Most Band Members In Group

Kevin Fix · Post by **Kevin Fix** » 25 Feb 2018 2:11 pm

What was the largest band you played in? I was playing with a group 3 years ago that had myself on PSG a fiddle player that played sax and sang also and a lead player that played keyboard also and a bass player a drummer and a young lady that sang. All in all it was a great combination. We could play a good range of music. Sorry about the typing. Using. my Kindle in the hospital for a few days. Getting patched up for upcoming picking season. Heart Cathy in morning. GOLDEN YEARS. MY ASS. Group I am with now. Their is 8 of us. Their is another guitar player behind the mandolin player and also the drummer. This was taken about 3 weeks ago. The mandolin player and the front man are husband and wife. The pretty young lady is their daughter. She has a voice like Dolly Parton/Miley Cyrus. Voice like Angels humming.

Jim Cohen · Post by **Jim Cohen** » 25 Feb 2018 2:28 pm

Does my high school orchestra count...?

(Well they didn't, at least not very well at the time...)

Kevin Fix · Post by **Kevin Fix** » 25 Feb 2018 3:04 pm

Hey Jim. Just for you. High School Band counts!!!! Have a good one Jim.

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 25 Feb 2018 4:42 pm

For me, at most it was eight:

Bass guitar, drums, twin lead lead guitars, rhythm (flat-top), keyboards (clavinet & B3), pedal steel, and viola.

But sometimes (in the beginning) it was as little as three:

Bass, drums, and pedal steel.

I've also done solos and duos (with just rhythm guitar), but never at a paying gig.

Bill C. Buntin · Post by **Bill C. Buntin** » 25 Feb 2018 6:30 pm

Largest commercial working band, 7.
Largest band (school) 110

Ben Lawson · Post by **Ben Lawson** » 25 Feb 2018 7:14 pm

Ten people in the group including three girl singers.
Band leader/front man, drums,two fiddles, bass,keyboard, lead guitar and steel. Fiddle players also doubled on lead guitar, Van Manakas and Gary Oleyar. Fooch was with the band for a while too. Good bunch of guys and girls.

Joseph Napolitano · Post by **Joseph Napolitano** » 25 Feb 2018 7:23 pm

Hey Ben, Gary Oleyer's been kicking around here for awhile at the Asbury music scene during the past few years.Also Yuri from Kinderhook. A lot going on here at the Shore!( Sorry about the hijack)

Ben Lawson · Post by **Ben Lawson** » 26 Feb 2018 3:47 am

Hi Joe. Gary is a great musician. We worked together for many years. I hope you're doing well.

Jim Goins · Post by **Jim Goins** » 26 Feb 2018 4:46 am

Hey Kevin. Didn't know you were in the hospital, I will be praying for you, let me know how your test comes out. Hang in there!!!!!. Jim Goins

Bill Moran · Post by **Bill Moran** » 26 Feb 2018 7:02 am

After I stopped playing every weekend I joined a group that just played special events. Holidays , party's and such . We had 5 pieces and a good program worked up. The problem was the guitar player. He would invite every musician he ran into the week before a gig. Some times we would have 12 on stage banging on a guitar . I just figured it was time to retire ? lol The last 7 or 8 years I just would sit in with a group and wing it.

Walter Stettner · Post by **Walter Stettner** » 26 Feb 2018 7:49 am

9, with three singers! Was quite hard to manage.

Kind Regards, Walter

Richard Sinkler · Post by **Richard Sinkler** » 26 Feb 2018 8:39 am

11 to play a convention in a union restaurant. For the room size, they required 11 musicians.

Largest full time band was 8 pieces.

David Cubbedge · Post by **David Cubbedge** » 26 Feb 2018 9:18 am

I recently played in a top 40 country band that would add me on PSG and a fiddle at large shows, which would bring the count to 8. I quit that group after I found out that neither the fiddle nor I were in the mix - we were just eye candy! lol!

I did play at church once where we had a horn section and a choir joining the usual six of us on stage. The count had to be over 30 for that!

john widgren · Post by **john widgren** » 26 Feb 2018 11:29 am

I've played with the Boston Pops July 4th show a few times..I donno.... 60 or 70 players, not counting the Howitzers?

PS: The gig of a lifetime!

JW

Chris Templeton · Post by **Chris Templeton** » 26 Feb 2018 12:30 pm

In sixth grade I played bass in a fathers and sons band called "The Generation Gap".
The sons were the rhythm section and the dads, the horns. I believe there were twelve in the group.

Dick Wood · Post by **Dick Wood** » 26 Feb 2018 1:41 pm

Seven

admin · Post by **b0b** » 26 Feb 2018 3:07 pm

At the recent Sebastopol Guitar Festival we had 10 musicians on stage - and 4 us were playing steel!

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I played with the Santa Rosa Symphony Orchestra last year. I didn't count them, but their web site lists 79 musicians. There were probably about 60 at this show, plus half a dozen "country" guest musicians. It was a real kick soloing on top of that much power.

Mike Taylor · Post by **Mike Taylor** » 26 Feb 2018 3:49 pm

8 ... Drums, bass, steel, lead guitar, piano, trumpet, tenor sax, and lead singer. We had a stage full, and then every now and then we'd have former Texas PLayboy fiddler Bobby Boatright with us. Good times

John Clark · Post by **John Clark** » 26 Feb 2018 4:43 pm

Biggest group I was in was Moe Bandy band in mi90s Drums and Bass, Guitar, Steel, 2 Keyboards, 3 Fiddles and three backup singers. 13 on stage counting Moe It was fun Bus was sure crowded though

Kevin Fix · Post by **Kevin Fix** » 26 Feb 2018 8:11 pm

Hello b0b. That sure is a real crew you have there!!!! I like it!!!

Ricky Davis · Post by **Ricky Davis** » 26 Feb 2018 8:25 pm

14 piece band for me. This is a show in Marfa, Tx..and this songs starts with the Leader(Graham Reynolds ie: award winning movie soundtrack composer); then Me on Pedal steel as the upfront Lead; and then a 4-piece string section and a 3 piece horn section...drums; bass; two guitars and lead violin.
https://youtu.be/SRsGOpuZfCk

Wesley Medlen · Post by **Wesley Medlen** » 27 Feb 2018 4:57 am

I've been in a cowboy church band for 8 yrs. 13 counting singers.

Kevin Fix · Post by **Kevin Fix** » 27 Feb 2018 6:19 pm

Ricky, Great sounds!!! Enjoyed!!!! Is that a Bud LDG your playing? Great tone.

Jim Sliff · Post by **Jim Sliff** » 27 Feb 2018 7:19 pm

Guitar in a 22-piece big band.

Other than that somewhat isolated experience somewhere around 12-15 in a rock/soul/country cover band: 2 electric guitars (I either played guitar/steel/mando/resonator or was the bass player), acoustic guitar, bass, drums (sometimes 2 drummers), percussion, piano, Hammond B3, 2-3 horns and 2-3 vocalists.

Never had problems with stage volume or players stepping on each other. It took rounds of several auditions to even get in, and players "recruited" knew how to play 3, 2..or 1...note "chords" and - most critically - how/when to "lay out" and leave space - like how to mostly NOT play backup.

It's amazing how many talented players with boatloads of chops don't "get" why they lose gigs to players with very average/simplistic skills. There's more to "fitting in" to a band than hot playing and great personalities.

Ricky Davis · Post by **Ricky Davis** » 27 Feb 2018 10:55 pm

oops.

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