Guitar Forums

Hi professional drummer here. I’ve played in a ton of bands and I have to say, I am so sick and tired of busting my ass to learn songs, notate, rush to rehearsal to be there on time, just to find the band that I’m filling in for is unbearably unprofessional.

They always show up late, stoned, and have to set up all of their equipment. They are always missing a vital piece of equipment and just shrug their shoulders and say “eh we’ll be fine”. They are completely unbothered by this and see no rush. They are never prepared with their parts and use rehearsal time as practice time.

I grew up with a conductor who instilled in me the idea that there is nothing worse than wasting someone else’s time. It’s like nobody else was ever in concert band in school.

I work a full 9/5 job and I bust my ass to make rehearsals work in my schedule. to watch a 3.5 hour rehearsal go by only to work on 2 songs is MADDENING. This could have been 45 mins of focus work done with prepared songs but instead it’s 3 hours of bullshit. I always look like the asshole but I don’t even care anymore. I’m right and they need to stop thinking mediocrity is acceptable and act like adults.

You’re in the small fish pond with a mentality / drive of someone in a big fish pond. It’s kind of a corny statement but it’s true. When you’re not successful yet but have what it takes to be, you’ll be frustrated trying to work with your peers who are around your success level but don’t have their shit together, especially when they’ve been around for years. There’s a reason they haven’t found success yet.

Story of my life.

I was surprised by how high the incompetency goes. For an industry that can transport and set up a rig from one city to another in 24 hours, people seem to drop organizational skills completely when it's a matter of courtesy.

There's always serious musicians out there. But they're taken.

It's amazing how many people lack the simple ability to show up on time, care about what they’re doing, or practice.

There are always serious musicians out there, but they're often taken.