The band bullshit thread

[BlackMetalWhiteGuy]

When my younger brother and I were in high school, we thought about starting a band, although neither of us could play an instrument and we knew absolutely nothing about music. After I left for college, I began studying music in my free time and writing almost non-stop. Now he and I both attend the same college and we've attempted to start a band with some of our other friends, but the only people who had similar taste couldn't play any instruments either. Now my brother can play guitar, although not very well, and I can play guitar and keyboard, but also not very well. I can write music very well though, since I've been writing and studying theory for five years now. Unfortunately, no one else (not even my brother) has expressed any interest in learning theory, or practicing, so I just write music for myself now. It's just as well though, because even back when I wrote with the intention of having it played by the band, they didn't like most of it, because I wrote melodic metal, and they were only into nu-metal, metalcore, and industrial. Now I still write melodic metal, but have taken up technical metal as well, which I'm sure if far beyond any of them.

 

[razoredge]

so I just write music for myself now. It's just as well though, because even back when I wrote with the intention of having it played by the band, they didn't like most of it, because I wrote melodic metal, and they were only into nu-metal, metalcore, and industrial. Now I still write melodic metal, but have taken up technical metal as well, which I'm sure if far beyond any of them.

I checked out your stuff about a month ago....

I strongly advise you to keep musicians wanted adds in any music store in your area or where ever you go. Maybe someday you will find the right people.

When I walked on my band I ran adds all over for progressive metal people, I stated something along the lines of Dream Theater, Savatage, Fates Warning and did'nt get one call. This was back in early nineties when metal changed alot and grunge became the sound. To me the bands I mentioned were really happening at that time, but most players are into straight forward music. SO Im saying its hard but always play the field or nothing will ever happen.

 

[razoredge]

BTW Dude, Im only about 30 miles east of you near Cobleskill but Im an old dude with old tired fingers...... lol

 

[Vimana]

Its just annoying when people enter a band picturing a sound in their head, and won't budge from that picture. People think the music of the band they're in going through change isn't a good thing. Thats bullshit. Pink Floyd was a Blues cover band before Syd Barrett introduced crazy Experimental stuff to them, they wouldn't have even made it without Syd. My friends don't like Metal I guess so they picture Metal elements destroying the band. But you never know what kind of sound you can make til you comnbine all the elements you have into every possibility, and there are too many to try them all.

 

[upchuck55]

I have two bands. One is my best friend(Jimmy page) and a march drummer, and and my jazz buddy, We play doom metal It's pretty much my band - every band needs a leader. The other band is a bunch of people I don't know, and a choir singer for a bass player. We play melodeath. That one I am not the alphaomega. It will be interestingg.

 

[BlackMetalWhiteGuy]

I checked out your stuff about a month ago....

I strongly advise you to keep musicians wanted adds in any music store in your area or where ever you go. Maybe someday you will find the right people.

When I walked on my band I ran adds all over for progressive metal people, I stated something along the lines of Dream Theater, Savatage, Fates Warning and did'nt get one call. This was back in early nineties when metal changed alot and grunge became the sound. To me the bands I mentioned were really happening at that time, but most players are into straight forward music. SO Im saying its hard but always play the field or nothing will ever happen.

Thanks for the advice Unfortunately though, I'm still not much of an instrumentalist, so it'll probably be quite a while before I feel ready to actively seek out other musicians

BTW Dude, Im only about 30 miles east of you near Cobleskill but Im an old dude with old tired fingers...... lol

Awesome, I know exactly where that is

 

[Vimana]

Well new stuff, our bassist is gone. Because (I heard this from my friend) he said he wasn't good enough to play in a band. Our band agreed (or at least I think they did) on being Punk and he could play any Punk bassline I made so I don't know why he thought he wasn't good enough for a Punk band.

Also I don't know if my keyboardist will be any easier to work with...

I think the reason why he wants everything to be his idea is because he wants to be more of an upfront important person in the band. I mean one time he said to me "I'm gonna start playing guitar" and I said "Why? You're amazing at keyboard" and he said "Yeah but the keyboards not like a guitar or anything". He just thinks he'll be in the back and forgotten. Not a chance, any good musician in a band wether its a drummer, singer, or guitarist will be noticed. He's gonna get a guitar for christmas, I don't have that much of a problem because he can become the rhythm guitarist. Our band needs a drummer. And since I've been getting interested in Rage Against the Machine I wanted to make Agressive Rap but my friends don't like Rap.

 

[Element_man]

My viking metal band Eldgammel had to kick out our lead singer two weeks before we hit the studio to record. Now I do all the vocal as opposed to just the growls (And I'm also the keyboardist!) and it's much better.

The funny part? My old singer is my roomate for college.

You and that keyboard players need to take a break, because it sounds like he's not the kinda guy you want to get involved in a music project with, I'd tell him that you're bored of the project and that you want to do something different, and go an join/start a whole new band, with musicians that can keep up with you, and that you can learn from, and ones that you share similar tastes with.

 

[Vimana]

My viking metal band Eldgammel had to kick out our lead singer two weeks before we hit the studio to record. Now I do all the vocal as opposed to just the growls (And I'm also the keyboardist!) and it's much better.

The funny part? My old singer is my roomate for college.

