Do you see covering many genres as a problem?

[Locke]

Okay, first let me say that right now I don't think it's a problem at all and that I'm proud that my band plays many different genres but looking at the songs I'm currently writing (I'm the sole "songwright" in the band) it may be a problem in the future.

 

Currently our songs go from mellow, melodic pop (think 'Home' by Sheryl Crow) to songs that sound like a mix of Primus and Puppets-era Metallica (verse might be prog/funk, chorus might be metal etc.) and so far it has just made the music sound interesting and fresh but right now I've got a couple of songs coming up that sound quite a bit like Meshuggah (extremely heavy with lots of polyrythm and 100% screaming vocals, no melody at all). Judging by those yet-unfinished songs I think I'd have to carefully plan our setlist so that there's some contrast but I have to mellow out the biggest gaps with in-between level songs because going from a light ballad to all out, double bass, screaming vocals-metal or vice versa would be damn close ridiculous.

 

Or would it?

 

What do you folks think? Can one go too far with mixing genres or is it all good? I think I should say that the very idea of this band is not to make big bucks but to be fun for US and the reason I put the band together in the first place was to find a group of musicians with whom we could play anything from blues to death metal.

Otherwise I wouldn't mind but the variation between songs is getting really, really huge. I might not do anything about it but still I'd like to hear some opinions on the matter.

[ZED]

Being versatile is a good thing. It might not be good if you're looking for pop stardom, but it's one of the things musicians should strive for, IMO.

[Locke]

I tend to think like that myself. Just interested to hear the thoughts of others before I toss the whole notion out of my mind and start writing neo-classical-punk-influenced psychedelic-folk-metal

 

Edit: ZED, is your sig your own writing or is that piece of text from somewhere else? It's pretty cool.

[srsfallriver]

Being able to play different genres is almost a must for a musician. It allows many opportunities. If you're in a cover band/function band its very useful.

 

If you're looking to get signed, or doing originals in general, I think showing that abitity would close doors rather than open them. I think (I've been out of the original/trying to get signed scene for over 10 years) agents are looking to say "I've got an interesting (say: country, reggae, metal, pop, etc) band here".

[JBJ]

to be honest if i saw a band playign somethign that sounded like sheryl crow then the next song sounded like the walls were about to cave in i'd think there was too many cooks spoilign the borth but instead of cocks it's songwriters and instead of broth their ruining the band because they all want their songs to be heard and itjust makes it sound like you dont really have a direction...

 

if you want to make any great headway you really need to have at least a somewhat defined style and genre.

 

FWIW if I write any acoustic type stuff I'll keep it for solo gigs and not introduce it to the band. it's not even THAT different to what we do but it's still a bit too much for me.

 

heres an example the other week i caught a band who were pretty terrible but thats besides the point. they were playing originals and were pretty heavy. lots of shredding n screaming etc... then they decided to do a cover..... superman by five for fighting.... i was like wtf you've just went from sounding like a bad pearl jam to this, whos passing round the crack.

[Tedster]

I myself like multi-genred bands. Most folks don't though. (shrug)...

[daddymack]

It is a double edged sword. On the plus side, it opens up the bands horizons and demonstrates the depth and capability of the musicians; on the negative side, it makes it hard to find and build a following and harder to find clubs to play in, since the music biz is all about pigeonholing.

 

I write a wide variety of music, country western, powerpop, ballads, riff rock, etc. But much of that never gets presented to my band, because it does not fit into our already fairly varied but defined scope.

 

[FlogRock]

Variety is great. I hate it if an album contains ten tracks that are almost the same, where you can hear the same cliches in every song. But the other extreme is not good either: if there's an album that contains a blues track that sounds like a SRV cover, a metal track that sounds like it's straight from a Metallica album, etc. It's good to have a lot of variety, but still every song should sound like your band. The things that define a band's style are often a lot more subtle than the the typical things that define styles such as blues, reggae, metal, country etc. For instance a band's style can be defined by some characteristic melodic fragments, progressions, rhythms and sounds. If you can write a blues/reggae etc song within your own style, that's great. If you just sound like you're covering SRV and Bob Marley, then don't do it. Everyone can write a typical song in these clearly defined genres (though not as good as SRV and Bob Marley of course). The challenge is to add something of yourself to it.

 

And maybe I should add that some of my favorite bands go from very mellow and melodic to screaming/noise/walls of guitars (Smashing Pumpkins, Motorpsycho).

[RupertB]

Playing a variety of styles will in almost all cases:

1) Make you a better musician (band).

2) Make you less marketable.

 

The only time #2 doesn't apply is if you're playing a variety of extremely popular styles (country, dance, pop, See: Variety Band).

 

Ultimately, you should strive to play material that engages both the musicians and the audience. Whether and how you compromise is up to you.

[DonaldDemon]

Intereting topic here. I have the same situation with my band in that we are an original band composing songs of many genres as well (surf/punk/funk/blues/primus/heavy/indie). Part of it is due to the musical differences in each band memberes tastes and part being that I, the primary song writer have many different influences and tastes as well.

