Band trends that need to go away

[bigchiefbc]

My originals group uses a laptop to trigger beats and samples, but we're not just staring at it. I'm usually playing bass and pedz, and my bandmate is usually playing at least two synth lines at a time.

[mathias]

If you're not fugueing it up like Bach with 4 lines at once, you're not working hard enough

[Obulus]

Really trying hard to conform with a certain style/genre, those bands are doomed to make unoriginal stuff.
Like a postrock band playing Mogwai stuff, or a stoner band playing Kyuss stuff.
It's been done. And probably better than you can do it yourself.
Damn, at least try to do SOMETHING different.

[ryan summit]

My originals group uses a laptop to trigger beats and samples, but we're not just staring at it. I'm usually playing bass and pedz, and my bandmate is usually playing at least two synth lines at a time.

i didnt mean to put anyone down
that was a cheap shot
and a grey area
ive checked out a bunch of shit you guys do with computers and synths
and its crazy impressive
and that wasnt what i meant
im not gonna say anything after that ill just dig a hole
wait i have to
theres a band i was real into
and the drums were fuckin sick on the cd
when i saw them live,the drummer hit a drum track and played along with it
obviously doin half the work, on every song
it bummed me out

[bigchiefbc]

My originals group uses a laptop to trigger beats and samples, but we're not just staring at it. I'm usually playing bass and pedz, and my bandmate is usually playing at least two synth lines at a time.

i didnt mean to put anyone down
that was a cheap shot
and a grey area
ive checked out a bunch of shit you guys do with computers and synths
and its crazy impressive
and that wasnt what i meant
im not gonna say anything after that ill just dig a hole
wait i have to
theres a band i was real into
and the drums were fuckin sick on the cd
when i saw them live,the drummer hit a drum track and played along with it
obviously doin half the work, on every song
it bummed me out

Oh, don't misunderstand, I wasn't taking offense. I actually agree with you. When guys bring laptops onstage and just hit play and stand there, it's pretty damn lame. I just meant that there are ways to integrate a laptop and not be lame.

[MEC]

Cover bands.

"Hey there, Spuds Pub we're Christina's Ex and for the next FOUR FUCKING HOURS
we're going to be playing our own shitty versions of other people's shitty songs"

[kbit]

Bands not engaging the audience. Unless you're doing some artistic "band vs. them" thing, c'mon dudes, liven up.

yep, but that said dudes who say stuff like 'anyone wanna dance' or 'come up the front' more than once come across as total babies.

Totally. It's usually cringe-worthy for me when bands have lame/insincere banter on stage.

[nuclearfamily]

Cover bands.

"Hey there, Spuds Pub we're Christina's Ex and for the next FOUR FUCKING HOURS
we're going to be playing our own shitty versions of other people's shitty songs"

Long reply:
As a person who deals cards at a casino that has "live entertainment"(always various cover bands) every weekend I wholeheartedly agree with this. I have problems with cover bands but it's probably because I am around them all the time. Listening to some band try to sound as closely to the bands they are covering is awful. They get on stage and play their note for fucking note Hinder, Journey, Heart, Poison, Foreigner, Kiss and Nickelback covers. The worst part is the people seem to fucking love it or maybe they just aren't educated enough. I understand that some people are lazy with music and just don't really give a shit and just want to hear something familiar. However the popularity of some of the cover bands in my city is just stupid. It kinda bugs me that these cover bands come and play the casino for two nights and get payed a few thousand to do so. Whereas the original bands in and around the city struggle to make a few hundred bucks on a Friday or Saturday night. It's just kind of sad in that respect. I can also understand if you are in a cover band as you would make a fair amount of money and the shows would likely be fairly well attended. So I don't blame you if you are in a cover band.... If you play note for note Nickelback covers then I do blame you.

Also creative interpretations are always better than covers in my eyes.

Short reply:

[RR Bigman]

Christian bands that preach to me in between songs. Keep that shit for sunday school. Let your songs speak for your beliefs.

