A thread for those of who are in bands to talk about being-in-a-band-related issues and gossip

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To start off, I am reposting this thing from the Chicago thread, because I started this thread to avoid clogging up the Chicago threads by always talking about my own band:

I wanted to say that we (the FF) wrote a new song yesterday in practice in like 20 minutes. It was awesome. I had some lyrics, Sarah came up with a bass line, and it all just fell together. Which is cool because the last new song we wrote took like a month to actually finish. But when we saw Crap Engine on Friday (who are really really good, despite the awful band name), they played one of their power-pop songs, like 3 minutes long, and then their bass player said "That song took us 7 months to write"). So I guess we're generally lucky.

― n/a (Nick A.), Tuesday, 10 May 2005 14:21 (twenty years ago)

Oh yeah, and you don't have to be in a band in the traditional sense, you can be a DJ or solo musician or whatever.

― n/a (Nick A.), Tuesday, 10 May 2005 14:22 (twenty years ago)

So I guess this is like an ongoing "Plug yr band" thread, except with more minutia and bitchiness.

― n/a (Nick A.), Tuesday, 10 May 2005 14:24 (twenty years ago)

Though I should probably stop trying to define what this thread is before it even gets started.

― n/a (Nick A.), Tuesday, 10 May 2005 14:24 (twenty years ago)

i finally quit my band last week. i should have quit a few months ago. but it's over now. I've been busy writing my own songs now, first time trying to come up with melodies and lyrics on my own, and its really challenging. as a guitarist, i tend to write from the chord progressions on up, it's a bad habit i'm trying to break.

how do you folks approach songwriting. lyrics first? melody first? groove first?

i keep having to remind myself that lyrics arent poetry. it comes a lot easier then.

― AaronK (AaronK), Tuesday, 10 May 2005 14:30 (twenty years ago)

I was a total asshole last night because I wanted to go to the Books show, which meant that I'd have to leave the studio by 10:30. We were re-tracking drums for a song that had major tempo problems the first time we laid it down. And so the first idea was for C. to play to a click track. It's a really complicated drum pattern, though, and it just wasn't working. By 9:45 or so, it became obvious that I wasn't going to get out of there in time -- but I still wanted to catch as much of the show as possible, so I was yelling at people taking a smoke break, "c'mon we have to finish this! let's go!!" The thing is, if I had just told myself that I wasn't going to be able to go to the show from the very beginning, I'd have been sad but I also wouldn't have been as on edge as I was all night long. Anyway, we ended up playing without the click, it turned out pretty well, and I was able to see half of the Books show.

― jaymc (jaymc), Tuesday, 10 May 2005 14:31 (twenty years ago)

I knew this was your thread.

― Jordan (Jordan), Tuesday, 10 May 2005 14:32 (twenty years ago)

daniel tiger has turned down numerous television appearance offers

― jill schoelen is the queen of my dreams! (Homosexual II), Tuesday, 10 May 2005 14:33 (twenty years ago)

A few years ago, I joined one of those internet 'you are a band' online game things. As part of this, each day was a week, so every few days you'd be making new songs and every other week, a new album.

I had to invent new song titles all the time, and ended up with about 100 plus titles without songs. They are still writing themselves every so often...

Although "Something to talk about" I had to drop after BDB made one with that title.

― mark grout (mark grout), Tuesday, 10 May 2005 14:35 (twenty years ago)

See, jaymc, all that pressure is why I have a really hard time justifying spending all that money to record in a "professional" studio. I think it would just turn me into (more of) a raging asshole, which I already tend to do just in regular band practice.

― n/a (Nick A.), Tuesday, 10 May 2005 14:36 (twenty years ago)

I am recording the album that will never end, partly because recording time is scarce even though we have a home studio, partly because my partner rarely works on stuff when I'm not there (although I do lots of editing/programming/recorded drums by myself), and partly because we're scrapping a lot of the material we spent months on at the beginning ("learning experiences").

We actually write and record things very quickly when we work, but when you can only get together a couple times a month because of other bands and jobs, it draaaags.

― Jordan (Jordan), Tuesday, 10 May 2005 14:36 (twenty years ago)

See, I just love talking about my band. It's fun.

Jordan, where do bands like mine play in Milwaukee besides the C@ctus Club? Do you have any idea?

― n/a (Nick A.), Tuesday, 10 May 2005 14:37 (twenty years ago)

Songwriting = when I write by myself, it's usually chord progressions and melody at roughly the same time. If I bring a sketch of a song to the band, though, this "melody" is not always used as the main vocal melody. For example, there's a new song of ours that I had imagined as Beach Boys-ish with these straight, pulsing chords -- when we decided to go in a more Spoon-ish direction with it, the melody line I'd written made more sense as a piano riff, and M. wrote a vocal part that was less sing-songy.

