I've never been in a working band so don't have the experience dealing with singers that many of you have. Save for my experience when I worked as an assistant engineer at a few Recording studios.

But jeez. A while back there was a thread here about 80s movie tunes, well it happened to be on Beer Friday at work so of course that lead to three drunken fools writing an 80s style motivational song as a joke. It started to take on a life of its own so for a few laughs we actually tracked it. Then we thought, who better to get to sing the vocals than the guy who does scheduling that is still living in the 80s in his head and loves to talk about the days he used to sing in the same clubs with Ronnie James Dio. If you've seen the picture of him in all his white American late 70s early 80s giant afro hairdo wearing glory you'd immediately know why we went to him... not to mention, he sings a MEAN, i'm serious when i say MEAN "Happy Birthday" when its cake time out in the lounge for the B-day boy or girl. Well... to cut to the chase. We present the temp mix thinking he'll be jazzed about doing this for fun. Not sure if he thinks we're mocking him (he actually falls on George Carlin's "List of People who should be phased out" becase he "Harmonizes the last line of Happy Birthday) or is just containing his emotions at getting the opportunity to sing on such a fine arrangement but his reaction was a little anticlimactic. I mean he acts all professional and wants us to put down a piano melody, falsetto vocal ideas... I digress. "Just get your tush in there and rock out for us... we know you can, we've heard you sing happy birthday!!!"

Then today he asks for MP3s of the temp tracks which i give him on a CD and he says he'd rather get them emailed so he can just open up from his email at home and work on it. I guess i'll email him a pic of a bowl of brown M&Ms too.

Sorry for the lengthy post, i guess you have to meet this guy to really get what i'm trying to convey. This $@!& is just too funny. I cant believe those of you in real bands put up with this on a regular basis... I think i would go crazy.

I just cant wait to get him in the booth... I have no doubt he's going to have one hand up to his headphone covered ear holding it like Steve Perry... or John Farnham (his adolescent hero)

It's even worse when they can't even sing and never practice...

Not all of them are like that though. Sometimes there are good singers with good attitudes.

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Singers are just like everyone else...some are assholes, and some are bigger assholes.

I think maybe you just asked by all accounts someone who sounds like a character out of a bad comedy movie.

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CREDO ELVEM IPSUM ETAIM VIVERE

I call it the lazy mans gift. When you think about it those that are blessed with a great voice are just fortunate, while the rest of us have to practice hour upon hour. I know as my oldest son has the gift of song and my youngest plays guitar and we know who has the ego.lol

I guess it's just ego and in music - you have to take the rough with the smooth!

Its the reason why I quit our band.

We were just like any of the other thousands of other high school bands out there, and our lead singer made it seem like we were going to be famous... there was so much stupid drama going on that I just decided I'm going to quit.

Now he constantly tells me about how he's going to do some recording for a cd ([cough...] in some friend's garage using a generic recorder), and make a music video ([cough again...] probably with some guy's flip cam)

But not all singers are egocentric. A couple of my closest friends are very talented singers, and the singers in the praise band I'm in are very cool people.

It all really just comes down to the attitude of any musician. Some look at their talent and are really humble, while others think, "Yah my ____ is just the greatest."

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Kid: "Hey Smokey! Where did you get your name?"
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(former user jimbo612)

exactly, not all singers are like that at all. Sting is a really nice bloke and there is always going to be those with "good" or "bad" attitudes.

Like i said, the rough with the smooth.

Dunhalf feel for you lot, I've never had to tolerate a singer that bad. I've had to put up with a couple of primadonna bassists that were like that, never a singer.

Our singer is so good I'll never get a guitar to sound as beautiful as her voice, even if I live a thousand lifetimes. She's easy to work with too. Just do it properly, then do it her way.

nah she's great. The last bands one was good too. Had a better ear for melody and writing a good hook than any guitarist I've ever met.

