There is one essential element to a professional performer:
dedication. If you are not 100% committed to a performance, no one will buy it.
More importantly however, you let down your band mates. These are the people
depending on you to give a solid and committed effort on stage all the time. This
means that when you’re onstage, you are pushing yourself 110% and when you’re offstage,
you are thinking of how you can be better onstage. This is the cycle. This is
where we separate the men from the boys, so to speak.
Invest Your Time
If you want to be a low to mid-level cover band playing dive
bars and birthday parties that’s fine, do that but if you want to take it to
the next level and get downright seriously professional, you absolutely need to
push yourself.
Not only am I talking stage performance, but the homework has
to be done, all the time. When you reach a certain level of musicianship,
people expect you to deliver and in order to deliver serious chops you need to
be on your ‘A’ game. You don’t need to be fancy mind you, just tight. Everyone
needs to be on point all the time, or as close to it as possible. This means practicing material, taking notes,
working on your riffing, soloing, vocals, and swagger. All of it; at home and
at rehearsals.
Out of all the bands I’ve been in, only a handful have been
at that level where it can potentially go national. These are groups that
perform and tour regularly and have a following of loyal fans. Once you are at
this level, there is no flaking out, there is no half ass-ing it and there is
no stopping a performance midway through. It is not an option.
Don't Take It Personally
This is not a business built on friendship people, although
you can be great friends, but it’s the music that comes first. That’s harsh,
but necessary because if you can make it to the point where not getting paid is
not an option, the only question is how much will you get paid? Festivals,
national touring acts and yes, casinos only want the very best they can get so
you want to be your absolute best, don’t you? So do your fellow musicians.
This Is Serious Business
Besides, it is more fun when you take your music seriously
and accomplish great things on stage. At the peak of your performance, the
crowd feels the energy and you feed off of that energy and give it right back:
all engines are firing at this point. That feeling is amazing and why were in
this unforgiving and godforsaken business in the first place. Do you really
want to be the squeaky wheel at this point? Hell no! For my band, whichever
band I’m in at the time, this is how I run it, or how I expect it to be run:
1: A Band Is About
Music. We are in this band because we are musicians, we may happen to be
friends as well but the two are NOT the same. If you want to do something
together as friends, let’s play a round of Disc Golf.
2: Musicians Work
Hard. I expect everyone in the band to be working hard on being a better
musician all the time. I do and so should everyone else. Music is FUN but it is
also a lot of work to perform it really well so if you’re not dedicated to that
kind of effort, you are no musician.
3. You Will Be On
Time. There is no excuse for being late. We are getting paid and like any
other job, showing up on time is your responsibility. Check Sigalert.com, if
there is traffic, leave early. If we practice at, be there at 8. If load in is
at 3, be there at 3. We are trying to get hired again and if you establish a
pattern or develop a reputation of being late, guess what? You won’t get hired.
Remember, everyone is depending on you! If you simply cannot avoid being late, we're
talking car crashes, maybe you're hospitalized, your mother is dying or some extreme
circumstance and we understand but treat it like you would your day job and be on
time and at least have the courtesy to give us a call and let us know. We take it very seriously and so should you.
3: If You Continue To
Perform Poorly, You Will Be Cut. If you are struggling with your parts,
come to us, we can help you. However
If you really cared about the band, you would put in the extra effort and learn
all of your parts make them better and contribute to the improvement of the
bands performance on your own. We are trying to do something great and one poor
performer can ruin everyone’s hard work. If you are not putting in this kind of
effort, you don’t really care and you have no place in this band.
4. If The Performance
Is Intentionally Compromised, You Will Be Cut. I’m talking about deliberate
and intentional sabotage. This includes
arguing on stage, walking off stage, not showing up, or stopping the
performance in any way because of a poor attitude. If you make a mistake, you
suck it up, find the beat and get back in. The place to handle your grievances
is the following day at rehearsal or band meeting. There is simply no excuse to
sabotage a performance, especially for any kind of personal reasons.
Its Fun But This Is A Job
The reason for this hard-nosed approach is that everyone
else in the band is working this hard. Everyone else is giving it 110% to get
to where the group is and it is simply unfair to the rest of the band if you’re
just phoning it in from the sidelines. You make the whole group look bad. Why
should you get paid for that? You don’t. We’re compromising our pay for you and
if you’re not holding up your end, we won’t pay you; I have a kid to feed with
that money.
There is a lot riding on any given performance because you
never know what even the smallest gig might lead to if you are all in the
pocket. When music is your livelihood, you need to take it as seriously as any
job and so do your band members. In any job if you’re not performing at your
peak ability, you will eventually have to find another job. Music is the same.
All On The Same Page
As a musician, I have this inner drive to create music with
passion and it consumes my pain, and my joy and That has to be matched or even
exceeded by my fellow band members otherwise it’s just not being expressed.
More, it feels as if my music is being shit on when someone is simply going
through the motions or refuses to adapt and change with the flow of the
performance. It’s inborn. I can’t help
it. Moreover, if I’m doing my absolute best to make great music, I need
everyone else to do so as well otherwise I’m wasting valuable time. I don’t want
to waste my time.
I want to make something great that touches people and lifts
them up, gives them respite from their daily routine, and makes them forget about
their troubles, whatever they may be. To me, it’s a spiritual act and a labor
of love. This requires dedication and sacrifice. I have unfortunately had to
sacrifice friendships due to my commitment to make the best music possible
because, frankly, many of my friends just wanted to have some fun. They didn’t take
it as serious as I do and that’s fine, it really is but it does mean we can’t
be in a band together. It does not reflect any feelings of friendship one way
or another. Go have your fun band and be a friend to me and let me go do my
thing with others at or beyond my level.
Again, Do Not Take This Personally
Of course, this means I must be willing to do likewise and
be let go for the same reasons. I have been let go before and I am still
friends with these people. I’ve been kicked out of 2 bands, one because I was
not dedicated to the music they were making, and the other, because I simply
did not fit with what they wanted to accomplish. I am fine with that because it
opened new doors for me and allowed me to find likeminded players. I am still friends
with those bands to this day.
The moral of this story is that if you want to be a fun on
the side, house party cover band for a weekend here and there, do it with others
who want the same but if you want to be in a professional, gigging band then
you must make sacrifices and work extra hard to be a better player and be
willing to be a part of something greater than yourself. It takes time and
patience but it is very rewarding.
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