― jaymc (jaymc), Tuesday, 10 May 2005 14:39 (twenty years ago)

I usually write a set of lyrics and never use them until I create music where I think the lyrics might fit them.

― That's not cocaine! It's Ian Riese-Moraine! (Eastern Mantra), Tuesday, 10 May 2005 14:41 (twenty years ago)

Nick, they play at Onopa Brewery, the Riverwest Commons, uh, some other places.

(My friend) Cam to thread, he's the go-to guy for Milwaukee rock n' roll.

― Jordan (Jordan), Tuesday, 10 May 2005 14:43 (twenty years ago)

N/A, re the pressure last night, it was mostly just because I'd set up perhaps-unrealistic expectations for myself. The last couple of weekends of recording were actually great, because I told myself, OK, I'm in the studio ALL WEEKEND, and then you sort of relax. I mean, not totally, because you're also trying to get LOTS of stuff done. But I never felt like the clock was ticking or anything.

― jaymc (jaymc), Tuesday, 10 May 2005 14:45 (twenty years ago)

my drummer, who was pretty much one of my best friends, stopped being friends with me after i broke up with his girlfriend's best friend. and it's not like i cheated on her or anything, it was just time for us to move on.
GOSSIPGOSSIPGOSSIP

― Fetchboy (Felcher), Tuesday, 10 May 2005 14:47 (twenty years ago)

rumor has it, me and some others are going to start a jazz band called BIG DOG

― jill schoelen is the queen of my dreams! (Homosexual II), Tuesday, 10 May 2005 14:50 (twenty years ago)

SWEET

― Jordan (Jordan), Tuesday, 10 May 2005 14:53 (twenty years ago)

Last night I was arguing with the band about how little sense it makes to be only able to play two songs from our forthcoming album on our album tour. Everyone else was all 'oh, but we want to play that 15 minute cover of Forever Autumn with Interstellar Overdrive in the middle, that'd be so much better'. Does nobody understand the concept of promotion?? GAAAH.

(By the way, would it be really bad form to plug the tour on this thread? I didn't want to start up a new one solely dedicated to self-promotion.)

― emil.y (emil.y), Tuesday, 10 May 2005 15:48 (twenty years ago)

If people come to see us play, I'll make Steve.n turn them upside-down - it's really good!

― emil.y (emil.y), Tuesday, 10 May 2005 15:48 (twenty years ago)

Go for it, dude.

― n/a (Nick A.), Tuesday, 10 May 2005 15:48 (twenty years ago)

Okay, for those groovy England/Scotland folks (and especially you Glaswegians who might have a spare floor for a roaming band of alcoholics), The Chemistry Experiment want YOU to come to these gigs:

Wed May 11 - Nottingham, The Social (with Martin Grech)
Thu May 12 - Northampton, The Picturedome (with Bearsuit)
Fri May 13 - Edinburgh, The Swamp Bar (with Bearsuit)
Sat May 14 - Glasgow, The Woodside Social Club (with Bearsuit)
Mon May 16 - Stockton Upon Tees, The Georgian Theatre (with Bearsuit)
Tue May 17 - Leicester, The Attik (other bands tbc)
Wed May 18 - London, The Metro (with Bearsuit)
Fri May 20 - Maidenhead, venue tbc (with Exmaark)
Sat May 21 - Reading, The Rising Sun Arts Centre (with Bearsuit)

Please. If you fancy it. You might be washing your hair, I guess. That's okay.

― emil.y (emil.y), Tuesday, 10 May 2005 15:53 (twenty years ago)

The problem with my other band, the brass band, is that we live in, I don't know, three or four separate cities and only see each other for gigs. We've had this elaborate Jackson family/Motown tribute album planned for a year, but the most we've accomplished in rehearsal is a New Orleans version of "I'll Be There" (well, there have been other tunes, but by the time we play the next gig the arrangements are forgotten).

So, since we have this week of gigs in Switerland in a month, we're talking about booking some studio time there and just recording an album no matter what. I don't know what's going to be on it, but it looks like it might be our only opportunity to put some stuff together while we're all in the same place.

― Jordan (Jordan), Tuesday, 10 May 2005 16:02 (twenty years ago)

I am putting on a Chemistry Experiment gig and I won't even get to see them cos I'll be in London. Bah. I would like to see Miss Em again.

