If you play in a trad band, what's your motivation to do so? How does playing in a band enhance your musical life? At what point did you feel musically ready to play in a band?
And if you're (deliberately) not in a band, why not?
I play with a band every now and then for re-enactments. I enjoy ensemble playing, I love the feel of the melody passing between instruments and voices. I've been playing in ensembles since I was six or seven so I don't really remember.
I play in one on an occasional basis when our schedules put us in the same neighborhood at the same time. I do it because I like the people and they ask. I haven't a clue why. Why they ask that is. I know why I like them. They're likable. They're way over my head, but then that pushes me which is good as well. I've never felt musically ready to play in a band in the first place. Maybe in time.
I'm being solicited for another, a Dubliners clone type deal. That one's easy. I'll do it for the money. Steady work once a week that'll keep the rent paid, guarundamteed. There isn't a whole lot of that around in a music world these days. I don't expect to enjoy it much, but then I don't like stocking shelves either, which doesn't pay nearly as well.
Other than that I've spent over 30 years deliberately not being in a band, which is one of the reasons I don't feel I'm musically ready for it, because you never are until you've been in one for awhile. It's a learned skill. You have to learn it by doing it, just like everything else in life.
Why? Well, frankly I think being in a band sucks, and that's a good enough reason for me.
I'd played with a band on an occasional basis -- a gig every month or so, with intermittent practices/jamming in-between -- for several years ago back in the 1980s, and found it both musically and personally enjoyable. I like crafting arrangements for tune sets and songs, so I've tried to find others who bring innovative ideas to the music. Most of all, by working with other people on a regular basis I learn more about the music, and how well I play it, where I need to improve, etc.
Finding other people interested in a band-type situation is near the top of my list now, in fact. Having gotten back into playing regularly these past few years, and in the process devoting more time and attention to improving my technique and overall musical knowledge, I feel that being in a group setting will once again enable me to refine and expand on what I've learned.
I've been playing in a couple of "occasional" bands the past couple of years, and have loved the experience. The only problem is that our various schedules, and general stations in life, don't match up particularly well at the moment -- some of my musical colleagues are away at college, for instance -- and so our time together is pretty limited. (One of these bands will be playing at a festival in January, however, so we're putting our energy towards that.)
I like to compare musical relationships with romantic relationships (and did so a few years ago in a post in this forum, in fact). When you arrange to play with someone outside of a session context, it's like a first date: "Will he/she like me/my music?" After the first few times you play together, you might start to wonder, "How far does he/she want to go? Where is this relationship headed? What kind of commitment will he/she make?" And if you don't get together for a practice or jam for a period of several weeks, perhaps you start thinking "Am _I_ the only one who cares about this relationship?"
(And if your musical acquaintance mentions that he/she has a gig with someone else on tap, do you get jealous?)
Now, granted that some of the best relationships, musical or romantic, come about by chance and in ways that might defy one's expectations. But I do think most of us at least have an ideal as to what we would want in either kind of relationship, a certain favorable combination of experience, temperament and maturity. (I guess one exception to this premise is the degree of physical attraction; I'm married, after all.) The question is how well somebody measures up to those ideals, and how much you might be willing to compromise them.
The minus side of being in a band (The case against)
1. You have to lug around and set up a p.a.
2. You can't go home when you feel like it
3. You can't stay till you want to
4. People will ask you to play or do stupid things. They are paying you or they know the person paying you so you can't just tell them to f*** Off.
5. You will probably grow to hate or despise at least one of the other band members.
6. You will get paranoid as you start to fear they all hate you.
7. If you do something that works or sounds good, then you are condemned to do it every time you have a gig.
depending on the gig, you don't necessarily have to be very good, musically.
It helps, of course, but crowds can be fooled by an easy confidence and a few gimmicks. Crowds are DUMB. They're only one step up from a mob.
Unless they know their trad, and or sitting on chairs, in rows, in which case they're an audience and you'd better be bloody good otherwise they may just turn into a mob and start a riot, like that one time at the Rite of Spring premier. Or worse - they'll snigger.
Audiences are cruel, demanding beasts. Unless they love you, in which case they're perfectly lovely and may start to purr.
