Secrets of a Great Band: Have a Leader!

This is part of a series of short posts from my own experiences on what it takes to get a band off the ground and into the habit of playing out regularly. These tips may not work for everyone, but they're based on how we did it in World Racketeering Squad.

Any great band is a collection of strong personalities. It’s essential that one member take on the role of band leader, guiding the band’s direction with the approval of the other members. Otherwise, ego clashes or a lack of direction can result.

You must have a leader

Nothing contributes as much to the success of a band as having one member take on the role of bandleader, with the approval of the rest of the band. You’ve got to have one person guide the ship and set the direction for the band.

If you don’t, two things may result:

• Either everyone has strong, vested opinions about everything and you have huge ego clashes any time a decision must be made.
• Or your band has very little direction, without anyone taking great steps to make anything happen for fear of disenfranchising the other members.

Strong personalities

If you’re in a band, chances are you’ve got a pretty strong personality. You have strong opinions about what kind of music is good, what kind is bad, what music you want to make. The other members of your band most likely have strong personalities, too.

You probably want to get along well with your bandmates, and you’re probably friends with them, and you don’t want to hurt their feelings or insult them. You want to respect them and you want them to respect you.

Ego clashes

In World Racketeering Squad, we have been through this and come out the other side. When we started, it was just Reed and me performing by ourselves on stage. Sometimes we played with just my guitar, sometimes we used backing tracks. We were still very new at having a band, so it was pretty easy to agree on most things.

After Bruce joined and we became a full band, playing live shows in clubs, we became more ambitious. It’s important to have a vision and I had a strong vision for where I wanted the band to go. So did Reed, and our visions didn’t always match up.

We started clashing about things at rehearsals, because there was no clear agenda, we always just assumed we’d be democratic about it and decide by consensus. So we’d have long discussions, sometimes arguments, about which songs to practice, which ways to arrange them, even trivial details about individual lyrics or musical parts.

Whoever wants it the most wins

At various times Reed had told me that he considered me the bandleader of the group, since he was newer to music and I had some experience in playing, writing, arranging, and so on.

Eventually I told him I felt we needed to decide who was the leader--if I was the bandleader, we agreed that I would be in charge. This means I’d take on the organizing responsibilities, like:

• guiding the rehearsal agenda,
• making the final call on shows to play,
• designing the set lists, and so on.

Finally making this decision was a load off of everyone’s backs. It meant a bit more work for me, because there’s work to be done in advance of a good rehearsal or a good gig. But it also meant far less fighting or arguing at practice time or on stage, and that Reed could focus on his strengths of songwriting, singing, and improving his bass playing.

Benevolent dictatorship

Having a band leader doesn’t mean one person rules with an iron fist, disregarding the opinions of others. It just means there is someone to make the final call.

We still consult each other on the set list, on where we want to play, on which songs to record, and so on. We’re a much happier team now because I’m happy to do the work of being leader, but I know that Reed and Bruce and I can sit down together and make important decisions that affect the whole band.

If someone has a strong enough objection to anything, I wouldn’t be a very good bandleader if I just ignored that. It’s a balancing act between being a strong leader and respecting the input of others.

No clear direction

The alternative, if you've got a group of personalities that want to make sure everyone gets along, is that not enough might get done to move your band forward--gigs don't get booked, rehearsals aren't as efficient as they could be--because no one is willing to step up and take the reins.

This isn't going to be satisfying in the long run, because nobody wants to be in a band that's not going anywhere! If one person can accept the responsibility of being leader, everyone will be much happier because they'll be having fun, playing shows, learning a lot at rehearsal and feeling excited about the future.

Previously:

Secrets of a Great Band: You've Got to Play!