What do you think of the following situation?

[leppard81]

What do you think of the following situation?

I found 20 year old songwriter/singer a few weeks back and we both gathered other musicians around us, so now the band is almost completed. Being very serious about music and after over a year of full-time-guitar-instructing and without a band I was more than happy to find some people who share my passion and goal in life to be a songwriter and a "professional" (well I´m on my way) working musician.

But after some rehearsal with the singer, and later on with the full band I´m not that excited anymore. You know, the singer really, really wants to make it (and does alot for it: making contacts, searching for musicians , etc...) , but within the 6 weeks I know him he told me about the following things he wants to set up, if possible "within the next year" :

Recording a tune of his in a studio in order to sell it to a publisher. This already should´ve happened 2 weeks, but we only rehearsed it once with the full band. Of course it is possible to get a decent recording after that rehearsal, since its only one song, and everybody´s into but, but still..... If I´d be him I´d have get everything done faster....just my opinion though, its not meant to be harsh.

- setting up 3 different theme festivals (spagetthi festival,anyone? hows that for an idea?) and getting an international star (he wants Alicia Keyes for example)


- building a rehearsal center for bands all by himself

- All the money thats needed is coming (which actually means "WILL (?) be coming") from "sponsors"

etc...etc.... I think you get my point...

Well, I hear you all say: "He´s delusional, get rid of him, it doesnt make sense, etc...."


BUT the problem is he´s a great songwriter!! I dont doubt in any way that success will come his way in one form or another. He doesnt now much theory or chords or whatnot, but the things he does with the little he knows are amazing. He´s a great showman/performer too.


So I´m really torn between his good material / his will to succeed and his completely weird view of everything that sorounds him. On the other side: persons like him are probably successful just because they are the way they are (or they totall crash and burn - it depends.....)

ALEX :-)

[Holger Persch]

Hi Alex,

I would give him a chance and stay with him. I think life will show the right way and he will come down to earth sometime.

Holger

[DemonSorcerer]

Yep. give him a try...big things won't happen if you don't think BIG...i kinda find the Alicia Keys thing a lil' weird, and the sponsors thing as well...but the rehearsal place for bands is a great idea, if you market it the right way...and if you are good at it, you may get more money from it than from the s'posed sponsors...think about it!!

David

Edit: I once tried to do a guitar fest in my city with a couple o' friends...and one of them started with the idea of having Mike Stern in the fest...nobody gave us the money to bring Mike (the s'posed sponsors turned their backs on my friend), and we couldn't bring Mike...of course the Fest went down instantly...so becareful with big starrs and sponsors...

[leppard81]

Allright, now I´m officially worried. He told us to go with him into a music store to have look at what could be useful fo the band. When he arrived he told us more or less to choose the most expensive thing/whatever we want since his "multimillionaire"(!!)-sponsor will pay for it! No one of us inteded to buy something yet the drummer alone went out of the store with a cost estimate for a 20.000 Euro drum set. The more I am around him the more I realize that this will never work out under any circumstances - even if it works i dont think i wanna be part of it... He even told the shop owner about his multimillionaire sponsorship (we still dont know who this is supposed to be). I incedently met the owner after returning as i forgot something at the shop and he told me that under any circumstances he won´t be making business with our singer, since he´s a megalomaniac... I told this to our singer and the only answer he could give was: "how come he thinks that way about me?", with out really putting a single real thought into it.....

Also, we were to record a song we rehearsed on the past 2 meetings, yet yesterday he told us to skip that song (which each of us really worked hard on to make it work) in favour of a new song he wrote, which is basically the same, just in another key. Still the melody differs that much that the old ideas dont work anymore. He doenst seem to be able to take anything he starts to an end....

Well, as the band thinks alike myself I guess we´ll talk with him next to sort things out and change direction. So i guess i answered my initial post all by myself..........


ALEX

[UKRuss]

whoa...hold on....don't get off the train too early. The only question that really matetrs is if you YOU want to go with him on his journey.

It sounds like he'll give it a go with or without you. so, you might as well stick around for pay day. If it dosn;'t come off, it doesn't come off. if it does, you'll have some fun.

Perhaps a deadline about the realisation of the money from the mysterious sponsor would help?

Money talks, bull**** walks.

As they say.

[Kinoble]

Money talks, bull**** walks.

As they say.

Spinal Tap. Love it.

Very true anyhow. I would say give it a chance, but your singer sounds like he is in cuckoo land a bit. Absolutely be confident in what you do, but saying about sponsorship which isnt even definate yet sounds naive, not confident.

Id say take the fellow advice of the ibreather's above but until its sealed in ink try not to let your singer count his chickens before they have hatched

Ben

[leppard81]

I agree with you, Russ; BUT:

I dont wanna end up with debts in any way. I mean he probably made a cost estimate of 100.00+ Euros and since he doesnt want to tell us more after 5 weeks about the sponsorship and its soroundings, it of course makes me worry; especially since he´s very(I actually mean: VERY!!) unorganized and lacks life expierence. Its not that I´m more expierenced, but still...... He thinks everything is THAT easy - a view on which i tend to disagree.
Also, everything else sourounding the band seems more important to him than practicing together (shooting photos, etc...)

You know, so far it doesnt seem that anything will really work out. Its all talk; he called me everyday(!) within the past 2 weeks(!) only to tell me things like "Hi! I got the greatest idea ever how to get money. - I´ll call you again in the afternoon. Bye." Of course he wouldnt call again, but he´d call next day only to tell me his newest idea, without any mention about the one from the day before etc...

Maybe Im a bit too mistrustful, but I seriously wanna make a living as a musician, and stuff like that above mention "shop"-episode, probably hurts my integrity as much as his.

Sure, if you wanna get somewhere you´ve have to take risks, but at least right now i´ve got a bad feeling about it...

EDITed to add: everthing would be okay if we knew if he´s for real or not. So far I tend to think he´s only VERY serious about trying to make it. Everything else is just hot air.

[Malcolm]

What is his background? Where does he come from? Talk to people that have known him. Does he have a track record of being able to take things to closure?

If he is in his 20’s like you what did he do with his high school years, and what has he done lately?

That will give you some information to base your decision on. If he was able to put projects together stick with him for awhile, however if you find he was all talk he probably still is.

[hafftaplay]

shouldn't u guys be out there giging first? no better way to guage the temperments of the band mates, see how everyone reacts to the limelight.
get people talking bout u. do some free gigs. high school dances, fairs, anything. have too much fun, the rest will come.

diamond dave got kicked out, don't forget, and vh got better.
he wants to record? get a 4 track and practice with that. u'll save money on engineers later.

imo get some sets down first and get some cards printed up and u should forget about the multi-millions, if u haven't signed anything, it ain't there.

music is 99% business and 1% talent and luck if u want to make a living from it.

so good luck!

[alibongo]

hi! im in a band with a very similar situation, where the singer gets all these crazy ideas of fame and such and then gives up and moves onto the next thing a few weeks later.


all i do is humour him and smile:P

[98789]

do what you think is right man

-98789

[UKRuss]

Oh yeah, for sure you shouldn't make any commitments with your own money.

G'luck man!

[leppard81]

To make it worse: Apart from always telling us there are some kind of sponsors (without really going into detail) he´s trying to get a 10.000€ accommodation from our drummer who´s serioulsy considering giving it to him. because he believes that it could(!) be successful. So, whats the sense if the sponsors will pay anywqay in 2 months time.Sounds like a big ****ing RIP OFF to me....


ALEX :-)