You and that keyboard players need to take a break, because it sounds like he's not the kinda guy you want to get involved in a music project with, I'd tell him that you're bored of the project and that you want to do something different, and go an join/start a whole new band, with musicians that can keep up with you, and that you can learn from, and ones that you share similar tastes with.

Of all types of bands to start, the kind of band I want to start will be pretty damn hard.

Rap Metal

1) Because most guitarists I find don't like Metal so they won't be rhythm
2) Most who do like Metal (usually Classic Rock-Heads) will be rhythm when hell freezes over
3) If I find a rapper they most likely won't like Metal.

I dunno, our keyboardist is good at soloing, I'll let him solo. I think he won't know how up front he actually is in the band until he solos live. We haven't even made enough songs to play live.

 

[Alasdhair]

We haven't even made enough songs to play live.

Why not do a couple of cover songs live to get experiance playing together?

 

[Element_man]

Why not do a couple of cover songs live to get experiance playing together?

THIS. RIGHT HERE.

Learn some covers. They don't have to be incredibly well-known, they can just be a couple songs that influenced you guys or something you all really like. I knot there's a lot of guys out there who think that playing covers degrades them as musicians or something, and that's absolutely not the case. for your first show, I'd say one or two covers is appropriate, my band had to fill out one hour at a show once, and we actually had to pull out a third cover tune!

Definately write your own material, but don't rule out covers. Playing other people's music is something that has been beneficial for many groups.

 

[Vimana]

We have been trying to do that for a while. Whenever someone suggests a song its either a "I don't like it" or "I can't play it". The only we could do (but I wouldn't want to because its boring as hell to play although its good) was Seven Nation Army, but we never got to covering it.

 

[In The Shallows]

Wow, relieved to see I'm not the only one with in-fighting and other such bullshit ruining the creative process. I've recently decided to pursue an online side project rather than dig through my small town for suitable band mates. Sometimes the best chemistry comes from working with someone you share only one trait with...a passion for heavy music. That said, finding people to work with is hard no matter what you do but perserverance is definately key in even starting a project. Lol...half the reason I'm a member of UM is to find guys interested in working on a collaborative metal project online. Best of luck to everyone in their efforts to get out there.

Cheers

 

[Vimana]

Got any recordings?

 

[Death658]

for gods sake, keyboardists fuckin rock, especially if you do like solo dueling like Janne and Alexi from COB

 

[Death658]

Heres a little bullshit:

Our band had 5 members. Lead and Rhythm guitars, bass, drums, and a vocalist. This was almost 2 years ago. From that point we had to fire the vocalist for incompetency, our drummer is barely around any more, so we never get to play with him, and our lead guitarist was a burn out and was always 3 hours late to practice. So in the end before i left for university it was me, the now lead guitarist since my guitar ability in metal had surpassed that of our other guitarist, who we rarely saw anyway, and who was constantly trying to turn us into a blues jam band as his love for metal was waning (he is now attending Berkley for Jazz guitar, thats where Steve Vai went...), so whenever he was there he never wanted to take leads unless we were playing blues. So in the end it was really only me and the bassist, playing thru the 7 or 8 songs we knew. It was a good time though, because we are basically best friends, and just love jamming out metal with eachother.

 

[adolph]

OMG we actually have the same situation.. on my situation our guitarist is an asshole cannot play gigs if the schedule is in night time because he is afraid of his mother would yell at him... what a wuss

 

[Vimana]

for gods sake, keyboardists fuckin rock, especially if you do like solo dueling like Janne and Alexi from COB

Yeah, our keyboardist is good. Only he wants to make only the music he wants to, and I don't even know what that is.

I still don't get why our bassist thought he wasn't good enough. For a beginner he's pretty talented, he made up a bassline for an instrumental song on the spot and he could play any bassline I made.

 

[waif]

my bullshit story:

My band started last year under the name Pantheon. That name sucked, so a few months ago we changed it to Starving Time (after the winter of something or other in Jamestown). Our style began as sorta mix of thrash metal, black metal, and power metal. We've never had a drummer, just me on lead guitar, our rhythm guitarist, and bassist. Recently we added a keyboardist/third guitarist. Then he and the rhythm guitarist decided they wanted to play "colonial metal." The idea was all our lyrics would be about colonial America. I agreed on the condition that we wouldn't be purely colonial, because I had other ideas. Now any non-colonial lyrical ideas are shot down, and all our music has to be power metal. I can't really get rid of anyone, because we play at our rhythm guitarist's house. He has an AC30 and an Orange halfstack, as well as protools, a bunch of really nice mics, etc that his dad bought him. Basically, I have no creative control. It's getting really bad because none of us can do power metal vocals, but I can do dew-scented style growls, however they refuse to have that in our music. We only jam on weekends, and only sometimes, because our rhythm guitarist isn't really into the band. I would love to leave and form another band, but there are honestly no other people at my school into metal. It's kinda depressing. Our bassist would be willing to play heavier music, but our rhythm guitarist actually dislikes using distortion, and our keyboardist pretty much does what he says. Another problem is that only our bassist and myself actually practice.

 

[Alasdhair]

Here's my suggestion.

If you have no creative control, that does not sound like a project you want to be in. Have a talk with your bassist about maybe forming a "side project" to your band, and slowly let that take precedence over your other band. You could also use a drum machine (either Guitar Pro or Tabtrax) until you can hire a drummer, after all, you are not limited to just those in your school. There must be other musicians in your area, right?