Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with music and band

When all the guys join in singing...only they're yelling it from the back of the band

rileyray3000 — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 22:34:18 -0800

Okay what is the name of the kind of swing music where the band does call and response with the singer? Not the backup singers. The horn section. So I was listening the other day to a favorite jazz song, Blue Skies

It occurred to me that what I like about it is the call and response with the regular guys in the band, the horn section, the rhythm guys. It's also what I like about a couple of Cab Calloway songs. Unfortunately, trying to find MORE songs like this based on "it's where the guys with the guitars yell back at Frank" isn't the walk in the park I thought it'd be

So my question is: is this a subgenre of Swing? If so, can you recommend some other examples I might like?

Help with a band name

Astro Zombie — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:30:34 -0800

I want to start an Irish band called the Peter O'Tooles. Might this be a problem? Can Peter O'Toole stop me, since we're just taking his glorious name?

I've seen a million faces

Potomac Avenue — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:27:36 -0800

What are some good songs about being on tour? My band's tour is coming to an end and I'd like to make a goodbye mix for all the crew and other bands we've been rolling with for the past month+.

They could be classic (American band, various zepplin), obscure (humble pie's 30 Days In The Hole [my personal favorite]) or modern (living legends' Creative Differences). They don't have to entirely be about touring as long as at least one verse or so specifically talks about life on the road as a musician.

TIA

mountie repellent

Potomac Avenue — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 14:15:03 -0800

Do American musicians need a special work permit to play two shows in Canada? I've found some information that says we do, mostly from musician's unions that want lots of money to send you letters to give to border guards. I can't find any official word from either country or musicians informally saying what to do.

Experiences? I know, YANML, but what actually happens when we show up at the border in a van with some musical equipment?

(Would have posted this in the last touring advice thread but this seems mighty important and obscure to append to an old question.)

Thanks greatly MetaFilter of the Gods.

if u live on the road theres a new highway code

Potomac Avenue — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 14:17:26 -0800

My band is going on a national rock tour: what should I know? Unexpectedly, a pretty big-time act wants this indie/psych group I play with to open for them on about 40 dates this fall. The dates are almost all booked, with a little break in the middle.

I have read this thread, and this thread, so I've got a pretty good idea about what to bring in the van, but mainly I'd like to know what you wish you'd known before your own band headed out on tour, or what you, as someone tangentially involved in the music scene in your town, wished that touring bands knew about.

Also: It's been 10 years since I went on the road what kinda stuff should I expect to have changed or be vital to know about now? What resources (besides BYOFL, which as far as I can tell is useless now) most came in handy when you were playing shows around?

FYI I am also the manager/publicist/booking agent and everything else. We have a self-released album and some t-shirts as a starter kit. We're buying a van. We walk the streets at night, we go where eagles dare.

Buying a keyboard amplifier

Tlogmer — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 16:55:37 -0800

I'm looking for a keyboard amplifier for use in a rock band. Is the roland kc-150 (65W) going to be loud enough or should I spring for the KC-350 (120W)? Or should I look for a bass amp?

A guy and a girl singing together?

zeek321 — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 07:07:03 -0800

I am a music ignoramus. But, I know I really like a man and a woman (a guy and a girl) singing together. Call and response, harmony, part of the lyrics or not, I think it's really amazing when a masculine voice and feminine voice are working together. I like Andrew Bird, Bonnie Prince Billy, Dent May, ...and Avril Lavigne. (Work with me, here.)

What are some amazing bands or just songs with a male and a female lead singer, where the music can be subtle, epic, ambient, soaring, mournful, bittersweet, peaceful, emotionally intimate or just with an awesome and/or racy and/or in-your-face pop hook?

Bonus #1: If you have additional info about whether the music is a team effort, who the creative force is, is there a friendship or relationship outside of the music, etc., that would be very cool.

Bonus #2: Is there a song called "Sleeping Together" where one of the lyrics is "like two notes, sustained"?

