Members Vito Corleone Posted April 24, 2012 Author Members Share Posted April 24, 2012 Maybe Fenway? Could be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TIMKEYS Posted April 24, 2012 Members Share Posted April 24, 2012 Someone here probably knows the Sweet Caroline story, but I don't. All I know is it has become one of those songs that everybody knows and that everybody everywhere sings the same "extra" stuff along with. Funny how certain things catch on and spread across the country and around the world.The song wasn't popular in the 80s that I was aware of. The first time I saw anybody singing the "BUM BUM BUMs" along with it was in a scene from the mid 90s movie "Beautiful Girls" with Timothy Hutton and Natalie Portman. But that wasn't a big hit movie and I don't know if the practice sprung from that movie or if it was simply reflecting something that was already going on. I don't remember if people singing "So strong...so strong" was in that movie or not.But people DO like to sing that song and "touch hands".......all good fun. Pretty much a dud of a song from my memory. It had to be the movie. We did it during spring break with a predictable response bum bum bum on cue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jeff42 Posted April 25, 2012 Members Share Posted April 25, 2012 around my parts they usually sing {censored} That Slut... not bum bum bum during the chorus... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vito Corleone Posted April 25, 2012 Author Members Share Posted April 25, 2012 around my parts they usually sing {censored} That Slut... not bum bum bum during the chorus... Yeah, we don't usually hear that one at weddings..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jeff42 Posted April 25, 2012 Members Share Posted April 25, 2012 Yeah, we don't usually hear that one at weddings..... the wedding we did in November most of the young people were screaming {censored} That Slut! hahahah! the older folks were staring at them and weakly saying Bum Bum Bum... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vito Corleone Posted April 25, 2012 Author Members Share Posted April 25, 2012 the wedding we did in November most of the young people were screaming {censored} That Slut! hahahah! Now, why can't WE get gigs like this.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wheresgrant3 Posted April 25, 2012 Members Share Posted April 25, 2012 the wedding we did in November most of the young people were screaming {censored} That Slut! hahahah! the older folks were staring at them and weakly saying Bum Bum Bum... Unspeakable things are emitted from the band and the crowd when we play that song... and none of it is PG related. Everything from "Suck My Cock" to "{censored}-in Whore" to How can I hurt when "I'm balls deep inside of you"... people love to defile that song. And why not... it's Neil Diamond after all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jeff42 Posted April 25, 2012 Members Share Posted April 25, 2012 Unspeakable things are emitted from the band and the crowd when we play that song... and none of it is PG related. Everything from " Suck My Cock" to " {censored}-in Whore" to "being balls deep inside of you"... people love to defile that song. And why not... it's Neil Diamond after all! That whore Caroline! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarguy19 Posted April 25, 2012 Members Share Posted April 25, 2012 Unspeakable things are emitted from the band and the crowd when we play that song... and none of it is PG related. Everything from " Suck My Cock" to " {censored}-in Whore" to How can I hurt when "I'm balls deep inside of you"... people love to defile that song. And why not... it's Neil Diamond after all! {censored}-in Whore! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarguy19 Posted April 25, 2012 Members Share Posted April 25, 2012 Some of you guys know that we're really starting our journey of becoming a full-on variety band this year. I picked up a keyboard and plan on using it to incorporate just 5-6 top 40 pop/dance songs to start and see where it goes. We're starting with I Gotta Feelin Sexyback Hey Ya (which we could've done before even without keys but just haven't) I Like It - Enrique whats-his-name We're also potentially adding Feel So Close - Calvin Harris and Glad You Came by The Wanted, knowing they may not be around for long but we may get some life out of them anyway. It will be a slow progression figuring out everything from learning the keyboard parts to programming patches to rehearsing the crap out of this stuff to figuring out the equipment and live setup side of things, but it'll add a new dimension to the band so we're pretty excited about it! Other {censored} we have in the hopper / ideas we've kicked around / etc: Don't You Want Me Baby - Human League (just added it, NO KEYS, it's doing pretty decent and I like our arrangement) Know Your Enemy - Green Day (learning this one specifically for a rock club gig where we know it'll go well. May not play it too often after then...but who knows) Let's Go Crazy - Prince Word Up The Bad Touch Somebody that I Used to Know - Gotye (I really dig this song and would love to add it but we'd have to change the key fa sho) Ironically (before reading this thread) we talked about BOTH Tainted Love and Eileen...great minds think alike I suppose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators BATCAT Posted April 25, 2012 Moderators Share Posted April 25, 2012 "Hot Hot Hot" as a new conga-line song. Are you talking about the Cure song? An aside: please don't swear in thread titles, thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vito Corleone Posted April 25, 2012 Author Members Share Posted April 25, 2012 An aside: please don't swear in thread titles, thanks! Oops! