Country musicians in rock bands

[JohnCub]

FlipFlopFly: Gracious thanks.

[pink floyd cramer]

I disagree with the OP but it's pretty obvious he was just venting. I just never thought of country players as being that Machavalian. Mainly because, we don't know what that word means, or how to use it in context or even spell it correctly. But if we throw it out it there anyway it might make you think we're not such dumb hicks after all.

[cephus]

I decided that I want to play music. I don't care what type it is, so long as I get to have fun. It's as simple as that.

 

 

I decided that deciding what sort of band I was going to be in based on anything except the music is a mistake. I took gigs because of popularity and money, but I could never give them my all. Eventually, it became a job and I wanted to call in sick.

 

I guess I can only have fun if I like the music. But I hate playing to empty bars, too. Not enough to learn a toby keith song.

[rhat]

This all seems strange to me. First of all, why would you join an originals band and then try to convert it to a covers band? Seems silly . I guess I have just been really lucky. Everybody knew exactly what they were getting into when they came in ( a classic rock covers band, $100 bucks per man minimum, more when we can get it ) everyone wants the same thing, likes the same material, and there has been zero drama in this first year with no potential drama in sight. Lucky us I guess. BTW I did not think of any country musicians when I was trying to put together a band...

 

 

 

No doubt they were between bands ,,, want do do some playing and are looking for decent singers and players. If you look at their options,, its the couch or go take a whack at a band that isnt their ideal type of band. Typically they will play for a while then move on. Guys who have had success with covers may well try an original band ,,, and try to move the band to covers. Why ,, because the original stuff just isnt working for them or the band ,, and the band wont admit that things aint working.

[J.Paul]

bubbas I guess

I've found the opposite to be true
I've lived in Nashville almost 20 years and every country player I know is actually a rock guy.
I can name a handful of guys that actually LIKE country, but none of them considered it their primaary thing (until the income started coming....).

[rhat]

bubbas I guess I've found the opposite to be true I've lived in Nashville almost 20 years and every country player I know is actually a rock guy. I can name a handful of guys that actually LIKE country, but none of them considered it their primaary thing (until the income started coming....).

 

 

Modern country pretty much is old rock and roll. The words and the chicken pickin leads being most of the difference. Its selling to the same demographics that old rock and roll got sold to. Face it unless you wanna listen to 35 and 40 year old music , country is the only new stuff thats out there that appeals to that demographic.

[Outkaster]

I like some country piano but for me there are threads of suppression in some country music. It just seems too

[rhat]

I like some country piano but for me there are threads of suppression in some country music. It just seems too

[boxorox]

I agree with the OP. But only if you take the genres and scramble them with every reading. If some counter productive butt head joins your band and starts screwing things up, it doesn't matter what kind of background he has or what kind of music you play. Every population has it's share of assholes. Judge not, lest ye be judged.

[cephus]

Modern country pretty much is old rock and roll.

 

 

 

If that were true, I wouldn't hate it so much. I think it sounds like over-produced, washed-out 80s pop.

[rhat]

If that were true, I wouldn't hate it so much. I think it sounds like over-produced, washed-out 80s pop.

 

 

I dont know ,,, the guitar players are great, the vocals are great, its great dance music. The truth is most bands are not good enough to do it justice. Its tight. I would love to play in a top flight country band. I know i would be playing with some of the best musicians and singers in any town.

[TotalPoser]

The one I usually run into is being in the "mainstream" rock cover band, and guys come in and want to start doing thrash metal and stuff like that. It's like "No, we're not going to start covering Pantera, sorry."

[ggm1960]

It's all because of the phallic symbol that is the Fender Telecaster headstock!

[SunRaFan]

I dont know ,,, the guitar players are great, the vocals are great, its great dance music. The truth is most bands are not good enough to do it justice. Its tight. I would love to play in a top flight country band. I know i would be playing with some of the best musicians and singers in any town.

 

 

I can't really agree with all of this. The guitar playing is good, but it's generally good players playing fairly unimaginative stuff over really bland chord progressions. I can respect a lot of those guys as good musicians, but I have a really hard time believing it's actually hearing them at their best.

 

Also, I really don't think the vocals are great at all. Tonewise they are very heavily processed and tuned. The lyrics are generally abysmal which also makes it hard to take the vocals seriously.

[rhat]

I can't really agree with all of this. The guitar playing is good, but it's generally good players playing fairly unimaginative stuff over really bland chord progressions. I can respect a lot of those guys as good musicians, but I have a really hard time believing it's actually hearing them at their best. Also, I really don't think the vocals are great at all. Tonewise they are very heavily processed and tuned. The lyrics are generally abysmal which also makes it hard to take the vocals seriously.

 

 

 

 

Yup ,, its everything that goes along with being a star. they made it and you havent. bla bla bla

 

I bet you would take the money serious if you had your ass in a top flight band backing a big star.

[Big Daddy]

Yup ,, its everything that goes along with being a star. they made it and you havent. bla bla bla I bet you would take the money serious if you had your ass in a top flight band backing a big star.

 

 

In my area, the money is definitely more available as a country band. I firmly believe that the country musicians(on the pro level) are some of the most talented out there.As the point was made earlier in the thread, many of those players are rockers who realized C/W would pay the bills MUCH better.I believe this shows the versatility of the player, which is an important part of talent.

 

As far as country sounding like 80's pop, I say BS. Maybe on some of the bubble-gum crossover acts, but not on the groups/acts I listen to. Check out Kevin Fowler(cool guy,working with him again next month)Jason Boland,Stoney LaRue and Cross Canadian Ragweed.They have a rock edge, but it damn sure ain't POP !