My band got some photos taken last night. We were aiming for a kind of Devo thing, I think. We'll see how they turn out. We have a break of about six weeks without playing and then we will hopefully organise some shows in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee, Aberdeen, Manchester, Nottingham and London. Well, we've had 'offers' to play all those places. We probably won't do half of that. Oh well, it'll be fun!

― Ally C (Ally C), Tuesday, 10 May 2005 17:02 (twenty years ago)

I think I write like this: hook -> chords -> lyrics -> melody -> bass line -> drum part.

Apropos of nothing, how do y'all handle multi-instrumentality? I usually play the drums for about two-thirds of the set, then the lead guitarist and I switch places. I play guitar on the songs I wrote, and then I go back and finish the set on drums.

At our most recent gig, though, we put "my" songs first, so that I was in the interesting position of sort of opening for my own band. I was apprehensive at first but I kinda liked it.

I would love to play bass on a song or two, because I like the bass. But our bass player plays left-handed so I would have to bring my own bass, which would necessitate adding to the already prodigious amount of gear I need to cart around.

― The Mad Puffin (The Mad Puffin), Tuesday, 10 May 2005 17:43 (twenty years ago)

Well Sarah and I switch guitar and bass in our band, but right now Sarah's only playing guitar on 4 or 5 songs in our active set (until she gets around to writing some more), so we've been starting off with me on guitar for about 3-4 songs, switching and playing 4 songs, then switching back for about 3-4 songs. But next time we might just try starting with the Sarah guitar songs and then playing 8 or so Nick guitar songs. Is that clear? Good.

― n/a (Nick A.), Tuesday, 10 May 2005 17:49 (twenty years ago)

You guys need another bass so you can switch faster.

― Jordan (Jordan), Tuesday, 10 May 2005 17:51 (twenty years ago)

How would that be faster? You're nuts. Plus we "tour" in Sarah's four-door Corolla, so we are not allowed to purchase any more gear.

― n/a (Nick A.), Tuesday, 10 May 2005 17:54 (twenty years ago)

i write everyting on guitar, usually a three chord repetative bit, and then I come up with another three chord repetative bit and force them together. then I make the drummer put a rhythm to it. It has come to my attention though that he doesn't like this, if the GIANT SCREAMING FIGHT we had two weeks ago is any indication.

― kyle (akmonday), Tuesday, 10 May 2005 17:54 (twenty years ago)

Aw, Ally, you suck, man... We will play with you in Nottingham! Just give us a call (although I imagine when you say you've had 'offers' it's something like supporting Girls Aloud and you wouldn't want to play with no poxy losers like us... or something).

RE: multi-instrumentalism - I got called a multi-instrumentalist in a review the other day, but sadly I am mostly resigned to the keyboards in the ChemEx band... in my other band I get to play keyboards, glockenspiel, accordion and theremin, and I am trying to learn the bass guitar, but so far can only play Smoke On The Water and Sunshine Of Your Love - anyone want to join a rock covers band??

― emil.y (emil.y), Tuesday, 10 May 2005 17:55 (twenty years ago)

Or make Ben play drum solos inbetween songs.

xposts

― Jordan (Jordan), Tuesday, 10 May 2005 17:57 (twenty years ago)

The only time we ever switch instruments is on an instrumental song where I play piano and M.O. plays keyboard. (Actually, we've recorded a song like that, too, for a compilation, but I doubt we'll ever play it live.) And then there's the song where EL sings lead instead of M.P. And of course, some of us drop our instruments to play new ones (like trombone or clarinet) but we're not trading off with anyone to do so.

But we tend to write everything pretty collaboratively, so even on that Beach Boys/Spoon number where the chord progression and piano hook was my idea that I brought to the band, no one ever thinks of that as a "John song." (Except me, sometimes, when I need to feel like I'm awesome.)

I've actually always meant to ask you guys (Fake Fictions) if the songs you individually sing indicate a greater hand in the songwriting of those songs.

― jaymc (jaymc), Tuesday, 10 May 2005 17:57 (twenty years ago)

Nick, it would be faster than because, like, one of you has to take their guitar off first, then the bass gets handed off, then the other person has to put their guitar on.

Not like I should talk, though, my band is infamous for having massive breaks between tunes while we try to decide what to play next or do schtick at the audience.

