Opinions on my 'bandmates' situation

So I am trying to pull a new band together to do modern rock cover tunes.
I did this a few years ago with some friends and we got really tight with the instruments and sounded good, but we never found a singer that did the band justice and then the drummer moved out of town.
Since then the 2nd guitarist had a kid and sold most of his gear. He wants to get back going with us, but would need to buy an amp....not an inexpensive task and I really don't know if and when he can. Plus having a kid along with his new job puts a major strain on time dedication.

So right now I am working with the following:
Original bass player. Been in every band or project I have done. Best man in my wedding. Solid player that holds a great groove. Not really flashy, but always solid. He is into it and wants to play.
Vocals - my newly acquired Bro-in-law. So far I think he has potential. Doing a wide range of covers isn't easy to pull off. I think he can do it and seems into it enough to make the committment to work on it.
Drums - Acquaintance through someone at work. Nice guy, laid back and very quiet. Been playing a long time, but not playing much recently as his wife doesn't want anything to do with drums in their house. Not sure how much 'band' experience he has. Got a new set recently and it sounds good. But, he is LOUD!!!!!!!! That is the first problem. How do I go about getting him to quiet down in a nice way? I can't see how he can even hear anyone else. And I hate getting into the volume war....loud drums...turn up the guitar....louder drums, etc. With the setup and equipment in my jam room the vocals through the monitors get buried quick and the room is too small to turn up w/out feedback, which hasn't helped me really analyze the bro-in-laws vocal abilities.
Other drummer issue is he is a self employed landscaper. Has the time to jam now while it is the offseason, but I can't see him stopping in the middle of a job every Wed to come to band practice. Not sure how to handle that. I suppose I should lay the question out to say...hey we want to make this a serious thing....what is your committment to it and how will your working season effect that. And if the answer is "can't jam in the landscaping season", do I get another drummer right away? I guess I hate making the time investment and then seeing him leave when we are about ready to play out.
2nd guitar - Drummers only worker. Same scheduling issue as above. Plus the kid has a SS Crate combo that just ain't gonna cut it. Besides the fact that it sounds like a fart in a tin can....it just can't hang with my Tremoverb, my bass players SWR gear and the nice (and LOUD!) drum set. I feel like a snob, but his gear just doesn't fit the sound we have. His playing was better than I expected (played w/him tonight for the first time). And I think technically he can play the rhythm parts, but what do I do with his tone? If he doesn't quickly realize it needs to be addressed...do I say something? And even if I do I don't know that he has the cash or is willing to put it out to improve his sound.

This is an amateur thing on the side that I want to do for FUN. But at the same time I strive to make my tone sound as good as I can and want the band to come together sounding good as a whole.

Thoughts?

Ouch.

First the time committment during the summer for your drummer and other guitarist may solve some of your problems... ie new band mates.

With the loud drummer I would just talk to him before practice in a 1x1 situation. Make sure the others aren't around and ask him to play softer. You could tell him his employees amp can't cut through his loud drumming and no one can hear him.

As far as the dude with the Crate I would let it slide if it's just for fun. Eventually he'll get sick of sounding like crap and will buy a new amp or stop jamming.

Do you have a backup amp? Have your buddy (one with the kid) come over and jam with your bro-in-law without the drummer to get a feel.

Regarding the volume war issue:

Have an outside observer, like a professional soundman or DJ, or even somebody in another band, listen in on one of your practices. If this person's reputation is respected, then his opinion should influence policy. (In business, we call these people 'consultants' and they make a lot of money for throwing their opinions at us!)


Regarding personnel:

Your band will stay together if everyone has similar goals and priorities when it comes to balancing fun, jobs, families and other personal committments. The drummer and his worker are most likely very different from the rest of you when it comes to this. Handling it now will be a small confrontation. Handling it later will be a big confrontation.

For the volume issue - Ask him why he hits so hard. He might have trouble hearing himself or something. Usually drummers hit harder if they can't hear themselves clearly. Maybe you should encourage your drummer to get a pair of earplugs. Just be thankful that your drummer doesn't have occursed Projection Crashes. I played in a band with a dude who had 2 projection crashes and those things were the loudest friggen cymbals in the world.

For the time commitment of the landscaping dudes - If people can't commit the time or they are just 'temporary members' I'd give 'em the boot. Its good to get some practice in but you shouldn't really focus on getting tight with two members that aren't going to be able to commit time down the road. The time could be better spent locating new members that would better fill the positions.

For the dude with the crappy crate amp - Being in a band where you intend to play live requires having good gear. If he can't get the gear then he's not for you. I know this sounds pretty bad but that's the cold reality of the situation.

Just some thoughts.

Boogieslide,

Drummer issue: Man, I've been there before!!! My bands drummer was the heaviest hitting drummer I've ever played with...the guy would break a drum head every other practice, and constantly busted his double bass pedal. He couldn't hit lighter, it threw off his timing...we just put in earplugs and muffled his drums the best we could. (He then moved to NYC to pursue another opportunity.) The search for a new drummer was on...we just found a guy who is incredible...heavy hitter but knows how to back off. If he starts hitting too loud and we mention it more than once, he switches to lighter sticks that have some foam something or other that really quiets things down...maybe your guy could try that.

Guitar player issue: Switch places with the guy...let him stand where you do. He'll see immediately that he can't be heard and sounds like poo. Let him play a song or two through your rig...that ought to get his GAS flowing a tad. He doesn't have to spend an arm and a leg on a quality head...I'd suggest talking to John over at Main St. in Webster...he's got some decent gear at reasonable prices. I'd even be willing to talk to him as I've got a few extra cabs he could try out. (We could work something out, seeing as how we're almost neighbors and all. :wink: )

Erik

Thanks for the feedback Erik.
Actually since I posted this things have gotten a bit better. Problem now is just with scheduling. With buying/selling houses and the crazy pace at work lately....on top of my bass player just moving, it has been two weeks since we jammed.
But a few of the jams we have had went well and everyone seemed to be more conscious of trying to achieve a good sound together. The drummer hasn't been quite as loud and has calmed down a lot on the playing between stuff. The second guitar player has been pointing his amp more towards me and found his volume knob 8)
I am not wild about his tone, but I have definitely heard worse from SS amps. For most of the stuff it should do.....although when the volume does creep up he is the first one to get lost cuz the thing just can't keep up.
We have been able to all communicate well and talk through the songs before we hit them so we have parts worked out and any counts or whatever than anyone is unsure of are addressed. Made for some pretty tight songs. This thing has potential, we just need to get the consistant practice in around the rest of our lives.
Good news is I have a contract of Sale on my house and everything is looking good on the home we are trying to purchase in Webster!!! A few loose ends to tie up and then it is just a matter of packing and waiting for the closing date, which should be mid April. So I will be an even closer neighbor in a few weeks :lol:
Still trying to find a good date to pull a improv jam together with a few different guys. I found another bass player that would like to jam out some time so hopefully I can open up a date in March to do it.

Later