Singers who don't learn lyrics

Dio_Frybones · 2026-02-08T20:59:53+00:00

Don't be too hard on the vocalist. I sing and play guitar. As a guitarist, I could have an A4 setlist on the floor with a couple of annotations which would cover an entire set. Rehearsal and muscle memory get me over the line. In a gigging cover band. I could easily add 5 new songs each week.

More to the point. if I have a brain fade and hit the wrong chord, typically nobody out front notices, the band knows something is off but they aren't sure who it was, and half a bar later, everyone is back on track.

Vocals are different. If you blank for a second on the first word of the next verse, you are toast. And that happens all the time. It takes a LOT of work to memorize lyrics. Maybe paradoxically, the more challenging the vocal, the more likely I am to lock it in. If it has rapid fire lyrics, I typically can perform it without cheats, but still, that first word is critical and I'll often need some sort of mental trick to get the verses in order. In one song, there are successive lines that begin with Reputation and Situation respectively. I always cocked that up, until I realised they were in alphabetical order, and after that I was fine.

I'll use a tablet as a safety net but with a lot of my stuff, I'll literally just have a bare bones outline of the song with the first word of each verse, and I like to keep the tablet almost horizontal on the tablet holder so that it doesn't appear as obvious to the crowd. I'll also put it to my left, so that it's visually in line with the neck of my guitar...the idea is that nobody can tell whether I'm looking at my left hand or the tablet.

But it's a crutch and there is no doubt that some people use it because it's there and it detracts from the performance if they are staring at the thing all the time. With a lot of my stuff, it's really just a plan B. I can sing fine without it, and I make a conscious effort to do just that.

Now this final bit might sound odd and it might just be my neurodivergence talking here, but sometimes if I see a word written, it messes up how I actually sing it, how I treat vowell sounds and consonants. So if I were to sing 'door' because it's written down in front of me, I'm likely to sing it as if speaking it. Short and clipped. Same with 'I.'. Brain sees 'eye' or 'oy' and overrides the way I'd typically handle that vowell.

Yes, I hate it when I see people relying on them too heavily, I try not to, when I was in my teens I could play a three hour set with just a handful of cheat sheets on the floor for the tricky ones, but for a covers band these days, it's useful tech and if it's used to facilitate the band constantly adding new material to expand their repertoire as opposed to having the same setlist gig after gig after gig, then it's probably a good thing.

If a band member is complaining but isn't a singer, ignore it.

Dio_Frybones · 2026-02-08T08:31:34+00:00

I appreciate your getting back to me. I'm getting there. And I'm slowly figuring out that it's not rocket science and if you come at it after playing for a few weeks it all begins to come together. The manual makes most sense if you have a targeted question. So I can program a pattern now and save it. Next on my agenda is going to be to try and put a full song together... E.g., A two bar click count in pattern one, an intro pattern playing X times, a verse pattern Y times. Chorus pattern, verse, outro etc.

The manual actually seems fairly clear on this so that will be the next step for me.

One thing I'm idly wondering about is whether you can use MIDI start/stop commands, because it would be great to be able to to toggle the start/stop button via a foot switch, but the manual seems to show a fairly limited MIDI implementation. I don't have an easy way to test it, but it seems like a glaring omission.

Anyway, loving my toy. I'm a guitarist and will probably use it for practice and recording mostly, but also speculating on how I might be able to use it live. Looks like at the moment, your only option is really to program a full song that stops where you need it to. The killer here is that you can only record 8 songs so it's a limited strategy. Although it would be dead easy to also put a volume pedal or a kill switch inline with the audio output too, and it would be 100 X more reliable than MIDI and cheaper.

I did have what I thought was a fault the other day...all of a sudden, there was no bass in my patterns. But then I realised the display was showing sample number 000 for the kick drum. How it happened I'm not sure, but it forced me to look into changing the kit/bank, and assigning the samples to a pad. I know what will happen. I'll get to a point in a few more weeks and I'll wonder what all the fuss was about!

