It's fun being in a casual band... at first

I’ve been playing in a casual band like that, and playing gigs. It is sometimes surprising how bad the band can be and most people don’t even notice. For me it is often irritating that the same mistakes are made. I’m no perfectionist but holy cow it gets bad sometimes.
I have learned to just expect poor quality and when the band actually gets it right I am always pleasantly surprised.

A casual band may have very high or very low standards. Ideally everyone would share similar views on matters such as quality and goals. IMHO the problem you mention is because there is not agreement on these factors. If everyone is happy but you, guess who is the problem?

A dose of reality is probably appropriate. I was a full-time pro for many years and played with lots of really great musicians. IMHO things rarely work 100% to our satisfaction. A situation may seem perfect at first, but it usually doesn't take long before this feeling starts to fade.

It is certainly okay to diplomatically voice your concerns. Maybe others agree and maybe some concessions/improvements can be made. Long range I think you probably need to make a decision to either stay put or look for a situation that better meets your needs. If you decide to stay, IMHO you need to be accepting of the status quo and avoid engaging in actions that will make everyone else miserable.

If it's a good hang then keep going!

At least you can get a band together. This place is dead from the neck up.

ArtechnikA said:

Some people just do it for fun. There is no goal, the journey is its own reward.
Some people like to play checkers, or canasta, or gin rummy. They don't study these games, they don't read books on strategy, and clearly there's no opportunity for individual practice. They've learned all they care to and they win or lose on opponents' lapses or the occasional spark of intuition.

Not for me, but I'm not one to criticize someone who just likes to play.

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Not a criticism? My statement was about MY perspective, as much as yours was!
If all THEY want to do is play? Good for them. Do it without me.

You selectively edited my post, to bolster your post!
My complete post:
“Why play in a group at all if there is no effort put towards making better sounds? Mistakes? Repeated?

I’m 60, and if there is no effort towards a goal of some sort?
Not worth MY time and effort!”

The original poster seemed to lament his lot.
So? Why characterize MY statement as criticism?

walking Bass said:

The joy of a lot of blues and jazz is they are based on improvisation, rather than set pieces. Why perform when you can jam?

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Yep, getting started with jazz can be daunting but it neatly sidesteps the annoyance of endless rehearsals with other people who may have different goals than you. You can really focus on your stuff at home and most cities have multiple jams so you can get the experience of playing with others which is very important.

/\/\3phist0 said:

Not a criticism? My statement was about MY perspective, as much as yours was!
...
So? Why characterize MY statement as criticism?

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I didn't, and I'm sorry you took it that way.
But you asked a question, which your reply in its entirety did not answer.
So I provided an answer, which merely adds a viewpoint into what motivates some..

Everything here is about individual perspective...

I feel for you OP. I threw good time and energy after bad for like 2 years when I moved where I'm at. Super nice coworker had a drummer and needed a bassist. For 2 years it was excuses and incomplete stuff. Show up with original drafts, never finished. Show up with songs that need lyrics, never written. Show up with a list of 3 covers. Wait and hash them all out in my own time and be ready for 3 weeks, only the drummer and I ever learned them fully.

I really enjoyed the hang with those guys but it should've been clear earlier that it was "lets get together every other week to drink beer and have a cigar. Sometimes we'll pick up instruments. Sometimes not. We'll have a rotating door of other personnel but this is for good hangs". I quit and the last time I was over to just watch football and have a few beers, no jamming expected, I found out they'd sorta just quit. They're done. Seems like it happened basically after I left. Some more rotating door stuff then just sorta ended in a whisper. Sometimes I feel bad. Sometimes not


There's nothing wrong with a casual band. I love casual bands. But a casual band to me is one that does the band thing, but they do it for themselves (whatever that means). To me, that means getting on stage and playing originals I love without giving a bother if the crowd likes it or even shows up. But still playing it tight and doing the thing.

even if a band were never going to play outside the rehearsal room or garage, if one or more of the others can't be bothered to learn the songs and make them tight, it's not the band for me. i enjoy improving, learning things, and playing with others so we end up with songs i can feel totally zen while playing them. timing speeding up or slowing down, people playing wrong parts, singers singing offkey or wrong lyrics - they ruin it for me completely if it keeps happening.

some people don't mind basically flaying around and pretending to be rockstars without putting the effort to play songs so they're all playing the same thing, and many of them are totally happy doing that. they have a blast. me, i find that stressful and extremely frustrating, so i do my best to never play in those bands, and i'll bet they'd like to avoid me, too.

BTDT. Hopefully it won't happen again, lol. It's painful to get together to practice or rehearse and the same old same old oozes out of our non-creative minds. I just don't want to go there again.....and I've been asked to re-join a band that was exactly that way when I played for them, 3 years ago.

Now, our current band does Billy Joel and Elton John tunes. We do covers, but are DEFINITELY NOT a Tribute band, lol. We have fun with the songs; keep them pretty close to the original recordings, but will change it up fairly often or extend songs if folks are dancing away. Fun band to be in !!!

hrodbert696 said:

I agree with the OP. In my experience a band is more fun if it behaves like a business. If it behaves like it's just for fun, it's more frustrating.

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i guess it depends on what one means by "for fun". it's not fun for me to suck or play with people who sound bad, soooo...

casual band doesn't have to = crappy.

Killing Floor said:

How casual? Khakis and short sleeves or are we talking Hawai'ian shirts and cargo shorts?

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And crocks. Don't forget crocks. IF I'm going to practice and rehearse, I want to play out. If a group of guys are striving to make things sound right, whose going to ever hear it?

Depends. I play in a "casual" jazz band - we meet once or twice a month, and gig once or twice a year. But these are the strongest group of musicians with which I've played in 40+ yeas of being in bands.