Guitar player... fired. We all saw it coming.

tb-player

tb-player

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Mar 6, 2019
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#1
You may remember me telling the story of the guitar player who didn't like my groovy blue bass. A number of responses said I was being thin-skinned and needed to get over it. Others said I should give him a chance since he was the new guy, just trying to fit in. And there were a few folks who said that his true-colors would eventually get the best of him.

Well, that last one happened at last night's practice.

It started a couple of months ago when we were recording an original. He showed up at the recording studio stoned. His tempo was off and his guitar was out of tune. None of his tracks were usable. We had to have someone else overdub all his guitar parts.

But then we played out a few weeks ago and he nailed it. He did a really great job. So we assumed maybe he's just not a studio kind of guy.

Fast forward to last night. The band leader asked him if he wanted to sing a tune. So he suggested 'Gimme Shelter'. Not really our style, but we played it and it worked. However, at the solos, we weren't sure if we were hanging on the root or playing the chorus chords. So the entire band hung on the root, like we were playing the verse. This obviously wasn't what this guitar player wanted us to play. So he glared at our lead guitarist, as if to say "What are you doing??" (keep in mind, we've played this song once, so far). He then stopped the song and looked at the lead guitarist and said, "What are you doing? You've got to play the song!!"

We all looked around awkwardly. The lead guitarist was obviously angry at this outburst, but he bit his lip and we finished the tune.

After practice, I asked him (the lead guitarist) if he was ok. He was not. But he kept his cool. Then the band leader walked up and said, "That guy's out! He doesn't fit in and he's dragging us all down." No one argued with him.

Today, I called the band leader to check in, now that everyone's cooled down a bit. He doubled-down. Even though the guy can play, he doesn't fit in with the vibe of our band. Regarding the outburst, he said, "We don't do that!" Once again, I didn't argue with him. He's 100% right.

Just goes to show you that talent only goes so far. Good musicians needs to have the proper social game for a band to work. We all love good-natured ribbing & giving each other a hard time. But we never intentionally embarrass a member of the band... especially when they're doing nothing wrong.

I'm sure he's a nice enough guy... but we won't miss him.
 
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#5
arbiterusa said:
Did this happen live? If yes, he should have been fired on the spot in front of the audience. You don’t do that in front of a crowd. Ever.

Even Buddy Rich waited until everyone was on the bus before reminding people of the many ways in which they were not fit to breathe his air.
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Nah, this was practice. Still not cool. We’ve been playing for 7 years and NEVER had this kind of drama. This sort of thing sucks the joy right out of a session.
 
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#9
kjp360 said:
In all fairness, the solo is over the chorus progression.
That said, I agree that the angry drama is better replaced with a simple exaggerated mouthing of "chorus" to get the band back. Good vibes are important, even when playing a song with that narrative.
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Or you just make a huge cutoff sign, then say "Sorry guys, can we go through the changes under the solos rather than the pedal point?" then you can discuss; make a decision, and play it that way.

I just re-listened to the studio recording of this tune - first harmonica solo is over the verse i.e. no chord changes, then guitar solo over the chorus i.e. with changes - but if you're going to do an extended solo, you certainly could carry it out over the pedal point. I don't know what is the current real-world performance practice of cover bands for this tune.
 
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#10
tb-player said:
You may remember me telling the story of the guitar player who didn't like my groovy blue bass. A number of responses said I was being thin-skinned and needed to get over it. Others said I should give him a chance since he was the new guy, just trying to fit in. And there were a few folks who said that his true-colors would eventually get the best of him.

Well, that last one happened at last night's practice.

It started a couple of months ago when we were recording an original. He showed up at the recording studio stoned. His tempo was off and his guitar was out of tune. None of his tracks were usable. We had to have someone else overdub all his guitar parts.

But then we played out a few weeks ago and he nailed it. He did a really great job. So we assumed maybe he's just not a studio kind of guy.

Fast forward to last night. The band leader asked him if he wanted to sing a tune. So he suggested 'Gimme Shelter'. Not really our style, but we played it and it worked. However, at the solos, we weren't sure if we were hanging on the root or playing the chorus chords. So the entire band hung on the root, like we were playing the verse. This obviously wasn't what this guitar player wanted us to play. So he glared at our lead guitarist, as if to say "What are you doing??" (keep in mind, we've played this song once, so far). He then stopped the song and looked at the lead guitarist and said, "What are you doing? You've got to play the song!!"

We all looked around awkwardly. The lead guitarist was obviously angry at this outburst, but he bit his lip and we finished the tune.

