Ranting advice for young bands
Wednesday, February 4 2004
Posted by brockp

Well, I did say at some point that I would update here on the status of Mongoose after the big "meeting" which was how things ended before Christmas, and though I've since commented a bit, a few more tasty morsels of gossip have found their way to me and incensed me enough to wish to blog about it.

It is probably the most petty thing to do, venting publicly like this, but I am currently of burning chest and have already lambasted Schockker as much as I feel is warranted (or perhaps more) and have nowhere else to turn. Besides, this kind of juicy soap opera stuff is what folks love to watch, right ? Well I am going to avoid slandering wildly, despite a sick desire to do so, but I will make a few comments with the spirit of perhaps some other band members reading this and learning how not to do things.

First point is that a band is just that—a band. What I mean by that is the old cliché of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts. It is a cliché but particularly so in the case of a self-contained band. The best bands are those with multiple creative forces (think the Beatles without John Lennon or Paul McCartney—not the same, right ?) OK, not everyone is the Beatles (duh) but just consider that. Part of what makes a band great is that tension of opposites and differences which co-exist. Some of you may wish to bring up bands with a sole dictator like Elton John, or Ozzy Osbourne, or (well those aren't such good examples) say, Steve Earle and the Dukes. Again, not such a good example. My point is, those are not really "bands", they are solo projects. There is a boss and there are sidemen. Yes, occasionally there are some brilliant sidemen like Randy Rhoads, which make such a project really come alive, but they are the exception. Even in those cases, it is pretty clear who makes decisions, and who is paying who. So point one of rant is: Be clear whether you are a band or a solo-project. If you are a band, then you must have an agreement about decision making. Who decides whether we play gig X or benefit Y or go on Z tour. The best bands are the ones that have a clear understanding about this that all of the band members are cool with. Preferably before money is involved.

Point two is maybe an extension of point one, and is in general a pretty good idea, namely: Be honest with your bandmates. This applies to music issues like who sucked last night and who made which mistakes and whose parts, lyrics/which verse or chorus needs a little massaging. You'd think it goes without saying, but it does not. If you can't tell your bandmate he sucked, or that her lyrics are weak, or that their song needs a bridge or whatever, there is a problem. Would you rather the audience tell them ? Or would you rather the audience notice it, say nothing, and go back to trying to pick up the hot chick over by the bar having decided you are not worth listening to ?

Perhaps the most important time to be honest is when conflict shows up. Conflict will show up. It is another cliché that bands are like marriages, which is not entirely accurate, but is a fair enough truth to accept at some level. Conflict is an opportunity for growth and if you are not honest, you miss the opportunity. If you avoid the conflict by hiding your intentions or feelings or opinions about the issue, you cannot learn from the situation. You may never find out that you were wrong about something, or right about something, or partially wrong AND partially right about it. Sure, you may say, "Give me a break, I don't play in a band to learn anything, I just wanna rawk..." Well, that is your right, so go ahead and figure it out for yourself if you feel that way. If you don't need to reinvent the wheel, consider it. You may, in addition to working things out in the band, become a better person. Amazing !

The next point I'm going to make comes right out of the "conflict is inevitable" idea, and it is: compromise is inevitable. By compromise, I do not mean compromising your integrity and playing covers or writing songs in a formulaic way or whatever to suit the marketplace. I mean being flexible about your opinion, being willing to change your point of view, being willing to risk giving up something that seems important to you in order to keep the band together and working. Obviously this happens all the time, but the best bands are the ones where everyone does it, not just one or two people. Ultimately the former kind of band goes the direction of the Doughboys, which is, one by one people feel they need to leave the band in order to maintain their integrity, and the band either ceases to exist or continues to exist in a shadow of its former self, without any of the original virtue. For example, from what I've been told, Turn Me On was a terrible record, whereas I've also been told the first two Doughboys records are classic. I don't know—I've never heard Turn Me On.

My fourth point regards breaking up, or leaving a band. This is also inevitable. Some bands take ten or twenty years, but most end much sooner. I said to myself before Mongoose went on tour for a week last November that the tour would either make or break the band. Afterwards I thought we'd survived it well, and it turns out after the fact that it in fact broke the band. Yes, Mongoose does exist still. RC and Shockker are still playing shows and are planning to tour in the spring, but the band that was on that tour is gone now. I haven't even talked to Clayton since before Christmas (despite calling him every week). Despite my opinion that Sean K (my replacement on the drums for the 21st at the Pic) is a super drummer, I feel very comfortable saying it will not be the same band. Maybe that is what RC and Shockk want, and maybe not. My point here though is, when things like this do happen, sooner or later you have to let it go and move on. Its easier to do that if there was point #2 (see above) which is why I am ranting right now, because when there is some dishonesty or non-forthrightness or whatever, people get hurt. I don't have the secret recipe here for how to get over being kicked out of a band or having to kick someone out or whatever. My personal method usually involves picking up a pen or a guitar in this case, the weblog. The point is, get over it. Move on. Start something new. And forgive your buddies. I personally find that easier to do when I've been able to tell them how I feel about stuff, I can say from experience that I am happier being on a speaking basis with former bandmates than otherwise.

Another point to consider: If you are the "dictator" of a solo-type project, do everybody a favour and pay your sidemen somehow. If you can't afford money, barter or something—do them a favour. If you don't want to bother with that, consider becoming more of a socialist band by sharing decision making, publishing, or whatever. If you don't want to do that, consider the fact that you have control issues and get help !

Lastly, however little you might wish to acknowledge it, there is music, and there is the music business. They are not the same. Be clear about your relationship to each. Don't bitch about corporate labels and publishers and such while imitating them. If you are against the corporate music business paradigm, do not emulate its worst example by putting your own interests ahead of everyone else.

End of rant !