Ask MetaFilter posts tagged with band

Bands and fame

LSK — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 05:14:22 -0800

A question about how bands get noticed. I suppose this is actually a set of two related questions. First of all, how is it that some bands manage to achieve fame before releasing an album in any capacity? Second, what measure of fame qualifies a band to play on a television show?

How to meet other not-old-but-not-so-young-either musicians?

El Curioso — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 16:58:34 -0800

Where do gainfully employed, moderately settled, experienced mid-30s musicians connect to play together casually and on occasion rawk out? How can an experienced 35-year-old musician (guitar, learning drums) relatively new to a musically inclined town (Portland OR, 1 year) meet other decent players?

My stylistic interests are wide--rock, funk, soul, even electronica or something jazzy or hiphoppish--but I can't seem to meet other musicians like I used to.

I'm not interested in anything too intense off the bat, just having fun & jamming, maybe eventually writing some songs and/or gigging.

Ten years ago I would have just put an ad in the paper. Now I don't get out quite as much, and hanging in a smoky club trying to strike up a conversation isn't really my thing.

There's Craigslist and the normal classifieds, I know, although everybody seems to be looking for a solid 22-year-old drummer with MySpace clips to complete a band and go on tour. Not many of my friends are that musical. I've got a list of a few blues-jam nights I'm planning on swinging by.

What other avenues are there?

Bands to see in Montreal

rbs — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 12:35:36 -0800

What bands to see in Montreal from the 19th - 24th? I'll be in Montreal until the 25th, arriving tomorrow. I like seeing live music, especially so in small clubs. Any recommendations on whom to see and where?

Bands I've been listening to lately that I like: electrelane, Neutral Milk Hotel, Entire Cities, Basia Bulat, Belle and Sebastian, Camera Obscura, The Clash, Vampire Weekend, Arcade Fire, Love is All, Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, Devotchka, Dick Dale, Elvis, The Ramones, Weston.

Help me be the perfect roadie!

unexpected — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 15:31:34 -0800

So I told my friend I'd be his band's light/sound guy, and I need some help figuring out the practicalities of it all... So one of my best friends has gotten together with his med school buddies and they're putting a show together. They'd like me to be their light/sound guy, and I was more than happy to volunteer.

This is all well and good, but I don't know what the heck I'm doing.

On the lights: They bought a bunch of basic lighting effects that work just by plugging them in (strobe light, flashers, fog machine, etc.). I gained "control" over these by plugging them into surge protectors, and turning the surge protectors on and off. I feel like an idiot with six surge protectors around me, figuring out which one is which, and turning them on and off.

Is there a master switchboard thingie that these lights can plug into? We (of course) have a minimal budget, but if the only thing you know is a high-end system, show that to me as well.

Is it possible automate the lights through this switchboard? I'm a tech guy- is it possible to script such a thing? or is their an open source package or something that interfaces with said switch board?

Sound: this is fairly straight-forward, we're just using garage band, and I'm monitoring for feedback etc. - however, if I wanted to make it more complicated, with me playing sounds, different effects, etc., what would I use (I really just want to tinker around with something).

I'm especially interested in homebrew solutions, but if you know of anything amazingly awesome and fantastic, that's useful too. I just don't know anything about this area, and I'm trying to dive in head first!

Best combination of strength and portability in a music stand

LolaGeek — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 06:24:55 -0800

MusicianFilter: I need a sturdy, but portable music stand to take to my band concerts this summer. I play clarinet in a concert band that has an extensive summer schedule, as well as a few concerts in the winter, for which I will need to bring a music stand. Many concerts are outdoors, so it has to be sturdy enough to be stable on grass and heavy enough not to blow over in the wind. Most of our venues also require a long walk from the parking area to the performance area, so I need something I can easily carry along with my clarinet case and large tote bag of music. I've had experience with the stands listed below, but I'm really looking for the ideal combination of strength and portability. Thanks for your recommendations!

The folding metal type is not sturdy enough to support my big folder and stand up to the wind in outdoor performances.

