DRUMMER CAFE

Those guys sound so frustrating that I want to quit you band!

There is a tiny bit of truth in what they say. You do have to look after yourself and you do have to prepare for accidents and mistakes to happen.
But you are right, communication, teamwork and eye contact is valid and good business for any group of musicians, in any genre of music.

While I think that its good to be able to hold your own- if only for when you are playing with bad musicians- I think that ALL music is organic, and NOBODY is exempt from that. These guys probably are great players for you to stay with them, and to some point they may be listening, but it sounds like they aren't really aware of the point of music. BUT as long as its fun for you, and the audience digs it, then go for it.

Sometimes the perfect is the enemy of the good.

Every situation I've been in, unless there's a lot of sight reading going on, everyone in the band has been trying, or at least willing, to help everyone else.  That's because everyone has been focused on the music, as opposed to fingerpointing.

Knowing your part cold is great.  I try to do that for every project I'm called for.  But it's about making music, and that's not something done by machines.  Perhaps your bandmates haven't considered this.  If you want a machine, buy one and program it. If you want me, hire me.   I operate under that assumption and it seems to work. 

These guys don't get out of the basement much, do they?

Well, I thought I could word things quite OK in English, but now I'm not so sure...
Sometimes it really seems I've got communication problems - for example, now as you mention running a CD on stage instead of the band playing, I don't really understand your train of thoughts... And as for your mentioning the audience, I do agree with what you say - well, more or less.
 

Sorry  . The language structure is FINE. What I meant by the "wording" was simply just the "tone" of the post. Words often do not state clearly what someone is trying to say when posting, as opposed to if one could actually hear the person's voice and thus the 'real' tone.

As far as the CD comment I 'bolded' above. You are correct, THAT is a perfect example of how words fail sometimes. It was my attempt at being 'sarcastic' (making fun of the situation in a way), meaning it would not be fun as an audience member to watch a band that has no interaction at all among it's members. Most people like to be entertained, not just  hear a perfect duplication of the music with no contact among the band members or interaction with audience.

I think eye contact is really important in Metal bands, just like most bands really...

I once got through a whole show on the power of nod & watching the guitarist fingers when the sound guy irretrievably screwed up my IEM feed & sent me silence, and the wedges weren’t connected ether... All I could hear was my kit & a wall of indistinct mush. I find it hard to count the changes without some melody, especially if I am playing something polyrhythmic with the guitarist. It doesn’t always resolve where you would expect & frankly my memory isn’t that good...

 

N

Hey there, I've been lurking and I felt compelled to post on this one.  I used to dislike this kind of approach as well, and I guess I still do, but you gain some very valuable experience by playing scripted parts note for note every night without receiving any cues from your bandmates.  There is no real right or wrong, just two different ways of doing things.  As far as metal goes, I think it looks much more professional if the players are not looking at each other at all and ripping through their parts as tightly as possible, so I can understand what they may be going for...
Good luck!

it's weird that rehearsals are taking so long.  I've found those situations are quick and easy.  all the players learn their parts and off you go!  sometimes there can be an unrehearsed player slowing things down by not doing their homework.  if you were the one still learning the parts you should be happy they were patient. 

I was just re-reading this thread & something just popped out at me...That just isn’t enough time & it’s way too far apart... 3-4 hours, 3 times a week – That might do it...

They need to realise, that although they think they know the songs & they think they are tight with each other, you are starting from scratch, and that kind of rehearsal schedule might be ok (ish) for an experienced gigging band that has been playing together for years as refresher rehearsals.  But you have catch up to the level of band unity they have & that has taken years to put in place.

You are not going to do that with rehearsals that are that too far apart, you will have forgotten all the nuances that you need to lock into your brain in a week, never mind two weeks... Once they are locked in fine... they should stay put, but you need regular repetition at close intervals to get it in there.

Until they put themselves in your shoes, and realise that you all need to ‘woodshed*’ together to get it locked in you are in for a long tedious fight...

This say’s it all really... they claim to want to approach things with a professional attitude, but are ‘bored’ at the practicing that they need to do to quickly solve the problem.

If you were a hired gun that is being paid well for every session, then fair enough, bend over chow down, chart it out & count the changes. But if you are there as a band member working on a promise of ‘jam** tomorrow’’.  They need a reality check, or need to dig deep into their pockets and fork out for someone like Keith or Bart etc  that can step in and go for it...

N

* I know, I know, incorrect use of the term... big whoop, wanna fight about it?
** I believe you American types call it ‘Jelly’, but the principle is the same you are always promised something sweet tomorrow rather than some hard cash today ...