A couple of nights ago we had a fairly stressful practice. We were trying out quite a lot of new material just to get a yay, nay or "meh, I'll do it if you want" off the rest of the band.
Our singer/bass player was struggling with some of it - coming in too late/early, missing cues. I didn't really mind as it was all fairly new stuff so I just commented on it (not nastily as far as I'm aware) and suggested that he watches for it in future. Towards the end of the night he came in a few bars to early during an instrumental section and seemed determined to soldier on. Had he done this live I'd have tried to compensate the best I could and carry on but with it being a practice and a fairly tricky situation to recover from I simply stopped playing, told him he came in to early and was motioning to pick up from the start of the section again but he dismisses it and calls to just skip to the outro and finish the song off. It was getting late and we were pushed for time so I just went with it. Again, I wasn't that bothered as we were getting tired and was sure he'd either sort it out for next time or we could spend more time on it.
However, today I've had an email saying that we should try to "work around his phrasing" and, should he drop a beat or bar or two occasionally, that we should do the same.
I accept that we all make mistakes and in a live setting I'd never dream of stopping playing because of a mistake and would do all I could to compensate but I'm not prepared to start glossing over mistakes in rehearsals that can be put right with some extra practice or changing things around a bit.
It seems like he wants the rhythm section to start playing reactively based upon what he does as with the vocals - if he reaches a change a beat to early we should just drop that beat and catch up with him. This goes against all the time and effort I've put into being a solid rhythm player and, in my opinion, isn't how we should be approaching things. If he get the rest of the band to go along with him then I think we'll be taking a huge step backwards and, above all else, will sound as if we don't know what we're doing. It's not a situation I want to be part of so I'm threatening to leave the band. It's not something I want to do as they are all mates and bands to join are plentiful around here.
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Especially if its something that can be sorted with a bit of hard work.
Although if you are basically happy with the band you are in , I wouldn't necessarily threaten to leave just yet.
The 'go with me' excuse never washes for me. A good piece should be rehearsed so it can be repeated almost effortless in the most stressful of situations - that's what great bands do.
Yes we all make mistakes, but for him to randomly keep changing (or f'king up in reality) means he needs to practice more.
The thing about good improvisers and spontaneous performers is they know inherently where the core of the song is to return to.
My opinion based on what you have said is that you have the right attitude.
Having one half arsed member has diminished the amount of enjoyment I get from the band add in another and I just don't see the point of continuing as we are.
Supportact said: [my style is] probably more an accumulation of limitations and bad habits than a 'style'.
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He's not up to the job and he needs one of those "shape up or naff off" conversations.
In the bands I play in if we fall apart at practice we stop right away, and pick a section to restart from. If someone makes a mistake more than once in the same place we go over the parts to make sure they just haven't learned it wrong. Most of the time it is as simple as they've interpreted a rhythm incorrectly or have even just forgotten how to play it right. One bum note doesn't warrant a restart however everyone going out of time, or one person playing a part completely wrong does, for us anyway.
I once tried to do some stuff with a bloke who did this sort of thing. He described himself as a "feel guy" and wouldn't tie himself down to a lead sheet because that "spoils the spontenaeity and the feeling, man". In the end I gave up.
How you get your bloke to realise that what he's doing is undesirable, and to want to change, is not easy to advise about, although some here might try. Gentleness and diplomacy are the order of the day.
Seriously: If you value it, take/fetch it yourself
I was at a wedding at the weekend where the band's guitarist played Sex on Fire completely wrong. I know the intro is a bit tricksy on the timing but if I couldn't put up with someone playing the bendy chorus bits wrong as well. It's not better, or improv, it's just laziness or lack of ability (depending on whether he can hear it's wrong) but either way I couldn't be in a band that accepted that attitude.
Rehearsals are meant to be hard work so gigs are easy. It's MUCH better that way around than the opposite.
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If you don't gig/record/whatever, though, it's all play I suppose. You need to be playing music with people who share your level of commitment or it'll all end in tears.