P.S. Previously. Noted.

Less Cops?

tmcw — Wed, 20 May 2009 15:40:20 -0800

How do bands in cities practice? I've got the band, I need the space. So, I'm moving to Washington, DC (and so is my drummer, bassist, guitarist, etc) and would love to keep things going and play some shows if things work out. But, although some of the rowhouses I'm looking at have basements, that probably won't cut it as far as noise goes. Do people rent practice spaces? Practice elsewhere? Live elsewhere?

Please help me keep the rock alive!? Thanks

BLACK DOG

crazylegs — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 16:55:45 -0800

Who did the big band version of Black Dog and where can I find it? Once, years ago, I heard a Big Band version of Led Zeppelin's song 'Black Dog'. I've been trying to find it on You Tube with no luck. Who did this version?

I want .mp3s in my sidebar, not in my posts.

arcanecrowbar — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 18:20:37 -0800

Best Wordpress music solutions for artists? There's a previous question about this, but it's not exactly the same situation and it's over two years old, so I figured I'd throw this out there.

I'm in a band, I have a website, I'm not a web developer. I discovered Wordpress recently and it's been a godsend, allowing a codeless wonder like myself to achieve a high degree of customization with showing images, concert dates, venue information, etc. The problem is playing music.

Ideally I would like to install a plugin with widget support that will present a music player with album covers, track information, links, etc. I'd like to draw all this info from a site that specializes in presenting it, like last.fm or bandcamp. The music player on any band's myspace page is just about the right size/shape/info density for what I'd like.

Last.fm For Artists is a Wordpress widget, but it only supplies top track info and tour stuff that I'm handling elsewhere. Last.fm has a few Wordpress widgets that actually play music, but they're geared toward fans.

Bandcamp offers a player you can export into Wordpress, but I'm only able to use it by putting it into a text widget, which requires some futzing with the code and has kind of an awkward appearance with a drop-down menu that craps all over the box it's in. It appears that almost every piece of code written to put .mp3s into Wordpress is all about putting them into posts, which is where I don't want them - I want them in a sidebar widget.

I'm at the point where I'm seriously considering shoving a generic flash mp3 player into a text widget, manually messing with all its properties to try and make it look OK, and playing tunes from my own server. I don't want to do this! Don't get me wrong, CSS is cool and I'm enjoying all the new skills I'm learning, but surely I'm not the first band guy who has ever tried to do this.

So, what am I overlooking? An easy, attractive widget-based flash mp3 player plugin that will draw music from my own server? A bandcamp or last.fm like site that offers Wordpress widget integration? Something else? Do I really have to re-invent the wheel? Hope me.

Start me (band) up

ocherdraco — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 11:01:44 -0800

I sing. I don't read music. I don't know musicians who play my kind of music. But I want to be in a band. What do I do? I live in New York City. I sing things like blues, classic country (think Patsy Cline), rockabilly, etc. (If you can imagine Neko Case, Nina Simone, or Etta James singing it, it's probably something I'd like.) Recently, I performed at a cabaret with a couple acquaintances (who aren't available to play with on a regular basis) backing me up on guitar, harmonica, and bass (I posted a recording from our rehearsal on Mefi Music). Performing (and getting a great response from it) reminded me how much I love doing this. I want to have a group to sing with regularly (guitars, bass, drums, etc.) and maybe perform with from time to time, but I've never done this before, and don't know where to start. Mefites, what should I do?

What's that web site?

emelenjr — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 13:37:39 -0800

I'm not sure if it was ever linked on Metafilter, but I remember running across a web site where bands could set up online streaming and downloading of their music, with multiple audio formats and multiple pricing options. There were also various visualizers built into the music players. Hive mind, who can help me track down the URL I've lost? It was a relatively recent find in my travels on the internets—possibly late 2008.

How can my ex-girlfriend and I live together while avoiding jealousy and drama?