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vito Corleone Posted April 25, 2012 Author Members Share Posted April 25, 2012 Some of you guys know that we're really starting our journey of becoming a full-on variety band this year. I picked up a keyboard and plan on using it to incorporate just 5-6 top 40 pop/dance songs to start and see where it goes. We're starting with I Gotta Feelin Sexyback Hey Ya (which we could've done before even without keys but just haven't) I Like It - Enrique whats-his-name We're also potentially adding Feel So Close - Calvin Harris and Glad You Came by The Wanted, knowing they may not be around for long but we may get some life out of them anyway. It will be a slow progression figuring out everything from learning the keyboard parts to programming patches to rehearsing the crap out of this stuff to figuring out the equipment and live setup side of things, but it'll add a new dimension to the band so we're pretty excited about it! Other {censored} we have in the hopper / ideas we've kicked around / etc: Don't You Want Me Baby - Human League (just added it, NO KEYS, it's doing pretty decent and I like our arrangement) Know Your Enemy - Green Day (learning this one specifically for a rock club gig where we know it'll go well. May not play it too often after then...but who knows) Let's Go Crazy - Prince Word Up The Bad Touch Somebody that I Used to Know - Gotye (I really dig this song and would love to add it but we'd have to change the key fa sho) Ironically (before reading this thread) we talked about BOTH Tainted Love and Eileen...great minds think alike I suppose. Looks like you're headed in the right direction. One piece of advice I'd offer with learning top 40 stuff is "it's all about the vocals". A lot of older guys come from the school of "as long as the band gets the instrumental part down, you can pretty much get by with hollering anything on top". My experience is that the OPPOSITE is true of a lot of current top 40 stuff. Because the tracks are often so sparse, it often becomes about nailing the vocals on top and filling in the rest. Case in point: a couple of the newer songs I mentioned at the beginning. What the heck are you going to do with a track like "Single Ladies"? All there is is a simple drum machine beat and some random noises. The rest is all just vocals. It worked for us because having 2 female vocalists, they were able to nail the vocal and at that point it almost doesn't matter what we play (or don't) underneath. Same with trying to do most of this stuff by LMFAO, Black Eyed Peas, Ke$ha, etc. Not that any of those acts are great SINGERS, but it's the vocal sounds that make those records work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarguy19 Posted April 25, 2012 Members Share Posted April 25, 2012 Looks like you're headed in the right direction. One piece of advice I'd offer with learning top 40 stuff is "it's all about the vocals". A lot of older guys come from the school of "as long as the band gets the instrumental part down, you can pretty much get by with hollering anything on top". My experience is that the OPPOSITE is true of a lot of current top 40 stuff. Because the tracks are often so sparse, it often becomes about nailing the vocals on top and filling in the rest.Case in point: a couple of the newer songs I mentioned at the beginning. What the heck are you going to do with a track like "Single Ladies"? All there is is a simple drum machine beat and some random noises. The rest is all just vocals. It worked for us because having 2 female vocalists, they were able to nail the vocal and at that point it almost doesn't matter what we play (or don't) underneath. Same with trying to do most of this stuff by LMFAO, Black Eyed Peas, Ke$ha, etc. Not that any of those acts are great SINGERS, but it's the vocal sounds that make those records work. Thanks. And that's a good point, thanks for the advice. Right off the bat with the first 2 pop songs we're trying, Gotta Feelin and Sexyback, TONS of vocals. Fortunately lots of it is call and answer. Plus 3 of us sing. We plan on putting HEAVY rehearsal time into the vocal side of things in these tunes. We already know going in there will be slight nuances that we won't be able to get 100% to the record. Hell, when Timberlake does Sexyback live he has like 9 people in his band. We're just hoping to be able to nail what we deem the most important parts to hold the arrangement together comfortably and with some style. Another thing that absolutely KEY to us is the overall tightness of the song. The timing has to be nearly perfect. There really isn't a lot of room for drifting off and coming back like in traditional rock songs. You mentioned that the songs are sparce...that's totally on point...but we can't be afraid of that. As long as the timing stays tight the "open" spots in the songs are good. These tunes are like a driving force both in the rhythm section and the melodies from start to finish. We're really hoping we can capture that energy in these songs. I feel like the songs are good already good themselves...we just have to nail 'em. