Thanks for the replies fellas. We've gotten to the point where these guys are good friends of mine, and I think they would take it very personally if I left the band for another project - and that sucks, because I don't want to be that guy. Fortunately, and this might be a weird thing to say, but fortunately I think the band is kind of wearing itself out. Our drummer is a good guy, but he's one of those people that lives his life cranked to 11 - motorcycles, hot-rodded Corvette, etc., so he's playing every gig like an arena. Don't get me wrong, he's good and would be great touring arenas! But when you're playing a bar with 50 people in it, and you have to crank your 2x12 to the breaking point just to keep up, it's just not fun for people to listen to. Especially when these are bars that sometimes have acoustic bands, sometimes have open mic, and then we show up like... us. Sometimes the PA at these deals is just a small system meant for vocals and acoustic guitars. My problem isn't the fact that we're not playing huge venues, it's that when we go into the neighborhood bar and start to play and the room clears, it doesn't click with them, that people might be at their weekend watering hole wanting to relax, and might actually like them if we weren't giving them a headache premature of their next-morning hangover! We played on Saturday, fortunately another band brought a nice PA system, but it was interesting to watch the other bands. The first group to go on was, I would say, one of the top bands doing originals in the area. They're all talented, have good songs, keep it tight, and really filled up the space with sound without going overboard - and they got a great response from a packed room. Second band went on, these guys are a local and very typical bar band, half stacks cranking, drummer reaching for the ceiling before every hit (actually very comical to watch) - the place was practically empty by the time we went on. And to be honest, that's kind of our schtick too. Accordingly, we're getting invited to fewer and fewer venues around town, so I think our days are numbered. I've talked to our drummer about dynamics and what's appropriate, but he just insists that his kit doesn't sound right if he doesn't play loud, and I also think he's gotten such a muscle memory from playing our songs so loud and hitting so hard, that it would throw him off to play quieter because the rebound off his drum heads would be so diminished.
We're working on some new material right now, which I would like to finish strong with, but it's not getting a lot of traction with the whole band in terms of everyone sitting down and writing their parts to new songs, as I mentioned in the first post. So, if we get into spring and nothing is moving, I think I'll have a legitimate reason to step out. And, if shows don't start to pick up, I don't think everyone is going to be motivated enough to keep it up either. There are some good bands doing rock, soul, R&B stuff around town, something more palatable would be a welcome change. I guess that makes me a sellout, but what can I say, I'm a people pleaser! If things take a strange turn and start to pick up, I think I'll push for the plexi-cage, as mentioned above. Heck, I would even buy the thing if he would use it! Ideally, I would love for him to play an electronic kit when the situation is appropriate, but that's probably like asking one of us to play a Line 6 Spider...
My neighbor, 15 years to my senior, coaxed me into playing with his band that had been together since 1963 ( a year before I was born) and I haven't looked back since. I still play periodically with them, but almost 25 years later, I've consistently played in 4 other cover bands and 1 prog rock originals trio. It's what keeps me sane in an insane world. You just need to keep your eyes and ears open for great people in the same boat as you: misery loves company (that was my mantra)! Granted, my "vintage" rock buddies don't want to/can't gig every weekend, but they love playing and I'm so fortunate to be able to learn from them. Anyone that has setup on stage and ever performed for a crowd knows you can never replace that feeling. Go get that feeling back again!
