Just for a change and something different, I'm thinkin of joining a local worship band-one of those bands that plays in church on Sunday mornings (the only bad thing). I see a lot of them on the local cable channels. Some of them ain't too bad, and others....well you know. There always seems to be one featured guy in the band --a keyboard/singer that seems to run the show. I just wondering if any of you guys are doing this, and how it works out for you.
I have a bass player friend of mine who plays or used to play in the 700 club band down in Florida a while back. He said he always made good money and was well taken care of. He wasn't religious, so he had to watch how he acted at times. I'm not religious either, but it sounds like a new challange, and something different than the same old bar band tunes and scene.
I just hope I don't run into a cult or a real bunch of hard core worshipers.

Remember the church band with James Brown in The Blues Brothers movie? They were great!!

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Life is like a sh*t sandwich. The more bread you have, the less sh*t you have to eat.

I have been playing bass for our female singer's praise band the last few weeks while the regular bass player has been out. It has been fun, the songs have been fun, and I have enjoyed myself. I have enjoyed the experience. I also am not very religious and it has not been an issue. You should give it a try. If you don't like it and feel uncomfortable you can always quit.

That sounds really cool. Different musical directions can really help a player. Sadly I have to admit that I thought that you were talking about a Jimi Hendrix cover band since I've heard the term "worship music" used with his music many times.

The wierd part about it is that even though it's in a church setting, as long as you have people involved, you have some of the the same egos/feelings/anxieties and arguments that can be there in a bar band, just less the alcohol and smoky haze.

I've been involved in a band at our church for over 5 years now, minus a 1 yr break in the middle somewhere. We used to have one "featured" guy, he wrote some songs and sang the lead part on everything. Here's how that ended for him......I had a conversation with the church choir director about a band/choir collaboration, and I even had a song. Our "featrured" guy/leader blew a head gasket that I had overstepped my bounds, etc. So the day we performed it during a service he didn't play at all, refused to. I said I would never go back there.

But after about a year the other musicians and myself tried again with a new "charter" that we wrote up, made things more democratic. We now have drums/bass/2 guitar/violin/piano, everyone gets to sing and can. It all works pretty well now.

Good luck, if you're the new guy watch how the politics work in the church and band to get a feel for where the band fits.

And enjoy.

Wow, wrong in so many ways, even for a couple decades ago..

Ha Ha, Nevin you beat me to it. LOL
Last time I watched it, it was stuck in my head all day.

What you need to understand about anything to do with any modern pentecostal/baptist/evangelical church is that they run on authority and responsibility. You'll never really get any authority until you show yourself to be responsible. The person who excersizes authority over you has to report to someone.

Once you can get your head round that, you'll do fine.

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No no and no

Probably one of the best church bands ever!



Very true. I've been playing in, at and around church ever since I was 14, which is basically the span of my entire guitar playing "career". Some of the bands I've been in have been absolutely horrible from a ego/people standpoint. But on the flip side I've also been in some bands where I've made some very good friends and had a good time. It's sort of the luck of the draw. You never know who the pastor will be (guitar solos or choirs and organs?) and you never know who the band leader will be (enthusiastic or a complainer?) and you never know who the person is between the band leader and pastor (youth minister or choir director?). You have to be prepared to encounter people who hate rock and/or guitar altogether or just in church. Ignore everything they say.

In some bands I've been in I've had absolutely no say in anything, and there's really nothing that sucks the fun out of music like that.
But it's not all bad, it can be very rewarding. The band I'm in now at church is really great. I get along very well with the other members, and we all have a say in what we do. I'd say that as long as you have your heart in it and want to do it, go for it!

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Do it!

My favorite band i been in so far is my praiseband...

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(former user jimbo612)

Totally go for it. At least you know you have a gig every week and if you are getting paid thats a bonus.

Masterhacker- Really? Church? Authority? Obediance?

Wearing a clip-on tie?

Go for it man! I'm doing the same, and i can tell you from experience, there's no more worthy a cause to perform from the heart with, than doing it to help souls draw nearer to their lord. There are few opportunities in life where you truly have nothing to lose, and Boy howdy! so much to gain! it will change your life forever, for the good, in a huge way. try checking out the worship team training videos of paul baloche at youtube. It's good stuff man! Lord bless!

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I believe in Christianity as i believe that the sun has risen. not only because i see it, but because by it, i see everything else. C.S. Lewis

A girl that I've done some recording collaborations with does it every Sunday. She lives in South Dakota and is a sweetheart...check her out :

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default ... dID=706035

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Being able to play and enjoy music is a gift that's often taken for granted.

Don't leave home without it!

I started a band in my church about 6 months ago. We started by playing once a month. Now we are playing every other week. The organist/choir director has even asked us to play during the hymns. It has been a blast.