# Biggest Band IMPROVEMENT After One Quits/Fired **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 16, 2019, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-band-improvement-after-one-quits-fired/838716 "2019-08-16T00:13:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 2\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![bmoak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@bmoak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmoak)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2019, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-band-improvement-after-one-quits-fired/838716/41 "2019-08-20T23:50:47Z")
Alt-J started out as a quartet, but turned into a trio when bassist Gwil Sainsbury left after their first album and have gotten better and sold a lot more records. The band played NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts in with both lineups, so you can see the difference: [Old](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKdp5uI8AC0) and [New](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zHdLF3-coA). ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2019, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-band-improvement-after-one-quits-fired/838716/42 "2019-08-21T03:55:52Z")
When Barry Andrews left XTC, it opened the door for superb guitar craftsman Dave Gregory to join the band — but it also rid them of a relatively unformed writer intent on recording his own material, which the two established writers (Colin and especially Andy) didn’t care for. Not to mention his keyboard style, while a perfect fit for an energetic New Wave band, would have stuck out like a sore thumb as the band’s songwriting matured. It worked out fine for Barry though. Shriekback were pretty great. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-band-improvement-after-one-quits-fired/838716.md?page=2)