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No no and no

This is turning out to be pretty funny. I'm psyched that this guy is doing it. We're tossing Andy in the booth tomorrow and cant wait. But i was just chatting with a couple of the other Engineer/techs here and it's all starting to make sense.

He had mentioned going through the process Line by line... what? this is a song not an ADR session... you want beeps too?

Come to find out, his mind must be going because he is in scheduling and has to have his eyes glued to the scheduling software at all times otherwise he forgets things like, this is a two day session so maybe it should stay in the same room so the Engineer doesn't have to switch in the middle of a job or like today when he walked in shocked that we were in a room booked for Maintenance even though we told him a half hour earlier we'd be in there installing 5.1 meters. Then i find out yesterday he forgot it was his anniversary so his wife called and he had completely forgot.

No wonder he loves to sing happy birthday so much, he's been singing since he was but a boy and its a song he has no worries he'll remember. I guess we're in for cue cards or a teleprompter tomorrow.

Singers-can't live with 'em, can't kill 'em.

Our singer is a real treat to work with. The guy has a great voice tho-does everything from Conway Twitty to a great AC/DC. His problems?

-A big ego ("everyone came out to see me")
-A lust for Jim Beam (should be a sponser)
-He's living in the past (hasn't learned anything off the charts for 5+ years)
-Practice? ("Here's a cd with a couple songs I want to do-We'll try 'em next weekend at the gig, but I'm gonna forget the arrangement")
-books a gig 100 miles away for next to nothing, then complains about the pay and "his expenses"
-falls into a depressed state if no one tells him how good he is
-Is waiting for a big name to buy one of his originals (keep waiting)
-The band is his "stress relief" (party down Garth)
-He bangs on an acoustic at the gig and thinks it sounds great ("you guys must be out of tune")

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Life is like a sh*t sandwich. The more bread you have, the less sh*t you have to eat.

sounds like you've got a good case of LSD. Lead singers desease.

The only thing that pisses me off concerning singers is when musicians in the band try to play over their voice... You know you are supposed to lay back and play softer when they are singing.. I don't like to get physical but it makes me want to slap a guitarist when they play too loud over vocals..

Your job as a non-singer is to write or play music that suits their voice or singing style the best...

without a good singer your band is crap... Conversely without a good band backing up the singer, the singer will not sound well either... But the bottom line is the singer IS the feature in a band... always has and always will be that way...

Who cares if they have an ego.. Only when that ego gets into the way of the band's success does it matter..

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In Reference to Blues Legend RL Burnside:
After a heart attack in 2001, Burnside's doctor advised him to stop drinking; Burnside did, but he reported that change left him unable to play.

That's not really true. There's no point in writing music to fit a singer if your not into it as then the band will get stagnent and no one will want to do it but the singer. And then you will be back to square one with no band.
And as for the singer being the feature, its usually the singer and the guitarist. For example:
Bono and the Edge
Axl and Slash/ Scott Weiland and Slash
Steven Tyler and Joe Perry
Mick Jagger and Keith Richards
David Lee Roth and Eddie Van Halen
Chris Cornell and Tom Morello/ Zach De La Rocha and Tom Morello
Perry Farrell and Dave Navarro
Fred Durst and Wes Borland
Liam and Noel Gallagher

To name a few. Peace

I agree... But, if you write music that doesn't "fit" that singer, then you need to get another singer.. Or singer needs to get another band..



Keep telling yourself that... Aside some rare exceptions, I will have to disagree .. .Peace back at ya...

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In Reference to Blues Legend RL Burnside:
After a heart attack in 2001, Burnside's doctor advised him to stop drinking; Burnside did, but he reported that change left him unable to play.

This guy just tried to say he may not be able to do it tomorrow because he has an errand. Uhhh nope... you have an errand alright, its in the Booth in Studio B. There's no quitting the band. Its a part of you Ha ha ha, and i just let you affectionately sing Happy Birthday to me, you owe me one. So he says maybe if its quiet enough he can do both... Yeah that's the spirit little feller.

I'm glad I don't have to deal with all that.