I'm currently using a big, heavy, "portable" stand, which is great once it's set up, but heavy and unwieldy to actually carry to the venue.

I briefly used a Peterson music stand, which was used and recommended by some other members of my band, but they apparently don't make them like they used to, and the plastic knobs are prone to cracking or getting stuck.

The Tin-Horn Nuisance.

mykescipark — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 14:56:39 -0800

Help me locate contemporary marching bands (or recordings thereof) who perform on turn-of-the-century instruments (ca. 1916). I'm producing a radio theatre piece which prominently features an early-20th-century marching band in the script/ambience. Using vintage recordings from this era is untenable, as the band has to sound "live" and not coming from a gramophone. Can you recommend any such groups? They must perform on period instruments - simply performing songs from this era with modern instrumentation will not do. Thanks!

Which of Holst's Planets Sounds the Best?

bach — Thu, 15 May 2008 17:29:45 -0800

Seeking the definitive recording of Gustav Holst's The Planets. In planning for the 2008 competitive marching season, we have selected music from The Planets. The entire staff has listened to several versions of the work, but thought I'd use my bi-weekly question and query the hivemind as to the best recording of this work since we cannot seem to settle on a particular interpretation.

LA LOCAL MUSIC

klangklangston — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 10:55:27 -0800

LOS ANGELES LOCAL BANDS, recommend me. I used to cover local music in Ann Arbor. Now that I've moved to LA, I'd like to engage in some more blatant localism, to cop from JFA. I read the Weekly, City Pages, Onion and Record. I keep up with a couple of local blogs. Still, I want more, especially based on the WEST side, including West LA, Westwood, Santa Monica, Venice and Culver City.

Please tell me: Their name, where they're based, WHAT THEY SOUND LIKE, whether they have shows coming up, whether they have records out, WHETHER THEY HAVE FREE SAMPLE MUSIC UP ANYWHERE.

I tend to favor weirdo punk like No Age, Crystal Antlers, Underground Railroad to Candyland, as well as pop, hard rock, jazz (preferably freakout/skronk jazz), metal and rap. But the important part is that they're local and they're playing out, and, ideally, I don't have to drive for an hour to see them.

Name my dad's band!

sycophant — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 00:39:18 -0800

Band-name-filter: It's been done before, do it again -- suggest band names... My father (mid-fifties) and his muso mates want to form a band, and they're stuck for a name. He's been pestering me to come up with name ideas (being creative and all that), so I come to the hivemind.

They are all in their 40s and 50s, in my experience they seldom actually play songs, rather they just jam - but if they ever do songs, I suspect it'll be covers of stuff.

Previously I know my father was in a band called 'Viagra Falls', so maybe that provides some insight?

A million times I've seen a phrase on the net or in a news story and thought "that would be a great band name" but I can't remember any of them now.

Long-forgotten band. Joggle my memory perhaps?

Planet F — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 21:08:17 -0800

Can you name this band? note: very sparse details inside. I was introduced to this amazing band about 4 years ago, but I can't remember for the life of me what their name was. Sadly, to add to it, the only two songs I had of them were on my old-old-old-old computer which is sitting somewhere in my parents' house on the other side of the country, and completely inaccessible.

Here's what I remember:

-They are a rock band, sort of indie rock, I believe, but have a fair amount of notoriety with more than 4 cds released.

-The band includes a classically trained piano player and a classically trained guitar player, but they have drums in some of their songs, so I'm pretty there are at least 3 members

-One of the songs I had was about 10 minutes long, and included many key and time signature changes, and showed a true understanding of all things music-oriented. It was also sort of space-sounding (kind of sci-fi in a way with synthesizers, but the synths were used in a very skilled way)

-The second piece was purely electric guitar, and it started out really slow, and then built and built to a great climactic finish.