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vito Corleone Posted April 25, 2012 Author Members Share Posted April 25, 2012 Thanks.And that's a good point, thanks for the advice. Right off the bat with the first 2 pop songs we're trying, Gotta Feelin and Sexyback, TONS of vocals. Fortunately lots of it is call and answer. Plus 3 of us sing. We plan on putting HEAVY rehearsal time into the vocal side of things in these tunes. We already know going in there will be slight nuances that we won't be able to get 100% to the record. Hell, when Timberlake does Sexyback live he has like 9 people in his band. We're just hoping to be able to nail what we deem the most important parts to hold the arrangement together comfortably and with some style.Another thing that absolutely KEY to us is the overall tightness of the song. The timing has to be nearly perfect. There really isn't a lot of room for drifting off and coming back like in traditional rock songs. You mentioned that the songs are sparce...that's totally on point...but we can't be afraid of that. As long as the timing stays tight the "open" spots in the songs are good. These tunes are like a driving force both in the rhythm section and the melodies from start to finish. We're really hoping we can capture that energy in these songs. I feel like the songs are good already good themselves...we just have to nail 'em. Yep. Obviously you aren't going to nail a lot of these tracks note-for-note, and you'll figure out what-to-add and what-to-leave-out as you go. But yes, especially if you're looking to be a full on variety band, the vocals are key. A lot of bar bands take the approach of stripping down these songs, rearranging into traditional guitar-bass-trap kit arrangements and "rocking them out". There's nothing wrong with that approach and it certainly can work for a bar band, but higher-dollar clients generally expect a more polished and "authentic" sound to these songs. And, if nothing else, simply taking that approach will set you apart from the many bands who do the more "rock out" thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kmart Posted April 25, 2012 Members Share Posted April 25, 2012 Are you talking about the Cure song? Highly unlikely. More likely: Buster Pointdexter (David Johanson) song Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members capitalist Posted April 26, 2012 Members Share Posted April 26, 2012 People dig Sweet Caroline for some reason. Yes! We have been doing SC(with horns!), and it has been pretty successful. The audience likes hearing it much more than the band enjoys playing it. I'd recommend it for every varietyweddingcorporate band. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vito Corleone Posted April 26, 2012 Author Members Share Posted April 26, 2012 Yes! We have been doing SC(with horns!), and it has been pretty successful. The audience likes hearing it much more than the band enjoys playing it. I'd recommend it for every varietyweddingcorporate band. Of all the songs the we play, this is really the only one the band doesn't enjoy doing. Although we DO still get off on the audience liking it so much. And it's one of the only times (maybe THE only one) that I essentially had to force the band to play it. I had a bet with one of the girls that it would go over. (I won $10 on that one!) And the bass player sings it since it fits his voice, but he despises doing it. So we let him get away with making a quick "I hate doing this but YOU people will LOVE it" announcement. The way we have fun with this song and other similar ones is just to really play up the cheese. And just have fun with it by making fun OF it to a certain degree. The crowd digs it either way, and that's really all that matters in the end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TIMKEYS Posted April 26, 2012 Members Share Posted April 26, 2012 Of all the songs the we play, this is really the only one the band doesn't enjoy doing. Although we DO still get off on the audience liking it so much. And it's one of the only times (maybe THE only one) that I essentially had to force the band to play it. I had a bet with one of the girls that it would go over. (I won $10 on that one!) And the bass player sings it since it fits his voice, but he despises doing it. So we let him get away with making a quick "I hate doing this but YOU people will LOVE it" announcement.The way we have fun with this song and other similar ones is just to really play up the cheese. And just have fun with it by making fun OF it to a certain degree. The crowd digs it either way, and that's really all that matters in the end. Its a free shot on goal song for an outfit like yours. I am sure everyone knows you have to do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wheresgrant3 Posted April 26, 2012 Members Share Posted April 26, 2012 Yep.Obviously you aren't going to nail a lot of these tracks note-for-note, and you'll figure out what-to-add and what-to-leave-out as you go. But yes, especially if you're looking to be a full on variety band, the vocals are key. A lot of bar bands take the approach of stripping down these songs, rearranging into traditional guitar-bass-trap kit arrangements and "rocking them out". There's nothing wrong with that approach and it certainly can work for a bar band, but higher-dollar clients generally expect a more polished and "authentic" sound to these songs. And, if nothing else, simply taking that approach will set you apart from the many bands who do the more "rock out" thing. Agreed strong vocals really are the heart of performing these songs. We have four guys who sing in this band... well three guys who can sing and two who can rap. There's alot of passing lyrics around. If we had to rely on one singer to get through this material there's no way we would cover it all. With rapping, inflection and timing are just as important as pitch and projection for a singer. You can't mumble through lyrics or it will fail. It's best to sit with a metronome and really make sure your timing is on point. If you fall behind or speed up it's a train wreck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarguy19 Posted April 26, 2012 Members Share Posted