One of the most frustrating thing about being in a band is when it comes time to replace a member. Drummers, bassists, guitarists, vocalists are often looking for a musical change, undergoing life changes, or simply just getting fed up and
quitting. Alternately, the rest of the band may have been conspiring for months to replace a member. More often than not, it is be time-consuming, stressful, wasteful and disappointing. As a replacement in probably a couple dozen bands (mostly short-term fill-ins, but often as a full member), I have noticed a few things about this process.
Let's just say right off the bat that replacing even one member is likely to kill the band completely. Shake-ups within aspiring bands lead to a number of different interpersonal problems that are often insurmountable. There are often disagreements about who would be a good fit, or even if there's a will to spend the months searching for and auditioning players. Often, the loss of a key member is enough of a sign for one or more of the bandmates to call it quits before the ship starts really sinking. Sometimes the loss is just too great; the person who left may have been the glue that held together the bands' personalities, or the stylistic force behind the scenes. The band might not have even realized that the departing member was such a positive force until they're gone. If you're starting to find a replacement, it's probably best to hammer through the core issues before you hold the first audition. Be honest and forthright. Make a plan for moving forward. Set goals. Don't let the confusion of this process infect new people. They will sense this and know that the band is in trouble from the moment they enter the room for the first time.
Then, if you have chosen a new person there a whole new host of issues that may crop up in the following weeks and months of assimilation. In my mind, there is a simple way to handle this transition. Engage. You must integrate a new member on good terms. This is absolutely critical to moving forward. A replacement member isn't just your new drummer/bassist/vocalist, he's a new part of the band. He/she needs to have a stake in it from the very first rehearsal. They are not your tool. They are not just some replacement of some old guy that you really miss. They are a human being with their own ideas on what they're trying to accomplish. Find out what those ideas are. Find out what they value in music, what they value in friendships, and what they define as "success." If these values do not mesh with the rest of the bands', you've already made the wrong choice. Before the first downbeat, the first riff, you've already wasted this time.
Once you've done your best to define them, and you've been absolutely honest with the band's definition, you're ready to start making music.
Here's a thought that will be controversial right out of the gate: As soon as you can possibly do it, start ditching your old songs and writing new ones with the new member. The old songs are not as important as you may think they are. Are you U2? Muse? Green Day? Eminem? No??? Then people don't really care about your old stuff that much. Aspiring bands need to be writing new music all the time! And what a better reason to do so then to hit the ground running with your brand new band member. This will be the ultimate test for the new band dynamic, and the perfect way to engage this new person. You'll see so much about who they are, what they bring to the table, their style, their vibe, and their relationship with art and music. This is what is important. Learning the old songs should be the 2nd or 3rd priority. That's the past. The past isn't important when you're a band. Writing music is about the new.
Also, when it comes to the old songs, don't make your new member copy exactly what's been recorded. Again, unless you're a famous band already, no one remembers or cares about the bass part of that one song you guys wrote 3 years ago. Let the replacement attempt to breathe their own life into your old music. Learning someone else's work note-for-note is just work, it's not art. Let your new person know that the old person is gone and that's OK. Even if the band isn't immediately sold on the new part(s) being played, it's just a matter of time before a smart player will fix his mistakes and start to really jam on the old songs. He/she may, in fact, revert to the old parts right away, but at least he/she had the opportunity to look at the material with their own eyes.
Above all, be honest with yourself and all new members about what you're trying to do. Playing music with other people is all about just trying, and occasionally recording the results of those tries. Be open-minded, not rigid. Be adventurous and not strict. Even if the results aren't there right away, they'll get there with just a little bit of time and care.
Let's just say right off the bat that replacing even one member is likely to kill the band completely. Shake-ups within aspiring bands lead to a number of different interpersonal problems that are often insurmountable. There are often disagreements about who would be a good fit, or even if there's a will to spend the months searching for and auditioning players. Often, the loss of a key member is enough of a sign for one or more of the bandmates to call it quits before the ship starts really sinking. Sometimes the loss is just too great; the person who left may have been the glue that held together the bands' personalities, or the stylistic force behind the scenes. The band might not have even realized that the departing member was such a positive force until they're gone. If you're starting to find a replacement, it's probably best to hammer through the core issues before you hold the first audition. Be honest and forthright. Make a plan for moving forward. Set goals. Don't let the confusion of this process infect new people. They will sense this and know that the band is in trouble from the moment they enter the room for the first time.
Then, if you have chosen a new person there a whole new host of issues that may crop up in the following weeks and months of assimilation. In my mind, there is a simple way to handle this transition. Engage. You must integrate a new member on good terms. This is absolutely critical to moving forward. A replacement member isn't just your new drummer/bassist/vocalist, he's a new part of the band. He/she needs to have a stake in it from the very first rehearsal. They are not your tool. They are not just some replacement of some old guy that you really miss. They are a human being with their own ideas on what they're trying to accomplish. Find out what those ideas are. Find out what they value in music, what they value in friendships, and what they define as "success." If these values do not mesh with the rest of the bands', you've already made the wrong choice. Before the first downbeat, the first riff, you've already wasted this time.
Once you've done your best to define them, and you've been absolutely honest with the band's definition, you're ready to start making music.
Here's a thought that will be controversial right out of the gate: As soon as you can possibly do it, start ditching your old songs and writing new ones with the new member. The old songs are not as important as you may think they are. Are you U2? Muse? Green Day? Eminem? No??? Then people don't really care about your old stuff that much. Aspiring bands need to be writing new music all the time! And what a better reason to do so then to hit the ground running with your brand new band member. This will be the ultimate test for the new band dynamic, and the perfect way to engage this new person. You'll see so much about who they are, what they bring to the table, their style, their vibe, and their relationship with art and music. This is what is important. Learning the old songs should be the 2nd or 3rd priority. That's the past. The past isn't important when you're a band. Writing music is about the new.
Also, when it comes to the old songs, don't make your new member copy exactly what's been recorded. Again, unless you're a famous band already, no one remembers or cares about the bass part of that one song you guys wrote 3 years ago. Let the replacement attempt to breathe their own life into your old music. Learning someone else's work note-for-note is just work, it's not art. Let your new person know that the old person is gone and that's OK. Even if the band isn't immediately sold on the new part(s) being played, it's just a matter of time before a smart player will fix his mistakes and start to really jam on the old songs. He/she may, in fact, revert to the old parts right away, but at least he/she had the opportunity to look at the material with their own eyes.
Above all, be honest with yourself and all new members about what you're trying to do. Playing music with other people is all about just trying, and occasionally recording the results of those tries. Be open-minded, not rigid. Be adventurous and not strict. Even if the results aren't there right away, they'll get there with just a little bit of time and care.