Your band

NOT bringing a full stack to a basement show

bands that don't engage the audience

bands that sound the same live as they do on a highly polished/produced record

bands that synchronize headbang every other riff

Bands that brood. Shoegazing is a style of music, not a posture to take onstage (despite the supposed origins of the term)

the worst is bands who think they're better/more popular amongst the audience than they really are



conversely, I hate indifferent audiences but that's a different thread.

[bigchiefbc]

Cover bands.

"Hey there, Spuds Pub we're Christina's Ex and for the next FOUR FUCKING HOURS
we're going to be playing our own shitty versions of other people's shitty songs"

[coldbrightsunlight]

Doing covers that just try to imitate the original note for note. That's completely not the fucking point of covering songs, if you have nothing to add to the idea, then don't just rehash what someone already did better than you. And I know I'd be guilty of this if I let myself (or if a band actually let me) play covers of certain songs *cough*anything by Neil Young*cough*, so I fucking DON'T DO IT. That shit is for having fun on your own time, not an audience.

[bigchiefbc]

Doing covers that just try to imitate the original note for note. That's completely not the fucking point of covering songs, if you have nothing to add to the idea, then don't just rehash what someone already did better than you. And I know I'd be guilty of this if I let myself (or if a band actually let me) play covers of certain songs *cough*anything by Neil Young*cough*, so I fucking DON'T DO IT. That shit is for having fun on your own time, not an audience.

I understand what you're saying, and I do try to put my own little variations on songs here and there. But largely, bar owners don't want to hear that, and most of the crowd doesn't either. They want you to play the song like it was. If you take too many liberties, people are gonna get pissy with you, and you won't be rebooked for another gig.

[rot gut]

live bands that mention facebook and twitter.
local bands that engage the audience.
needing to borrow equipment.

[coldbrightsunlight]

Doing covers that just try to imitate the original note for note. That's completely not the fucking point of covering songs, if you have nothing to add to the idea, then don't just rehash what someone already did better than you. And I know I'd be guilty of this if I let myself (or if a band actually let me) play covers of certain songs *cough*anything by Neil Young*cough*, so I fucking DON'T DO IT. That shit is for having fun on your own time, not an audience.

I understand what you're saying, and I do try to put my own little variations on songs here and there. But largely, bar owners don't want to hear that, and most of the crowd doesn't either. They want you to play the song like it was. If you take too many liberties, people are gonna get pissy with you, and you won't be rebooked for another gig.

Wasn't ripping on covers bands, I'm in one, I was more going for original artists who occasionally do a cover that's just a note for note copy of the original. Playing in a covers band for money is a different situation imo, although we do tend to do things at least a little differently. I guess it helps that our band does almost all 60s stuff so people who are into that aren't too fussed about things being exactly the same.

[IEatCats]

People who have expensive rigs and make them sound like a shitty starter amp. Don't buy a fucking all tube half stack if you're going to run your shit boss ds-2 through it, scoop the mids, and then lose it in the mix anyway. Buy a fucking $150 combo and make that sound like shit.

People who don't actually know how to convey musical concepts that want to jam. If you can't tell me what key you're in, you can't slow it down enough that I can follow your shitty metalcore riff and figure it out myself, and you can't follow what I'm doing, why the fuck am I here?

ANYONE WHO BITCHES ABOUT FUZZ. I jammed with a guy one time and he kept saying that my rig "sounded broken" while he sat there and ignored me and the other player that was there. I almost threw him out of my house that day >:(

Screamers who never actually learned their trade. Seriously, stop muffling, watch The Zen of Screaming, and learn to do what you're supposed to be doing.
Related: Screamers who can't sing, but try to anyway.

And vocalists who are completely unengaged from the set. There's a band that has a female vocalist in my area, and she just stands there and sings off key. She doesn't look into the music, she doesn't have the personality to pull off being a shitty vocalist, she just is a shitty vocalist.