How do you deal with a guitarist who just doesn't “get the big picture”?

Sounds like a pain in the ass. I'd just find another project. If it's work, then just suck it up and think about the money.
 
Supercreep said:
Sounds like a pain in the ass. I'd just find another project. If it's work, then just suck it up and think about the money.
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Yeah....that'd work

or


repeatedly give him crotch-kicks til his nose bleeds buttermilk.
That hasn't worked for me yet but hope springs eternal.

:D
 
I wouldn't worry about the behringer gear. If he's playing through it alone then everyone else in the band already has the upper hand by not limiting their sound with it.

Sounds like there's a bit of a power struggle. There's a few things you can do here before you resort to punching his lights out...and if you DO, make sure you do it in front of the rest of the band. It'll make them all think twice about stepping out of line.

Personaly I'd just fcuk with his head for a bit. You know, the old change rehersal times and tell everyone but him. Every time he leaves the room for a piss change his settings, knock his axe outa tune. That petty shit is endless and unless you have another plan like replacing him or jumping ship to another band is seldom worth the effort.

I once got rid of a guitarist by phoning him up and asking if he wanted
a jam with a new (non existing band). Then the rest of us sat at the bus stop where he was getting off to meet his new bandmates ...that one was funny. First the denial then the shock when we sprung the news that there was no new band and he INSISTED there was. LOL

Playing in bands was a lottery for me. First you start out with your mates and one of them can't play and do you drop him and risk the friendship, all that stuff. I left my 2nd band and went through half a dozen till I found the right drummer and lead guitarist. We rehersed in a celler under my house till we were a tight little fighting unit, THEN I went back and poached the singer/songwriter/rythm guitarist dude from 7 bands before. That was 15 years ago. We had a bit of sucess and 5 years of playing live, then a 10 year split while we all grew up, got married and had kids..well, they did while I got into recording and last year we all got together in a rehersal space just for a laugh and PRESTO...we're back gigging and writing new stuff and recording all the time.

Have fun with it.
 
Malpine Walis said:
Thank you all. As much as you have has given me a bit more focus for where I need to go with Richard. Last night's rant does not really tell the story. So let me fill in some blanks and see where this goes.

I am doing this band through where I work. It is kind of a project of mine and it really limits me as far as who I can pick from. Basically, I work in a rental office for a social program and I am trying to get my tenants working together. OK, I get nobility points or something. But I place myself in a dilemma every day.

The producer (his name is Ray BTW) is not a contract guy that I have to deal with. He is a coworker. He has been too big for his britches in the past (getting me all of that equipment that I did not ask for and did not want comes to mind) but I got him to calm down and be a reasonable player in the game. He still thinks that we should play music that people can dance to but I can simply ignore him there.

Ray spent all of that company money out of a desire to help me with what I am trying to do. Mind you, he did not bother to ask what I might want/need first. He made his own choices and went with them. Along the way, he assigned me a drummer who is technically very good. The problem was that he is also in a chronic pain management clinic. I am not interested in gainsaying the guy's personal medical needs but he was really best for the first half hour of rehearsals. After that, he started to go into his narcotic nod and then he was about as useful to us as any heroin addict would be to any band.

The reason why I introduce that goes to Richard again. When the drummer broke his hip, I set up a vote to remove him from the band but Richard would not commit past “whatever you guys want”. I had to pretty much force him to vote the guy out. Any dissent over that matter would have risked the drummer feeling like he could come back and that I cannot allow. So I had to bully Richard into voting.

So if I want Richard gone, that is a simple matter. I can lock him out of my office at rehearsal time. However, I don't want him gone, I want him tamed. I guess that I am going to have to do that by force of will.

If he wants to use his secondary dick, he is simply going to have to bring his own amp to plug it into.

If he wants to use the PA system, he is going to be given any phone number that I can dig up for Uli Behringer. He will be put on speaker phone for everyone to hear. If Uli says that he specifically intended an eight channel amp to only have two inputs, I can accept that.

Actually, he cannot use the Jazz Chorus amp. My keyboard player is changing to guitar and that is what I will have him playing through. Since neither of the two amps are open to him, he is going to have to come up with something on his own.
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Call me crazy, but this whole situation doesn't make any sense at all. And that includes you. I just don't get it. It's sounds totally ridiculous.
 
Well yes, it is very silly. I wish that I were not having to deal with it but the fact is that I am. So where can I go with this is a good question to ask.

Honestly though, forget the gear as an issue. It is only a symptom of the disease. What I need to address is the disease itself. What happened yesterday is a good example.

Richard called me to see if I wanted to hang out with him. He had planned my day before calling me.

“Let's go to lunch” This means “let's go to the Lucky's and order Cobb Salad”. It is the only place he wants to go to and it is the only thing that he ever orders. Everyone must order what he wants to eat.

