How does one survive?

[Fakespace]

This is general but Katatonia have been going for some years now.
What I want to know is how does a band survive this long and does it shape their music? Our first gig was about a week ago and it was a flop. We were pissed of our faces and all the tuning mucked up on our guitars (why don't the things stay in tune?) I got really pissed of and was swearing and everything, but to be honest I don't remember it, then I walked of and sulked all evening. At least now I can look back and laugh. We did another gig and it was ok, not too bad. When I saw Katatonia play at the Peacefest I loved it but only now do I realise how hard it must be to perform that good.

 

[Windom Pearl]

Hey, man, welcome to the world of frustrated musicans!

I think the survival itself doesn't shape the band, but people moving through time tend to change, and maybe grow. So they become better musicans (usually). And the longer you play with the same guys, the better the sound gets.

But. Musicans are such assholes. I'm one of the worst! We had this band "Pungee", that played funkrock (YES! I ADMIT IT!). For the three years we played together I was always saying "You know guys, this music of ours sucks. I feel I want to quit." But I didn't. It was fun, it just wasn't anything I could do with a heart.

So they said "Just write a song you'd like, and we'll play it." But at the time I just wasn't good enough to write the kinda music I would have liked to. Now I am, but it's too late. On the other hand, they would have hated it, and wouldn't have been good enough to play it.

Blahblah. My point is : Yes it is hard! And after all the survival depends not on musicanship, but chemistry. You just have to love the guys you play with. You can't think "That guy sucks as a player, but we have to keep him, since we know no other basists." (Now how did I come up with that example????)

What? No, I haven't managed to survive. My current band has existed for only about three months now. And it goes great, but....you never know.

Oh, and about the gigs. Every singe band, no matter if it is BLACK DARK ANGEL from the sewers of Oslo, or Dream Theater, have and at least have had their really bad moments. Nothing you can do about it. People suck. But they're also the audience. So audiences suck.

Aw. I think I'll quit music and start to paint pictures with fingerpaints.