PacoCasanovasOld
Fractal Fanatic
be honest - say it straight
You guys using any pyrotechnics by chance?...
Let her take over the guitar for a song...
Let her take over the guitar for a song...
Disband. Start a new band without that member. Problem solved.
Very wise advice having hired, fired and made redundant people in my business, including members of family who worked for me. The Problem with most bands (and business's for that matter) is they start out as a bunch of mates with no structure, agreements or rules and it can end up very messy. Someone has to step up to the mark, explain that they're the elected spokesman for the band but it's a decision you all have made. Be professional write the reason down why things aren't working so you are clear, do not negotiate or get personal.There's no polite nice way to do it.
Call a band meeting at a neutral place. If she has any gear at the rehearsal/band space, bring it. Tell her the decision to move on without has been made collectively, sorry. And then leave.
Having both done it and the experience of having it done to me; just be quick, frank and direct. Stringing it out or trying to be 'nice' is BS. It never ends well, it is always messy. Just be respectful, up front, unemotional and honest.
Let her take over the guitar for a song...
Definitely DON'T do what happened to my last band where the drummer and I (bass) were let go.
There was no warning, no complaints about playing/talent (except on one song which we both felt should have been dropped, or at least REHEARSED as it was a "showboat" song that no-one EVER reacted to). At the end of the 2-night gig at end of Nov 2012, we broke-down, loaded out, then went to share out the $$. Leader paid everyone (who DEPARTED) but us two! Said he wanted to talk to us.. OK.. fine. He came over carrying a piece of equipment of mine (that he was supposed to buy, never paid me and ended up using at every gig for 7 months) and put it on the back of the truck. So I knew SOMETHING WAS up!
He paid us, then fired BOTH of us... reason? Band wanted to go in a new direction - wanted to go FULL TIME !!
Of the 6 of us, only the drummer and I had "real" DAYTIME jobs. The other 4 - leader included (as he'd been fired from his last job about 6 weeks prior) - scratch out a living from music.. gigs, lessons, etc. They decided they wanted to go full time *without our input*. Turns out they had also been auditioning replacements for both of us over the prior 5 weeks, which explains the no rehearsals, even tho' I asked about not having them, and was LIED TO about it. On top of that, we had 9 Dec gigs booked which we didn't get to play (including NYE) nor collect money from... That ruined the drummers Xmas as that took over $1500 out of his pocket!
The bit that ANGERS ME is that the drummer and I were 2 of the 3 founding members - leader was the 3rd. We bust our butts for many months in early 2012 getting the band up and going and worked into the top venues in the area. It ANGERS me 'cus it was a REALLY good "working" band (Fri/Sat every week), and I now watch these new members getting a free ride and playing these top venues on the backs of our hard work. I say that because lead-time on booking at top-tier venues can be up to 6 months (in this area)!!
It's hard not to be bitter when treated like that.. secrecy, closed doors, band members talking about you behind your back, etc. then being dumped. What goes around comes around, I say. Treat people like you would like to be treated yourself... avoid situations like this.
(she doesn't prepare, can't learn her lyrics and needs to rely on notes, and misses rehearsals), but some of it cannot be fixed on short term or at all (she never took singing lessons and has no technique whatsoever, she has a very limited range that is too restrictive, she can't easily work with songs that we transpose to another key for her benefit, and she's ever-so-slightly out of tune, sometimes more than slightly).