Quitting your band is one of the hardest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. You\u2019ve devoted time, money, and your heart and soul in to this group. Every band sees some trouble from time to time, and you don\u2019t want to be a weenie and quit just because someone used your guitar pick to clean their teeth.\u00a0 But there may be a time when you have to seriously consider if being in your band is still in line with your personal goals.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s a list of things that may serve as red flags.<\/p>\n
1.\u00a0 \u00a0 You don\u2019t feel inspired any more.<\/strong><\/p>\n Music is art.\u00a0 If you don\u2019t have the inspiration to keep making more\u2014or if you feel like you\u2019re just going through the motions in your practice or performance, it\u2019s time to re-evaluate whether or not your band is the right vehicle for you to express yourself.\u00a0 There are a lot of reasons why \u201cthe thrill is gone\u201d:\u00a0 personal changes, artistic growth, or the discovery of something new and more exciting in your life.\u00a0 Whatever the cause, you can\u2019t \u201cfake\u201d inspiration, and you\u2019ll resent your band the more you try.<\/p>\n 2.\u00a0 \u00a0 Practice sessions are unproductive.<\/strong><\/p>\n So, one of the guys is late\u2026again.\u00a0 Another one brings his girlfriend to practice and they spend twenty minutes making out on the sofa.\u00a0 The drummer\u2019s cell phone rings three times and he insists he can\u2019t turn it off because he\u2019s waiting for his roommate to call him with the game score.\u00a0 It is pretty clear that no one is taking things seriously.<\/p>\n When people don\u2019t take practice seriously, it is a clear indication that the creative energy is low, or worse, non-existent.\u00a0 If your efforts to keep things on track are met with continued lackadaisical attitudes by the other members\u2014it\u2019s probably time to find another home 3.\u00a0 \u00a0 There is regular conflict between two or more members.<\/strong><\/p>\n Everyone\u2019s been here:\u00a0 egos clash, opinions are aired.\u00a0 It\u2019s actually healthy to have some disagreement and dialog in the creative process. But if there is regular conflict between members of the band, the negative energy is only going to stifle the creative process.\u00a0 Not to mention it\u2019s a pain in the ass for everyone else to have to set aside practice time only to have it turn into a bad reality television show.\u00a0 If the conflicted members are not interested in resolving their issues, there is only so far you\u2019ll ever be able to go as a band.<\/p>\n 4.\u00a0 \u00a0 Creativity has come to a standstill.<\/strong><\/p>\n You may have had a good couple years.\u00a0 Maybe you\u2019ve recorded a disc and played a series of shows with success.\u00a0 You\u2019ve built your name in the community and have a following.\u00a0 But now, there\u2019s nothing new and you feel like you\u2019re rehashing the same old same old stuff during practice.\u00a0 There needs to be a serious discussion in the band about new material.\u00a0 If you\u2019re not constantly creating new music, you might as well be a cover band.\u00a0 If it\u2019s not happening here, then you might want to find another outlet.<\/p>\n 5.\u00a0 \u00a0 You feel that your contributions are being ignored\u2014or resented.<\/strong><\/p>\n A band is not a dictatorship.\u00a0 Everyone has a role to play, and everyone\u2019s contribution is important.\u00a0 That\u2019s not to say that your 6.\u00a0 \u00a0 You have an opportunity to further your career somewhere else.<\/strong><\/p>\n When you\u2019re in a band, you are part of a team.\u00a0 So when something else comes along, you don\u2019t just run off and leave your buddies high and dry.\u00a0 But the bottom line is that your career is your own.\u00a0 If you have an opportunity to do something that will change you life, it is worth considering.\u00a0 There\u2019s no right or wrong answer\u2014only you can tell if it\u2019s worth taking the risk of leaving your band for another opportunity.\u00a0 Don\u2019t automatically discount an offer for something big just because you\u2019re already in a band.\u00a0 Weigh the decision carefully, and if you decide it\u2019s worth it, make your choice and stand behind it.<\/p>\n 7.\u00a0 \u00a0 Members have started flaking on practice and rehearsal.<\/strong><\/p>\n Unless you\u2019re independently wealthy, chances are that you\u2019re not only in a band, but you are working to pay your bills; and you have family commitments, relationships, and other responsibilities that are all vying for your time.\u00a0 A band is not meant to be a cult where you shun everything else in your life: members need to be sensitive to one another and not make unrealistic demands on time.