When bandmates can't nail parts...

Lebarque

fastonebaz said:

Lebarque said:

fastonebaz said:

Bane of my life when band mates don't learn their parts.

Barring major life events there's Literally no excuse for it other than laziness and lack of respect for the effort your colleagues have made

And if one band members level of ability and talent is much lower than the others then they need to go as well. 

Ffs its really not hard to do some homework from time to time. 

Sorry, mate. I'll try harder.

Some on bud, you've had 2 weeks to learn Herman Li's Through The Fire and Flames, what's the hold up?  

I'm afraid I'm still stuck on Smoke On The Water.

mudslide73

We binned SOF finally about 3 years ago due to us getting tired of it. We had exactly the same problem at the beginning but found that the solution was starting gtr2 (me) a little later once everyone was established. The off beat nature of it was causing much confusion with the drums. 

Rowby1

You have two choices. Drop the song or adapt the song to suit your bands abilities/limitations. 

If you’re tied to slavishly copying every detail of the covers you do then drop the song. If you do “your own take” on the covers you do then find a suitable work around.

On the subject of being the weakest link in the band, because I play in several bands I find myself in different places in the musical pecking order. One of my bands I’m been the most experienced member and it’s been a pleasure seeing them develop as players and performers over the years I’ve been with them. They’re a much better band now than when I joined them and they’re still improving. Working on songs within the limitations of the players experience is actually really rewarding.

I have another band where I’m definitely the weakest link. That really pushes me to improve and I love playing with people who are way better than me. I’m learning a lot.

slacker

I'm the weakest link in my band and I picked the others. 

RE covers, I personally think that you have to try them in rehearsal and see what works. We've tried some simple songs that didn't work and some difficult ones that don't.

If it ain't working dump it.

Hurling_Fruitmig

Musicwolf said:

Caffeine_Vampire said:

If he can't nail it but is otherwise sound and the audience are complaining about the song then drop it and keep the drummer. You move forward as a unit and make compromises when required.

This.  There will always be a weakest member of any group.  You can keep swapping out the weakest member until it's your turn (at which point you can do the honourable thing and fire yourself) or, if you are otherwise happy with the line up, either drop the song or change the arrangement.

You are Roger Waters and I claim my £5!

On a side note, wasn't there a thread on here a while back about how the intro to SoF is a lot harder to get right than you'd think?

MrTee

I've seen the start of 'rock n roll' by led zep butchered more times than nailed by cover/bar bands

CaseOfAce

Seems our drummer is not alone in struggling with the part.
When we've mentioned it to him he's been defensive, but then at other times promised to work on it. He's a good club drummer - he nails the 50s, 60s stuff but on the rockier tunes he can get lost.

We don't try and nail songs precisely but at least try and get in the wheelhouse.
The intro to Sex On Fire though comes under my heading of "do it  as close as you can" - much like me playing the Hotel California solo - it's a part that needs to be close enough ... if you get my gist.

No intention of dropping the song though - it's one of the few songs down the Dog and Duck that get's a reaction from anyone born when John Major was still Prime Minister.

Additionally murdering the drummer is not an option - though there have been times when I've considered it. 

vasselmeyer

MrTee said:

I've seen the start of 'rock n roll' by led zep butchered more times than nailed by cover/bar bands

This, 100%. Once we worked out it starts on the "4-and", we got it down.

Logie

I wouldn't expect a slavish copy from anyone but there were a couple of instances when I left a band because the other guitarist just couldn't be arsed to learn a particular part. Nothing to do with lack of ability though.

Pure laziness in one example being the intro to Stay with me.
 Butchered every time with him saying “Yeah, that's close enough"
 It wasn't, it was bloody awful and I used to wince involuntarily when it was next up on the list

The other was just wilfull cocknuggetry. 
We played Sympathy for the devil ( different band ) and the other guitarist had chosen the parts he wanted to play but then a few practises in decided he wanted to play the parts I did. 
Said he found the particular part hard to play and made a meal of fucking it up every practise to get his way. The rest of the band could see what was happening but just put their heads down and I should have done the adult thing and switched parts but he was such an annoying, self centred little arse part I put my guitar in the case at the end of the last practise, apologised to the rest of the lads and said I'd had enough. 