Bands are good.
It's not so much how good you are individually, but the sound you make together that counts. That really sorts the sheep from the goats and puts a lot of egos' noses out of joint.
And even if the crowd knows feckall about music, they will suss whether you are putting your all into it or not.
But - every point Ottery makes is true. Except that you can't tell them to feck orf.
I do play in bands. Two motivations - musical expression/gratification and making money. It isn't easy to achieve both, but I can assure you that it is possible. I did so for several years at one time, and have done so occasionally throughout my life. At the moment it isn't happening that way for me, but that is probably down to me not putting enough effort into making it happen.
A big part of my musical life is spent teaching, and having new, interesting and positive musical experiences really helps keep my teaching fresh. Plus it's great to share your own musical ideas with listeners.
Ready? I was born ready!
I'm in a band but we're kind of mothballed. I dep with lots of bands meanwhile. Beginning to think about some new projects - who knows.
I'm putting a so called 'band' together for a charity concert next week.
For me, this is the ideal motivation, for not only does it give me a chance to play music with good musicians, but we get a chance to play our music in front of a whole load of people who may rarely, or perhaps have never had an opportunity to hear, ITM live. This is reason enough for getting together, & the giving to charity element is just a bonus.
I suspect some musicians feel an urge to demonstrate their prowess, & show off if you like, & while I don't fit into this group myself, not having enough talent or showmanship in me blood, I don't have a problem with this approach.
I know many class musicians who enjoy 'performing' & in doing so, they do a lot to inspire lesser musicians to work harder & even non musicians to have a go, so fair play.
As far as a full time band goes, I tried that for over a year & although we had good crack I wouldn't exactly recommend it if music is your objective, for many of the same reasons that Ottery so wisely mentioned. But the worst factor for me was that I grew to absolutely HATE certain sets of tunes that we ended up playing every night - & we usually played six nights a week!
well we started our band unintentionally!! we were practising for the fleadh and thats when our band got to know each other. one of the fellas was asked about a month later to get a few musicans together to play at a party so he chose me and the other two members of our band. that was the first tome that we played together.
people heard that we were quiet good so soon pubs were asking for us so we just ended up playing together for the summer and we're still together.
i still don't feel musically ready but thats not going to stop me as i enjoy playing in a band so much!!
motivation? well we all adore ITM. we could play all night if we were allowed, but of course money does have a part to play in it!! since i've started playing with the band, i feel that i've got more confidence in my playing, though i would still never dream of getting up to do a solo. in fact, it would be my worst nightmare. i also feel that i've picked up alot of tunes from the other members of the band without actually meaning to do so, if that makes any sense...
I very much enjoy performing but have never made anything steady of it. I was in a "trad" band in college for a total of two gigs, which was fun. I played guitar and viola da gamba. (MOstly because it was thought to be cooler looking than an electric bass and I can't play/don't own an upright or a cello).
I did the Pipe band thing ad nauseam in my youth. A lot of great times but it was hard to leave town every weekend when my social life in high school started to get interesting.
I would love to play for contra dances and such about once a month or so. .. people definitely hear the music, yet they aren't completely focused on the band.
I used to try to make bands left and right, when my ego outweighed my skill by perhaps seven hundred percent. I'm a bit wiser now and don't try; I have never been in a serious band. However, I have a deeply rooted desire to be in one. Why? It's simple... in the few times I have ever gotten up onto a stage in front of a lot of people, it's the biggest rush there is, in my opinion. It's a terrific feeling, and sometimes when listening to or watching concert footage of my favorite trad bands, I feel I'd do anything to get up there.
I can imagine some of the trials and torments... but if I ever get into a band, it will have one string attached: "If this stops being fun and starts being work, we quit." Unlikely and potentially ridiculous as it may be, I'd love to be a full time performing musician someday. In my opinion, it's worth it.
"If this stops being fun and starts being work, we quit"
But at any given time, there is always one member who feels like that.
The only way to make it work is to push on through those moments for the sake of the greater good.
But these days, it's all about "Me, me me"
"7. If you do something that works or sounds good, then you are condemned to do it every time you have a gig."