I know these are sparse details, but I also know that if I SEE the name, I'll recognize it immediately. So please, just throw band names out! Thanks :)

Dodging tomatoes since 1949

msittig — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 12:32:03 -0800

What are some generic things that a band might say to the audience at a concert? I've been asked by a band to write down some things in the local language (Chinese) for them to say to the crowd during their concert, and as a hardly-a-conversationalist nerd-type I'm drawing blanks. Can you help me to brainstorm a few good ideas? So far I've got GOOD EVENING, WE'RE VERY HAPPY TO BE PERFORMING FOR YOU IN SHANGHAI, THANK YOU, I HOPE YOU WILL LIKE THIS SONG, I LOVE YOU FOLKS, STAND UP, THANK YOU EVERYBODY, GOODBYE. Yup, pretty lame. Help me think of more, thanks! Multiple best answers could be awarded.

Is there a good band calendar webapp out there?

wordsmith — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 09:50:21 -0800

I run a website for a band. I'm looking for a 3rd-party calendar solution so they can easily display their upcoming concerts on their website. The more simple, the better; I'd really like to avoid using Google Calendar. Is there a solution specifically for a band's website? It seems like their should be. Fields would include date, time, admission cost, location, and perhaps an "other" to list supporting bands and whatnot. This perfect webapp would also allow me to easily embed the public, viewable calendar into their website.

Is there a solution out there?

What sort of music equipment should I get for my brother?

aielen — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 08:30:15 -0800

What piece of music equipment should I get for my brother's birthday? Are there really only certain types of interfaces compatible with Pro Tools? My brother mostly plays drums and guitar, but is also proficient on the bass and keys. He's in a few bands. He has an electronic drumset, an Epiphone Les Paul 100 electric guitar, a Boss ME 50 guitar pedal, and recently got a MacBook, installing Pro Tools there. He has a small amp for his electric guitar, and a larger one for his drumset.

Right now, he also has a Wharfedale Pro R-1604 mixer which he connects to a Line 6 Toneport UX1. This isn't really ideal for recording his bands' music, since all the instruments wind up on one track when he records. There's also some lag.

I know he has been wanting an analog Firewire interface for some time (e.g. something like this Alesis Multimix). Basically, he wants the speed and simultaneous multi-track recording capabilities afforded by Firewire, coupled with the more tactile option of mixing his bands' music through the analog controls.

1) Are there specific audio interfaces meant to be used with Pro Tools? If I ever get him something like that Alesis mixer, will he be able to use that with Pro Tools?

2) Can you recommend any audio interfaces (that would work well with Pro Tools) I could get him?

3) I'm not sure I can even afford to get him a firewire mixer. (Unless I buy him a gift certificate from MusiciansFriend and let him fork out the rest?) Are there other music-recording-gear alternatives you can think of, based on what he already has and the type of music he wants to do? Or just music-equipment alternatives?

(I have some music equipment as well, which he shares when I live with him. But most of this equipment goes where/when I go. It includes some microphones (two cheap condensers and an SM57) and an M-Audio 410 Firewire mixer (which he doesn't think ideal for recording band-type music, anyway)...)

Your help is much appreciated!

Does anyone else love Lacquer?

4ster — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 21:55:05 -0800

I have fallen in love with the song "Behind" by the band Lacquer. If I love this song, by this (thus-far, by me, at least) hard-to-locate band, who else would I enjoy listening to? Thanks everyone for your help.

The demand is there, the money is not.

mhp — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 20:19:14 -0800

We have a lot of local talented artists locally, with a pretty happening music scene. Lots of these are college students with not much money, but loads of talent. Help me help them. A couple friends of mine and I are opening a venue/record store, and we've got a fairly successful online store selling local albums and other merchandise on consignment, but there are quite a few bands that we get asked about all the time, that we don't have, because they never made one because of a lack of funding.

We think this is a shame, and want to help.

