Mini band rant

lloyd

Like most people I guess we have a 'secret' facebook page that we use for communicating between band members, one of the guys never checks it which generally leaves it up to me to phone/text him to check facebook or to re-explain whats on the page......

It's not a major hassle but can get annoying. I've pulled him up on it a couple times and he gets better for a bit, then backslides. I'd just leave him to find out in his own time-but sometimes it's important to get a swift response-e.g gig dates/times. 

Surely these things are not difficult? He has a smartphone so will get a notification when something is posted. 

Bod

haha, My last 3 bands have had someone like that.  They're always out of the loop as a result and it does get really annoying.  You just can't force people to use it though.

lloyd

Yeah I don't want to force the guy-like I say it's just annoying not a major issue.....I like to get back to prospective gig offers ASAP no-one's perfect hey-I'm sure I have one or 2 annoying habits.....

markslade07

Big problem in the old incarnation of my band, people would go for weeks without saying anything, and was reeeaaallllly annoying, as like when @Lloyd says, you want to get back to people about gigs quickly. I offered all sorts of alternative options such as text, email, carrier pigeon but it was always agreed to use FB. And then they'd bugger off! Aaarrrggghhhh. And beathe!

vasselmeyer

We've got something similar. We have a new drummer and the bass player is a bit unhappy with him while everyone else gets on very well with him. Just a personality clash. However, the bass player generally organises the gigs and always "forgets" to include the drummer on the emails leaving the rest of us to have to contact him. Petty.

lloyd

The thing is @markslade07 is that we chat on the page about other stuff too so it's not like it's a few weeks of silence so things could be missed-we rehearse every week but at different times and days-and we'll organise it on there...then I get a text off him asking when we're rehearsing...I generally send "check FB"!

That's very petty @vasselmeyer, I'd keep an eye on that...drummers are hard to come by-it's tough enough to join an established band and fit yourself in to the dynamic...being left out of emails "accidently"  would get pretty old quickly for me......

Glad it's pretty much just this that does my head in about this band (don't get me started about booking gigs...).

vasselmeyer

You're right, but I'm not sure it's entirely worth doing that much about it as I'm getting a little tired of this band anyway. We've been together nearly four years and I'd like to play something a bit different than classic rock. Trouble is I only have time for one band at a time so I'm thinking about doing what gigs we have remaining and then move on. Someone else can deal with the hassle.

IanSavage

My band seems to communicate purely by Facebook; I'm sure it's convenient for most but since I'm at work Monday to Friday without FB access and for some reason mobile FB is hit-and-miss on my smartphone (nothing for days, and then dozens of updates all at once) it's slightly frustrating. It's got to the point where if it's important someone needs to text me, and if they don't then not my problem.

 

Not IDEAL, but it's surely not that difficult to send a group text?

Chairs

I’m retroactively amending all my comments for privacy’s sake. I know they’re cached in places, but this is still a best attempts effort. Mods - if any rules have been broken, please revert this post.

lloyd

Fair enough if you're happy to just go with the flow and not too bothered @vasselmeyer.

I get that @IanSavage it isn't that much of a pain to do it, it's just a bit annoying. We've agreed to do it via facebook though and it is the best way to do it-adding links of venues/pictures etc and we communicate socially on it too. 

I'm not about to raise hell over it so a mini band rant here seemed the best way to deal with it

lloyd

I get that @Chris, he's not against facebook though...Maybe just lazy!! 

monquixote

The band before my current one was a nightmare. 

We had a couple of members who were just incommunicado for much of the time. If you got a gig offer you'd end up phoning, texting and emailing and only get a message back after about 3 days by which time the gig would have gone to someone else.

It led to the breakup of the band.

guitarfishbay

How much does it actually matter that the person isn't active on Facebook?

For anything that needs a swift response phones are better IMO.  I'm pretty good at keeping up to date on FB but if something important happens I'd expect to be contacted via phonecall, or I'd contact my bandmates by phonecall, and send a text if I can't reach them for whatever reason but only as a second option.  I've even phoned bandmates to check something I've posted on FB - since FB is the easiest way to share it but they might not check it til later otherwise.