― Jordan (Jordan), Tuesday, 10 May 2005 18:01 (twenty years ago)

Um, it's complicated. Basically, whoever sings lead is the person who wrote the lyrics. As far as the music goes, I think maybe whoever sings usually is the person who came in with the initial riff/part/idea, but a lot of times we come up with other parts collaboratively in practice, and then there are some songs that are completely collaborative and someone just decided they wanted to sing it. There's not a hard-and-fast way to tell though, there's a spectrum of writing, from completely done together as a band to a couple that Sarah or I brought in almost completed.

― n/a (Nick A.), Tuesday, 10 May 2005 18:02 (twenty years ago)

It doesn't seem like it takes that long on stage to switch instruments. Plus we don't really take breaks between songs otherwise, so it allows a couple of short breaks during the set.

Recently we were talking about how I'm the only band member who ever talks on stage, which was awkward at a recent show because I broke a string and neither of the other bandmembers were really talking while I was changing it. So we decided I should taperecord some patter and then if that happens in the future, Sarah can play the tape of my stage patter over the P.A.

― n/a (Nick A.), Tuesday, 10 May 2005 18:05 (twenty years ago)

my band is infamous for having massive breaks between tunes while we try to decide what to play next or do schtick at the audience.

I always get anxious about moments like that. We almost always have pre-made set lists, but if we switch from electric to acoustic guitar, or if M.P. has to pick up his bass for the first time, and especially if there's tuning involved, then there can be some dead moments. Sometimes we all look at each other and are like, "Quick! Someone say something! Patter!" So we'll do the "we have a website, we have CDs for sale" spiel. But then when that's over, I have to resort to asking the crowd what their favorite kind of apple is.

― jaymc (jaymc), Tuesday, 10 May 2005 18:07 (twenty years ago)

Telling jokes from the stage is kinda lame, huh? (Except for my friend Sam's famous joke: "Why was Moses such a popular guy? Because he partied the Red Sea.")

― n/a (Nick A.), Tuesday, 10 May 2005 18:09 (twenty years ago)

I'm really envious of bands who have everything down so well that they can basically go from one song to the next without blinking. I think when we first started playing, we took long breaks between songs just because we were like, "Hey, we finished that song! And the audience seems to have liked it! Nice! Another one? Oh, right."

― jaymc (jaymc), Tuesday, 10 May 2005 18:11 (twenty years ago)

I am frustrated that the mastering for our new record - for which all the recording was finished over a month ago - is taking so long. On the one hand I have a deep trust for the guy who's doing it, on the other hand I am always antsy to release new stuff as soon as possible. I'm like that.

as far as the question up-thread about how different people write songs, I have no standard approach. I am always writing down lyric ideas or coming up with little guitar riffs or figuring strange chords out on the organ or coming up with broader, more conceptual ideas (a la "I should write a song about _____") or coming across things I'd like to try and incorporate or rhythms we haven't tried... sometimes all I'll have is a song title, and then I'll try and think up what a song with that title should sound like, what tempo it should be, what the mood of it should be - then I'll cast around for whatever musical ideas I have lying around, or bits of lyrics and try and see what fits. I guess in general that's how I work - I have a larger idea for the song(s) first, then work everything else into that central idea. By the time it gets to the rest of the band, I have very definite ideas for what the instrumentation should be, what the feel of the song should be, maybe specific melodies/harmonies for others to play/sing. I almost always have to give very definite instructions to the drummer, no matter what. If I'm being tyrannical, I can't really tell, cuz very rarely does anyone complain or challenge me... If someone comes up with a part on their own (usually a horn line or a guitar line) I'm almost always happy to use it.

― Shakey Mo Collier, Tuesday, 10 May 2005 18:12 (twenty years ago)

I don't sing so when I write a song I always have to importune one of the other people to do it for me. It can lead to weird/interesting results. Like the song that is about stalking a neighbor named Penny, which ended up being sung by our one female singer. Gave it a different resonance from how it would have come across if sung by one of the men.

On jokes between songs: I recently heard Petra Hayden tell the following joke to cover some technical futzing: "What did the pig put on her hurt paw? Oinkment."

― The Mad Puffin (The Mad Puffin), Tuesday, 10 May 2005 18:14 (twenty years ago)

If I'm being tyrannical, I can't really tell, cuz very rarely does anyone complain or challenge me

haha, lucky you!

― jaymc (jaymc), Tuesday, 10 May 2005 18:15 (twenty years ago)

Haha, that's awesome. I've always wondering how it looks with us, 'cause we have a WHOLE LOTTA DUDES on stage and when we're not playing we're basically joking around with each other, or making fun of whoever is making stage patter.

