Philosphical Compromises

Im working on a duo project with a friend. we have pretty different taste in music, different ideas about how a band works and different levels of skill. My question to ILX is: can a band function with multiple philosophies in play? Anyone have issues with this? Can people with different ideas of how a band is supposed work or what music is actually be in a band together?

Yes.

Some people may.

Yes.

If it couldn't, no band would ever work.

yeah i think that tension is necessary for originality, or else you just end up playing music that sounds like all your similar tastes

different taste and different levels of skill can be fine and even good. different ideas about how a band works can be tricky...usually this comes up (for me, anyway) as a conflict between the bandleader(s) vs. democratic model of band organization. honestly i've had better experiences in bands where one or two people have the final say on things, it seems like a lot more gets done that way. otherwise you end up with endless band meetings and email chains, arguments, voting, ugh.

Dont get me wrong, im all for the play of ideas and styles (in fact its why i wanted to work with her in the first place. on the surface its a compelling match - shes very rock n roll, all free love, tattoos and crazy outfits. im a low key, brainy, sensitive snob) and i love to experiment. i want this project to work, but maybe im approaching it the wrong way? how many people are in your band Jordan? whats your role in it?

Sometimes I get frustrated by the compromises inherent in any collaborative endeavor.

Last year I was all whiny about being overruled on a fairly minor point of album sequencing; I was convinced I was right and they were wrong wrongity wrong and stewed about it for days. It colored my whole thought process, the vexing notion that to get them to help realize my vision (gack, I know), I was obliged to help them realize theirs. So I vowed to spend a month alone in my studio re-recording all the songs I had written, EXACTLY as I intended them to sound before those fuckers fucked them up.

But. When I need to jam and/or rock out, there's no substitute for other people. And it's relaxing to let someone else come up with stuff and just hang back on the drums.

So for me it's a pendulum.