Members vanlatte Posted November 28, 2005 Members Share Posted November 28, 2005 I saw a band this past weekend that drove this point home...anyone here heard of Greg Koch? Hes a great guitar player and hilarious on stage. Gobs of stage presence. He was playing with a three piece so it was just guitar, bass and drums. The musicianship was outstanding. These guys were playing unbelievable things, and I dont mean nessecarilly "fast" or techincally dazzling, just really great music.The bass player was *very* good, but he spent most of the night with his back to the audiance, looking at the drummer.Being a bass player it was infuriating! I mean he was doing all this cool stuff and he wouldnt let us see it! So that's another take on this whole idea...its not about just moving around or trying to cover up poor skills with gimmicks. Would it kill someone to look at the audiance once in a while? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Locke Posted November 28, 2005 Author Members Share Posted November 28, 2005 Originally posted by vanlatte So that's another take on this whole idea...its not about just moving around or trying to cover up poor skills with gimmicks. Would it kill someone to look at the audiance once in a while? Ooh, but that's a sure sign of lack of content in the actual music! If your music has content the audience should LOVE it with you guys just sitting in a ring facing each other. I mean, EVERYBODY LOVES your music so much that that's the only thing they want.Don't you know anything? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members vanlatte Posted November 28, 2005 Members Share Posted November 28, 2005 Originally posted by Locke Ooh, but that's a sure sign of lack of content in the actual music! If your music has content the audience should LOVE it with you guys just sitting in a ring facing each other. I mean, EVERYBODY LOVES your music so much that that's the only thing they want. Don't you know anything? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Greazygeo Posted November 28, 2005 Members Share Posted November 28, 2005 Originally posted by Locke Thanks for all the posts folks. I think I'll mention it to him but if he doesn't start moving more it's not that big of a deal. It'll most likely come in time. Try picturing Red Hot Chili Peppers playing their gigs just standing still. Or Primus or Slayer or even The Rolling Stones. Would take away from their stage appeal, no? Besides the fact that our music is agressive rock, none of us are virtuosos like Al Dimeola or John McLaughlin (both of whom, incidentally, DO move to the music quite a bit). Then again, even the virtuosos run around and move to the music; you saying Michael Brecker, John Scofield, and Mike Stern have very little going on musically? My bet is that their music has more going on than mine and yours put together. Anyway, I sometimes get bored at a Spyro Gyra show; fancy chords are interesting for only so long before Well Ive never seen Stern or Dimeola jump around and act like any of these *new* lame bands, thats what i was getting at...If you are a good player and have confidence on stage while making eye contact and doing what is natural, that goes a long way....IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Locke Posted November 28, 2005 Author Members Share Posted November 28, 2005 Originally posted by Greazygeo Well Ive never seen Stern or Dimeola jump around and act like any of these *new* lame bands, thats what i was getting at...If you are a good player and have confidence on stage while making eye contact and doing what is natural, that goes a long way....IMO. I never said jumping up and down is necessary, I just mentioned it along with all other movements that come naturally when you aren't afraid to let go. By the way, you saying the Rolling Stones are a new band? Mick does lots of running and jumping around. Same thing with Deep Purple, Van Halen, AC/DC etc. Besides, Stern and Dimeola DO move quite a bit. Just watch the Return of the Brecker Brothers and you'll see Stern just moving and grooving through the show along with Michael and Randy. And again I ask you: how would the Chili Peppers, the Stones, James Brown, Primus, Slayer etc. (none of which are new bands by any standards) look if they all just stood very, very still on the stage? Would or would it not take away from their stage appeal? That's the whole point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members THX1138 Posted November 28, 2005 Members Share Posted November 28, 2005 Originally posted by Greazygeo Well Ive never seen Stern or Dimeola jump around and act like any of these *new* lame bands, thats what i was getting at...If you are a good player and have confidence on stage while making eye contact and doing what is natural, that goes a long way....IMO. I respect your opinion I suppose, but I really couldn't care less what the Dimeolas of the world think about me. We have plenty of musical ability in this band, but to us, it ain't about what musicians think. I'm givin all my energy playin for the buncha folks who came to the show (alotta times from out of town) and spent their hard-earned dollars on our cds. Those are the folks who are our lifeblood, and in my opinion truely deserve to see a show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Greazygeo Posted November 28, 2005 Members Share Posted November 28, 2005 Originally posted by Locke I never said jumping up and down is necessary, I just mentioned it along with all other movements that come naturally when you aren't afraid to let go. By the way, you saying the Rolling Stones are a new band? Mick does lots of running and jumping around. Same thing with Deep Purple, Van Halen, AC/DC etc. Besides, Stern and Dimeola DO move quite a bit. Just watch the Return of the Brecker Brothers and you'll see Stern just moving and grooving through the show along with Michael and Randy. And again I ask you: how would the Chili Peppers, the Stones, James Brown, Primus, Slayer etc. (none of which are new bands by any standards) look if they all just stood very, very still on the stage? Would or would it not take away from their stage appeal? That's the whole point. The Stones a new band....hell no. But tell me their bass player and drummer aren't comatose when they play? Good Charlotte etc...they have nothing musically going on.....get it? What I am saying that as long as others move around, engage the crowd and appear to be having a good time, if your bass player just stands there, it's not neccessarily a bad thing....Can he play the material or is it hard for him? Maybe you guys should video tape a show and watch it with him. nothing fancy just catch the whole stage and leave it there so you can see everyone.