@$$hole frontman

[mstreck]

I went to see a guitarist friend's band last night. These guys have the whole package. Everyone is strong both instrumentally and vocally. They are probably the best "local" band I've ever seen - really too good for the area. I have never been disappointed at one of their shows and they just seem to keep getting better and better. I was especially impressed with their frontman. He is probably the best frontman I have ever seen. That's not hyperbole folks - I mean it.

 

BUT - at one point before the second set he was on the microphone and mentioned "that {censored}ty band XXXXX". He was referring to the band that he fronted with before this one - I am friends with some of them as well. (They are still playing and doing just fine without him. I would definitely rank them as one of the area's top 5 bands.)

 

With that one comment, the guy lost all of my support. I stopped wanting to be there. I didn't buy another drink and only stayed because I was there with friends. Otherwise, I would have walked out.

 

I had heard rumors that this guy was an asshole. I never saw that in him on stage. Granted, he had the frontman cockiness, but never seemed to be a dick. But then I watched him off stage. He blew off fans who were "great job" and couldn't even be bothered to give a guy a high-five. He dismissed him with a "go away" hand gesture. Wow.

 

It's a shame, because the guitarist is one of the nicest people that I know.

[jeff42]

What this guy said WILL get back to the guys in the other band. It always does.

 

Just last week the front man of a pretty popular local band had some {censored}ty things to say about us... It took about 3 days for it to come back to me. He didn't say it over the mic this time but has taken little jabs at us on stage before.

 

I never say anything about other bands on stage unless it's good stuff. Which we usually do. (shout outs if they are in the crowd, if a good band we know is playing next day or the next week at the place we are at they'll get a plug)

[wades_keys]

Just last week the front man of a pretty popular local band had some {censored}ty things to say about us... It took about 3 days for it to come back to me. He didn't say it over the mic this time but has taken little jabs at us on stage before.

What's his problem with you guys?

[jeff42]

What's his problem with you guys?

 

Honestly I think he is a little threatened by us. We are seeing more and more of his "die hard" fans at our shows when we are playing the same night as they are. (which is every time we play since they gig every weeked both friday & saturday)

 

We call them (secretly of course) the "Converts" They tell us they are sick of hearing the same songs and that we play stuff they would never dream of doing. We always respond with thanks and XXX is a great band too & they do what they do very well. Thanks for coming out. That sorty of thing.

[tlbonehead]

I wrote a punk song once called, SHUT UP AND PLAY. All this posturing, ego stuff is just idiotic.

[wades_keys]

I wrote a punk song once called, SHUT UP AND PLAY. All this posturing, ego stuff is just idiotic.

Unless you're going to do the whole 80's over the top schtick....

[rangefinder]

To be fair, maybe something pissed him off earlier and he just wanted to finish the show and get out of there, and couldn't resist the one snide comment during the show.

 

Not completely professional, of course... but it happens.

 

Otherwise, if he's an asshole by nature... well, karma's a bitch. It'll get him sooner or later.

[guitarflyer]

I would have gotten up and burned him off the stage with my epic guitar solo, tasty licks and grail tone..and as he cowered in the corner....I would have pointed down at him and said:

 

' Bow down to my awesome power to rock you insect!'

[mstreck]

I never say anything about other bands on stage unless it's good stuff. Which we usually do. (shout outs if they are in the crowd, if a good band we know is playing next day or the next week at the place we are at they'll get a plug)

 

[cooterbrown]

 

I would have gotten up and burned him off the stage with my epic guitar solo, tasty licks and grail tone..and as he cowered in the corner....I would have pointed down at him and said: ' Bow down to my awesome power to rock you insect!'

 

 

...and then you woke up.

[jeff42]

I would have gotten up and burned him off the stage with my epic guitar solo, tasty licks and grail tone..and as he cowered in the corner....I would have pointed down at him and said: ' Bow down to my awesome power to rock you insect!'

 

OK. Still wouldn't have changed the fact that the lead singer said something nasty about another local band in front of a crowd.

[Austincowbell]

 

I would have gotten up and burned him off the stage with my epic guitar solo, tasty licks and grail tone..and as he cowered in the corner....I would have pointed down at him and said: ' Bow down to my awesome power to rock you insect!'

