Originally posted by PonyOne
My old guitarist had this issue where he had been the front man of his old band. He joined the outfit that I and my bassist had started and at first accepted his new role: I was the frontman, and though I did'nt have anything against him doing backing vocals and even having a couple songs where he sung and he did the solos, it never seemed enough.

It came to a head at a practice where he would continually turn his amp higher and higher till low and behold, where'd my SG go?

He was also always complaining that I rarely used chords so much as just one string, or doing something like playing the A and D strings in unison, at the same fret, then moving a finger two frets lower over the D string and then adding another finger to the mix, blah blah blah. I guess that's my fault, I'm not as interested in chords and structures as I should be... but hey, I get the job done, and singing, soloing, and operating a synth via footswitch all at the same time is plenty to worry about...

He eventually left and went to play with a "REAL" musician who went to Berklee (ooh) and a few other whikids that had been honing their craft since they were like 5. And he hated it. It was always "I don't care if it feels right, the way that the scale is structured you can't do it!" and stuff of that nature. So he quit them. Now we're back together as a team, minus the bassist who has left for other pursuits, and are going to try things out again.

David, I used to be in a Christian following, and for a long time went under the "God places people over me for a reason" mentality, but, without getting into a massive philosphical debate, also remember that God blessed us with free will, and as such even if God's master plan is at work, humans can break from that and form their own opinions (can you tell I'm Jewish now?). I believe that eventually it all comes around, but there are many paths along that road.

Perhaps this is to teach you or someone else a valuable lesson, perhaps it's just that this guy is a jerk and he happened to end up in this position, who knows. The bottom line is that you and the other musicians were not being treated fairly, and you should inform him of that.
I don't mean you should barge in and be like "Look jerk, you're being a jerk" but perhaps you should sit down with him and a couple other like-minded bandmates and just be like "look, we don't want to offend you, and we understand that you are the new music director, but we just don't feel like you are taking into account that we are musicians."
God gave you a gift and this guy doesn't have any right to try and stifle it.

I know I said I wouldn't post again, but this one deserves an answer. You have hit it right on the head,Pony.
This minister was music director at his previous church, where his dad was senior Pastor (I wonder how he got that job, huh?). He also has a couple of CD's that he made with that band/choir. I bought both CD's about a month before I left. When I listened to them, I realized that although a full band and choir were credited on the jacket, they could not be heard at all in the recording. I decided then that I did not want to be a part of somebody else's "glory train".
My real problem is that I know I belong in a Christian band/group. When I play worship music, whether a chorus or whatever, that is how I commune with God. Prayer works great, but music is my true prayer language. I have seen people healed, delivered and even receive salvation because the music touched them on that level. I don't understand why a minister of God can't see that when a theologically untrained person like me can.
The part about sitting down with him and talking things out is a really good idea. I have tried to do that on my own to no avail. I also spoke to a couple of band members. They agreed with me, but are afraid to say anything to him because of his position. Our Senior pastor backs up his staff (musicians are not paid staff members) no matter what the situation, so going to him is out of the question as well
Oh, by the way, it doesn't matter if you're Jewish or Protestant or Catholic or whatever. We're all in the same mix together. Actually, the Jesus Christ that I follow is a Jewish carpenter.
So are you a Messianic Jew or an Orthodox Jew?
Once again, I go off the deep end and leave the focus of the forum. Thanks for caring enough to post.

[Edited by PlayLikeDavid on 01-07-2002 at 01:55 PM]