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Locke Posted November 28, 2005 Author Members Share Posted November 28, 2005 Originally posted by Greazygeo The Stones a new band....hell no. But tell me their bass player and drummer aren't comatose when they play? If the Stones WERE a new band now they probably wouldn't make the cut if they performed like they did when they first started out; what passed then as a good show is average by today's standards, you probably admit that. After a while the Stones became big enough that it didn't matter that Bill didn't move and it even became his trademark. None of us has the name the Rolling Stones have; if you're popular you can pretty much pull off anything. We're still in the stage when we have to make an impact one way or the other. Besides, in band competitions the judges DO evaluate your stage antics as well as your music since they consider the visual show to be a part of a whole that is your performance. Originally posted by Greazygeo What I am saying that as long as others move around, engage the crowd and appear to be having a good time, if your bass player just stands there, it's not neccessarily a bad thing.... Can he play the material or is it hard for him? Maybe you guys should video tape a show and watch it with him. nothing fancy just catch the whole stage and leave it there so you can see everyone.... He can definitely handle the material; he's probably the most proficient band member technique-wise. I think he's just shy/inexperienced on-stage while the rest of us have much more gigs under our belts. The video taping is a good idea though.PS. I can't stand Good Charlotte either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members zekmoe Posted November 28, 2005 Members Share Posted November 28, 2005 I've seen the Chilli peppers several times, and one of the reasons they jump around is that musically they are awful. You need the mayhem to distract from the lousy players and crappy tones, and the surprising lack of anything resempling a groove. They get my vote for the most disappointing live band ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MDLMUSIC Posted November 28, 2005 Members Share Posted November 28, 2005 Originally posted by Crustycabs One word: Remote control electronic zapper suppository. Actually that's five words...Good idea, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cyberponch Posted November 29, 2005 Members Share Posted November 29, 2005 Just start moshing on stage. He'll move. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Uma Floresta Posted November 30, 2005 Members Share Posted November 30, 2005 Originally posted by Locke Currently I'm really quite satisfied with how my band's working save for one minute detail which actually affects how we appear on stage:Our bass player is rooted to the spot and he appears to have swallowed a rifle. He doesn't even tap his foot to the beat not to mention moving otherwise. I haven't brought this up yet as we're just heading to to the studio and we won't play live until late January. However, besides live gigs we're going to attend a band contest and in that particular contest I know that they value both skill, songs AND stage antics. They might overlook just standing there if you were a world class virtuoso but, being a realist, I know none of us are even though we are good enough for the music we play. Me, the singer, and the drummer have the whole show-thing going on and we generally get really good feedback on our stage antics (besides the music, of course). Nothing special; just being into the music and movin' and groovin'. But the bass player...he might as well be a mic stand! This is not something I'd turn into a big deal because other than that he fits the band really well but since there are just three of us plus the drummer so it takes from the performance if one of us just stands there.I'm wondering how I should go about bringing this up? Has anybody here had the same problem? I used to be in a band, and for me it was a mistake to move around too much... basically because I can't dance to save my life, and I just ended up looking ridiculous, so I stopped. Maybe that's your bass player's deal. Now, that doesn't mean he can't maybe, you know, walk around a little, bob his head a bit maybe. I don't think he'd be offended if you just said, "hey man, you don't move at all on stage, you should loosen up a bit!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bonscottvocals Posted December 1, 2005 Members Share Posted December 1, 2005 Could it be that he's not completely familiar with the material and paying more attention to the notes and none to the audience. I hate it when it happens to me. I'll find myself lost in the music and forget that I'm supposed to be entertaining too. I'm too ugly to stand still. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jackcheez Posted December 1, 2005 Members Share Posted December 1, 2005 Don't mess with it. Always hire the people you want. Don't hire people then try to change them into what you want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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