Thats why you make sure you have the right singer in the first placce so your all on the same page. Not just suiting one person but everyone in the band.

I don't need to tell myself that, its the truth. If you ask most people about band members they normally know the singer and guitarist. Unless your an avid AC/DC fan I bet you couldn't tell me the drummers name or the bassists without looking it up. And they have the second highest selling album of all time behind MJ's thriller.

Got so sick of them over the years now I sing myself!

Too many bloody noses and black eyes!

CC

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You make some really good points that many "lead guitarists" never consider or even know.
My BIL who is a top notch,somewhat unknown country lead player,and has made a living at it for a lifetime once told me,"it's the lead guitarist's job when playing fills backing the vocals,to play notes that compliment the vocals and make them sound as good as possible."

Well...

its beer friday. And we were pumped up to have Andy rip some vox out. But alas... he funked out. We were all set with the white head band too so big let down. First he tried to tell me he was waiting for phone calls... despite that there are phones in the rooms thanks to the genius of Alexander Graham Bell and our Illustrious IT department. The other scheduler could have rung in and we'd be happy to patch it through...

Then he sends this email

We are very slow right now... the fierce schedule is actually holds not firm bookings so whos he kidding?
The best part was the subject line... well... see for you self.


Who gives themselves a nickname other than George Costanza? So moving forward I guess we have to refer to him as Butch...

Have a great weekend all

.

Just recorded a take to see how it would go.

Two things...

1. why do singers feel they need to constantly add vibrato to their voice?

2. Does Waves make a "more Balls" plug in i could throw on an aux track in Protools and bus his vocals to it. I tried hitting the talk back and saying it needs more balls but that was moot.

I'm a little disheartened we won't get the voice we're looking for unless we call John Farnham or Steve Perry and see what they're up to. Who knows... maybe they'd be into coming to NYC on their dime, to stay in a hotel they have to pay for and pay for their own meals while they're here, to sing on a track that is literally not going to be heard by more than about a couple dozen people if we're lucky... who could refuse that deal?

Don't get me wrong, i'm VERY greatful and "as Butch" really does have a great voice but it just didn't seem to fit.

Tex, sounds like something you've had experience with...

Honestly, the general rule is:
If they have NO musical backround with an instrument (other than their voice) they shouldn't be dealt with, they will annoy the crap out of anyone and everyone because they have no idea about anything.

The exeption of this rule is:
If their only musical backround was something they picked up to get girls, and they never really got very good, they will still be clueless.


I sing. I also play piano, guitar, bass, and have been pickin' up some drums. I know what I'm doing when I'm singing.

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"Speak the truth, and speak it ever,
cost it what it will
for he who hides the wrong he did
did the wrong thing still."
-Miss Uel

I've worn different hats in different bands over the years (the vocalist, the guitarist, and even the keyboard player). While it's true that singers (especially if that's all they do) tend to be the biggest and most consistent pains in the arse. Any and all musicians who take themselves too seriously can be a primadonna problem.

Good Rules
1) Don't join a band named for a member.
2) Don't join a band that is not a democracy.
3) Don't join a band where you KNOW one of the dudes is a jackhole and hope that it works out okay.
4) Don't stay in a band if it stops being enjoyable.

My favorite "Musician Peeve" is the guy/gal who is so up on music theory that it's all they are concerned with. Yes we understand that you know it all and your knowledge is amazing. . . . now can we get going on the I-IV-V blues rock tune that we're working on pleaaase.

My 17 year old is about ready to strangle his rythm guitarist/vocalist. Each member of the band take turns choosing a new cover for the band to learn (sounds good so far right?) but he (the rythm player/singer) ALWAYS shows up without having learned it and expects to spend the first chunk of practice having someone show him how to play it. I feel his pain.

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"Life is like eating jalapenos. What you do today may burn your arse tomorrow"

Jackholes?

That about sums up the feller i work with that's filling in for the Bass player i have in my head. I really feel for all of you guys in REAL bands. This could almost be a reality show with all the BS that goes on here... What a bunch of girls people can be... i think i'm going solo.

Sorry to keep bumping this BS too... I need to vent this and you guys are probably the only folks that would get it.

Now one of the dudes is pissed off because i emailed a rough cut to a friend to get his opinion since i used to play in bands with him and value his opinion. Understand that this was an unmixed version with NO vox, temp drum loops and some parts were scratch for place holders and idears. So what does this fruitcake do? He gets pissed off that i sent a version out to some stranger of uncopyrighted material that he took part in and, get this... he mails himself a copy of the Lyrics for a poor mans copyright... maybe i'm the idiot here but what good does that do if the MP3 was just the Music tracks... and does he really think its THAT amazing of a song that my buddy is going to run out and form a band to cover a song we recorded at work for fun. I totally understand wanting to protect your creation but jeez... get a grip.

Cap start writing it all down, someday you may be able to sell it as a screenplay. Remember "This is Spinal Tap", we all knew guys just like those guys. Just usually not all in one Band. These antics could be worth money someday soon.

