[Oskar]

I'd like to think there is a compromise between the two of these, but sometimes it's hard to find. I play with a guy who's always saying "We should just have fun" when we have to hunker down and really work to learn a new song. Well, yeah, I like to have fun too, but I don't want to go out there and sound like crap either. To be good you need to work hard and practice, and sometimes that's just not fun, and egos are going to get bruised. Especially those who 1. Are too lazy to work hard, 2. Don't want to admit they're not skilled enough to learn the song, or 3. They hate the song. My response is "tough".
It always seems that when the demands get a bit stronger the ol 'Hey, I just wanna have fun" comes out.
When we started out 8 years ago we were a bunch of middle age mediocre musicians who hadn't played in years and who happened to have gotten together and formed a band. Sort of like an occasional weekend pickup game of basketball. Great fun, lotta laughs. This is great if all you want to do is be a weekend pickup "basketball team".
Today, after a few personnel changes, and several hundred gigs under our belts, we are a pretty tight band with some interesting originals. We still have fun and a lot of laughs, but we have also moved on to another level. Practices are more serious, song selections are more particular, and commitment to playing is stronger. I think this is important if you really want to establish yourself as a band. If you want to have only fun and goof around, that's one thing, but you'll never get to be a better musician, let alone get a band off the ground. It's hard work no matter how you cut it and it has to be taken seriously at some point.
I can tell many here take their music seriously just from some of the peeves listed.
In some ways I'm having more fun today than I ever had with a band. Mostly because we have gotten better, improved, and continue to work at it. There's always satisfaction in honing your craft.