“Let's see a movie” This means “let's go to the only theater that I like and see the one movie that is not full of failure”. Not that the movies is any good or even interests me. Such matters are not relevant to what movie he has decided we will watch.

“And then you will adopt the kitten that I have decided you will take in.”

Hold on. Full stop. Does anyone see a problem here?

I am not even allowed to call the person who currently has the kitten on the phone to see what they want to do. I am being told that I will spend the rest of my life with a cat simply because the guy who wants me to do so said that I must?
 
EDIT: This is probably not fake. This guy seems legit, but probably a bit ill.

Who paid for the $5k worth of gear?

Why would you bitch about someone buying it?

Why do you have a producer?

Why would you do anything with these pathetic fucking losers?

Are you in a group home and these are your housemates?

If that's the case, then try to not focus on their behaviours and focus in on the music.
 
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reklus said:
EDIT: This is probably not fake. This guy seems legit, but probably a bit ill.

Who paid for the $5k worth of gear?

Why would you bitch about someone buying it?

Why do you have a producer?

Why would you do anything with these pathetic fucking losers?

Are you in a group home and these are your housemates?

If that's the case, then try to not focus on their behaviours and focus in on the music.
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ive had producers and im sponsored by a custom drum company, so have like 10 grand in free gear, and my band is full of losers, but they are still my friends. so you deal with it as best you can, it just seems like he is having a had time dealing with the guitarist. i doubt hes making it up. lol im sure he can find better things to do :)


totally missed the edit at the top of your post hahaha . nvm :P
 
Malpine Walis said:
Everyone must order what he wants to eat.

Does anyone see a problem here?
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Yes.

You're not telling us the whole story.

And you're as fucked up as your "friends". (or you're not as stable as you think, in which case I shouldn't be calling you "fucked up", even if you are)


Seriously.
 
RAMI said:
Yes.

You're not telling us the whole story.
And you're as fucked up as your "friends". (or you're not as stable as you think, in which case I shouldn't be calling you "fucked up", even if you are)
Seriously.
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No, really. This situation reeks of either drugs, mental ward, rehab, or group home for hi functioning autistic folks.

Can't quite figure out the angle, yet.
 
This is the Bitchslap Diaries on lithium.

These folks you help provide housing assistance to---- when they did ask for a social director/music teacher anyways??? And since when do tenents need to work together??? I've lived in apartment complexes where I never saw my neighbors except coming or going. If there is work to be done around the building WTF does a band have to do with that???

None of this stuff adds up right at all.

Get out your Big Book and read page 449. Then apply it to yourself.
 
WhiteStrat said:
My calculator is broken and even I know you're right...
Click to expand...

I'm betting on the group home thing. Nothing wrong with that I guess, but this is just so odd.

Just tell us the whole story or stop. You are dancing around the issue. And for the love of God, stop bringing helpless kittens into this mess.
 
Malpine Walis said:
Well yes, it is very silly. I wish that I were not having to deal with it but the fact is that I am. So where can I go with this is a good question to ask.

Honestly though, forget the gear as an issue. It is only a symptom of the disease. What I need to address is the disease itself. What happened yesterday is a good example.

Richard called me to see if I wanted to hang out with him. He had planned my day before calling me.

“Let's go to lunch” This means “let's go to the Lucky's and order Cobb Salad”. It is the only place he wants to go to and it is the only thing that he ever orders. Everyone must order what he wants to eat.

“Let's see a movie” This means “let's go to the only theater that I like and see the one movie that is not full of failure”. Not that the movies is any good or even interests me. Such matters are not relevant to what movie he has decided we will watch.

“And then you will adopt the kitten that I have decided you will take in.”

Hold on. Full stop. Does anyone see a problem here?

I am not even allowed to call the person who currently has the kitten on the phone to see what they want to do. I am being told that I will spend the rest of my life with a cat simply because the guy who wants me to do so said that I must?
Click to expand...
Are you currently a 'tenant' in a mental hospital? You and all your 'friends' need to get back on your medication.

I have family members like this...when they are off thier meds. If you really don't have a problem, you need to move and get out of the asylum.
 
Farview said:
Are you currently a 'tenant' in a mental hospital? You and all your 'friends' need to get back on your medication.

I have family members like this...when they are off thier meds. If you really don't have a problem, you need to move and get out of the asylum.
Click to expand...

Anybody else google + yahoo search for this guy?

Interesting results.
 
OK, let me actually thank all of you.

Despite what happened in this thread, it really helped me to figure out where I need to go.

The fact is that my situation was so damned bad that there is only one real solution.

I am going solo.

Thank you all for all of the crap you all gave me. It told me far more than what you actually said.
 
RAMI said:
From the first waste of a post, I think the last thing we can expect from this thread is clarity. :D
Click to expand...

I was hoping for at least some crazy story with details. Not just a post or two from a guy who's entire existence prior to this seemed to be overclocking computers he didn't actually even have.
 
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