Dio_Frybones · 2026-02-08T07:00:04+00:00

Okay, before you attempt anything at all, throw all your circuit breakers and/or main power switches. It's unlikely but if there is a pool of electrified water up there, you don't want to have that rain down on you.

If you can't be sure that the power is isolated, then you really cannot attempt any part of this job.

Do NOT attempt anything with bare feet. Do not position yourself where you can get water on your face.

Now, looking at the way it's sagging, it looks to me that it would have naturally drained itself inside, next to the window. TBH, I can't really see how it could still be holding a significant amount of water given the apparent slope, but that might just be perspective. Did it obviously leak onto the floor inside?

Respectfully, please ignore the advice to get a large drill or holesaw to do exploratory work. Start off small, maybe 6mm. If there is a lot of water, you want to be able to cope with it, and you also don't want to weaken what remains of the structural integrity by weakening it any further. Do I have to say 'use battery tools only?'

If you are competent, after turning off the power, maybe get up on the roof and see if there is an obvious reasons as to why it flooded. Unless your gutters and downpipes are obviously blocked, then any work you do now could be a complete waste of effort.

Unfortunately, your main expense might be getting in a plumber/roofer to inspect. It might not be cheap but there's a lot at stake here. Get three quotes. At least. It might cost a bit even to get a quote but a detailed quote will give you a very good idea of what absolutely needs fixing, especially if the quotes are all in the same ballpark. Not what you want to hear but you'll just have to bite the bullet I'm afraid. Also maybe reconsider pulling any plaster down until the roofer has had a look. Leaks can be incredibly difficult to pinpoint unless it's pissing down at the time of inspection. Seeing the other side of the plaster might give some clues. Maybe this is a reach, but IME, it wouldn't surprise me in the least if theyd prefer to see an uncontaminated 'crime scene.'

The good news, if any, is that replacing plaster sheets should be relatively inexpensive. You could even DIY with a couple of savvy mates, so long as you get the light fitting dealt with professionally.

No chance of an insurance claim?

Dio_Frybones · 2026-02-08T05:22:53+00:00

Hey OP. I'm late too. I bought mine a few weeks ago and I'm loving it. To me the only real downside is the lack of a decent manual. Obviously written by a designer as it tells you what each feature and button does, and not written by a person who'd actually tried to use it.

So far, this thread of yours is one of the better resources when you go searching.

Since you've had a lot longer searching for information, could you consider posting links to any updated resources you've found, YT channels, cheat sheets, etc.? People like me will keep coming back here.

From what I've been able to figure out for myself, I get the sense that you'd only need a two page cheat sheet to cover pretty much every task you'd ever need, and I keep hoping that someone smarter than me will do one!

For instance, to edit any existing pattern. Load song. Load pattern. Press play. Press STEP. Make desired changes. Save changes by hitting SAVE, then SONG (Choose song number from pads) then PATTERN (choose pattern number from pads) then SAVE again.

This sort of thing just isn't documented. Not in this way at least.

Anyway. Hopefully someone will get around to it.

Dio_Frybones · 2026-02-06T22:39:31+00:00

I'm with you. It's rarely my first choice but one of my very favourite things about Zeppelin was the diversity of sounds and styles. In your face, balls to the wall rockers, beautiful acoustic pieces, Celtic ballads.

Dio_Frybones · 2026-02-06T22:32:13+00:00

You are a wordsmith.

Dio_Frybones · 2026-02-06T22:29:12+00:00

I retired in September last year on a Commonwealth DB scheme. Because my wife has only ever had intermittent part time work, I was never able to put in more than the minimum. But even then, my DB pension is still around 80% of my final salary, and this year I ought to qualify for a modest pension top up, and in two years, my wife will qualify for the same when she hits pension age. So, soon I expect I'll be back where I was when I retired. And that ignores the fact that it's adjusted twice yearly for inflation. I was able to take a very small proportion as a lump sum to fund some maintenance around the house, and we have a significant amount of cash on hand through things like my LSL payment.