\u00a0 However, if someone can\u2019t carve out regular quality time to practice with your band, they need to admit it.\u00a0 You can\u2019t just show up once a month and play a gig without regular practice.<\/p>\n 8.\u00a0 \u00a0 One or more of the members has a serious problem with drugs or booze.<\/strong><\/p>\n Musicians are famous for their partying, and there\u2019s no reason to expect your band mates to be Quakers.\u00a0 But when someone crosses the line and their drug-use or drinking affects their relationships, their commitments, and their performance\u2014it\u2019s time to take action.\u00a0 If you\u2019re dealing with an addict, you need to talk to a professional about how to approach them.\u00a0 Confronting someone about their addiction is painful for both sides, and the bottom line is that you care about the person\u2014but you can\u2019t let them continue to destroy themselves and take advantage of you and your time.\u00a0 If the band doesn\u2019t want to have this conversation with the member who has the problem and doesn\u2019t think it\u2019s important to address, you are wasting your time.\u00a0 Additionally, if the whole band seems to spend more time partying than practicing; it\u2019s time to move on.<\/p>\n 9.\u00a0 \u00a0 There\u2019s not an equal commitment or contribution by all members.<\/strong><\/p>\n An independent band requires its members to play more than one role. Often you are responsible for your own management, public relations, and marketing.\u00a0 You need everyone to cooperate if you\u2019re going to make it.\u00a0 It\u2019s unfair to expect one or two people to handle all the \u2018grunt\u2019 work.\u00a0 There\u2019s no room for a prima donna in a band.\u00a0 If people are slacking and you can\u2019t seem to motivate them, you have three choices: continue to put up with it and hope your band magically achieves success; try to convince them to step it up; or leave the band.<\/p>\n 10.\u00a0 \u00a0 You can\u2019t keep up your end of the bargain.<\/strong><\/p>\n You\u2019re the only person who can make this call.\u00a0 If you\u2019re over-extended in your time and energy, or if your energy is being used up by your wedding, a new baby, a job, your PhD or the Boston Marathon\u2014then you need to admit it to yourself and your band mates.\u00a0 Being in a band isn\u2019t supposed to be juts another obligation in your day planner.\u00a0 If that\u2019s what it has become, then you need to seriously reconsider whether or not you should be doing it.<\/p>\n Reposted from Music Marketing Unified Manufacturing<\/strong>\u00a0is an L.A. -based one-stop-shop that offers very affordable CD\/DVD\/USB replication, custom printing, promotional products, warehousing and fulfillment and many more. If you need an Instant Quote on a project and you want FREE SHIPPING, simply\u00a0CLICK HERE<\/a>. \t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Quitting your band is one of the hardest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. You\u2019ve devoted time, money, and your heart and soul in to this group. Every band sees some trouble from time to time, and you don\u2019t want to be a weenie and quit just because someone used your guitar pick to clean their teeth.\u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":7696,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4796","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-unified-manufacturing-news"],"contentshake_article_id":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4796","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4796"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4796\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30465,"href":"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4796\/revisions\/30465"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7696"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4796"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4796"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4796"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nfor your talent.<\/p>\n
\ndrummer can come in to practice one day and decide he wants to play lead guitar; but it is important that every member feels comfortable making a contribution and that everyone is able to push themselves in new, exciting directions keeping them stimulated and creative.\u00a0 If you feel that your band mates are trying to keep you in a creative \u201cbox\u201d and resent your efforts to expand your contribution, then you need to decide how long you\u2019re willing to do that before it\u2019s time to move on.<\/p>\n
\n____________________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n