Not nessrily so in my experience of playing for 'ceilidh' dances.
There are two ways of approaching the content of your gig.
1) Set up a fixed show, and do it every time (believe it or not, most stand up comedy works like this - same adlibs every time) - this probably pays better because you get well polished, but rots your soul.
or
2) Have a wide enough variety that when a particular dance comes up you can play what you feel like playing for the punters to dance to.
We do the latter. We're not in it for the money - although it's nice, we do it because it's a way of having a kind of 'expenses paid' session. We don't hate or despise anyone in the band, we do it as a pleasurable excursion for a bunch of mates (and matesses)
Q says . . . "depending on the gig, you don't necessarily have to be very good, musically. "
That has been my experience. By chance it has come about that we have played most of our dances the past year for the social events and weddings among various classical orchestral organisations, some of them "world class" professional orchestras - but they never seem to worry about the fact that I can't even make the same mistake twice over, they just love the idea that music can be so much fun.
Easy to answer this one. If there were sessions in our area then I'd have a choice. But there are so few people playing ITM round here that it takes some detective work to find them. And once you've found each other you tend to make it a regular date.
Still I enjoy playing in a band because it's fun to work on your arrangements. To make up sets and try new things and then see if they work. And to spend evenings in good company with time for a chat. I also enjoy performing on a stage and to get positive reactions from the listeners. I've never done more than 8 - 10 gigs a year so I always spent more money than I got. This year we've done a grand total of 2 gigs but that's alright when you consider it your hobby.
I decided I was good enough for my first band when I could do some fingerpicking on the guitar. Everybody seemed happy with it. Gone are the days...
gigs this year - towards 50.
I play in a band because I enjoy playing for dancing and watching dancers enjoying the music at the "right" speed.
The problem with many amateur bands is the lack of a leader - too many players and not enough musicians.
How many leaders can you have in a band?
I enjoy playing in a band--the one I am in with my wife though, is on a sabattical--we all got tired of the work involved. But we have three hours of solid material and sets, good stage patter, and a disciplined approach to things, so if someone called us for a gig, we could polish things up and rise to the occasion. I would definitely be involved in other band settings if I was asked, but right now, no one is asking me.
This really is one of the best things about the "trad" seen - it's one of the few types of music where one can play regularly with other people without joining a band. I also play electric guitar and bass, but have little desire to play the kind of music that people around my area would pay money to see. So I rarely get to play with other people on those instruments. But there's a healthy session seen to keep me off the streets. This was the reason I sold a wonderful 12-string Rickenbacker - so I could fund a very nice flute.
The way a band comes together certainly can make a difference in one's expectations, level of commitment, etc.
Most bands, I'd think, come about "organically": Friends or acquaintances who play together regularly at sessions, then gather on their own and eventually decide to make a more formal partnership. But as others have pointed out, sometimes bands are formed for a particular need.
My first band, a trio, was something in between. When I first moved to Boston, I ended up living right near an old friend of mine I hadn't seen in a few years, and who had become a very decent fiddler in the interim. We started working on medleys and songs largely just for our amusement, until we decided it'd be nice to get some gigs. But we felt we needed at least one other person to make it work, so we sounded the call in our music circles until we got somebody who was interested. We didn't know the guy at all, but he listened to what we did, we listened to him, and decided to give it a try. And it worked quite well.
My more recent bands came about largely for specific events. A friend of mine was asked to put together a group to play at an open house for an arts center, and recruited me and another person (whom I didn't know). As it happened, we three attended the same music camp about a week before the gig, so we put together a basic repertoire. We enjoyed it enough to try and gather regularly to jam and practice.
In another case, a few friends of mine invited me to join them in playing at a benefit concert. The friend who made the invitation, however, also had something more long-range in mind; having played primarily for contra dancing, she was interested in exploring a "performance" band type of experience. We set a goal of auditioning for a festival, and having been hired, are now practicing in earnest for it.
As I noted in my earlier follow-up, though, both are very "occasional" bands, with pretty sporadic opportunities to rehearse or perform. So that's why I continue to look around for other people who might be interested in playing as an ensemble, with an eye toward gigging. Most of the people in my immediate music circle tend to have all the commitments they can handle, so I reckon I'll have to widen my circle more.