Our solution is this:

1. They need $500 to produce a CD.
2. Let's say they raise $300 on their own, but they need $200 more to produce it
3.The decide to offer preorders of their cd for $5
4. We accept preorders, but we don't charge anybody until there are 40 willing people ($5 x 40 people=$200) or the band adds some more money
5. After the goal is reached, we charge everybody the $5 and give all of it(minus 15% or so)to the band, who then makes the cd, and gives to us so we can ship out the preorders

Are there any obvious flaws with my plan? Has this been done before, It seems that I've read about it someplace else, but my googling has failed me.

Are there any other considerations I may have missed?
Is this a stupid idea, or does it have potential?
Name Suggestions? The store is called "The Station"

What grade of titanium are Walmart wedding bands?

raikkohamilonso — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 05:56:29 -0800

What grade of titanium are Walmart wedding bands? I'd like a CP grade ring, since I understand aircraft grades can't be cut off. I've read that they should be stamped "CP", and I'm also wary of a ring coming from China with lead in it or worse?

Seattle jazz group recommendations: Sax in the Rain?

fatllama — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 14:39:25 -0800

Seattle area jazz/swing bands (for a wedding reception)? Google offers a big-ass list. But you have thoughtful, intelligent recommendations. Please to hope me?

All your bass are belong to us

ludwig_van — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 09:32:53 -0800

How can I find the right bass player for my band in the Philadelphia area? I'm getting frustrated trying to find a new bassist for my (indie pop) band. It has to be the right sort of person, but it shouldn't be that hard in a city like this, right? I grew up around here, but I went to college and formed my band/participated in the music scene elsewhere.

I've been posting to the Philly craigslist for weeks, and I can tell from my site's referral logs that a few people (around 70 this month) are clicking through to my web site from the postings. I've only gotten 4 or 5 responses, though, and no one has actually gotten to the point of auditioning. It makes sense that I don't hear from some people after I say "Learn these two songs for the audition, here are the chords and recordings," but I'm at a loss for why someone would read my ad, e-mail me about it, and then ignore my response.

Should I keep trying craigslist? I found my drummer quite easily six months ago from an ad on the Pittsburgh craigslist, and he's really awesome, and the Philly list seems more active. Is there something else I can do that will have a better effort/payoff ratio? A place I can post something where the right kind of people will see it? I'm not interested in wasting my time printing a bunch of tear-off flyers and hanging them in music stores where only pop-punkers and metal dudes will see them.

Here's the ad I've been posting so you can get a sense of what I'm looking for/tell me if there's something wrong with it that I'm not seeing. I don't want to waste my time on people who are not coming from the right place, but I also don't want to scare everyone away.

Help me find a recording studio in LA

thedaniel — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 21:38:55 -0800

Does anyone know of an affordable but quality studio where I can record vocal tracks? My band is working on a demo, and we find it easy enough to do the production asynchronously - I can record my guitars in my home, the percussion is electronic, etc, but I can't get a good vocal take / don't trust my equipment and ears well enough to do it myself. Can any of you recommend a recording studio in LA that doesn't cost an arm and a leg where I can bring in a rough mix of the rest of the band and just lay down vocal takes? I've googled etc, but I don't know many people in bands to ask for personal recommendations.

Before we start we just wanted to say that this gig sucks!

Weebot — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 15:21:32 -0800

So, how do you hire a big-name band to do a private event? I work at a medium-to-large sized non-profit in a well-to-do area that is going to be having a 50th anniversary celebration in late 2008. It's going to be big, and there is a big opportunity to raise a lot of money for the organization. As such, we're going to be spending relatively lavishly for the event. We've allocated about $40,000 to hire a band (though the organization is willing to pay up to $100,000). The questions I have are: how do you go about hiring a somewhat well-known band for an event like this? Is it really just a matter of going through their management, or are there any tricks involved? How well-known a band can you even get with that amount?

Oh yeah, bonus points for band/artist suggestions, though that's not really necessary.

(One of the administrators had quixotically wanted to see if we could get Bruce Springsteen to do it—someone had some sort of connection in the office—but when we contacted his management they politely told us that his asking price [$2.1 million] and our offer weren't exactly a match. If only we were Mr. Burns.)

