A lot of good points.

Lost a few drummers to "jealous" GFs/wives... in one band, it was a seasonal thing, every summer, we'd be auditioning & then training drummers, only to lose them the next spring.

Love of, and appreciation for, surf music probably comes first in my book-- it makes the playing and working out tunes that much easier. Shared goals & attitude is probably next-- i.e., everybody should be on the same page and comfortable with whatever you're doing.

Ego is part of showmanship to a point, but beyond that point, it is corrosive, whether it's "Hey, I'm not loud enough in the mix" or "Hey we never play any of my [crummy] songs".

Also, it helps to have an acknowledged leader, if only to handle some of the logistics of booking, getting paid, funding recordings etc.

In one band, it's our bass player, it's basically "his" band, in the sense of him being the major personality and responsible for most logistics and so forth. In another band, it's me... But in all cases, there's an even split of whatever pay we can muster (after expenses, which largely is limited to publicity, we usually handle our own transportation individually), and everybody is free to find gigs or suggest songs etc. But at the end of the day, the "leader" (so-called) is acknowledged to have the final call, because of the responsibility that comes with it being "his" band. It's a combination of democratic decision-making in some things, and deferring to the additional responsibility assumed by the "leader" in making things happen. Things have been pretty steady in both of those bands for years now, and everybody's cool with keeping it happening.

As long as we're not losing our shirts, having a good time, keeping friends & strangers interested enough to come out to our shows, and generally being part of a healthy music "scene", we're happy.

http://www.facebook.com/?sk=lf#!/rockinrio.delrosa

http://www.facebook.com/?sk=lf#!/TheHighTides

http://www.facebook.com/?sk=lf#!/pages/The-Blue-Demons

Rio wrote:

One last thing: within reason, to me, musicianship is probably less important than overall "fit", interest & appreciation of the genre.

Radio Free Bakersfield--60 Minutes of TWANG, CRUNCH, OOMPH.
http://radiofreebakersfield.com
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"Anyone out there have members of bands with controlling wives, young kids, new boy/girfriends, etc.?"

Yes.

Try super glue, duct tape, zip ties and a small butane soldering iron.
That has held most of my bands together.

http://www.reverbnation.com/thegreasemonkeyz

when i joined the group i'm playing with last may it told them that i wasn't the best of guitar players.....but, i would show up to practice, i would practice on my own, i do not have a substance abuse problem or any baggage or drama that i would bring to the band. i have my own equipment and my own transportation.

we had a band meeting tonight and all agreed we don't want the fun factor to go out of this. we all have jobs and don't want this to become just another job.

i know we aren't a surf band but the same rules should apply.

www.surfintheeye.com

Being a band member is like being married to 3 or 4 other people. There will be problems, the trick is to find like minded souls who can get along with each other, the musicianship comes after that IMHO. Learned that from a blues drummer, Bob "Pacemaker" Newham. spend a little time getting to know each other before you get serious about playing together.

All of the bands I've been in that seemed to work well have had one member who functioned as the leader. Its not too complicated: Most musicians want to play music that they like for audiences and to get paid something for doing so. If a bandleader can lead in a way that results in playing decent jobs for at least some money on a regular basis there's a good chance the band will stick together, and if someone leaves a good chance of replacing them.

Spend a little time together OUTSIDE the band - go for a meal, listen to some surf records, go to a show, do some stuff away from practice and gigs and get to know each other a bit.

Some good suggestions above.

https://www.facebook.com/lostremoleros/

Last edited: Sep 06, 2012 16:47:29

Expect that members will come and go..it's the way of it overall

www.northofmalibu.com

Surfbones wrote:

Anyone out there have members of bands with controlling wives, young kids, new boy/girfriends, etc.?

All the time. There's no simple answer to this - Its a fact of life that other people have lives, and in a band you need to live with that IMHO dammit.

I've been in and out of bands since 1979. The longest lasting ones were only in recent years, but the ones I have the fondest memories of were in the early '80s. Was that just my youthful inebriated existence? I dunno... I guess.

He who dies with the most tubes... wins

Surf Daddies

Last edited: Sep 08, 2012 03:21:31

I would think all the big money flowing in would keep a Surf band together.

Cats 'n' Strats, 'cause that's how I roll - I eat reverb for breakfast!

Fenderus Collecticus
Strat Blender Pot Modification HERE