Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Do You Know Your Band Members?

Do you really know your band mates? I mean really know them in terms of what their expectations and aspirations are regarding your band. I would say many don't really know.

It's really important to sit down with your crew and put it all on the table. You may find that one of the members wants to pursue another career path entirely and is just doing this now for kicks. If you don't know this, when he/she finally decides to jump ship, you may find yourself unpleasantly surprised at an inopportune moment. Perhaps when there's a huge deal in the works or an imminent touring opportunity. I've seen these things happen and it's not pretty.

Here's some things to hash out in a discussion. And make sure you encourage everyone to be honest, because you don't want your band mates to just say what they think you'll want to hear to avoid an argument. Knowing the reality of the situation will put everyone involved in a better position and you can move forward strategically from there.

1. Musical direction: Seems obvious enough, but you may be surprised to find that not everyone is on the same page.

2. Level of commitment: How far is everyone willing to go to accomplish the goals you've set for yourselves as a band? You may find that there's a limit to what some of your band members will endure to make it.

3. Splitting up profits: When there's money on the table, how will it be split up? It doesn't have to be the same for every revenue stream, so it's a good idea to know what everyone is expecting from each of the potential pies in the event you have a big pay day.

I would say these are the main points to cover, although you may find there are other things to consider that are specific to your situation. The objective is to just get it all out in the open as much as possible. If after this exercise you find that everyone within your camp shares the same philosophy, it will probably serve to strengthen your bond even more and that can be powerful stuff! Even if a particular member confesses that this is just something he/she is having fun with at the moment and they're not looking to it as a career option, don't feel you have to launch that person out of the band immediately. If the musical chemistry is there and the personal relationship is there, keep moving forward as long as it's working and makes sense. Knowing the truth will help you to avoid surprises down the road.