Quote of the Day
As good as I am, I’m nothing without my band.
As a singer, being in a band with other people can be one of the most joyous experiences you will ever have in your life or…it can be HELL. Sometimes we singers get a bit of a bad rap for things like diva-like behaviour, or saying the wrong thing on stage (ask Natalie Maines from the Dixie Chicks about that one), or cutting someone off during their solo…etc. etc. etc. and a major rift between one or more members explodes and there’s the end of your band. Here’s my “30 years of being in the business” advice for the day…GROW UP! A band is like a baseball team. Every member of the team is essential to it’s success. There’s a reason that you formed the band in the first place. Maybe you were on the same surfboard musically or you really dig each other’s artistry, or you are brother and sister and your Mom made you do it. LOL! Whatever the reason is, respect each other for what you each have to offer and check your ego at the door. I am going to stick my neck out on a limb here and say that the member who seems to have the largest ego is often the one who is the weakest link in the band. Be patient and take the high road. Make the music the first priority and you are on your way to having the most harmonious existence and success. Applaud each other for your strengths and be able to recognize and accept your shortcomings so you can work on your own “poop” to be a better singer, player and teammate. Of course there will always be personality rubs that will never resolve and then you have to make the decision to move on or not. There have been so many great bands split up due to oversized egos. Luckily, some of them have reunited in their later years after getting over themselves and realizing what great stuff they did because it was the sum of the parts and not one particular person’s talent that made them a success. Usually it’s the one who thought they were the whole reason the band was a success that has to come to this enlightenment for this to happen. LOL! On the flip side, there are also artists who felt a need to move on to solo careers, formed a new band and found great success that way. So, the morale of this story is… to my fellow singers, always be grateful for all the musicians on your team for if we did not have their support, we would live in a world of musical solitude or accapella (which is a cool thing to listen to once in awhile but not all the time).
Big shout out to “my” Polyester Philharmonic team: Catherine St. Germain, Shane Hendrickson, Harvey Kostenchuk, Derry Byrne, Tom Keenlyside, Bill Runge, Vince Mai, Kristian Alexandrov, Rod Salloum, Simon Jarrett, Steve Soucy and Allan Rodger. The joy I feel when making music with you guys is the same rush as that feeling of falling in love. You all rock and my face hurts the next day from all the laughs!
Until next time… Happy Singing!
Angela
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