Anonymous — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 13:38:13 -0800

How can my ex-girlfriend and I live together while avoiding jealousy and drama? My girlfriend and I broke up, mutually and amicably, about three months ago. We live in the same apartment, although we have separate bedrooms. This is Manhattan and it's an amazing apartment and neither one of us is leaving it until summer at the earliest. We want to remain friends as best we can, and we both realize that while we loved each other very much, our personalities and lives are simply incompatible in the long-term. This is the background.

Now, both of us are going out and seeing other people. We have an agreement not to bring other people back here, although in theory I care less about that aspect than her. However, last night was the first night since we broke up that both of us stayed out all night; I got home about five minutes before she did this afternoon. It wasn't outwardly awkward.

But: I felt a twinge of jealousy. Hypocritical, yes. Ridiculous, yes. I truly want her to be happy, and I want her to find a nice man with whom she can have a good relationship. I really do. But there is an unpleasant, atavistic seed of jealously that hurts when I know she is out with someone else. I'm sure that sometimes she feels the same way.

I apologize for how needlessly prolix and boring this is, by the way. Because this is anonymous, I want to make sure all the facts are out there.

So two questions: one, how can I control/manage/kill that spark of jealousy? I don't want to treat her poorly or seem hurt or standoffish or childish when this sort of thing happens. Two, how can I be respectful of her feelings and not make her feel anything similar to what I felt? Have any of you been through this before? What should I know?

Thank you.

Does anybody know the band Paper Lantern?

msbrauer — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 18:36:22 -0800

Where I can buy music by and information about the band Paper Lantern? I saw a band called Paper Lantern play a show in Montana in 1998 or 1999. I bought their ep but lost it a few years ago. I've rebuilt my music collection from the cd theft, but one band I'd like to hear again is Paper Lantern. Google doesn't give me any answers.

I can't remember the ep's name, but the disc was blue and said "Index Records" on it. The music was a bit like early Pavement with some Yo La Tengo thrown in, though I may not remember it very well. One of the four songs on the ep had a stanza that began "Computer, computer..."

The band was obviously on a tour and needed a gig to fill a space between shows in the wasteland up north (I love the area and the people, but good live music was hard to come by at the time) between the west coast and Chicago. They may have been from California. Their equipment was all top-notch and they had a polished sound; the music and their stage presence was a lot different from the local punk and garage bands playing in the basketball gyms, community theaters, and local fraternal organization halls. Would love to get to know the band's music a bit more.

What songs should my electronica cover band play?

greenie2600 — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 12:33:56 -0800

Help me think of classic electronic tracks for my (as-yet-hypothetical) classic electronica cover band. I came across Orbital's Doctor?, a cover of the Doctor Who theme song, and I thought "man, this is great; I bet people go nuts for this at parties".

And then I thought it would be a hell of a lot of fun to start an electronic cover band with a couple of my synth-geek friends. Easier than starting an original band, since you wouldn't have to worry about all that pesky creativity—and, y'know, people would go nuts for it at parties.

So what tunes would you want to hear if you came to see my band? Kraftwerk offers a whole smörgåsbord of possibilities, of course, but what else?

Tracks should be familiar and recognizable (to electronic music geeks, at least), party-friendly (or amenable to being played that way), and not too techno-oriented. (I like techno, but that's not what this project is about. I'm sure we would put a more danceable spin on some tracks, but I don't want to just cover the big rave hits of the 1990s or whatever.)

what is the correct term for musician jump kick

planetkyoto — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 05:27:00 -0800

What should I call it when a band is finishing a song and the guitarist hits the last chord while jumping in the air and jack knifing his/her legs back? I guess it's a way of putting an exclamation mark on the song, and, I suppose, to make sure that the other members of the band know that the song is ending here and not going around again. Should I just call it a "jump kick" or is there some preferred term among musicians. Any other insights into this practice are welcome, since I'm not a musician. This is for a documentary.

