Nice guy but terrible musician vs. D-bag amazing player

[vmabus]

The jerk will always be a jerk. Remember, you've gotta live with the guy.
A poor player can get better, if he gets some help and encouragement.
No time for that? Keep shopping...

 

[petrus61]

I've seen some incredibly nice guys that for as nice as they were, could not seem to get it together musically. I don't have the patience for jerks, no matter the talent level. So I choose the occasionally jerky, slightly above average musician since there is in reality very little middle ground.

 

[Muttleybass]

Right now my guitarist pushes my D-bag tolerance limit, but he's absolutely amazing. We've been together 8 years, so even tho' he can be a jerk we manage get along somehow. Mutual respect is VERY important.

I guess I will tolerate a D-bag more than I would a guy who can't play, but there's a limit to both.

 

[azureblue]

I worked with a nice guy drummer. He was so eager to learn but didn't have the chops. I sat down with him and told him to get a metronome and to play just the basic beat rhythm pattern of the song, and pay attention to what I was doing at all times. After a couple of months, I had this rock solid, simple drummer who was right there with me all the time and knew when to fill and when not. Never overplayed and every hit counted. Wonderful experience and it was well worth the effort to help him get there..

 

[electracoyote]

Neither.

I'll keep looking for at last a happy medium between the two before I poison my band with a d-bag or compromise the quality with a musician who doesn't have a comparable skill set to the rest.

Decent person, decent musician. I play pop/rock/dance covers. It's not rocket science, and you only need to be competent to pull it off. A great attitude gets you way further down the road socially and musically.

 

[cerrem]

I have yet to find a D-Bag musician that is truly a great musician..... What may "appear" to most as a great player, is truly not a great player but a good "copier" , ie they are great at ripping off lots of other players and they spend countless hours polishing their bag of licks to impress everybody, but they don't fool me for one second... When put on the spot to perform spontaneous improv jazz...ect..they fail miserably... or they fall back on their bag of rehearsed riffs that gets the band pissed.....
The truly best musicians I encounter play from the heart and from deep in their soul.... If they are not good people to begin and have lots of internal venom, they can't play from that place...

 

[Robroy]

Neither.

I'll keep looking for at last a happy medium between the two before I poison my band with a d-bag or compromise the quality with a musician who doesn't have a comparable skill set to the rest.

Decent person, decent musician. I play pop/rock/dance covers. It's not rocket science, and you only need to be competent.

Agree.

I play for fun. Playing with poor musicians is not fun. Playing with jerks is not fun.

 

[Mvilmany]

Neither. Keep looking.

 

[lfmn16]

Why does it have to be one or the other? I don't play with either.

 

[BassFishingInAmerica]

Depends on just how much of a jerk you're talking about.

I can put up with a lot, and there are multiple levels of jerkdom.

That being said, I voted for the nice guy.

 

[rob2966]

My vote is solidly in the "neither, keep looking" category.

 

[Dan80sMan]

In my experience, a terrible musician can get better with practice but a jerk will always be a jerk...

THIS!!!!
a jerk will always be a jerk whether thay can keep it in check for awhile or not. Thinking you can tame their attitude is asking for a bigger problem. Cuz they a just gonna let it build up and BOOM! Full on Jacka$$ in the middle of a gig. Work with the average player. Make them practice with you and alone.

 

[FrenchBassQC]

I am usually one until the other kicks in.

Which one is predominant?

To the poll: Neither, I would keep looking until I get the best of both world is my answer.

 

[Jared Lash]

D-bag doesn't really tell me enough.

Is the dude a jerk offstage only?

There's a huge difference between an a-hole who shows up on time, learns the material and is professional on the gig and and a-hole who is a monster player but still screws up gigs due to his attitude and disregard for the rest of the band.

I've done the former and would again as long as I got along with other members of the band. I've done the latter and won't again.

 

[Bodeanly]

Which one is predominant?

WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!
You're right. I'm sorry.

 

[Nev375]

I choose this guy. He's lazy but he doesn't play any wrong notes and doesn't give any lip.

 

[catcauphonic]

Is the terrible musician within the first year of learning his instrument? If that were the case, I would invest in developing talent before being stuck in a jail cell sized rehersal space week after week with a D-bag

 

[bassplayer2014]

I prefer neither and I voted jerk. I'm currently not in a band because of both these situations. I've been both. Now at 53 and well practiced my BS-Ometer stays pegged in the red. In both circumstances I don't do a second meeting. If I meet a new group and someone can't play, I don't return. If someone is a jerk but can play his/her jerkyness is usually not aimed at me because I typically have my bass lines down. But I don't like jerks so I don't return.

 

[madbass6]

Being a nice musician won't get you back for a second /third gig at Bars/clubs even studio sessions!! being real good "ass" musician will !

 

[dave64o]

Neither, really. But in a "gun to my head and I have to choose" situation, I'd take the guy who stinks but is a decent guy. He can always practice and get better but an ass will always be an ass.

We're in the process of auditioning for at least a 2nd guitar player and possibly a keyboard player now and one of the guitarists I talked to looked good on paper and seemed to have a lot of really good experience. As a player, he might have turned out to be the best one, but I got increasingly bad vibes from him and told the rest of the band about it. When I called a few days ago to confirm that he was still going to be able to come out to play with us (would have been tonight, actually), he just rubbed me the wrong way and I told him we aren't looking for someone to come in, take over, and permit us to be his backing band - as long as we can continue to satisfy him. Not long after that, he sent an insulting email and said he wasn't going to bother with us. The only thing that bothered me was the time and effort I put into finding him and trying to get him scheduled to come in. I wasn't at all bothered by not playing with him.

I'm into music for the fun of it. If I have to deal with personalities that are going to take away from the fun, then I'd rather not be involved with them. But, if music were my living, then I'd probably have to be a lot more forgiving of the personality issues. That's no different from my day job - I might not like you or our personalities may clash but if we can respect each other and keep ourselves focused on getting the job done then I can tolerate most anybody at work. I don't have to like it but I can be adult about it and deal with it. Thankfully, I don't have to be that way with music.