Ottery, I love your commens! However, a big plus is that you get to play in places you might otherwise never have dreamed of. As a soloist, you definitely would get involved differently to how a band would.
There's one other thing - being in a band means you get to go away on tour, which means that for a few days, you can forget the normal rules of existence and just do what you like with a group of (mostly!) like-minded people.
And yes, occasionally it can be sh*tty because you are part of something bigger than you, but that's why it's so fantastic too!
...and some of the wildest things ever (playing in a women's prison, dancing in a leprachaun outfit to the bagpipes while in the ferry terminal, being next to a huge papier-mache statue of Osama Bin Laden - none of these would have happened without being in the band. And I've lived to tell the tale!
playin' in the band?
playin' in the band?
If you play in a trad band, what's your motivation to do so? How does playing in a band enhance your musical life? At what point did you feel musically ready to play in a band?
And if you're (deliberately) not in a band, why not?
# Posted on November 8th 2005 by Tintin
Re: playin' in the band?
I play with a band every now and then for re-enactments. I enjoy ensemble playing, I love the feel of the melody passing between instruments and voices. I've been playing in ensembles since I was six or seven so I don't really remember.
# Posted on November 8th 2005 by musicfan
Re: playin' in the band?
I play in one on an occasional basis when our schedules put us in the same neighborhood at the same time. I do it because I like the people and they ask. I haven't a clue why. Why they ask that is. I know why I like them. They're likable. They're way over my head, but then that pushes me which is good as well. I've never felt musically ready to play in a band in the first place. Maybe in time.
I'm being solicited for another, a Dubliners clone type deal. That one's easy. I'll do it for the money. Steady work once a week that'll keep the rent paid, guarundamteed. There isn't a whole lot of that around in a music world these days. I don't expect to enjoy it much, but then I don't like stocking shelves either, which doesn't pay nearly as well.
Other than that I've spent over 30 years deliberately not being in a band, which is one of the reasons I don't feel I'm musically ready for it, because you never are until you've been in one for awhile. It's a learned skill. You have to learn it by doing it, just like everything else in life.
Why? Well, frankly I think being in a band sucks, and that's a good enough reason for me.
KFG
# Posted on November 8th 2005 by KFG
Re: playin' in the band?
I'd played with a band on an occasional basis -- a gig every month or so, with intermittent practices/jamming in-between -- for several years ago back in the 1980s, and found it both musically and personally enjoyable. I like crafting arrangements for tune sets and songs, so I've tried to find others who bring innovative ideas to the music. Most of all, by working with other people on a regular basis I learn more about the music, and how well I play it, where I need to improve, etc.
Finding other people interested in a band-type situation is near the top of my list now, in fact. Having gotten back into playing regularly these past few years, and in the process devoting more time and attention to improving my technique and overall musical knowledge, I feel that being in a group setting will once again enable me to refine and expand on what I've learned.
I've been playing in a couple of "occasional" bands the past couple of years, and have loved the experience. The only problem is that our various schedules, and general stations in life, don't match up particularly well at the moment -- some of my musical colleagues are away at college, for instance -- and so our time together is pretty limited. (One of these bands will be playing at a festival in January, however, so we're putting our energy towards that.)
I like to compare musical relationships with romantic relationships (and did so a few years ago in a post in this forum, in fact). When you arrange to play with someone outside of a session context, it's like a first date: "Will he/she like me/my music?" After the first few times you play together, you might start to wonder, "How far does he/she want to go? Where is this relationship headed? What kind of commitment will he/she make?" And if you don't get together for a practice or jam for a period of several weeks, perhaps you start thinking "Am _I_ the only one who cares about this relationship?"
(And if your musical acquaintance mentions that he/she has a gig with someone else on tap, do you get jealous?)
Now, granted that some of the best relationships, musical or romantic, come about by chance and in ways that might defy one's expectations. But I do think most of us at least have an ideal as to what we would want in either kind of relationship, a certain favorable combination of experience, temperament and maturity. (I guess one exception to this premise is the degree of physical attraction; I'm married, after all.) The question is how well somebody measures up to those ideals, and how much you might be willing to compromise them.
