These last days we (the band) got to a very interesting point…Costin, the lead singer told us that he would want to quit making music (not just the band). WTF?! Why? What happened? After all your life so far singing, making music, all of a sudden you decide to just stop. It doesn’t work like that, man!
So, I (given the wisdom I am gifted with, of course) tried to grasp WTF is actually going on. One of my beliefs is that most of the issues in life when it comes to people is that their (unshared) expectations don’t meet. So, could it be that?
We had a discussion, me and Costin (after all we are like 10 m away all day long, I have the office right on the flour above him and we have a long history behind us), to see what’s going on. Indeed, he felt like we are not heading anywhere, the band doesn’t have a clear direction, this kind of things. I should have seen it…
Given that, I tried to confront the rest of the guys, so everybody speak his mind about what each one expects from the band, where we see the band, what we should do, where we should go from here, why everybody is in the band at this point, this kind of things, to try to come to a common conclusion everybody should agree with.
The fact is that now, that I have spoken to them, it’s me the one that is a bit confused…
I mean:
- 2 (out of 5) go for the big scene(they say no reserve), same style, rock, pop-rock, recordings, video, etc
- 1 (myself) go for the big scene also, same things as above, but with the reserve that if it would happen (which usually doesn’t without a big and maintained effort from the band(!!!)) none of us would probably be able to live up to it (given the fact that it would imply a total change of lifestyle). I love to play, study, learn what I don’t know and I realize the music is so damn huge that I know so little of it and I discover each and every day new grounds that I love to explore. That’s my reason for playing…
- 1 sees it a s a hobby, which is not a bad thing as long as you treat it with responsibility. I mean from my point of view, seeing it as a hobby is at least as important as a business because you invest the best you can in yourself, so you should study because you love it, you should buy gears because you love it, you should spend time playing because you love it and not think about the return on your investment.
- 1 needs a change. He asks for playing at the weddings, a totally different kind of music that none of the others enjoy, no overdrive, no rock, something that would put us out of the direction we once had (the one where we were heading for the big scene) and I don’t agree with that. And the others think the same. He goes for the money, for an extra job playing at weddings, music that none of us like, know or want to learn. It’s just a different musical universe that none of us like to explore.
Now it is a difficult situation since we are long time friends, play together since 12-13 years and with some of the guys even longer, but the situation put us in a position where we don’t know where to go to from here, since it seems we don’t have a common goal anymore and we clearly need to find that goal if we want to continue.
At this point I am trying to define some common goal from all I could get from them, to define some guiding lines that i would like to present to the guys, to try to define our way to get there, in order to find the our way again.
And most of all, we would need to find our pleasure of playing music for the sake of it, because this is the reason we all started this, isn’t it?
Did you experienced such a situation? How did you handle it?
Please share!
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11 Responses to “About crisis. Not financial, not economical.Band crisis…”
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Ovidiu OprescuRomania, 33 years
Playing the guitar since 17 and enjoying every moment of it!
Come meet me also on Mixx, StumbleUpon, Technorati, Digg, MySpace, MyBlogLog, Twitter, BlogCatalog
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PuddnHead
August 1st, 2010 at 4:41 am
Good to see you back posting. I’d would politely tell the person wanting to play weddings to find another band to play with. Going back to playing weddings is a step backwards. This person should understand that this is not good for the band nor for the other members musical development.
If the wedding player is truly a friend then he or she should withdraw from your band out of respect for friends.
Replace the wedding player and keep on rocking. If the wedding player is truly a friend then he or she should understand and remain a friend.
Ovidiu
August 2nd, 2010 at 10:56 pm
We are long time friends, indeed, but he always had this strange mix inside him: one side of him used to be 100% Maiden fan while the other side always looked on a different direction. It was exactly what defines him as a musician so we all lived with that, he used to compose beautiful songs just because he could bring something different to the table. Now he says this music kind of makes him tired, the overdrive, loud drums and everything else don’t work anymore. We suggested him to start such a band to play at weddings but he says he has no time to also take care of it. At this point we are a bit lost and we need to find a way, otherwise it won’t be good…
Dragos
August 6th, 2010 at 9:04 am
It’s the love for music that should keep you all together . If any of you doesn’t feel attracted to it anymore then you should have a breaak and in the end those who really love music will come back stronger.
Nice to see you back !
Ovidiu
August 6th, 2010 at 9:16 am
Indeed, Dragos, this should be the engine behind it, unfortunately, as I like to say, in the meantime…life happens and we all find ourselves caught in the middle of something else and sometimes you forget what’t important to you.
Alan Learn And Master Guitar Guy
August 13th, 2010 at 1:14 am
Sorry to hear about your crisis. One thing that will always kill a bands success is not having a long term plan. Looks like it has caused problems for you. Forget about the weddings, man, with no interest, it’s a gig that will soon die. It sounds to me as if you guys should split and get with other bands that will fulfill your wants and dreams. Good luck.
Alex F
August 18th, 2010 at 8:54 am
Nice to see you here one again. The blog contains really a very nice collection. I am regularly watching it but this is my first comment. Keep it up.
Cheap Guitars
August 25th, 2010 at 5:25 pm
Do you think it would help if you could somehow get more or better gigs that brought in more money, that it would help get everyone on the same page and more motivated to work this out?
I hope you guys can work it out and hit it big one day.
kirk
Guitar Lesson Reviews
November 17th, 2010 at 3:46 am
Adding to ALan’s point, you definately need a long term plan to have a long term chance at success. The big problem is that the long term vision often shifts with time. Its like chasing a constantly moving target.
Guitarhabits
December 3rd, 2010 at 7:47 pm
Hi Ovidiu,
Are you still updating your blog?
It has been a while since you last publshed a new post.
Looking forward to some new stuff!
You’ve got a great blog.
Klaus
from Guitarhabits
Rick Toone
December 19th, 2010 at 11:24 pm
A wise friend I once performed with made the analogy that creating music with a group is much like four or five people all trying to imagine a floating glowing golden ball into existence. If everyone can see it, and concentration is equal, the ball will exist.
Once concentration wanes, for any reason, the ball vanishes.
The challenge is to unhesitatingly substitute musicians until the energy and concentration is sustainable. Clinging in hope to a non-functioning situation only wastes valuable time. Best of luck! Keep following your passion…
Eugene
June 29th, 2011 at 8:43 pm
yeah man, band crisises are tough, some people just dont want to put someone else’s shoes on.