Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Article 5 - Band Personality Quiz

I believe there are three general types of musicians - the hobbyists, the glory hounds, and the players.

The Hobbyist:
These musicians like playing music. But they also like seeing movies, going to football games, playing cards. They like a lot of things. Music is just one of them.

The Glory Hounds:
They love being in a band, playing gigs, and maybe even writing songs. As long as it satisfies a desire for others to really like them. Music is a path to a life of luxury and bright lights.

The Players:
That's what they do. They play music. If no instrument is in their hand, their fingers twitch as if they are practicing subconsciously.

Each one of these may be in your band right now. Or you may go through phases of each of these classifications sometime in your music life.

The key is to recognize these in yourself and your band mates. Being in a band is like being married to multiple people at the same time. It is hard enough to relate to one person's change in mood and needs, but now add two or three more and you have a potential mess.

So you first need to identify yourself and the people in your band. That's easy. Just a few questions and by listening to the answers, you will know who fits in which category.

Question 1: You guys want to practice Wednesday night?
Hobbyist - yeah, but first let me check. I think there might be a pickup basketball game at the gym.
Glory Hound - man why? We know the songs already. Do we really need another practice?
Player - f*** yeah, let's do it.

Question 2: We got invited to do a battle of the bands. It doesn't pay anything and is about an hour drive away, but the other bands seem like a great fit.
Hobbyist - Yeah I'll do it. Any chance we can have an early slot so I can get home? I got something the next day I want to get up for.
Glory Hound - No pay? If the place isn't packed I'm gonna be pissed.
Player - f*** yeah, let's do it.

Question 3: We have a chance to go out on the road with a touring band for four weeks. We won't be able to afford hotel rooms, but the exposure will be great.
Hobbyist - Dude, I can't do four weeks on the road. I just can't pull that off.
Glory Hound - I don't know. Go back and see if they'll give us at least one hotel room. Will we get billing at each venue?
Player - f*** yeah, let's do it.

Question 4: Our CD is being picked up by Universal. We need to get to New York to sign the contract. If we leave now, we can be there by morning.
Hobbyist - Do all of us need to go? Can you guys just sign it?
Glory Hound - Drive? They want me, they send a plane.
Player - f*** yeah, let's do it.

Do you see a pattern here? Have you seen these guys in your band? In yourself? These are real questions and conversations that have come up in my experience. The last one was the most disheartening.

And by the way, these categories are about attitude, not ability. We've all seen Players who are terrible at music but will do it every second they can. We've also met Hobbyists who can amaze us, but they don't care to ever play live or put themselves "out there" as a musician.

I'll admit it. I think I used to be more of a Player and now am more of a Hobbyist. I'm 43 and my kids, my wife and my job are my top priorities while performing music falls behind them. But I do remember a time where every decision I made revolved around how to play and write more music.

Regardless of who I am now, you may do well to figure out who you are. I firmly believe that a band full of Players will go further than Hobbyists in original music - or even the most successful cover bands, session musicians, sidemen, etc.

A bunch of Hobbyists can make for a very fun cover band that plays infrequently. Glory Hounds are there to keep the drama in any band. We need them for that. However, frequently they also put the band over the top and keep the Players from being taken advantage of.

Maybe we need a little of each in the band. Or a little of each in all of us. Over time.

Though nothing is better than having a bunch of Players when you start a band. Take any and every gig you can. Learn from bad gigs about what not to do, how to play better on stage, what songs to perform, how to build an audience, how to turn a blah night into a slightly better than blah night.

No matter which of those three categories best describe you, if there is not a Player in you who needs music like most people need water, and is willing to do all they can to perform, you will not get better.

No comments:

Post a Comment