# Posted on November 8th 2005 by sts
Re: playin' in the band?
The minus side of being in a band (The case against)
1. You have to lug around and set up a p.a.
2. You can't go home when you feel like it
3. You can't stay till you want to
4. People will ask you to play or do stupid things. They are paying you or they know the person paying you so you can't just tell them to f*** Off.
5. You will probably grow to hate or despise at least one of the other band members.
6. You will get paranoid as you start to fear they all hate you.
7. If you do something that works or sounds good, then you are condemned to do it every time you have a gig.
The plus point is that you might get some money.
# Posted on November 8th 2005 by Ottery
Re: playin' in the band?
depending on the gig, you don't necessarily have to be very good, musically.
It helps, of course, but crowds can be fooled by an easy confidence and a few gimmicks. Crowds are DUMB. They're only one step up from a mob.
Unless they know their trad, and or sitting on chairs, in rows, in which case they're an audience and you'd better be bloody good otherwise they may just turn into a mob and start a riot, like that one time at the Rite of Spring premier. Or worse - they'll snigger.
Audiences are cruel, demanding beasts. Unless they love you, in which case they're perfectly lovely and may start to purr.
# Posted on November 8th 2005 by Q
Re: playin' in the band?
Bands are good.
It's not so much how good you are individually, but the sound you make together that counts. That really sorts the sheep from the goats and puts a lot of egos' noses out of joint.
And even if the crowd knows feckall about music, they will suss whether you are putting your all into it or not.
But - every point Ottery makes is true. Except that you can't tell them to feck orf.
# Posted on November 8th 2005 by Bren
Re: playin' in the band?
I do play in bands. Two motivations - musical expression/gratification and making money. It isn't easy to achieve both, but I can assure you that it is possible. I did so for several years at one time, and have done so occasionally throughout my life. At the moment it isn't happening that way for me, but that is probably down to me not putting enough effort into making it happen.
A big part of my musical life is spent teaching, and having new, interesting and positive musical experiences really helps keep my teaching fresh. Plus it's great to share your own musical ideas with listeners.
Ready? I was born ready!
I'm in a band but we're kind of mothballed. I dep with lots of bands meanwhile. Beginning to think about some new projects - who knows.
# Posted on November 8th 2005 by kris
Re: playin' in the band?
I'm putting a so called 'band' together for a charity concert next week.
For me, this is the ideal motivation, for not only does it give me a chance to play music with good musicians, but we get a chance to play our music in front of a whole load of people who may rarely, or perhaps have never had an opportunity to hear, ITM live. This is reason enough for getting together, & the giving to charity element is just a bonus.
I suspect some musicians feel an urge to demonstrate their prowess, & show off if you like, & while I don't fit into this group myself, not having enough talent or showmanship in me blood, I don't have a problem with this approach.
I know many class musicians who enjoy 'performing' & in doing so, they do a lot to inspire lesser musicians to work harder & even non musicians to have a go, so fair play.
As far as a full time band goes, I tried that for over a year & although we had good crack I wouldn't exactly recommend it if music is your objective, for many of the same reasons that Ottery so wisely mentioned. But the worst factor for me was that I grew to absolutely HATE certain sets of tunes that we ended up playing every night - & we usually played six nights a week!
# Posted on November 8th 2005 by Ptarmigan
Re: playin' in the band?
well we started our band unintentionally!! we were practising for the fleadh and thats when our band got to know each other. one of the fellas was asked about a month later to get a few musicans together to play at a party so he chose me and the other two members of our band. that was the first tome that we played together.
people heard that we were quiet good so soon pubs were asking for us so we just ended up playing together for the summer and we're still together.
i still don't feel musically ready but thats not going to stop me as i enjoy playing in a band so much!!
motivation? well we all adore ITM. we could play all night if we were allowed, but of course money does have a part to play in it!! since i've started playing with the band, i feel that i've got more confidence in my playing, though i would still never dream of getting up to do a solo. in fact, it would be my worst nightmare. i also feel that i've picked up alot of tunes from the other members of the band without actually meaning to do so, if that makes any sense...
