There IS a difference. A handful of people who jam together occasionally to make a few bucks or students who play recitals together are not bands. Bands are families that bring their talents together to express their hearts with song and melody. They mesh their creativity and form cohesive works. They make music because it is what they want to do more than anything else, and it is as necessary to them as breathing.
Some bands rise to stardom.
Some wonderful bands will never be known by you and I, but their music is just as awesome as platinum selling artists. What is important to most of them is that they have the opportunity to play - for their music to be heard and enjoyed by others. Successful bands are those that accomplish this consistently and stay true to their music and their fans while continuing to create music. I had the opportunity to meet the members of Slaughter recently and was really inspired by their story. In my opinion they possess all the qualities of true musicians and they have shown consistently that they are a BAND in every sense of the word.