You and your bandmates are cruising down the highway en route to a dream gig at an ocean-side club that, by all accounts, resembles a hornier version of Beach Blanket Bingo. It's a beautiful summer evening, and you can't wait to get started.

But just three songs into the first set, you suddenly find yourself mentally plotting the overthrow of the other guitarist, who insists on repeatedly blasting improvised fills straight through the lead vocals. It wouldn't be so bad if he hadn't already turned his Fender Twin up to "Stun" in order to match the seismic attack of the bass player, who's been rendered totally clueless because of monitor trouble. As far as the drummer is concerned, that's still no excuse for playing out of time, and the two of them have been fighting over tempos since the first downbeat.

Two hours later, when the gig finally ends, the tension could be cut with a knife. You quickly pack up your gear, vowing never again to stand in the same room with this band of tone-deaf, egomaniacal monsters.

How is it that a group of otherwise well-balanced, mature music makers can suddenly degenerate into an unruly, uncompromising pack of thugs the second the show starts? Is it a matter of fighting for the spotlight? Fear of forgetting some tricky changes? Pent-up frustration with a drummer who still doesn't know all the intros after three years on the job?

The fact is, not everyone's cut out to be a cog in a musical machine...
Read on: http://guitar.com/columns/viewcolumn.asp?columnID=24