# Posted on November 9th 2005 by siobhánmc
Re: playin' in the band?
I very much enjoy performing but have never made anything steady of it. I was in a "trad" band in college for a total of two gigs, which was fun. I played guitar and viola da gamba. (MOstly because it was thought to be cooler looking than an electric bass and I can't play/don't own an upright or a cello).
I did the Pipe band thing ad nauseam in my youth. A lot of great times but it was hard to leave town every weekend when my social life in high school started to get interesting.
I would love to play for contra dances and such about once a month or so. .. people definitely hear the music, yet they aren't completely focused on the band.
# Posted on November 9th 2005 by wormdiet
Re: playin' in the band?
I used to try to make bands left and right, when my ego outweighed my skill by perhaps seven hundred percent. I'm a bit wiser now and don't try; I have never been in a serious band. However, I have a deeply rooted desire to be in one. Why? It's simple... in the few times I have ever gotten up onto a stage in front of a lot of people, it's the biggest rush there is, in my opinion. It's a terrific feeling, and sometimes when listening to or watching concert footage of my favorite trad bands, I feel I'd do anything to get up there.
I can imagine some of the trials and torments... but if I ever get into a band, it will have one string attached: "If this stops being fun and starts being work, we quit." Unlikely and potentially ridiculous as it may be, I'd love to be a full time performing musician someday. In my opinion, it's worth it.
# Posted on November 9th 2005 by Zazzaliss
Re: playin' in the band?
"If this stops being fun and starts being work, we quit"
But at any given time, there is always one member who feels like that.
The only way to make it work is to push on through those moments for the sake of the greater good.
But these days, it's all about "Me, me me"
# Posted on November 9th 2005 by Bren
Re: playin' in the band?
'Tis nice ta go ta pub and come out wit money instead of going in and wasting it 'cause like all other notherners I'm water tight.
On a serious note I like playing in a group as its fun and its like being rewarded for practicing the routine
# Posted on November 9th 2005 by Ripthecalico
Re: playin' in the band?
"7. If you do something that works or sounds good, then you are condemned to do it every time you have a gig."
Not nessrily so in my experience of playing for 'ceilidh' dances.
There are two ways of approaching the content of your gig.
1) Set up a fixed show, and do it every time (believe it or not, most stand up comedy works like this - same adlibs every time) - this probably pays better because you get well polished, but rots your soul.
or
2) Have a wide enough variety that when a particular dance comes up you can play what you feel like playing for the punters to dance to.
We do the latter. We're not in it for the money - although it's nice, we do it because it's a way of having a kind of 'expenses paid' session. We don't hate or despise anyone in the band, we do it as a pleasurable excursion for a bunch of mates (and matesses)
Q says . . . "depending on the gig, you don't necessarily have to be very good, musically. "
That has been my experience. By chance it has come about that we have played most of our dances the past year for the social events and weddings among various classical orchestral organisations, some of them "world class" professional orchestras - but they never seem to worry about the fact that I can't even make the same mistake twice over, they just love the idea that music can be so much fun.
# Posted on November 9th 2005 by showaddydadito
Re: playin' in the band?
Easy to answer this one. If there were sessions in our area then I'd have a choice. But there are so few people playing ITM round here that it takes some detective work to find them. And once you've found each other you tend to make it a regular date.
Still I enjoy playing in a band because it's fun to work on your arrangements. To make up sets and try new things and then see if they work. And to spend evenings in good company with time for a chat. I also enjoy performing on a stage and to get positive reactions from the listeners. I've never done more than 8 - 10 gigs a year so I always spent more money than I got. This year we've done a grand total of 2 gigs but that's alright when you consider it your hobby.
I decided I was good enough for my first band when I could do some fingerpicking on the guitar. Everybody seemed happy with it. Gone are the days...
# Posted on November 9th 2005 by kuec
Re: playin' in the band?
gigs this year - towards 50.
I play in a band because I enjoy playing for dancing and watching dancers enjoying the music at the "right" speed.
