Singer is justifably burned out, what now

[brianrost]

How feasible is playing more often than once a month in your area anyway? I’ve been in plenty of bands that would play as often as possible, but few could book as many gigs as they wanted.

I’m in a band right now that has two lineups. The band was in rotation at two weeknight gigs, getting 4 or 5 a year each, as well as playing as many weekends as possible but in reality maybe twice a month at best before COVID and once a month afterwards due to venues closing. Both of the weeknight gigs are long drives for the original guitarist/vocalist and drummer, so the BL asked another guitarist/vocalist and drummer who we’ve both played with before if they could those the weeknights. They could, so that was it for a while until there was one weeknight I couldn't do, so the guitarist’s son James filled in on bass. As luck would have it, the venue owner really liked James’ playing and told the BL. Then he said “You’ll be bringing him back, right?” so now I was out of the gig There were no hard feelings since we’ve all known each other for a long time, except for James we all go back 20 years or more.

 

[Killing Floor]

Disclosure,
I’m not a mom.

But that is the most difficult job and I am sure she’s struggling to manage. What if you held your calendar for 4-6 weeks and you musicians learn a few new things while she has a no-strings break to make her decision? Putting a time line on it gives her some authority on her decision without the added weight of your own wishes.

 

[jerry]

If she's a really good singer and front person it will be easier to put a band around her than trying to find a really good replacement. IMHO

 

[KenSmithFan]

A band is not a marriage; a promise to stay together until death do you part. It an informal agreement to play together as long as it’s mutually beneficial. I don’t know how many gigs you play each month now, but if my band wanted to go from say four or five gigs a month to one, that would be no bueno. Reasons are irrelevant. I like the people I play with, but my goal is to play, not to make friends.

 

[J Wilson]

Good on you for being so mindful of her situation, but if the other guys need steady work as primary ( or a big add-on to their primary income), I'm afraid other arrangements will wind up being made. It sounds as if you can work with a replacement singer in the original lineup AND work with her as you can as a second situation, that may be as good a solution as can be realized.

 

[DaveParker39]

How many people on average attend your gigs? If you are playing three times a month and each show has only a handful of people that arrive just to see you, it might be a good idea to go for quality over quantity. It is funny how the more often a band plays, the less incentive there may be to see them since you can always catch the next one next week.

But I also get that band leaders sometimes have a hard time saying no to gigs. Play it without her and divide the money into less parts.

I don’t have an exact headcount, we are usually “full”, but honestly I think we are already at that point where more is not actually more given our geography. There’s always another time soon. So I think less could be more in that regard, and we could stick to playing the places our fanbase loves and that pays us the best.

 

[DaveParker39]

Good on you for being so mindful of her situation, but if the other guys need steady work as primary ( or a big add-on to their primary income), I'm afraid other arrangements will wind up being made. It sounds as if you can work with a replacement singer in the original lineup AND work with her as you can as a second situation, that may be as good a solution as can be realized.

While it is a nice supplemental income, we all work jobs that we can expand the scope of without the band. We command respectable money but it’s not putting anyone’s finances in dire straits if we take fewer gigs.

 

[Kansas]

Good musicians are mostly busy with opportunities. Only good paying gigs will make them stick around. I dislike "pick up bands" as we call them, where different players are rotating in and out. It's NOT the same as a steady lineup where consistency and chemistry develops. It's a rare thing but what do you want out of being a player? Busyness or excellence?
Your lady singer has a decision to make for herself and her commitment to the group. Enjoy your music!

 

[DaveParker39]

Good musicians are mostly busy with opportunities. Only good paying gigs will make them stick around. I dislike "pick up bands" as we call them, where different players are rotating in and out. It's NOT the same as a steady lineup where consistency and chemistry develops. It's a rare thing but what do you want out of being a player? Busyness or excellence?
Your lady singer has a decision to make for herself and her commitment to the group. Enjoy your music!

I tend to agree… the rotating thing would be temporary if it happened. Our fans wouldn’t want to show up and see an unpredictable lineup, especially with the way we play and it’s unique chemistry.

 

[pepj]

If the singer is the band, to all intents and purposes, then I'd doubt you'd get away with more than one date where she was missing without making the position clear.
Doing it 3 or 4 times might undo a lot of good work.
Unless you cancel down to one a month...and she is happy with that..i dont see this working.

If you get in a replacement for 3 or 4 dates, you are now basically 2 bands and I think you'll need to make it clear which one is playing that night.

Id check out what each singer brought and if i was happy with either, do both bands but if the new singer was just makeweight, then Id pull out from that one.

Or, I'd get new guys in to support best old singer if they were any musical or scheduling conflicts with current guys.
I'd be clearing dead wood..if required.

 

[brianrost]

If the singer is the band, to all intents and purposes, then I'd doubt you'd get away with more than one date where she was missing without making the position clear.

Twenty years ago I was in a steadily working (6-8 weekend gigs a month) sextet with a female vocalist up front and the BL doing lead vocals on the first two tunes of each set before bringing her on stage. She left the band to have a baby with the idea she would come back in about two years. The BL let the venues know that he would be the vocalist until she returned. All the venues declined to book us after that so the band folded.

 

[pepj]

I was going to say the vox is the band but around here half decent is enough if you do the saturday night bangers.

 

[DaveParker39]

For those who have read this far, it Turns out there’s more going on here in the band drama than I was aware of. We will see how this all unfolds but no more updates for now. Thanks for the support!