 

I think the comments made by most are correct:

1.) It will make the music more interesting

2.) It make you less marketable

 

I think the primary solution to the second fact is to always make an underlying sound that is your own. No matter what genre the song you are playing, make sure it sounds like your bands version and not a cover of someone elses style. The key here I think is the vocals. As long as the vocals always sound natural to any song you play and not like trying to cop a certain artist/style then it should work. Always try to work your signature sound into any song which should be something that you as a band do best.

 

I am not saying it will make you a huge success but it will deter some bad critisism. For an example I always use Mr. Bungle. They could do jazz to metal to oldies to rock all in one song! It always sounded like Mr. Bungle though, in part because of the genius of Mike Patton's vocals, and not like a cheesy wannabe.

 

So I say stick with it if your having fun with it. That was was my decision in the end, as long as its fun, its worth it.

[worthyjoe]

For cover bands I personally don't usually like bands that do all the extremes. I think it's good to have variety but I think there should be SOMEWHAT of a cohesiveness to the songs you choose to do. I don't think you should do a james taylor song and then a metallica song. I'm sure some bands can do it but I don't like it.

 

I think it's even harder to pull off as an original artist but it also depends on your intentions. If you intend on writing music for your own enjoyment and for friends, etc... do what you want.

 

If you are looking to write music for your own enjoyment AND try to market yourself/make money/get signed/ etc, then I think you have to find a rough genre range that works for you.

[Outkaster]

If you are covering cultural music you have to be careful because some people take offense to bands trying to play their countires music. I saw Paul Schaeffer and his band screw up some Marley tunes at the rock and roll hall of fame. It was embarrasing how off they were. Sometimes people cover too much music and do not sound great playing any one thing.

[Terry Allan Hall]

Originally posted by Locke Okay, first let me say that right now I don't think it's a problem at all and that I'm proud that my band plays many different genres but looking at the songs I'm currently writing (I'm the sole "songwright" in the band) it may be a problem in the future. Currently our songs go from mellow, melodic pop (think 'Home' by Sheryl Crow) to songs that sound like a mix of Primus and Puppets-era Metallica (verse might be prog/funk, chorus might be metal etc.) and so far it has just made the music sound interesting and fresh but right now I've got a couple of songs coming up that sound quite a bit like Meshuggah (extremely heavy with lots of polyrythm and 100% screaming vocals, no melody at all). Judging by those yet-unfinished songs I think I'd have to carefully plan our setlist so that there's some contrast but I have to mellow out the biggest gaps with in-between level songs because going from a light ballad to all out, double bass, screaming vocals-metal or vice versa would be damn close ridiculous. Or would it? What do you folks think? Can one go too far with mixing genres or is it all good? I think I should say that the very idea of this band is not to make big bucks but to be fun for US and the reason I put the band together in the first place was to find a group of musicians with whom we could play anything from blues to death metal. Otherwise I wouldn't mind but the variation between songs is getting really, really huge. I might not do anything about it but still I'd like to hear some opinions on the matter.

 

That's pretty much what I do at my gigs (play a mixture of eras from the 20s to modern stuff - jazz, folky, S/S, Celtic swing, old pop, etc - basically everyone in the audience should hear something they like!), and largely why I gig so often, but then again, I don't try to come across as a "rocker" on a bar environment...I book my show in restaurants, coffeehouses, festivals, institutions and such as a "family-friendly variety program"...and, if they really want a name to the genre, I just answer "Contemporary Acoustic"...

[slugball]

For original material it would be a problem for me, primarily because I'm not all that interested in that many genres from a creative perspective. In terms of playing, I love it -- keeps me trying new things. That might sound contradictory, but I don't feel like my writing is genre-based -- just flavors of whatever I happen to know.

[Scheming Demon]

I think srsfallriver nailed it exactly. If you're trying to get signed as an original band it would pretty much be the kiss of death.

 

But since you're only looking to have fun, than go for it. No reason not to. Unless you notice that doing this is actually closing doors for your band than you have no reason not to continue along this path.

 

It just might be unique enough to attract attention. However, in general, while being versatile is good for the band/musician it is usually difficult to attract and maintain an audience.

 

A metalhead will typically not be too receptive to Celtic Folk music and vice versa.

[The Hiryuu]

I have a semi-similar thing in mind, only the style shifts in the middle of the songs. Sort of like a Mr. Bungle or Crotchduster kind of thing...only I intend it to be weirder and more unique (Yeah, than those two...that's going to take a LOT)

 

Yes, commercially speaking it's suicide, but it'll be {censored}ing fun. And interesting.

[Locke]

 

Originally posted by The Hiryuu I have a semi-similar thing in mind, only the style shifts in the middle of the songs.

 

 

Yeah, we do that. Some of our songs are one genre all through but most are mix ups of some sort (most common mix being funk, heavy rock, and prog).