Nick, I guess it's not that you guys take a long time switching, it's more like what you said - there's no one else talking or anything else to focus on while it's going on. Maybe your drummer should develop his stand-up routine.

xpost

― Jordan (Jordan), Tuesday, 10 May 2005 18:15 (twenty years ago)

our solution to the "dead air" problem (which I don't think is much of a problem, I think its more uncomfortable for the performers than for the audience): prepared incidental sounds, in our case, we just turn up the soundtrack of whatever films we're screening during the show. When we're ready to go, done tuning, etc. we just turn the output on the projector down and get back to work.

Personally I hate the "we have crap for sale" banter. I don't encourage much talking from the stage from the other bandmembers, who knows what dumb shit they might say...

― Shakey Mo Collier, Tuesday, 10 May 2005 18:16 (twenty years ago)

I'm really envious of bands who have everything down so well that they can basically go from one song to the next without blinking.

For awhile we did this thing where one of the three rhythm section members would call the next tune while we were still playing and we would just hit right into it. It was cool, but I guess we got lazy and started mucking around between songs again. Probably because it's the only time the rhythm section gets to drink.

― Jordan (Jordan), Tuesday, 10 May 2005 18:18 (twenty years ago)

I would have to bring my own bass, which would necessitate adding to the already prodigious amount of gear I need to cart around.

Plus we "tour" in Sarah's four-door Corolla, so we are not allowed to purchase any more gear.

If you guys need a rich lode of info on how to get your gear from point A to point B this be yer thread!

― Ken L (Ken L), Tuesday, 10 May 2005 18:19 (twenty years ago)

The bit of stage patter I'm trying to eliminate are the "We've got two more songs for you..."/"This is gonna be our last number..." comments. I'm not sure what purpose they are supposed to serve. Are people going to be shocked and appalled if you stop playing without warning them that you are going to do so? I prefer the element of surprise, so I'm trying to break myself of the habit of announcing when the set will end.

― n/a (Nick A.), Tuesday, 10 May 2005 18:19 (twenty years ago)

"And now we'd like to introduce the most important member of the band, Philip. Philip the Bucket."

(do you see?!)

(we're completely fucking shameless)

― Jordan (Jordan), Tuesday, 10 May 2005 18:21 (twenty years ago)

mark g, I did that too. My band was called Eye Candy and our number one hit, also the name of our album, was Hot Like Zephyr. I had just seen Dogtown and Z-boys, obviously.

I think when you're working with a band in any sort of collaborative setting, your song will never truly be JUST YOURS, even if you brought it in to the group. I tend to write songs with something in mind - like, I want to have a song with a NEW P0RNOGRAPHERS sound or I want this to have a BREEDERS sound - but then when I put it in the Fake Ficti0ns machine, it takes on a life of its own.

― Sarah McLusky (coco), Tuesday, 10 May 2005 18:28 (twenty years ago)

I also hate the merch banter when watching another band, though I sympathize for those who depend on the income.

What I hate more is when bands announce their website. "Yeah, so, check it out. We have a website. It's www dot (band name) dot com..." BO-RING!

J0rdan, my suggestion about the switching instruments thing is that I just never play guitar. I love guitar, but the band (*cough cough*) always seems to want to work against my playing style. It just doesn't seem to flow. But I don't know.

― Sarah McLusky (coco), Tuesday, 10 May 2005 18:30 (twenty years ago)

Skipping 448 messages at this point... Click here if you want to load them all.

If I was in NYC I would!

― jaymc (jaymc), Friday, 23 September 2005 00:33 (twenty years ago)

I guess this isn't very funny, but the old bass player's name was Josh and my name is Josh. The new bass player's name is Stephanie, and our singer's name is Stephan.

― Hurting (Hurting), Friday, 23 September 2005 00:35 (twenty years ago)

I don't even know where the Trash Bar is. Is it in NYC?

― k/l (Ken L), Friday, 23 September 2005 00:36 (twenty years ago)

Maybe you should change your name to band of Band of Stephanies.

― k/l (Ken L), Friday, 23 September 2005 00:36 (twenty years ago)

And you could introduce "Stephanie Says" into your repertoire.

― k/l (Ken L), Friday, 23 September 2005 00:37 (twenty years ago)

Ha, sorry. That'd be in Williamsburg Brooklyn.

www.trashbar.com

― Hurting (Hurting), Friday, 23 September 2005 01:03 (twenty years ago)

Crap, I mean:

http://www.thetrashbar.com

(note the "the")

― Hurting (Hurting), Friday, 23 September 2005 22:24 (twenty years ago)

It really makes you appreciate haveing a good drummer when you suddenly...don't. Gig tomorrow. Could be really dreadful. Oh well.