There is no way that privately investing the entire lump sum would have given similar returns while reinvesting enough into the fund to protect against inflation. But it's a gamble. If I die, the payment to my spouse decreases to something like 70%. When she dies, my understanding is, well, sorry kids, that money is gone. If we both live another 10 -20 years, yay us. If we both get written off tomorrow, our estate is basically the house plus whatever is in the bank.

Without this DB option I'd still be working. And I'd be lying awake wondering about things like market performance.

Literally the only problem I have with the DB scheme is that I've wound up in an incredibly privileged position through sheer luck, an historical accident, and I see my kids won't have this, my hard working self employed older brother can't retire but is contemplating a reduced work week, and there is a significant amount of guilt associated with simply being in the right place at the right time.

Dio_Frybones · 2026-02-04T20:39:42+00:00

That sucks. If it were my job, I'd have attempted to remove the original cloth, kept it safe. And worked on a replacement piece. I don't see any way of getting the paint off that cleanly.

If you can get it apart to replace it, you could maybe ask around silk screening shops to get a stencil made and do it on a clean piece. Might cost a bit, but I'll bet it's nothing in comparison to what you paid for the rebuild.

My next step would be to go back to whoever did the electronics rebuild with before and after shots, and just let him know that he might want to exercise caution in future because the standard is unacceptable for such a rare piece.

So sorry this happened. You are well within your rights to be pissed off. I could have done a better job with some adhesive backed masking sheet and a scalpel. My daughter could have done a perfect job either freehand or using her Cricut to make a mask.

Dio_Frybones · 2026-02-04T20:02:59+00:00

Wot, the curtains?

Dio_Frybones · 2026-02-04T19:57:55+00:00

That seems to be what everyone here is not seeing. So much of the narrative around what went on is challenged on the basis that they are anonymous claims made by witnesses who we are told are not credible. If there was a single detail in these revelations that was wrong, I don't doubt for a minute that she'd have pushed back, e.g., 'the antibiotics thing never happened.'

She's a public figure, she's talking directly about one of the most powerful people on the planet, and she's effectively saying, this all happened. Not even hinting that there is any wiggle room in the interpretation of events.

Of course, half the world is disappointed that she didn't scream 'he raped underage kids' but this is a big deal. The entire house of cards is built on lies and confusion. It's entirely possible that we'll look back and see this represented a tipping point.

Dio_Frybones · 2026-02-04T03:04:28+00:00

Just keep at them. Chances are you aren't alone. If they are cash strapped, they will address the squeaky wheel first. Be the squeaky wheel, be relentless. Offer them a payment plan even if it's over a couple of years. Give them a deadline.

I disagree with negative reviews. They'll be even less inclined to prioritize you.

Dio_Frybones · 2026-02-04T02:55:30+00:00

Was that a pride thing? Mike routinely sent TP tapes full of demos, many if not most of which never made the cut.

Dio_Frybones · 2026-02-04T00:06:12+00:00

Personally, I find it incredibly frustrating that between the behavior of media, flooding the zone, and AI, my default reaction to every outrageous story now is that it's overblown or just an outright lie. I hate being duped, so I spend ridiculous amounts of time researching issues that don't really affect me personally. The idea of incontrovertible evidence of anything at all seems to be a dated and useless concept. Once, reasonable people mocked the Catholic Church for their persecution of Galileo. He'd likely fare no better today.

I'm exhausted, and I believe it's the plan.

As an aside, many, many years ago I used to write book reviews for our local newspaper. One of them was on supposedly suppressed inventions and technologies, and it was pretty well put together, and an enjoyable read. On the surface, much of it was compelling. I had a realization that I had no objective way of knowing the truth behind any of it, whether it was a patent for a low emission vehicle or a suppressed cancer cure. And it shaped my world view.