After practice, I asked him (the lead guitarist) if he was ok. He was not. But he kept his cool. Then the band leader walked up and said, "That guy's out! He doesn't fit in and he's dragging us all down." No one argued with him.

Today, I called the band leader to check in, now that everyone's cooled down a bit. He doubled-down. Even though the guy can play, he doesn't fit in with the vibe of our band. Regarding the outburst, he said, "We don't do that!" Once again, I didn't argue with him. He's 100% right.

Just goes to show you that talent only goes so far. Good musicians needs to have the proper social game for a band to work. We all love good-natured ribbing & giving each other a hard time. But we never intentionally embarrass a member of the band... especially when they're doing nothing wrong.

I'm sure he's a nice enough guy... but we won't miss him.
Click to expand...
Oh yeah, I remember the "bashin ol blue" post. Haha, serves him right.

He sounds like a real winner to me :)
 
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#11
tb-player said:
Fast forward to last night. The band leader asked him if he wanted to sing a tune. So he suggested 'Gimme Shelter'. Not really our style, but we played it and it worked. However, at the solos, we weren't sure if we were hanging on the root or playing the chorus chords. So the entire band hung on the root, like we were playing the verse. This obviously wasn't what this guitar player wanted us to play. So he glared at our lead guitarist, as if to say "What are you doing??" (keep in mind, we've played this song once, so far). He then stopped the song and looked at the lead guitarist and said, "What are you doing? You've got to play the song!!"
Click to expand...

You didn’t know to solo over the chorus? Seriously?!!! :rollno: What are you guys, amateurs? How many times have you heard the song in your lifetimes? No wonder the guitarist was pissed. I would have done the same thing.







Just kidding! :D Good riddance to him!
 
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#12
I can understand that. My main band that I was in for 15 years (or whatever it was) always went through things methodically, no matter what it was or how simple it was. Nobody every yelled at anybody, ever. I don't know how many times we went through Love Me Two Times, because our drummer kept getting hung up. We laughed about it and worked it out. We've all heard that song eight jillion times, but that's just how it goes, sometimes.
 
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#13
"You've got to play the song!!"
that's pretty funny actually. Everyone should have taken up the cry mimicking the guitarist. "You've got to play the song!!" Drive him from the room with absurdity.
Also the bl's firing proclamation was pretty weird too.
was that in front of the the dude and everybody? "that guy" is a public shunning and it's cruel. hopefully guitDude was on his way home by then.
 
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#15
I'd much prefer fairly decent musicians that are cool people over superstar musicians that are jerks. As with most other things in life, getting along with people is 70% of success.

As for his outburst, you all were at a practice session. The whole point of a practice session is to practice. We often stop mid-song during our practices to give a suggestion or clarification of a song part - especially when a song is new.

Sorry it did not work out, OP. It's his loss.
 
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#17
I guess I’ve been lucky, or just haven’t been around as many band dynamics as most TBers,( probably the latter) but any issues I’ve encountered with how a song is played, are generally easy to rectify, through basic communication.
Are we going back to the intro during the turn around?
Is that two full beats before the chorus? Etc.
While we have had players ranging from total neophytes ( me) to those who have played professionally for years, there has never been any drama, or anything but positive, constructive criticism. You may want to hang on that E a little longer. Etc.
Glad to hear the negative energy, is no longer part of your group. Hopefully, his replacement will be a better fit.
 
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#18
All musicians are at least a little crazy... just some "crazy" fits better than others.

I know there are things about me that make sense from my point of view, but seems odd to others... but I function well enough with most musicians, at least these days.

This is pretty much true of everyone, but the ego of the musician is on some other level. We can deny we have this, especially bass players contrasted with guitar players, but it's the nature of the beast.

Of course we are all different, and even though one "should" behave a certain way, we have to expect some level of this behavior. Then at some point we say enough, and roll the dice on another one. Sometimes we get lucky and find a good fit, then other times we wish we had tolerated a little more from the last one...better the devil you know.

Hopefully your next picker will play well with others.
 
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#19
Showing up stoned for a recording session, where time usually equates to money - and cratering because of it - would have been his de facto resignation notice right then and there with any band I’ve ever been in.

I’ve got no issues with whatever substances someone wants to indulge in. I ain’t their mother or a cop. However, I have zero patience when such use renders a person unfit for duty, or creates band drama. You can be strung out 7x24 for all I care as long as you can still: play well, remember the arrangements, show up on time, and not behave like a jerk.

@tb-player : No loss to your band losing that guitarist. His clock was ticking from day one based on your earlier post. Onward! :thumbsup:
 
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