― Ally C (Ally C), Friday, 23 September 2005 22:56 (twenty years ago)

Attention Brighton ILXers - Fractured are playing at the Pavilion Tavern on Wednesday 5th October, as part of Brighton Rock Week, or whatever it's called. http://www.brighton-rock.net/Gigs.htm

It's FREE and we're on around 9.

― Dr. C (Dr. C), Tuesday, 27 September 2005 07:38 (twenty years ago)

It's called Brighton Live - and I"ll be there...

― tingo (tingo), Tuesday, 27 September 2005 09:30 (twenty years ago)

k/l - no, the dearmond bass uses these weird rubbery strings and is fully functional. I dont know how it sounds, but I've felt the strings and they're really fat and soft. must be pretty neat.

― AaronK (AaronK), Tuesday, 27 September 2005 12:33 (twenty years ago)

in other news, I've been looking to form a band for some months now in the Boston area. I found a bassist quickly enough, but not a drummer and DEFINITELY not a pedal steelist.

now the bassist is in this cover band with a drummer and other guitarist. they play: beatles, tom petty, joe jackson, and radiohead. They offered to join forces and split half covers half my originals. Now i've nothing against covers, but shit, I'm completely burnt out on classic rock, especially of the tom petty joe jackson sort, and the other guitarist is totally a classic rocker/ist. a bit annoying. Yet the drummer is ok, one of the better ones i've come across....

I just dont think i can deal with the extra baggage of this guitarist and those shitty covers. but I seriously want to have a drummer to play my songs. shit. fucking boston. why is it so hard to find good players?

― AaronK (AaronK), Tuesday, 27 September 2005 12:38 (twenty years ago)

Do it for a month, have a bust up, steal the drummer.

― Pete (Pete), Tuesday, 27 September 2005 12:57 (twenty years ago)

I've seen the Lesser Birds of Paradise, they're great.

I mentioned this briefly on the Chicago thread yesterday but as part of the fixing-up-our-songs-before-we-record-them process, I am trying to rewrite the lyrics for this song, because they aren't very good, but I'm having a bear of a time because the way it's set up there's a very strict syllabic/rhyming structure I have to follow and it's difficult to squeeze any interesting lyrics in there. So, trying to rewrite lyrics for a song that you already have had lyrics for for a year or more, classic or dud?

On the other hand, I made up keyboard parts for two songs and I've been making myself practice them because I'm a pretty poor keyboard player, but it's been fun forcing myself to get a little better. Rigor!

― n/a (Nick A.), Tuesday, 27 September 2005 13:03 (twenty years ago)

dud for just that reason. but sort of classic in the long run. ugh. sorry.

xpost. no deal, sorry. looks like they've become so happy playing Back in the USSR, Here comes my girl, and Creep.

erg.

― AaronK (AaronK), Tuesday, 27 September 2005 13:11 (twenty years ago)

It's OK to bash that kind of stuff out at rehearsal every once in a while, but are they gigging with that?

― k/l (Ken L), Tuesday, 27 September 2005 13:13 (twenty years ago)

Okay, people, to what extent is it okay, even useful, to use other people's songs as a reference for your own songs? I find sometimes it can really help to write lyrics or music whilst listening to something else; of course this naturally leaves it's mark on what I'm writing, although I don't believe to a plagiaristic level, and can get the creative juices flowing beyond just that one song, so to speak.

I believe that totally original material, plucked out of nowhere, is what everyone should be aiming for, but sometimes I get very wound up when this won't happen on demand for me, and this is the only way to jump-start something.

Do you use anything like this? If not, I'd be interested to hear about (even try) some of your methods...

― tissp! (the impossible shortest specia), Tuesday, 27 September 2005 13:50 (twenty years ago)

Oh it's totally fine, no one outside the band will be able to tell anyways. A good 50% of my songs are me trying to write Silkworm songs (and failing). I just don't tell my bandmates who I'm ripping off, so their parts help distinguish it from my "inspiration" if it needs distinguishing.

― n/a (Nick A.), Tuesday, 27 September 2005 13:58 (twenty years ago)

Ha ha, I just remembered I once wrote lyrics for a song by taking segments of an INTERVIEW with Silkworm and rearranging them in a somewhat poetic structure. Embarassing.

― n/a (Nick A.), Tuesday, 27 September 2005 14:00 (twenty years ago)

Good, that's pretty much what my experience has been too--that other band members manage to contort it away from the "source material" enough for it to become at least midly original. What I was worried about was that I was deluding myself, and other people would easily be able to tell.