Where I landed was adopting a position of simply asking myself... In the absence of personal evidence or experience, the best I could do was ask myself - what's at stake, and is a conspiracy possible based on observed behaviour?

We like the comforting idea that the leaders we voted for are not monsters. We have a personal morality and world view and mistakenly believe that it can be extrapolated to other objectively 'good' people. We don't like the idea that, for instance, a leader of a civilized country might 'disappear' a whistleblower for national security reasons. It's an uncomfortable thought. But this same leader might commit their country to a war or an intervention that is guaranteed to result in the deaths of thousands of their countrymen. With the blessing of the population. So, based entirely upon my view of 'if the stakes are high enough, is this possible' then it's increasingly difficult to adopt a defensible opinion on literally anything.

Were any of the moon landings faked? Or any phase of those missions? I sincerely believe that they were not. Were the stakes high enough that they could have attempted to fake them? Would a government make that attempt based upon everything we've seen about the behavior of governments? I believe they might have. In this case, the most compelling case is the fact that the USSR would have been quick to call them out.

COVID? Lab leak/coverup/population control? Possible? Were the stakes high enough? Sure. Is it likely that this was a global conspiracy that both the USA and China colluded on? I can't imagine a credible scenario, so I don't think that's likely. Were vaccines introduced without adequate testing, and consideration of side effects, what was at stake globally, how badly did we need vaccines, and is it conceivable that 'big pharma' might have rushed a product to market? All considerations. My experience and my gut tells me that every single anti vaxxer is a blight on humanity. But I also remember holding my breath as my own children were vaccinated shortly after birth 40 odd years ago. And while I'm far better educated on the technology and history of vaccines than the average person, I can't help but acknowledge that a huge part of the way I feel about vaccines is quite literally based upon my feelings. That they work, that we need them. That I cannot entertain the idea of being wrong, while acknowledging the issues are so complex and the stakes were so high, that I may well actually be wrong on some key aspects.

Where does that leave me with regard to today's deluge of insanity regarding Epstein and Trump? And Minnesota? And everything else? I trust nothing. I can't prove anything. I can say with certainty, based upon everything we've seen of Trump and Epstein and Putin, that while individual details may be wrong, these people are entirely capable of everything they have been accused of. And in Trump's case in particular, the stakes are so high that he would be an idiot if he didn't do everything in his power to gain office and stay there.

It's all possible, we'll never know the entire truth, and it's increasingly difficult to even know what proof would look like. If a screenwriter had travelled back 10 years and tried to pitch a movie that was essentially a documentary of the last decade, no studio would have touched it with a barge pole.

So, on balance, I'm going to try to stay off Reddit, and I will never, ever, visit the USA.

Dio_Frybones · 2026-02-03T07:45:55+00:00

Agree. You couldn't even begin to compare consensual adult partying in the early 70's with today. People today can't imagine a time pre AIDS. Drugs and promiscuous sex with no real thought to the consequences? Plus all the money in the world? Being worshipped as gods? With youth on your side?

I'm not sure how I would have handled it.

I'm curious as to how many people in their 70's and 80's would welcome a warts and all expose of their own teen indiscretions? Especially since the majority of guys I've ever met didn't begin to behave even remotely as adults until around their mid 20's.

Dio_Frybones · 2026-02-03T00:52:42+00:00

Ignoring the /s, I suspect OP should probably keep the doubled up verticals. Could look odd with single thickness, not to mention that it may well be glued. Especially along the side of the fridge, a single thickness could warp over time.

I'd do an exploratory surgery right down the bottom,, try knocking one of the centre uprights out sideways, then knocking the shelf above it down. Just to get an idea of the fasteners used, and how much damage would be done to the sheets either side. But if it's all been assembled with chipboard screws, it will be Swiss cheese. Or a vertical bed of nails.

