"To have a band you need to master people and not music"

Your friend is very wise indeed.

The whole process involves people, even those not in the band. Each has their own motivations for being involved. The venue, the crowd, the publicist, the radio stations, have distinct reasons for working with you.

Finding the right buttons to push for each actor and orchestrating the whole play is a great idea for a post and I do go into that more in How I Booked 300 Shows Per Year For My Rock Band - Growing Your Music Into A Business.

The whole experience taught me so many lessons about dealing with people that serve me well to this day. Better than a degree in psychology at the university would have.

Working with people is the key to having a working band.