― tissp! (the impossible shortest specia), Tuesday, 27 September 2005 14:15 (twenty years ago)

They will, but that's okay. It's part of the fun.

― Jordan (Jordan), Tuesday, 27 September 2005 14:16 (twenty years ago)

k/l - fuck knows! i asked them what they were planning on doing and they're like, yeah, i gues maybe gig a little bit. But seriously, what's the sense of practicing these tunes on a regular basis at ALL if you arent gonna try to get well-paying or at least super fun gigs with them?

― AaronK (AaronK), Tuesday, 27 September 2005 14:19 (twenty years ago)

I believe that totally original material, plucked out of nowhere, is what everyone should be aiming for

this is a 20th century conceit! it's now the 21st, away with you!

― AaronK (AaronK), Tuesday, 27 September 2005 14:20 (twenty years ago)

for reals, dont worry about it.

― AaronK (AaronK), Tuesday, 27 September 2005 14:21 (twenty years ago)

I suppose it comes down to what level a song sounds like another (I agree that it sometimes is a lot of fun to realise another song sounds a bit like another, like you've solved a mystery or something).

this is a 20th century conceit! it's now the 21st, away with you!

I refuse to accept the 20th or 21st centuries. 18th all the way, man.

― tissp! (the impossible shortest specia), Tuesday, 27 September 2005 14:21 (twenty years ago)

Oh it's totally fine, no one outside the band will be able to tell anyways

Agreed. I think people spend too much time worrying that they'll be "found out" -- but your perspective is fucked since you're too close to it. You're invariably going to bring your own sensibilities to the band, anyway, even if you try to let go of them.

― jaymc (jaymc), Tuesday, 27 September 2005 14:23 (twenty years ago)

also, just read this recently, forgot who said it - basically it was "I try to imitate the style of my favorite artist, and my failings are where the "me" is."

man, it was so much more eloquent, but just pay attention to where you *dont* or cant sound like your favorite artist and hone in on it.

― AaronK (AaronK), Tuesday, 27 September 2005 14:23 (twenty years ago)

and yeah, once your shitty drummer gets his grubby sticks all over it...

― AaronK (AaronK), Tuesday, 27 September 2005 14:24 (twenty years ago)

My old record label are putting out a remix I did without my permission. They've not phoned once about it, my girlfriends just found out about it on someones blog. It's out in a couple of weeks so imagine the CD's are pressed and ready to go. I've sent them an email just now, whether I get any response from them is anyone's guess - the last few messages they've had for me they've conveyed through 3rd party friends-of-friends, such is their intense level of assbone shittery.

What the hell do I do?

― On one hand I've got myself to blame (Lynskey), Thursday, 29 September 2005 18:54 (twenty years ago)

I'm doing a short tour the 2nd week of October. I've just recently joined the band and the other guys have been handling all the details. But over the past two days, several groups have been warning me about the flakiness of our booking agent. At first I was kind of nervous about hearing this, but now I'm hoping for complete chaos. It'll be fun and I'm not organizing any of this directly, so no one can blame me for anything. FUN.

― DR. FRANK EINSTEIN PHD (cprek), Thursday, 29 September 2005 19:32 (twenty years ago)

It sounds like it might be too late to stop the CD being released, I would just try to extort any money they make from its release with threat of legal action. BLEED THE FUCKERS DRY.

― n/a (Nick A.), Thursday, 29 September 2005 19:34 (twenty years ago)

I think we are going through a preiod of disillusionment.

― Roxymuzak, Mrs. Carbohydrate (roxymuzak), Thursday, 29 September 2005 19:45 (twenty years ago)

Yeah, Lynsk, at least over here you legally force them to destroy everything they've printed. So that ought to be worth a little bit of money for them.

― Casuistry (Chris P), Thursday, 29 September 2005 20:59 (twenty years ago)

Problem is that I like the band involved, both as artists and as people (although I haven't spoke to them in a long time - they went back to Australia for the last 12 months). As far as taking nasty action goes - we're talking about a run of 500 CD's at most. Not worth getting the Mr. Burns lawyers in a tizzy over. And they know I know that. Man, I feel crushed.

It does occur to me, however that since the track was made by me in my house that I legally own the rights to it regardless of what they do with it.

I'll put it up on here tommorow when I get some FTP sorted.

