I have a band, a blues rock power trio. The bass player has been pissing me and the drummer off for the last 6 months. Saturday, he did not show up for rehearsal, and he had not booked our rehearsals for january. This means we virtually get next to no time for rehearsals this month. We have been together for a year and he has always been doing this shit with booking times. He works shifts so he is the one who has to book the times. His attitude is so lacsadaisical and don't careish. The drummer is his good friend and even the drummer says he has to go. The problem is that is SO difficult to find a bassplayer. Not only that but he is recording our demo, cause the 8 track belongs to him. In his defence when we have gigs he is really helpful.
I am in a really screwed up position, cause we know a lot of material right now, even though I am not the happiest with his playing style.I wanted to do a lot of gigs throughout the summer. Now, I dunno what to do...i KNOW i SHOULD FIRE HIM,but I do not wanna be looking for a bassist for 6 months.His approach to things makes things so f***ing difficult. He called today, apologising. I told him that I am so tired of having this same conversation with him.
Advice please...

In my opinion...

You can find better bass players - especially in blues. The issue though is that you'll probably need to pay them more money. Free bass players worth what you pay - in my experience. I went from a buddy who was causing the same problems, to paying a guy $75 per gig and my band improved, the drama left, and we didn't need to rehearse ever. Give the guy a tape and he'd learn the new songs.

That's the advantage to paying somebody more money. But it took me three years to figure it out. Several people told me to do it long before then and I just couldn't bring myself to do it, and in the end, I was disappointed that I didn't do it sooner.

The only drawback is that you get locked into higher paying gigs... so doing benefits or opportunistic gigs, (opening for a major headliner for free, just for the exposure) will have to come out of your pocket to cover the expense.

Phew. It sounds to me like you're really not enjoying working with him. And if music is something you don't enjoy, it really loses its point. I'd rather look for a bass player for a year than have to deal with all the frustration. Or find a creative solution - the white stripes and jon spencer don't have bass players either!
[This message was edited Tue Jan 13 7:10:23 PST 2004 by hectim]

finding good musicians that are dedicated is like finding a pearl in an oyster at Red Lobster.