The problem with many amateur bands is the lack of a leader - too many players and not enough musicians.
How many leaders can you have in a band?
# Posted on November 9th 2005 by geoffwright
Re: playin' in the band?
I enjoy playing in a band--the one I am in with my wife though, is on a sabattical--we all got tired of the work involved. But we have three hours of solid material and sets, good stage patter, and a disciplined approach to things, so if someone called us for a gig, we could polish things up and rise to the occasion. I would definitely be involved in other band settings if I was asked, but right now, no one is asking me.
# Posted on November 9th 2005 by AlBrown
Re: playin' in the band?
This really is one of the best things about the "trad" seen - it's one of the few types of music where one can play regularly with other people without joining a band. I also play electric guitar and bass, but have little desire to play the kind of music that people around my area would pay money to see. So I rarely get to play with other people on those instruments. But there's a healthy session seen to keep me off the streets. This was the reason I sold a wonderful 12-string Rickenbacker - so I could fund a very nice flute.
# Posted on November 9th 2005 by wormdiet
Re: playin' in the band?
The way a band comes together certainly can make a difference in one's expectations, level of commitment, etc.
Most bands, I'd think, come about "organically": Friends or acquaintances who play together regularly at sessions, then gather on their own and eventually decide to make a more formal partnership. But as others have pointed out, sometimes bands are formed for a particular need.
My first band, a trio, was something in between. When I first moved to Boston, I ended up living right near an old friend of mine I hadn't seen in a few years, and who had become a very decent fiddler in the interim. We started working on medleys and songs largely just for our amusement, until we decided it'd be nice to get some gigs. But we felt we needed at least one other person to make it work, so we sounded the call in our music circles until we got somebody who was interested. We didn't know the guy at all, but he listened to what we did, we listened to him, and decided to give it a try. And it worked quite well.
My more recent bands came about largely for specific events. A friend of mine was asked to put together a group to play at an open house for an arts center, and recruited me and another person (whom I didn't know). As it happened, we three attended the same music camp about a week before the gig, so we put together a basic repertoire. We enjoyed it enough to try and gather regularly to jam and practice.
In another case, a few friends of mine invited me to join them in playing at a benefit concert. The friend who made the invitation, however, also had something more long-range in mind; having played primarily for contra dancing, she was interested in exploring a "performance" band type of experience. We set a goal of auditioning for a festival, and having been hired, are now practicing in earnest for it.
As I noted in my earlier follow-up, though, both are very "occasional" bands, with pretty sporadic opportunities to rehearse or perform. So that's why I continue to look around for other people who might be interested in playing as an ensemble, with an eye toward gigging. Most of the people in my immediate music circle tend to have all the commitments they can handle, so I reckon I'll have to widen my circle more.
# Posted on November 9th 2005 by sts
Re: playin' in the band?
Ottery, I love your commens! However, a big plus is that you get to play in places you might otherwise never have dreamed of. As a soloist, you definitely would get involved differently to how a band would.
There's one other thing - being in a band means you get to go away on tour, which means that for a few days, you can forget the normal rules of existence and just do what you like with a group of (mostly!) like-minded people.
And yes, occasionally it can be sh*tty because you are part of something bigger than you, but that's why it's so fantastic too!
# Posted on November 10th 2005 by Mark Harmer
Re: playin' in the band?
...and some of the wildest things ever (playing in a women's prison, dancing in a leprachaun outfit to the bagpipes while in the ferry terminal, being next to a huge papier-mache statue of Osama Bin Laden - none of these would have happened without being in the band. And I've lived to tell the tale!
# Posted on November 10th 2005 by Mark Harmer
Re: playin' in the band?
On two occasions in the last year, young women dancing near the front of the stage lifted their shirts and bared their breasts at the band (us).
Now I bet you don't get that at sessions very often!
# Posted on November 10th 2005 by Bren
Re: playin' in the band?
Where was this? I must go!
# Posted on November 10th 2005 by Mark Harmer
Re: playin' in the band?
Where? Right near the front of the stage.
# Posted on November 10th 2005 by Bren
Re: playin' in the band?
Tease!
# Posted on November 11th 2005 by Mark Harmer