It's a drag and your temporary bandmate sounds a bit loony (closet "jackhole" perhaps).

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"Life is like eating jalapenos. What you do today may burn your arse tomorrow"

Yeah... if you guys don't mind the occasional bump, i'm happy to update you. One of the funniest things so far is his aversion to the Juno synth sound because back in the 80s, he was booted from his band because the KB player said he could just cover the bass lines with the Juno. I was in one of the rooms playing around with mixing and he came in and started asking me to solo the tracks because he heard something strange. He had zeroed in on a Juno sound that my other Coworker created, and wanted it dropped way down because the sound of the Juno brings back the time when he got booted. It was then that i realize... this dude really needs therapy for that. I wonder if i should arrange a "you ruined my life" meeting on Jerry Springer with him and that keyboard player from 25 years ago.

Man i could go on and on and on...

At least the KB player is of stable mind...

This is pretty much the reaction of "the guy that's playing bass" when you mention the word Juno or the guy hears a Juno synth and he's reminded of being kicked out of his former band and replaced by a keyboard... for those who don't recognize the photo... that's from "A Clockwork Orange"

You just can't make this stuff up. I think I need therapy. What started out as just a fun thing in the shop has turned into years of band BS packed into a month. I think I mentioned the bass player mailing himself a copy to create a poor mans copyright because he was pissed i sent an MP3 to my longtime friend and former band mate. It all makes sense now. I sensed something off when we tracked "as Butch"s vocals. His voice just didn't work but I gave it a chance and we did the whole thing. While in the session, the bass player who i'll refer to as Juno decides he's going to produce the session. Now if you've listened to even a quarter of his BS about how he was in Musical theater you'd understand why that is a very bad idea. At one point "As Butch" gets to a line that i thought we all agreed on a change. Well, Butch gets confused at the way its on the paper Juno gave him compared to what i gave him. So the talk back is depressed, and Juno tells him that it wasnt how "HE wrote it but the other guys wanted it changed so he let them have that one" I looked at him with seething dismay. Is this guy suddenly taking creative control over a stupid fun song that is no where near to be taken seriously?

After two days of the silent treatment which can make for a very weird day in a tech shop about the size of a small bedroom, the KB player who i get along very well with gets it out of him why he's in a F$#K. Come to find out, he's pissed that I wanted to help work on the lyrics and he feels that this is HIS song and he wrote the music and the words should NOT have been changed. What? did i miss something? I have the original scratch recording of us working out parts which we recorded in case we came up with something half cool and didn't want to forget it. Which was another point of contention apparently because when he argued that i had the vocal melody completely wrong, i referred back to the tape and showed him that I was singing it as we originally intended... apparently that didn't go to well with him. This is supposed to be fun right? Not to mention, he made fun of the whole thing until the KB player and I started hashing out the chord progression so it would make sense and not be all over the place... suddenly he wanted in. We all worked together and were very good about taking eachothers suggestions because we wanted this silly song to be at least half descent and suddenly he decides it was HIS song all along and he came up with all the music which is just delusional but i really could care less. I'm on the verge of pulling up the Protools session and blowing a way my Guitar Tracks and telling him to GFYS. I can see why musicians go solo. I welcome the silent treatment to be honest... its immaturity at its best but at least if he's not talking to me i don't have to hear about Musical theater and how it relates to rock music. I had hoped to post this silly tune when it was finally finished which i thought would be long ago... but now I'm thinking its not even worth finishing if i have to put up with this nonsense.

captain solo

Cap it's time to cut and run brother. It's no wonder some of these characters never "made it" in a band. Waaaaay to much "personality".

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"Life is like eating jalapenos. What you do today may burn your arse tomorrow"

I agree. I'm going to see how today goes... on silent treatment Day 3. KB player told him he SHOULD have expressed that he wanted to be the one writing the music and lyrics BEFORE we tracked anything, in which case I would have said adios to that whole idea. I'm not about being his guitar bish. If he doesn't speak up and get it all on the table i'm seriously going to delete all known audio files of my guitar lines and he can find someone else. I think i might also pull up Don McClean's "The Day the Music Died" on Youtube just to be a $@!&#.

At least everyone isn't like that, so there is an upside. You just have to find the right bunch of people.

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"Life is like eating jalapenos. What you do today may burn your arse tomorrow"

He apologized for acting like a chode. I layed into him about how it was all supposed to be for a few laughs and the BS with the creative control and copyright (that was my favorite) was complete crap. I agreed I'd finish the thing up so it won't all be for nothing but as David St. Hubbins said... "we shant work together again"

Right now i'm contemplating finding a way to piss him off again... i much preferred the peace and quiet. Do you realize what its like to be stuck in a room with a guy who loves History and has unlimited access to wikipedia? I love history too but I really don't want to sit and listen endless lectures of the Arthurian Legend. There's a reason we call him "wiki" around here.