Then again, I do seem to be the common denominator.

Lebarque

Logie said:

I wouldn't expect a slavish copy from anyone but there were a couple of instances when I left a band because the other guitarist just couldn't be arsed to learn a particular part. Nothing to do with lack of ability though.

Pure laziness in one example being the intro to Stay with me.
 Butchered every time with him saying “Yeah, that's close enough"
 It wasn't, it was bloody awful and I used to wince involuntarily when it was next up on the list

The other was just wilfull cocknuggetry. 
We played Sympathy for the devil ( different band ) and the other guitarist had chosen the parts he wanted to play but then a few practises in decided he wanted to play the parts I did. 
Said he found the particular part hard to play and made a meal of fucking it up every practise to get his way. The rest of the band could see what was happening but just put their heads down and I should have done the adult thing and switched parts but he was such an annoying, self centred little arse part I put my guitar in the case at the end of the last practise, apologised to the rest of the lads and said I'd had enough. 

Then again, I do seem to be the common denominator.

Lol deservedly rewarded for 'cocknuggetry' and 'arse part'.

joeW

I am sure my bandmates say this about me when i arse up the timing on the intro to 'Full House'.  I decided to ditch the opening and go straight to the head which sounds fine.  I think it's only frustrating if someone doesn't know they are messing up and ignores polite suggestions to critically listen to rehearsal recordings.  

Dontgiveupyourdayjob

Anyone else see the title of this thread and thought "oh shit, have I stumbled into a conversation my band are having about me?!" 

Keefy

Fwiw I count in the drummer in my pub covers band for Sex on Fire. We’ve never cocked it up yet.

DesVegas

Play Nirvana songs instead, way more fun

Dontgiveupyourdayjob

DesVegas said:

Play Nirvana songs instead, way more fun

Or do what I do - play in 50s rock'n'roll/rockabilly band. All 35-40 songs in out setlist are essentially the same, so if I forget how one of them goes I just play one of the ones I can remember instead, and nobody notices the difference! 

CountryDave

Dontgiveupyourdayjob said:

DesVegas said:

Play Nirvana songs instead, way more fun

Or do what I do - play in 50s rock'n'roll/rockabilly band. All 35-40 songs in out setlist are essentially the same, so if I forget how one of them goes I just play one of the ones I can remember instead, and nobody notices the difference! 

Wis’d. I was in a similar band for about 5 years. 80% of the set was in A or E too.

Great fun though and everywhere you play, people always get up and dance.

ICBM

Dontgiveupyourdayjob said:

DesVegas said:

Play Nirvana songs instead, way more fun

Or do what I do - play in 50s rock'n'roll/rockabilly band. All 35-40 songs in out setlist are essentially the same, so if I forget how one of them goes I just play one of the ones I can remember instead, and nobody notices the difference! 

I was once in a band where I had a rather memorable fuck-up like that. I'd just joined the band and hadn't really learned the songs properly because, well they're all the same and as long as I can hear what the singer/bass player is doing then I can just wing it, like I did perfectly well with the last band.

At the brief set-up everything seemed fine - no monitors, but nice loud bass amp, and audible enough vocals. The one thing we didn't have time for was running through an actual song.

Started the set and found that somehow I couldn't hear *anything* except my own amp and the drum kit.

Oops. I was at least in time...

So now, instead of playing guitar in a rock'n'roll band I play bass in a punk-ish band that does Nirvana covers. Problem solved .

Grunfeld

With SoF I used to count two bars out loud to the drummer before I started to play the guitar riff in the next bar. 

"1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and" --  just so he could hear where the "1" lived. 

He doesn't need me to do it now.  But it totally solved the problem.

EDIT -- just seen @Keefy say the same thing.

roberty

Of all people a drummer should be able to find the downbeat. That's mad. Already been suggested but can the drummer not start on the high hat pedal first to establish the downbeat themselves?

Rocker

It is not a crime to not know the part. Life can get in the way sometimes