Ticklin' the Ivories

chara — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 13:19:20 -0800

Please help me find my piano muse! So I recently joined a band (woohoo!) that consists of an acoustic guitar, an electric bass, a kick-ass drummer, and now, me on keyboards and backup vocals.

It's scads of fun, however, I'm having some difficulty finding my niche. Because I've been playing solo for 8 years, I'm used to playing piano ballads and/or more piano driven rock and I don't know how to mold my style into one that fits the acoustic/funk/chick-rock sound of the band without overpowering the lead guitar or merely playing simple chords that echo the guitar.

What I'm looking for are examples of songs or bands that have acoustic guitars as the main element and use keyboards as supportive, but still influential, components of the music.

I hope this makes sense!

Who gets what in a band breakup?

Anonymous — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 21:05:24 -0800

Bassist buys the tour van then quits the band in the middle of the tour. What's a fair way to distribute the money now that it's over? The agreement at the beginning was that the bassist would be financially responsible for the van and that he would keep it when the tour was over. The bassist has 3 months to find a vehicle but doesn't look for one until a week before the tour, and buys one for $2400 the day before the tour begins.

Less than 1/4 of the way into the tour the bassist has a falling out with the rest of the band (to put things charitably) and abruptly takes off, leaving the van and all documents behind. He asks the band to pay him $2400 immediately, telling them to sell the van for more than that when the tour ends and to keep the extra money. Band feels they have no obligation to pay upfront, but plans to try and sell the van at the end and send the bassist his money at that point.

Over the rest of the tour it becomes clear that the van was not purchased in good condition as the bassist had said. The van breaks down multiple times. All the tires, the alternator, and the tensioner have to be replaced to keep the van running. The repairs run $850, which the band pays for. Two shows are canceled as a result of the van breaking down, representing ~$175 in lost revenue. The band still plans to sell the van for a profit, recoup their costs, and send the bassist what he paid.

Just before the end of the tour the transmission fails. The repair is estimated at $2k. The band finishes the tour and spends many hours trying to sell the van, but the best they are able to get for it in its condition is $1500.

How much money should each party get?

Does the band have a right to keep any of the money they spent on repairs? The bassist screwed the band by taking off in the middle of the tour. He did keep to his agreement to provide the tour vehicle, but the band incurred significant costs because he was not diligent in getting the vehicle checked out. The remaining band members must also take on the bassist's share of band expenses which existed before the tour. What's fair?

need the lowdown on KCMO

redshifter — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 19:23:21 -0800

My band is pondering a move from San Francisco to Kansas City to take advantage of the rent savings and central location for touring. We'll be visiting the town again in a few weeks to check out neighborhoods and rentals -- any advice? Is there a particular part of town that we should check out for a band's homebase/basement practice space? Where are the good rental listings found (Craigslist? the newspaper?)

Script Ohio viewing

Jesco — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 19:12:30 -0800

Where can I take my kids to see Script Ohio for free? I've got 4 children, three of which are 100% dedicated to watching Script Ohio. Unfortunately I can't afford 6 tickets to the game to watch it live. So, my question is where does the band practice, and is it open to the public?

Also, does anyone have any tips on attending the Skull Session - Where to park? How to get the best seats? What time to show up? I figure this is a good back-up plan, and we can go to COSI afterwards.

Legal advice needed for my band!

IZ — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 11:38:33 -0800

A Mexican TV station wants legal approval to film a gig of my band. Please give me some advice! I'll be visiting Mexico next year to play a jazz festival with my band. Now a Mexican cultural TV channel has asked for written approval to film our concert.

Although we want to give the approval for both the filming and broadcasting on their channel (publicity!), we want to make sure they will not sell the images and/or sounds in any way or form and we want to be sure that we don't get screwed.

Oddly enough the TV station does not have a standard contract / document for this, they simply asked us for a signed one-pager with a short sentence in which we say it's OK.

What should I put in this letter? Literal phrases or examples and a list of points that should be addressed are much appreciated!