Firing Band Members (and Being Fired)

Something similar led to his quick getaway from the Brides of Destruction. Not sure why I've left The Throbs so quickly.

 

And Dickey caused it himself.

 

The case of the Stones and Ian Stewart is strange. Not fired, but rather demoted/exiled within the band.

 

In contrast to Tull the fabulous Fairports have gone through god knows how many line ups but I think Ian Matthews is the only person who was fired, by Ashley rather nastily I understand.

 

I think Judy Dyble was too.

 

Exile on Stones Street, featuring Ian Stewart.

 

Not strange at all, in the context of the 60s pop scene. I think Andrew Loog Oldham's rationale was something along the lines of "six is too many for the picture & his 'look' isn't right anyway."

Not saying I agree with ALO.

 

For reasons #2 and #4, see file: “The Byrds”

 

Not the same as they were musicians accompanying a solo artist

 

To a great extent, no question about that, but the Allman Brothers' was a strained fraternity eve in its early days existing in an atmosphere not conducive to genuinely empathetic camaraderie. put simply, bandmembers preferred to fight or engage in avoidance rather than confront serious issues with some measure of maturity.

 

Ted Nugent - only one alpha dog allowed in his band - him!

 

Eddie VH - yeah........see Ted Nugent

 

When the Jefferson Airplane started out, Marty Balin was the group's leader (although that role would eventually even out over the next couple of years). Signe Anderson voluntarily quit because she was pregnant and decided she just wanted to be a mom. That was not, however, the case with Skip Spence. Balin has said in interviews that he fired him because the group (understandably) simply got fed up with the guy's obvious "psychological issues."

 

Some perfectly competent and reliable band members had to go because the exes came back: Patrick Moraz, Ray Wilson, John Corabi, the guy who sang on Deep Purple's Masters & Slaves

 

I remember an interview with Jerry Marotta around the time of So's release when he said that he had missed some of the sessions to work with Paul McCartney on Press to Play (poor guy).

 

Watched a doco on Netflix yesterday called 'Hired Gun' that interviews several famous session guys and touring musos, Billy Joel's ex-drummer Liberty DeVitto is less than complimentary about the way Joel fired his band of nearly 10 years, going so far as to lay some of the blame for for bassist Doug Stegmeyer's subsequent suicide on the way the band was fired.

 

Sometimes the fired person is simply the odd man out.

 

Randy Bachman has always asserted that he left on his own accord, essentially for the reasons listed here. Was that not the case?

 

You were in 'The Throbs?!

...but seriously...

His "songwriting ambitions" that annoyed his previous bands before he had proven himself as a natural, effortlessly prolific, top notch tunesmith with The Wildhearts, have become the specific reason he's been hired by some bands as a member or even just a co writer during more recent times when his own career had been on the wane (due to record company problems mainly) and prior to his renaissance (due to his discovery of crowdfunding - no record company needed anymore).

He joined Michael Monroe's (of Hanoi Rocks) band to record the album 'Sensory Overdrive' which included IIRC 2 new songs written by Ginger alone, with all the rest of the songs on the album co-written by Ginger (aside from the 'bonus track' included on some editions of the album - which was co-written by Lemmy!)

He also co-wrote about half of the songs on the 'Jason & The Scorchers' album 'Halcyon Times'

...and while touring with her band he co-wrote this:



...as far as why he left 'The Brides Of Destruction' the short and sanitized version currently available on the BoD wikipedia page has this quote from the man:

"When I realized that I wasn't gonna really be able to put 100 percent into that, I figured it would be fair to tell them sooner rather than later that I wasn't gonna be able to do it. I don't believe in messing people about, so I told the guys. I mean, they were gonna get me a work visa, and they were gonna pay me for shows and stuff… I just figured I'm not gonna take a penny if I'm not gonna last the duration — I believe in being straight with people. . . It's important to salvage friendships, especially in the face of adversity in the shape of money and music — I don't wanna lose friendships because of money or music. So I decided that I'd rather be these guys' friend forever than start an album that I wasn't gonna finish, or start a tour that I wasn't gonna finish [...] This is as fair as it could possibly be. And bad news isn't gonna feel good whenever you find it out, so it's best to find it out sooner rather than later."

The down and dirty (and highly detailed) version of the story of why he left (and why he joined in the first place) the 'Brides of Destruction' is located here:

Ginger Says – Valor Del Corazon | Ginger Wildheart

 

Actually, he had decided to quit, but as soon as he walked into the room to tell them he quit, Burton Cummings said, "Randy, we don't want you in the band anymore."

 

Harsh considering the other Stones, save for Brian Jones, were just as haggard looking.

And why did they not "reinstate him" after Oldham was sent packing? I had 3rd row, side seats for the 1981 tour and poor Stu was at his piano by the steps leading up to the stage.

 

Actually Ray Wilson had already been dismissed (circa 1999 - shortly after their touring cycle in support of the CAS album) and was long gone (nearly a decade) by the time Genesis did their reunion tour with Phil in 2007. This in contrast to Moraz and Corabi who were dismissed after work had already begun on their intended second album with their respective bands, when they were each fired specifically to facilitate the immediate return of their predecessors.

 

He wasn't dismissed/sidelined from the original lineup for being "haggard looking". He was sidelined for looking like he was in his forties! He looked like he could have been the other members' dad (when he was in fact two years younger than Bill Wyman)!

Perhaps he wasn't reinstated just due to inertia, or perhaps it was down to his reported flat refusal to EVER play on any song that has a minor chord in it. Hence the fact that Stu was far from being the only keyboardist to perform on Stones albums while he was alive. Why rehire someone as a full time member when he refuses to play his instrument like a full time member?

 

At least if a band member is sacked there's been some show of guts, however ill-founded.

I've often heard or read of band members being constantly threatened with the sack. I've always felt sorry for those who have to live in that purgatory.

 

I guess for the same reason they insisted he be inducted into the ROR HOF with them. He was a Rolling Stone.