[SunRaFan]

Yup ,, its everything that goes along with being a star. they made it and you havent. bla bla bla I bet you would take the money serious if you had your ass in a top flight band backing a big star.

 

 

What does this have to do with anything? Most "modern" country is almost impossible to listen to. The songs stink. There's enough music out there that I'll choose listening to good musicians playing good music over good musicians playing awful music.

[Glyder]

Todays Country is just pop rock with singers beltin out lyrics with hillbilly accents.

[rhat]

What does this have to do with anything? Most "modern" country is almost impossible to listen to. The songs stink. There's enough music out there that I'll choose listening to good musicians playing good music over good musicians playing awful music.

 

 

I like it ,,, its fun music. I would be quite happy playing in a redneck wedding band lol.

[djcgtr]

I dont know ,,, the guitar players are great, the vocals are great, its great dance music. The truth is most bands are not good enough to do it justice. Its tight. I would love to play in a top flight country band. I know i would be playing with some of the best musicians and singers in any town.

 

 

Dropping 2 pence into the fountain........

 

Read through this very active thread.

I am originally a rock player ( loved 80's AOR )

 

I have been in local and regional modern country acts for a while now.

My wallet sees more green with modern country.

 

Now I still love my rock and do get opportunities to perform that material.

I have grown to really like quite a bit of the offerings in modern country.

There is a ton of variety in that genre, IMHO.

 

I still use LesPauls and a Marshall. Play clean when you need to and let the overdrive sound rip when called for.

I spent a lot of time in various types of music and the successful people I know have a well rounded experience in many genres.

 

There are a lot of ''rock'' guys in modern country. I am one of them.

There are so many variations of musicians that I can't say that I am able to conclusively classify country players as described by the OP.

 

I have no doubt that he describes his encounters accurately. I have seen patterns of behavior similar to the OP. And many other patterns too for that matter....

 

I do have to like what I perform. I may be a bit of a musical 'ho sometimes but my income is the music business in all aspects. Performing, sound, lighting, repair, consulting etc etc.

 

Maybe I enjoy modern country because there are similarities, many times, to pop/rock.

[pink floyd cramer]

Todays Country is just pop rock with singers beltin out lyrics with hillbilly accents.

I agree Top 40 Country the last few years is mostly this. But there are always a few great songs out there and IMO no worse a sucky-to-decent ratio than any other genre. You could just as easily say indie rock sucks because most of the songs suck.

You can rest assured, too, that any thread with "country" in the title ends up with a discussion just like this.

[JohnCub]

I'm not one to make generalizations, generally.

 

But here's one I just thought of:

 

Musical racist hate country first and foremost. I don't know as many country lovers that hate anything with more gain than your average rock band as I know people who hate country to the soul of their beings.

 

Beats me, I rather like them both to some extent.

[rockerdiva]

I'm not one to make generalizations, generally. But here's one I just thought of: Musical racist hate country first and foremost. I don't know as many country lovers that hate anything with more gain than your average rock band as I know people who hate country to the soul of their beings. Beats me, I rather like them both to some extent.

 

 

This is very interesting to me. I wonder what it is like across the country. In my area (northeast Florida) we have a lot of steadily working cover bands; I'd say it's about -

 

50% classic rock,

 

20% country/rock,

 

20% rock/blues or blues rock,

 

& maybe 10% bluegrass/folk (with a tiny bit of rock or blues mixed in.)

 

Is it different in the rest of the U.S.A.?

Do country bands really get hired more?

 

Oh, and I forgot about about the original bands. Factor them in at like 3%,

taking away equally from the other types of bands...

 

Needless to say - there is no original scene here. Ok by me, I love playing rock covers! But if I were into pushing my original stuff, sad ... it would be..

[modulusman]

This is very interesting to me. I wonder what it is like across the country. In my area (northeast Florida) we have a lot of steadily working cover bands; I'd say it's about - 50% classic rock, 20% country/rock, 20% rock/blues or blues rock, & maybe 10% bluegrass/folk (with a tiny bit of rock or blues mixed in.) Is it different in the rest of the U.S.A.? Do country bands really get hired more? Oh, and I forgot about about the original bands. Factor them in at like 3%, taking away equally from the other types of bands... Needless to say - there is no original scene here. Ok by me, I love playing rock covers! But if I were into pushing my original stuff, sad ... it would be..

You stated in your post that half the bands in your area are classic rock bands. It stands to reason that unless you are the best classic rock band in town then you will have alot more bands fighting for the same gigs. My band is about 80% country / 20% classic rock. We stay as busy as we want to be and get paid better money than most of the bands in my area.

[Terry Allan Hall]

My sympathies to Kahtru for his bad experiences (and thanks for an interesting topic) but I can't say I have seen too many country players try to convert bands to country. We usually know that is a lost cause. Oftentimes a good rock player just can't get a convincing country guitar sound and style. The best country picker in my area says "I can do what the rock guys do" (and he can) "but they can't do what I do" (and they can't). I have had far more frustration from being in country bands with a rock guitar player who didn't really care about copping the Brent Mason/Jerry Reed style because they were just doing country gigs for the $$. That's just my experience, which is no more valid than anyone else's. But I think it is a bad idea to veto having a good player in a your band just because they have played in country bands.

A lot of rockers get very uptight about it but the fact is that country music takes a lot more chops/theory, particularily if you have to play some rhythm along with the leads...I've has the misfortune to gig with rockers who were "slumming" who had no idea what a diminished chord was!

If it wasn't a major, a minor or a 7th, they'd just look at you like a deer in the headlights.