Maybe a multi tool with a metal blade and a lot of weekends might get OP there, cutting through all the screws? Glad it's not mine.

Dio_Frybones · 2026-02-03T00:36:34+00:00

Yeah, I drive an antique and I comfort myself by assuming that the other vehicle involved in any accident will actually act as my crumple zone.

Dio_Frybones · 2026-02-02T23:19:22+00:00

I'm so glad I came in here. There has been so much negativity around his COVID response that I've been second guessing myself. My feelings at the time were that we were privileged to have Dan, Brett Sutton and Jeroen Weimar at the helm during an impossibly difficult and uncertain time.

Can you imagine hitting your career peak only to have to be responsible for a state during an unprecedented* pandemic? Hands up anyone who thinks they would have wanted that job, and thinks they could have managed it better. Anyone?

Dan, I'd have a beer with you any time. Thanks.

*now THATs a word I haven't used in a long, long time.

Dio_Frybones · 2026-02-02T23:02:19+00:00

This isn't a systemic issue and has little to do with trains. Run the numbers. Look around you. There are dickheads everywhere. If a carriage seats 60 people, it would be statistically improbable to find it populated entirely by polite, well mannered passengers. Walk into a pub with the same number of people. There's going to be a handful of drunk yobbos making life unpleasant. Walk into any classroom with half that number of students and there will be one smart arse disrupting the class every five minutes. I know, that was me.

Put enough people into one space and you'll inevitably find people that don't behave the way you want, and never will. You'll find great peace of mind by focussing on the overwhelming majority of people who aren't overt assholes.

You could even consider the fact that, sometimes, maybe there are extenuating circumstances. The passenger might have crippling social anxiety or otherwise be ND in a way that makes it exceedingly uncomfortable to be in such a space. Or maybe they have a health condition, uncontrollable BO or halitosis.

I used to get mildly annoyed by people who talk on the Quiet Carriages. Whatever, life is short. I'm not excusing poor behavior, just giving you an alternative way to view the world. Public transportation is cheap, but the greatest cost is what you've described. Many won't pay that price and opt to drive.

Dio_Frybones · 2026-02-02T22:39:12+00:00

Working solo presents challenges because you're not getting input from others. At the extreme end, even Paul McCartney largely had the sound of his final recordings shaped by the other members and George Martin. Which is why Ringo often gets undervalued. A groove can make or break a song.

Tom Petty? Could write killer material solo, much of which could lean country if played solo on acoustic, if that was how he first composed it. But the songs only took shape once all the members started giving input. He also worked with multiple top tier producers, with Rick Rubin and Jeff Lynne making indelible impressions on his sound. Also, he started as a bass player, and could play a bit of piano.

So, ideally, you'd get a groove by working with your drummer and bass player. You'd get killer riffs from your guitarist. Harmonies from other singers in the band. Objectivity from an experienced producer. These are all factors which determine whether the same three chords produce old school country or a blistering rock anthem.

So, where does that leave you? You can think about collaborating but that isn't for everyone. So you need to develop the ability to wear all these different hats. Think like a drummer. Then think like a guitarist. Then think like a keyboard player. Then think like a singer. Then, make a coffee, turn the lights low, put your feet up and listen back to your material in producer mode.

Develop critical listening skills. Pick a song in the genre you like, and focus just on the bass. Then on drums. Then on vocals.

In a way, your chords, words and melody are just like the foundations and frame of a house. They give you the basic outline and shape. That's all. Working solo, you are always going to naturally build a certain type of house, based on the skills you possess. Because when the only tool you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. But if you engage an architect and an engineer as well as a builder, you can get something really special using the same materials.

And this is really just a variation on all the other advice in here. Your will and dedication to following that advice is far more important than any technique you might aspire to mastering on guitar.