For general day to day running tasks Facebook is fine and very handy, but I wouldn't count on it when time is of the essence as not everyone is glued to it, or leaves their phone internet switched on/has internet signal etc.

lloyd

Phoning isn't always an option though @guitarfishbay with people in work during the day though so a quick facebook post (rather than 3 separate phone calls/communications) is the most convenient for (3/4's of the band) to communicate-all 4 have it on their phone-with 'notifications' turned on and all 4 are 'allowed' to go on facebook whilst at work (all of us being office based).

Having all agreed it's the way the band's going to communicate for the most part, for me it's a respect thing-there's no difference between a text notification and a facebook one, so why not check it, then reply?

I get that @monquixote, losing gigs is the worst (we have lost one due to communication issues having initially tried to text but no reply).

guitarfishbay

I can't answer why the person doesn't answer the FB messages, I don't know them.  I've had people go like that and invariably they're usually not as committed or interested as the people who are quicker with communications.

I'd still do a group text rather than a group FB message if it was during the day, being allowed to go on FB doesn't mean the person has a window open all day.  I know I don't, though I usually have a TFB page open (this place is way more interesting )

Unless it absolutely needs an answer there and then I would personally just wait until it was appropriate to phone and then do the phone calls.  Yes it takes longer for 1 person to do this, but in the bigger picture you're more likely to get to a result quicker.  You don't have to do this every time, just when it is important and you need an answer within the day.

lloyd

Yeah I know where you're coming from and I do phone/text/send a carrier pigeon where and when I can-we're all different I guess-I came here to vent a little rather than whinge too much to him about...Although I will be giving him a virtual kick up the arse to check it more often

guitarfishbay

I'm totally with you - he does sound like he needs a kick up the arse.  I'm just saying that you being right about Facebook doesn't mean he'll check it, but if he also ignored direct phonecalls/text messages I'd be getting concerned personally.  It might be worth having an informal chat about how he feels about the band.  Are you all on the same page, does he have other stuff on his mind, is he just lazy, or is he not into it etc.  Worth establishing that then working out if you need to keep on him to up his communication game, or if you actually need to look for a replacement.

It is always hard to tell how to respond to these band rant threads.  Because it really depends on what the goal of the band is.  For example a fun pub rock covers band that gigs infrequently doesn't need as heavy handed an approach as a more serious functions/originals act that is looking to progress etc.

lloyd

Yeah we're all on the same page it's not a major issue to be honest-What's frustrating is that I sort the vast majority of the gigs out then have to chase again to see if he's free to play on a given date. I'd love to just sit back and agree to to playing a gig rather than mess about with organising it....

jd0272

I don't 'do' FB or Twitter etc etc. Need to know, text me. Dead easy, works for us. My life is way too busy as it is. I certainly appreciate the social advantages of media, but I suppose simply can't be arsed (sis in law, "I've got zillions of friends on FB!" moi, "Met any of 'em?" sis in law, "The ones I went to school with" moi, ".............."), and I simply can't be arsed.

Text him.

lloyd

Dunno what your sister in laws zillion friends on facebook or whether or not you 'do' facebook has got to do with this?

But back on topic-our band has agreed to communicate via facebook-and he gets a bit lazy with replying. I think it's a great tool for group discussions, so why not use it?

The tone and grammar of your post suggest you've had a drink, so I'll leave it at that.

hotpickups

Yes I agree. When running a band you need all band members to respond quickly sometimes etc. Unfortunately not all band members feel that way inclined to share the same urgency needed. Funny enough we discussed this precise subject at my last band meeting/rehearsal. We agreed to communicate by email initially, promptly followed by a text to let everyone know there has been an email sent. Then give everyone 24hrs grace to respond to which if they haven't then one can groan, moan or generally let them know about their crapness etc. I'll have to report back another time to let you know how it's going. I hope it works though as I really don't have the time to call all band members up and having to repeat the same question to them all.

The only problem I have with group texting is that the replies come back isolated with no thread to make sense of their answers which usually is Yes or No. To which I have no idea what they are saying yes or no too i.e. Yes they can do a gig or No they can't. I guess the old fashioned ways are the only way really