is speaking. Enjoying each others company is a huge reason that my bands have stayed together for so long.

   So there you have it, you can put a band together with the most amazing musicians in the world, but if they can’t stand to be around each other, the band will never last. That’s why I say “Getting along is more important than musicianship” for keeping a band together.

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Getting Along Is More Important Than Musicianship

Bill Says - I LOVE practice!

   When I was just starting to play in rock bands and learning how to be a good live musician, I absolutely loved band practice. Hanging out with the guys and learning how to play together as a band was such a great rush. We’d play and talk about music and pig out on junk food. It was great! Over the years though, band practice has become more and more of a burden. It’s not very convenient and once you play live in front of a live audience, practice just doesn’t compare for getting a rush.

   That being said, I’ve realized that band practice doesn’t have to be a drag. In fact we musicians should go out of our way to make sure that band practice stays light and fun. If you don’t, then nobody is going to want to come to practice. Band practice is a bad place to start briging out criticism and arguments. Band practice is also a bad place to discuss business as well. You want to save those things for when you have a band meeting. You want to make sure that band practice stays fun!

   There are some things you should be doing at band practice. You should always have some sort of goal such as learning new songs or preparing for an upcoming gig. If you have a goal it will help keep you focused and working on something. If you actually accomplish something at band practice that will keep you motivated to keep having band practice. So it’s a good thing to be prepared to be productive. This will increase the fun factor because you won’t have to slave away as hard learning songs or preparing for your gigs if you come to practice with the songs learned and some idea of what you’re going to do at your gig.

   You also need to plan on having some fun at practice. Set aside some time before you start playing to sit around and talk. It’s good for the band to catch up on things and share some funny stories. Just remember to keep it light and don’t waste the whole evening chatting. When you start practicing, focus on what you’re doing. Hopefully everyone came to practice prepared with their parts so you can knock out the work quickly and efficiently. It’s never fun for members to sit around waiting for someone to learn a new song at practice. So make sure you learn your parts before you come to practice. It’s really fun to knock out a new song quickly. There’s still a rush when you play a new song together as a band and it sounds great right when you start rehearsing it. That increases the fun factor.

   Finally after you’ve finished working on your new material and prepping for the upcoming gig. Spend some time jamming, play a few songs just for fun. It’s fun to just goof around on some songs you’d probably never play live. One thing my band Shufflin’ Noah does after practice is over is to play some video games together. It’s always relaxing and fun to hang out and just play some games. Maybe your band could play poker and knock back some brews. That stuff is perfect for after practice and it’s going to make everyone want to come to practice again the following week.
   So remember, keep practice fun and your band will just keep getting better and better because everyone will want to practice regularly.

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Have Fun At Band Practice