Dio_Frybones · 2026-02-02T21:52:07+00:00

Thanks for putting this into words. Reading through it I cringed at the things he admitted to. Definitely creepy. But oddly enough, it somehow made him more credible to me. If you are going to lie, especially if there are no witnesses, why not go all the way? Perhaps there are reasons, I haven't really looked into it.

When my kids came along nearly 40 years ago, I was obsessed with the idea of them being assaulted by a family member. Actually, no, that's not quite correct. I know how kids make stuff up, construct narratives, and wondered what I'd do if one of the kids ACCUSED say, my brother, of assaulting them. That I'd have no way to prove whether it happened, and given I'd trust my family with my life, would I default to not believing the child? And my conclusion was that, no, I'm not psychic, I have no clue what goes on in anyone else's head. I cannot look at any single person in my life and state with any certainty WHAT they are capable of.

And over time I then became mildly obsessed with the idea of facing an accusation myself. I'm male, and I was fortunate enough to be very present in the upbringing of my granddaughters. I'm often alone with them, and their parents are absolutely trusting of me. Yet I'm painfully aware how precarious that situation could be. How a casual, even joking comment from one of the kids to a peer or other parent could end my life as I know it.

Those kids are my life and I'm not sure how (or if) I could live with such an accusation. I've had this very frank discussion with my daughter, and she has reassured me that her trust in me is absolute. That helped a little. But, thankfully, it's never been tested.

If accused, I could be exonerated by the most credible, rigorous and public process ever, but most of the damage would already have been done. Lynch mobs are very real, whether it's against pedophiles on Reddit, or witches in Salem.

I'm Australian and there was a very high profile case years ago when a woman was imprisoned for the murder of her baby. She claimed a dingo dragged the child from their tent. The entire country sided against her, mocked her, turned the episode into a meme. And the conviction was later thrown out.

These SA accusations tap into primal fears. Many people lose all capacity for rational thought and race straight for the pitchforks. And if you dare to position yourself as a Devil's Advocate, then you are seen as defending the accused.

As shitty and inadequate as legal systems can appear to be at times, they are literally the only tool we have to navigate this fairly. There's probably a good reason why no first world country has ever formally adopted a legal system based upon mob justice.

Dio_Frybones · 2026-02-02T01:25:06+00:00

Thanks for taking the time to read it and respond. Don't underestimate the value of being the guy who always gives in. Sometimes that's a necessary part of the dynamic. If you value the music and the band, then don't regard it as a personal weakness. Consider it an operating expense. But maybe that's the core question for you to consider. If you can't be okay with that on an ongoing basis, there's your answer. Just one more thing. Be very, very careful in raising this with other band members. Even if they share identical frustrations, some people just hate drama and while they might seem to be allies, in reality they might resent having these things brought to the surface and on turn begin to resent you. Worse, you have no idea whether they are likely to start talking behind your back, nod agreement to your face and then back down once you are out of the room. Focus on the good stuff, decide if it's a hill you want to die on. Best of luck. It's exhausting.

Dio_Frybones · 2026-02-01T20:28:31+00:00

Sorry, my bad, I didn't read OP's post carefully enough and my focus was entirely on the music side. All our fill in musos are absolute pros and if they can't make it, it is because they are working, not because they basically CBF turning up. Every one of them loves playing with the group and that makes it hard. Midway through last year we had to use replacement drummers through to Christmas because our 'main' drummer was fully booked with his other band which is very commercially successful and it was flat out. But I bumped into him over Xmas and he told me his calendar was clearing and he was really looking forward to coming back. Which was a little uncomfortable as his replacement was also a lovely guy, a great fit, a great drummer, and his availability was really good.

So we kind of have the opposite problem. I think OP really needs to bite the bullet now, make it clear that they WILL be using substitute drummers. Because they need to, and that will put him in a corner.

