1st of all, it's been way too long since I've updated this thing. To my loyal reader(s), sorry.
Mickey, former bass player for Scotland Barr, and I just got together recently for quite a long chat. He told me about the Jesse Sandoval interview in the Portland Mercury. Jesse Sandoval, along with Marty Crandall, was recently fired from The Shins. Jesse has long been one of my favorite drummers and thus one of my main influences. You should go over to PortlandMercury.com and read it for yourself. I didn't find anything in that interview that I hadn't already deduced for myself.
As a drummer, I have been fired from many bands, and it seems to be the same everytime: It's always a surprise. Sure, looking back I could see the writing on the wall. But it's never easy when it happens. The way Jesse and Marty were dismissed is very typical. The singer / songwriter of the group (in this case, James Mercer) is the tormented genius. It's a stock character, the troubled introvert who writes and sings amazingly and creates incredible works of art. Then there's the goof-ball class clown drummer. Not shy, not introverted, couldn't write a great song to save his life but loves being in a band.
This was a great source of conflict in the Drags because Mickey and I were always up on stage grinning like idiots even if the show wasn't going well. Others in the band took this to mean that we simply didn't give a shit. I think I had some degree of success in explaining that the reason I tried to always appear to be having a great time on stage is that I feel it is crucial that the band project an image of fun while playing. After all, we want the audience to enjoy the show, and why would they if we aren't enjoying it ourselves. Just because I have this happy-go-lucky demeanor doesn't mean mistakes don't bother me.
This was Jesse and Marty in The Shins. Probably not the most talanted musicians in the band, but certainly fan favorites. They were probably also the ones who could make the other guys laugh, albeit at their own expense, when things got heated. There is a certain dynamic that a band has, when it is made up of friends who started playing together before any of them were really very good, or at least accomplished. There's much more to the sound of a band and the music that band creates , either on stage or in the studio, than the sum of it's parts. Unfortunately craigslist is changing that. Band members are nearly always auditioned and hired based on their ability to learn the parts quickly. It seems like the organic method where 5 friends start jamming in the basement is fading fast. Replacing it is the very business-like weighing the pros and cons of a pool of applicants and selecting the best one on paper before actually really getting to know the person.
Jeff Tweedy famously fired Jay Bennett from Wilco and then took the band on to far greater levels of commercial success. Jay says in the documentary something like "I think Jeff simply wanted his band back." In that movie Jay comes off as a real asshole, but let the record reflect that as soon as "A Ghost Is Born" was released I pointed out and my friend Brian Bergstrom agreed that infact Jay had a much bigger positive impact on the sound of Wilco's records than most people knew. Anyhow, since this famous incident I believe it's become almost a right of passage for singer / songwriters. Re-assert your control of the band. Make the bold move. Fire the person who maybe you clash with the most. It really has a galvanizing effect initially on the remaing members. I've been on both sides of this. Once the naerdowell is gone, he is scapegoated with all of the past problems. Any insecurities on the part of the other players will disappear with the circling the wagons. Only after many months and shows and recordings do you really start to realize exactly what you've lost.
I also feel that a bandmember who on the surfface appears to be the least talanted might just be the key to success. Maybe they can push the songwriter's buttons like no one else. Maybe it's that constant conflict that drives the songwriter and makes the finished product better. Once you jettison everyone who disagrees with you, you have free reign- not necessarily a good thing.
Concerning The Shins, I'm sure James was encouraged by yes-men and business types in his inner circle to make the bold move. Now he is free to bring in the most talented musicians without the constraints of keeping the band togther. He will likely go on to world superstardom while Jesse runs his taco cart and Marty does whatever he's going to do. But it will never be the same. The 4 kids from New Mexico, high school chums out to take over the world, are gone. It's now a corporate machine, where the bandmates are paid employees who know their place and can be hired and fired on a moment's notice.
Anyhow, I'll write more about what it's like to be a drummer in a band of musicians later. And in the meantime, check out the Bradley Wik & The Charlatans show at Berbati's on 8/23. We've been practicing real hard and can't wait to rock P-Town again.
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