What to do, and what not to do in a band

[sweatybettygirl]

What to do:
-expect your band members to get there and start on time, every time.
-practice and work out new material regularly (our biggest weakness).
-strive for the best in musicianship
-set an example of professional behavior on and off the stage.
-meet and talk to the audience during breaks, hand out business cards, give away a cd, create a mailing list, announce where you'll be next
-leave the place as good or better than you found it
-pay your bandmates promptly

What not to do:
-put up with bad behavior from bandmates
-do the same songs in the same order month after month
-adjust the lights, take a phone call, speak to someone on the mic across the room- in the middle of a song / set.

[Derrick Edwards]

As long as they don't grab any of my percussion gear, they can dance until the cows come home! LOL!

[John Billigen]

never be in a band with a bass player that smokes way too much pot , someday he might just get up and walk out in the middle of a show and never come back

[Anne Annie Friedland]

I HAVE SO MUCH TO SAY, BUT I AM GOING TO PLAY DEAF. DUMB AND DUMBER, BEAUSE EVERYTHING I SAY GETS TWSTED AROUND ANYWAY. A FEW INNOCUOUS THINGS I AREE WITH: NEVER LET A YWHERE NEAR YOUR EQUIPMENT. I GOT SMACKED IN THE NOSE BY A FALLINGu MIKE anong other things and it'sot fun. As far as the musicians go...I have been almost a victim of an assalt by a drunken bandmember. I had to save a friend from a falling PA cabinet and then he fell down the sreps anyway! kATIE hit the nail on the head whe she mentined dressing The whole "goth: thing when dine rigtht is very stmulating and when used the right way can make a band memorable. I think there should be classes in self-defense for singers!!!!!! There's more but its time to go. Peaceand Love

[Stevie J.]

Oh, I think I gotta add my 2 cents worth. There are a lot of things I could say. However, this is my #1.

-Never disrespect your audience. People (no matter how intoxicated or obnoxious some may get) go through a lot of effort to leave their house, maybe get a babysitter, drive to a club, pay a cover charge, and go home at 1:30 in the morning trying not to get a DUI. You should always do your best to be an "entertainer" for these people ON and OFF stage, even though you don't appreciate the off-the-wall song requests they are making or don't agree with their opinions or behavior. They are there for some kind of experience to help them transcend the dullness of their everday lives. And that experience is YOUR responsibility as a musician or entertainer. We are there to provide the "magic", not to turn them off.
Everything you do in order to take the audience to the next level and enhance their experience is always a step in the right direction on "what to do or what not do in a band."
S.J.