 

 

I'll translate into real world as opposed to the fantasy world:

 

"I'd have stood near the stage with my hands in my pocket for 30 minutes. When I finally got the courage I would walk over to the guitarist and ask to sit in... at which point he would say "who do you play with, I don't know you" and I would say "go to youtube!!! I'm good!!! I have links!!!" to which he would say "{censored} off" at which point, I would turn to my BFF Steve (who has a lvl 68 warcraft Paladin who hangs out with my lvl 69 elf) and say "I would have smoked his ass". I'd finish my Baily's on the rocks, go into the bathroom and sit down to pee and go home?

[wades_keys]

I'll translate into real world as opposed to the fantasy world: "I'd have stood near the stage with my hands in my pocket for 30 minutes. When I finally got the courage I would walk over to the guitarist and ask to sit in... at which point he would say "who do you play with, I don't know you" and I would say "go to youtube!!! I'm good!!! I have links!!!" to which he would say "{censored} off" at which point, I would turn to my BFF Steve (who has a lvl 68 warcraft Paladin who hangs out with my lvl 69 elf) and say "I would have smoked his ass". I'd finish my Baily's on the rocks, go into the bathroom and sit down to pee and go home?

 

[DukeOfBoom]

 

I would have gotten up and burned him off the stage with my epic guitar solo, tasty licks and grail tone..and as he cowered in the corner....I would have pointed down at him and said: ' Bow down to my awesome power to rock you insect!'

 

 

VICTORY!!!!

[maxnew40]

Never talk bad about other bands unless you are at a closed band rehearsal.

 

Max

[Yer Blues]

I'm always amused by people who get so worked up as a result of playing other people's songs. I play in a cover band because I think playing music is fun. I don't worry about the other stuff. I think there are a lot of cover band guys who have a chip on their shoulder when they should be thankful someone actually wants to hear them perform a song they didn't even write.

[bish0p34]

OK. Still wouldn't have changed the fact that the lead singer said something nasty about another local band in front of a crowd.

 

I sadly work with people who do this occasionally. It is sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo {censored}ing embarrasing, because I know these people.

[BuildingCastles]

Sounds like a real dick. It'll come back to him. Other bands won't want to do shows with a dick like that.

[jeff42]

I sadly work with people who do this occasionally. It is sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo {censored}ing embarrasing, because I know these people.

 

I agree. Apparently some people don't understand that you may know other musicians too. Down here in Hazleton there are a few decent players that are notorious for this. (no one I play with thank God)

 

Recently I went to see a band and one member loved to shoot his mouth off about this band and that band, you guys know the type I'm sure... I guess he never thought that I may know some of the guys he's bashing.

[FXR]

 

I wrote a punk song once called, SHUT UP AND PLAY. All this posturing, ego stuff is just idiotic.

 

 

Right on! I've adopted that saying for a few folks too.

[wades_keys]

I'm not sure why anyone would feel the need to say anything about another band.

 

That's just stupid on so many levels.

 

If there are folks in the crowd I know, even if they play in a band that's known, I'm not gonna give a shout out to their band over the mic: that's just retarded.

[n9ne]

In my experience, professional caliber players rarely feel the need to speak disparagingly of other bands. They generally have enough confidence in their own abilities that they don't feel it necessary to talk {censored} about others.

 

Then again, pro guys have usually been around enough to know how stupid and pointless all that high school BS really is. The few individuals who DO continue to do it are dip{censored}s that nobody takes seriously anyway.

[SpaceNorman]

 

If there are folks in the crowd I know, even if they play in a band that's known, I'm not gonna give a shout out to their band over the mic: that's just retarded.

 

 

I don't think it makes a difference whether another band gets a shout from the band on stage. The chances that the crowd cares are slim to none. Ditto for the band in the crowd (assuming they are grown-ups).

 

The venue might be happy about it IF the band in the crowd are on the roster and the comments hype an upcoming show.

 

Give 'em a shout out ... don't give 'em a shout ... do whatever feels right to you, just as long as whatever you say about 'em is positive. Nothing makes a musician look worse than bad-mouthing another player.

[wades_keys]

 

I don't think it makes a difference whether another band gets a shout from the band on stage.

 

Exactly.

 

So why do it.

 

And if it does make a difference, it won't be a good one.

 

So again: why do it?

[SpaceNorman]

 

Exactly. So why do it. And if it does make a difference, it won't be a good one. So again: why do it?

 

 

I'd consider a positive shout to be a "neutral" action. If you feel strongly about NOT doing it - no biggie. If you feel like acknowledging another band in the crowd - that's no biggie either. There are LOTS of "neutral" actions onstage ... I view this as just another in the pile.