April 26, 2012 Yep.Obviously you aren't going to nail a lot of these tracks note-for-note, and you'll figure out what-to-add and what-to-leave-out as you go. But yes, especially if you're looking to be a full on variety band, the vocals are key. A lot of bar bands take the approach of stripping down these songs, rearranging into traditional guitar-bass-trap kit arrangements and "rocking them out". There's nothing wrong with that approach and it certainly can work for a bar band, but higher-dollar clients generally expect a more polished and "authentic" sound to these songs. And, if nothing else, simply taking that approach will set you apart from the many bands who do the more "rock out" thing. That's the key for us right there. First, there aren't that many bands around here that are even doing these types of songs. Sure there are a few, but I'd venture to say that there would be VERY few that would be pulling off the type of variety we will once we influx them in. Around here there are a couple Top 40 bands and 7,000,000 Rock bands. The Top 40 bands (all that I know of anyway) have female singers. As far as I can see we'll really be filling a void...(relatively) young, all male band, playing basically a taste of almost everything in the book, and doing one better than doing it all with banging guitars. Sure we don't have 9 people on stage so we won't be able to do it 100% to the record, but I think because of the synth alone it'll one up the "just rock it out" approach. We'll be able to make it sound closer to the record than that. Again, not exact, but close. We're really hoping that this effort to hit this void in our variety, combined with a vigorously renewed effort with our promo (really hitting email lists and facebook harder, taking pictures and even video from every gig and getting it uploaded online, etc), will all lead to a better following and more $$. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TrickyBoy Posted April 26, 2012 Members Share Posted April 26, 2012 Yep.Obviously you aren't going to nail a lot of these tracks note-for-note, and you'll figure out what-to-add and what-to-leave-out as you go. But yes, especially if you're looking to be a full on variety band, the vocals are key. A lot of bar bands take the approach of stripping down these songs, rearranging into traditional guitar-bass-trap kit arrangements and "rocking them out". There's nothing wrong with that approach and it certainly can work for a bar band, but higher-dollar clients generally expect a more polished and "authentic" sound to these songs. And, if nothing else, simply taking that approach will set you apart from the many bands who do the more "rock out" thing. Definitely true. We've kind of pigeon-holed ourselves into being a club/party band. I can't imagine a corporation booking us for one of their events. We added a KB player to try to move into that arena, but he didn't work out. We're still open to the idea of adding one in the future, but we're not actively looking. Splitting $1K - $1,500 4-ways ain't half bad and around here, no one is doing what we do, so we have the unique thing going for us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TrickyBoy Posted April 26, 2012 Members Share Posted April 26, 2012 With rapping, inflection and timing are just as important as pitch and projection for a singer. You can't mumble through lyrics or it will fail. It's best to sit with a metronome and really make sure your timing is on point. If you fall behind or speed up it's a train wreck. Rapping became really easy for both Meagan and I once we realized it's no different than singing. Raps still have a melody along with rhythm. Once you "sing" them vs. just talking through them, it all comes together rather easily IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TrickyBoy Posted April 26, 2012 Members Share Posted April 26, 2012 Unspeakable things are emitted from the band and the crowd when we play that song... and none of it is PG related. Everything from " Suck My Cock" to " {censored}-in Whore" to How can I hurt when "I'm balls deep inside of you"... people love to defile that song. And why not... it's Neil Diamond after all! LOL - the song I defile the most is "Jessie's Girl". That one becomes NR-17 rated pretty quickly when I sing it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarguy19 Posted April 26, 2012 Members Share Posted April 26, 2012 Definitely true. We've kind of pigeon-holed ourselves into being a club/party band. I can't imagine a corporation booking us for one of their events. We added a KB player to try to move into that arena, but he didn't work out. We're still open to the idea of adding one in the future, but we're not actively looking. Splitting $1K - $1,500 4-ways ain't half bad and around here, no one is doing what we do, so we have the unique thing going for us. Yeah, we (very) briefly talked about adding a keys player too, but we realized we really didn't need one for 85% of what we do. After all, we're having a lot of success already so we're not trying to change too much. Me picking up a synth to use it for 5-6 songs a night...yeah it's a little more equipment to carry and a little more space taken up on stage, but for the payoff we're expecting from. Bringing people something they don't see often, we're hoping it's worth it. Much respect to you guys too...I wonder sometimes how you're able to pull off the songs you do with just guitar/bass/drums. From what I gather you must put a fair amount of work into your arrangements, and having a hottie up front that can really sing don't hurt either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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