― On one hand I've got myself to blame (Lynskey), Friday, 30 September 2005 01:23 (twenty years ago)

oh dear :( knowing the band in question and the quality of your work it seems like such a shame :(

― jimmy glass (electricsound), Friday, 30 September 2005 02:16 (twenty years ago)

Shit, I was just about to write up a little promo for the Stooges Brass Band show going down tonight, but I called the club and they are under the impression that they don't have music tonight. What do I do? Maybe it's just the day crew that is clueless?

I don't know what I can do if the gig is not in fact booked, but I guess it's better to do promo and not have a show than vice versa.

― Jordan (Jordan), Friday, 30 September 2005 15:45 (twenty years ago)

Period of disillusionment over.

Do you guys believe there is such a thing as "playing out" too much? We have 5 shows in a month lined up and more offers rollin' in. Should we just go for all of them? Plus I just lost my job and could use the scrilla for rilla.

Plus, we now have a myspace where you can see and HEAR US. (only one song, and it's with the OOOLLLDD DRRRUMMMMERRRRR.)

http://www.myspace.com/tenderhooks

― Roxymuzak, Mrs. Carbohydrate (roxymuzak), Thursday, 6 October 2005 12:19 (twenty years ago)

I mean, my justification for playing out as much as poss was always this:" it is fucking Knoxville. You do not need to "play the game" in Knoxville. It's meaningless. Play as much as you can and hone dem chopz. Right?

― Roxymuzak, Mrs. Carbohydrate (roxymuzak), Thursday, 6 October 2005 12:20 (twenty years ago)

Dude, that would be a lovely thread for here:

http://ilx.wh3rd.net/newanswers.php?board=12

And yes, there is such a thing as playing out too much. Unless you're on tour, you risk exhausting your local audience as well as yourselves. Though playing EVERY DAY FOR A MONTH is a good way of sharpening your chops. (heh.)

― Paranoid Spice (kate), Thursday, 6 October 2005 12:27 (twenty years ago)

I. NEVER. KNEW. ABOUT. THAT. BOARD!!

thrilling!!!!

― Roxymuzak, Mrs. Carbohydrate (roxymuzak), Thursday, 6 October 2005 15:47 (twenty years ago)

I think we are going through a period of disillusionment.

lol time of the month

― ken c (ken c), Thursday, 6 October 2005 15:53 (twenty years ago)

ok, I just registered this:

http://www.myspace.com/vietgrove

wtf am i supposed to do w/it?

― Pashmina (Pashmina), Thursday, 6 October 2005 15:57 (twenty years ago)

I think that the newly rechristened "I Make Music" board has essentially eliminated the need for this thread. I'm cool with everyone posting over there instead of on here.

― n/a (Nick A.), Thursday, 6 October 2005 15:58 (twenty years ago)

yeah, looks like that board is working out quite nicely. it's not just about making music either, but also about gigs and practice spaces, etc.

― AaronK (AaronK), Thursday, 6 October 2005 16:00 (twenty years ago)

this thread is quite a good fodder for the other one though since not everyone might have known about that board yet

for those who just joined in i mean this board (I MAKE MUSIC)
http://ilx.wh3rd.net/newanswers.php?board=12

― ken c (ken c), Thursday, 6 October 2005 16:02 (twenty years ago)

six months pass...

So, what happened to all you guys? Myspac3?

― In The Court Of The Redd King Harvest (Ken L), Friday, 14 April 2006 03:05 (nineteen years ago)

Oh yeah, the other board.

― In The Court Of The Redd King Harvest (Ken L), Friday, 14 April 2006 03:05 (nineteen years ago)

I really just wanted to revive this thread but I didn't want to spoil the ending.

― In The Court Of The Redd King Harvest (Ken L), Friday, 14 April 2006 03:07 (nineteen years ago)

two months pass...

We are leaving today for our first ever non-Knoxville dates! If you know any Memphisians or Jacksonians (I highly doubt you know any Hattiesburgians, etc), tell them to come see us.

Here is what we are doing:

Jun 15 2006 4:00P Instore @ T-Bone's Records Hattiesburg, MS
Jun 15 2006 10:00P Thirsty Hippo Hattiesburg, MS
Jun 16 2006 10:00P W.C. Don's Jackson, MS
Jun 17 2006 7:00P Magnolia Civic Center New Albany, MS
Jun 18 2006 10:00P Murphy's Memphis, TN
returning majestically for:
Jun 22 2006 8:00P Sundown in the City Knoxville, TN

http://www.quipo.it/mccartney/specials/band73/bndsin17a.jpg

wish us luck! woot!

Good luck Roxy! I wish you many groupies. xx

― marianna lcl (marianna lcl), Thursday, 15 June 2006 07:45 (nineteen years ago)

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