[DonaldDemon]

 

Originally posted by Locke Yeah, we do that. Some of our songs are one genre all through but most are mix ups of some sort (most common mix being funk, heavy rock, and prog).

 

 

Any clips of you guys? My band sort of does that and has been moving more into the Mr Bungle realm. It'd be great to hear some other bands doing this.

[The Hiryuu]

 

Originally posted by Locke Yeah, we do that. Some of our songs are one genre all through but most are mix ups of some sort (most common mix being funk, heavy rock, and prog).

 

 

...well, my ideas go a bit beyond that. I have every intention to defy convention as much as possible...and blend in grindcore, death metal, thrash, prog-rock, jazz, etc. to other unique ideas I have...LOTS of experimentation, probably going to end up buying tons of random instruments, and using things people wouldn't typically think of in lieu of instruments or together with instruments at points.

[Locke]

Originally posted by DonaldDemon Any clips of you guys? My band sort of does that and has been moving more into the Mr Bungle realm. It'd be great to hear some other bands doing this.

 

Give me a month and I'll post some clips here. We haven't recorded anything yet but our drummer just returned from abroad so now we'll go into the studio to record six tracks.

I think Mr Bungle's tune My Ass Is On Fire is closest to what we do but not quite. We don't have many funny elements in our music whereas Bungle has lots. You guys recorded anything as of yet?

 

Originally posted by The Hiryuu ...well, my ideas go a bit beyond that. I have every intention to defy convention as much as possible...and blend in grindcore, death metal, thrash, prog-rock, jazz, etc. to other unique ideas I have...LOTS of experimentation, probably going to end up buying tons of random instruments, and using things people wouldn't typically think of in lieu of instruments or together with instruments at points.

 

Hehey! Finally somebody who's got the good sense to mix jazz with metal! We have one song like that (about 8mins long) that starts with a light jazz/funk-groove (think Ronny Jordan meets Root Down-era Jimmy Smith minus the organ), moves into slow swing, then metal, rock, metal, prog, and finishes with rock.

There's one thing we do differently though; we want to be able to pull everything off live. That means no over dubs, no unique instruments. For me it's just my tele, amp, distortion, chorus, and wah, and...well, my fingers.

[DonaldDemon]

 

Originally posted by Locke Give me a month and I'll post some clips here. We haven't recorded anything yet but our drummer just returned from abroad so now we'll go into the studio to record six tracks. I think Mr Bungle's tune My Ass Is On Fire is closest to what we do but not quite. We don't have many funny elements in our music whereas Bungle has lots. You guys recorded anything as of yet?

 

 

See my sig for clips of some of our songs on myspace or our website. Those barely touch the surface of what we do but we haven't recorded those yet.

[The Hiryuu]

Originally posted by Locke Hehey! Finally somebody who's got the good sense to mix jazz with metal! We have one song like that (about 8mins long) that starts with a light jazz/funk-groove (think Ronny Jordan meets Root Down-era Jimmy Smith minus the organ), moves into slow swing, then metal, rock, metal, prog, and finishes with rock. There's one thing we do differently though; we want to be able to pull everything off live. That means no over dubs, no unique instruments. For me it's just my tele, amp, distortion, chorus, and wah, and...well, my fingers.

 

Well, the jazz/metal thing has sort of been done before. Check out Atheist and Cynic. Two technical death metal bands with jazz influences. Quite badass.

[Locke]

 

Originally posted by DonaldDemon See my sig for clips of some of our songs on myspace or our website. Those barely touch the surface of what we do but we haven't recorded those yet.

 

 

Checked out your music. Pretty cool stuff I might say! You should put more songs up there. What's your other material like?

 

 

Originally posted by The Hiryuu Well, the jazz/metal thing has sort of been done before. Check out Atheist and Cynic. Two technical death metal bands with jazz influences. Quite badass.

 

 

Yeah, I know it's not new (my fave jazz/grindcore-outfits are Painkiller and Naked City) but it's rare as hell to hear jazz and metal mixed well.

[DonaldDemon]

 

Originally posted by Locke Checked out your music. Pretty cool stuff I might say! You should put more songs up there. What's your other material like?

 

 

We are still trying to get the other songs completed but the studio guy we were using has flaked out on us so we are at the beginning again trying to find a decent place. I will definitely put more up when they are done. The other stuff is more like Mr. Bungle at some songs and others are more jazz/rockabilly or just prog rockish. Thanks for the compliments!

[hazyjames]

It's like another post said, it's a double edge sword. I play many genres and it's a tough line when you're trying to keep everyone in the club happy, jumping from oldies rock tunes form the 50's and 60's to modern country, to harder rock from the 70's and 80's to old country, to blues, soul, disco and so on.

You run off one crowd to please another. You'll eventually wind up with a crowd that likes it most of it, or at least can tolerate other stuff waiting to hear what they like, but it takes a while.

 

 

hj