Advice for Musicians

[grimniggzy]

yeah, buzz seemed to be stomping around more than usual in that hellfest video too.

[Discö Rice]

I have yet to see a Melvins show that didn't deliver.

I've posted ^this^ before, but what can I say? it's my favorite Melvins song.

[Hemisaurus]

Kerch in Ol Scratch used to fly about, it was entertaining but eveybody else was pretty still.

[Discö Rice]

[Hemisaurus]

[neighbor664]

I think if you have the audacity to get up on stage(no matter the purpose) you have an obligation to be entertaining. I mean that in the broadest sense but if you don't seem to be enjoying yourself don't expect the audience to either. If that's "not your thing" you had better blow my fucking mind.

[bloodofkings]

If you're a hardcore band and you've played any longer than 35 minutes you've already played too long.

[Hemisaurus]

If you're a hardcore band and you've played any longer than 35 minutes you've already played too long.

If you played 35 minutes, you must have played the set twice

[Lumpy]

20-25 minutes is a good amount of time, unless you can play a "greatest hits" set. You probably can't. Exception... if there's more than 100 people there, who paid to specifically see you.

Please, do not stand around high-fiving each other, after your set. Get your stuff off the stage ASAP. Seriously, hurry it up. As an audience member, standing around waiting for bands to break down/set up is the most boring thing in the world. Gee, why don't people go see live music any more? Maybe they are tired of standing around waiting for shit to get started. Standing around in a dumpy bar is fun when you're a newbie. That wears off.

Also, all ages shows are crucial. Somewhere in your town, there has to be a place where under-21 bands and fans can go. Even if your band is all oldsters, if you are smart IMO you will nurture the all ages fans and bands in your town. Because they are the future of your scene. Old people drift away, they get fancy jobs, they have babies and so on, they stop going to shows. You need fresh blood. Otherwise, you will eventually end up with no audience, no local bands, and no place to play your kind of music.

[chille01]

Don't do the hippie thing and play in bare feet.  Unless you like getting zapped by ungrounded PA systems.

[Worthless Willie]

I'm at work, running sound, and I have a whole stage full of barefoot hippies.  Deliver me.

Also, for the record, Buzz always rocks the fuck out.  He doesn't stand still.

[VOLVO)))]

You gettin' cooked over there Willie?

Keep safe...

[Worthless Willie]

Nah, we're cool.  It's fuckin' close, though.  Scary shit, indeed.

Thanks, blood.

[DustinAR]

I will agree with everyone that says to keep the set times shorter. It's always good to get up on stage, melt faces and leave the audience wanting more. That will ensure they come back to see you next time, so long as they're into it. Unless you're Neurosis or Sleep, I don't want to see you up there playing for an hour and a half.

Also agree on the getting fucked up thing before you play. I don't drink much or really do anything before I play anymore, because whether you want to admit it or not and think that you can handle your shit, it DOES affect your playing and can derail your entire band if you're not careful. Afterwards, do whatever you want but don't get fucked up before your set.

Also, as far as playing locally. I'm starting to think its better to play shows sparingly unless you're doing stuff out of town. If you're playing every single week in your town, it doesn't matter how much ass you kick, people are going to get tired of seeing you. It may be different in bigger cities, but in a smaller city like the one I live in its easy to burn people out because its usually the same people at every show anyway.

Also on that same note, keep writing new music. Nothing gets old more than a band that's been playing the same set of songs for 2-3 years. Keep challenging yourself and try to keep writing new music as often as possible, it makes things not only refreshing for you and your band but also the audience and keeps everyone interested. I understand if you're going through writer's block or whatever, but at least keep going back to the drawing board and creating something.

[Metal and Beer]

Cheers Dustin, agreed all-round.

^ He and I are both in Seahag, which circa 2009 got dangerously close to playing too often, and using the same batch of material the whole time. We're making a deliberate effort now to balance our exposure with new material...we also know of a local band that is currently playing almost every weekend, and in this town that gets old really, really fast. They even played a Sat. then the following Monday ! While they're pretty badass and all, almost no one watches their set...

[Hemisaurus]

I will direct everyone's attention to line #3 in my signature.

[chille01]

Don't name your band with the seemingly popular formula of random verb + random name, ie:

Running for Erika
Chasing Jeremiah
Sucking Renaldo

etc. etc.

[Spacebone1.02]

As for the bassists moving around thing, something to keep in mind: Basses are heavy! More inertia = more feeling required to move it, a bassist playing with the same amount of feeling as a guitarist is therefore gonna move proportionately less.

also, if you play fast (especially fingerstyle bass) and drink lots of shitty beer, I think it's a good idea to take glucosamine supplements every once in awhile, not enough to build a dependence of course, but I've met a few guys who developed arthritis in their 20's...

Oh and here's an analogy of mine: I look at voice leading in a musical piece like the character behavior in an episode of Seinfeld. You want your part to be interesting but believable, and consistent in character. Although reactions to different events obviously elicit different responses, you can tell a bullshit sitcom when the characters behave according to the whim of the un-talented plot writer, rather than their own defined personalities. And unless you're having a Kramer moment, personal showmanship always takes back seat to the piece's structure as a whole; steadily doing nothing provides fertile ground for all other parts.

[Metal and Beer]

[Corey Y]

I think our "hardcore band" (eh, close enough) could probably crank out 3 or 4 sets in 30 minutes. Something I would never want to inflict on an audience. Cold Mourning on the other hand could probably barely manage 3 old songs and 2 new ones in a solid 30 minutes.


I chuckled when I imagined someone stepping up to the mic and saying "Hello, we are Sucking Renaldo".

[Discö Rice]

I can do without the whole noun/verb/color thing, too.

[bloodofkings]

For some reason where I'm from Hardcore bands play for 40 minutes. I'm bored to tears after 25 minutes. My hardcore band clocks in at around 25 minutes and that's only because our singer rambles like the crazy guy about to bum change off you at the bus station. We also have a couple of 4 minute doomy numbers thrown in there. The really good Hardcore bands around here are quick and violent the way it should be.

[Hemisaurus]

Seeing as we're just spouting random crap now.

No band name should begin with S or have a Z in it.

[spookstrickland]

Seeing as we're just spouting random crap now.

No band name should begin with S or have a Z in it.

No Z's 

[bitter]

Enuff Z'nuff ruined it for everyone