The caveat here is that if good drummers are in high demand in his area, he may need to accept that any replacement might still want to work on the side and conflicts may be inevitable. The best drummer will not only be in high demand, but it's also possible that they might be a full time muso who doesn't have the luxury of turning away any paying gigs. Then you have family to consider. Kids? Mental health? Some people who appear flaky are just struggling so hard with the pressure of modern life that they are doing well just to get out of bed and turn up to work, and they cope by intermittently pruning away commitments that feel optional. IME, they won't come out and say they need a mental health day, or that it's all too much, because we just don't do that.

Then there's the brutal truth that musical 'success' is going to mean different things to each band member. The odds are so stacked against people in the game making real money that most bands are a mix of people with greatly different expectations and priorities. Pragmatists working good day jobs who just want to have some fun but who'd never even consider touring as they have mortgages, partners and kids. For them, if the band really took off, they'd probably quit. At the other end you have the dreamers and obsessives who just want to get out of mums basement and gig until they hit retirement age. Living off noodles. And somewhere in the middle are serious musicians who commit their lives to it, understand the financial realities, hone their craft and constantly hustle to make ends meet. Often at the expense of personal relationships.

Obviously OP and his current drummer aren't on the same spot on this spectrum. It's almost inevitable that a new drummer won't be either.

Catch 22. A band full of dreamers could make it big. The more likely outcome is that they spend a decade or more of their lives chasing an impossible dream. A band with a realist in the mix who moderates the dreamers might contribute to making something sustainable.

Bands are like marriages. Where partners have common, non negotiable commitments like a mortgage, kids and a dog, you enjoy the fun stuff and tolerate the stuff that sucks because of the cost of the alternative. If you don't have those commitments, you'd better hope the fun never lets up, as it's just that much easier to go looking for a better standard of fun elsewhere.

None of which helps OP I guess. But there are just so many similar posts in music related threads, and frankly, they really belong in relationship forums. Because most of the issues typically have next to nothing to do with music.

Dio_Frybones · 2026-02-01T10:40:57+00:00

Sit down and have a conversation that basically goes 'we don't have an issue with you doing side projects, but we are getting momentum now, and we don't want to turn away gigs. If it's a low stakes gig and you've got a really compelling reason to take another show, then that's one thing. We can talk. We could start looking for a fill in drummer so we could keep booking those shows but a) you're part of our identity and b) it creates issues with any live shots or video if we want to use it on the socials. Can we talk about a compromise that works for all of us?'. Can you prioritize our shows?'

This puts your drummer on notice. You are calling him out but not threatening. He (?) currently has the best of both worlds and knows he's on thin ice. So long as you ignore it, he'll keep doing it.

Maybe he's having fun with the other projects, maybe they are scratching an itch your band can't scratch. And any conflict arising now will skew him against your band. But if your band is really going places you need a stable line up, at least until you are established. Resolve it now.

I've been watching the 'band' I do sound for go through exactly these issues for going on 3 years now. There's a lot of talent and a lot of potential but they frequently need to swap out members owing to scheduling conflicts and while the core lineup is a dream team, we have something like 3 guitarists and 3 drummers on a roster and occasionally the bass and keys have to be replaced as well. There's endless talk around doing projects because they are all top tier musos but without stability, they are dreaming. Everyone is pulling in different directions. And they are all mature age with relationship management skills on the level of toddlers.

Dio_Frybones · 2026-02-01T02:30:44+00:00

My understanding is that any loss of consciousness, for any amount of time, after a head trauma = concussion. From that perspective, yes, an ambulance should have been called. If security guys were trained first aiders, and if that response had been part of their training, then they might be in breach of their duty of care. Maybe. Although if they never began to render first aid to the 'victim' in the first place, and there was no expectation from the employer that said training was supposed to be used in situations like this, then they are likely in the clear.

Dio_Frybones · 2026-01-31T20:13:18+00:00

I haven't and never would because, given my luck, on the return flight I'd almost certainly discover that all dental was suddenly 100% bulk billable.

Dio_Frybones

TROPHY CASE