1. When the bad outweighs the good.

2. Same as any job, when you have given them a decent amount of notice and not left them in the lurch for gigs (or recording plans) that you had committed to. Be assured that people will talk about the circumstances of your departure, and your objective is to have them say "s/he did it in a classy, professional way" even if they are upset at you. Don't be the guy that walked off the stage in the first set, after someone gave you a nasty look....

It is interesting that one persons says a band "must be a dictatorship", and another says a band "must be a democracy". That's like saying a band must be anarchistic, or must all live in a commune together, or must all be the same religion. Dif'rent strokes...but decisions must be made somehow.

I say the only musts are:

1. there must be a process for decision-making which everyone understands and has bought into.
   
2. Everyone needs to understand that making great music is a matter of give-and-take. Even if you are the acknowledged leader and have the decision-making power, you have to be prepared to say "OK, we'll try it your way" sometimes, or you will soon be playing by yourself.
   
   

W-O