Thats a sad story! Are you still enjoying it though? Thats the main thing!

Makes me think of my profession (I'm a teacher, not music but chemistry) and how I am always trying to engage. Easier for me, as I have a captive audience, albeit one that mostly doesn't want to be there!

To keep them onside, I'm always doing random, but fun stuff (cannonfire, blue bottle, Van der Graaf) just to keep them engaged. It's great when I overhear students talking about how much fun they have. Does your band have a gimmick like that? Could be something to think about, doesn't have to be anything to crazy, but something that could make people think, "hey, we should see those guys"

Good luck and keep going!