Dream band website creator

sublivious — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 14:15:57 -0800

What is the best user friendly website or web app for bands or musicians which enables you to manage the design, look, music, pictures, and news on a daily basis without having the knowledge to make a web page or having no knowledge of web design? I've been trying to help a friend find a solution to a need. Everything below was written by him. I will act as an intermediary for followup questions and suggestions.
---------------------------

I am an independent musician and would like to create a band website. I am looking for a free or cheap program or service that already builds the site for you but gives you the ability to customize the look, insert music, pictures, daily news, or anything else with little or no effort.

I play World of Warcraft and manage a guild. This new website called Wowstead introduced itself a couple of months ago and forms a solid foundation while the user determines the look and enters pictures and news, etc. I have no knowledge of making a web site but this site makes it very simple to update things with ease on a daily basis. I like that it's extremely user friendly and the look is highly customizable. So my question is, is there a website like this but for musicians?

I've tried Myspace Music and Wordpress but neither do it for me. Myspace has a ton of limits including the amount of songs and the customizable portion of the site, not to mention that you are some what limited to using their method of selling your music. The concept behind Wordpress seems close but does not cover the music portion and seems to be all about the themes. I haven't been able to find a suitable theme and don't have the knowledge to customize one. Previous answers on AskMefi haven't hit what I'm looking for.

Any ideas or suggestions?

turn it up to eleven!

headnsouth — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 08:25:21 -0800

What equipment do my teenagers need to start a garage band and record/edit using a macbook pro? With christmas and a couple of birthdays coming up, I would like to get my kids set up with some basics for recording. Kid1 has an Ibanez electric guitar and Kustom Dart 10fx amp. Kid2 has a decent voice & stage presence. What they need to get started are a microphone, bass guitar, headphones, wah-wah pedal for the guitar, a means of recording onto the mac, and editing software. Drums/keyboards & video will come later but suggestions for those and other components I haven't thought of are welcome and appreciated. Also, kid1's guitar does not have a whammy bar so it's only a matter of time before he needs to upgrade.

I have been to two local music stores in our new city, and have found them to be surprisingly unhelpful. Maybe because I'm the mom? Or maybe because I'm not a school with 100 kids renting expensive horns. More likely because I don't even know enough to frame my questions intelligently.

There is some equipment advice in this AskMe but I need to know how to put the components together, and how to get them onto the mac, as well as what to buy.

So please type very slowly and hold my hand, as I am both a PC person and a (regular, old-school, acoustic) piano player. In fact not only am I a PC person but I am a corporate-type PC person who has always had access to a PC guy at work.

Coldstream Civic Week?

DickStock — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 19:59:41 -0800

Can anyone fill me in on Coldstream Civic Week? I shot this little video on my still camera. It was a saturday evening on the borders of Scotland / England, in Coldstream.

I was driving thru the village in the late afternoon and parked to have a pint. The main pub downtown was crowded and spilling into the street with drunken, unruly young males.

I went a bit further, to near the end of the village and stopped at a hotel pub. It was filled with older gents (like me) with their ladies, and they were all well-dressed. However, we were all drinking out of plastic glasses.

They invited me over the road to a public ceremony in the park. The closing ceremony, though it probably had a name.

Who are these guys? Who are the three up on the podium? Why is the guy cryin' his eyes out? I know it must be a very important ritual, this "Civic Week" but WHAT IS IT?

I know, I should've asked, but somehow it didn't seem right at the time. I think I was the only 'tourist' there.

Plus, I'm a 'septic'. OK

http://www.vimeo.com/343158

What band equipment do i need?

pencroft — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 07:41:41 -0800

My buddy and I are trying to figure out what we need so we can have amplification and recording capabilities when we jam in the basement. I've played acoustic guitar and drums for years but am an absolute n00b when it comes to next steps. Meaning, I don't know the difference between a PA or an amp (is a PA an amp?). What we have: acoustic guitar (w/pickup), electric guitar, electric bass, drumset. What we need:??

What we want: amplified vocals, guitar and bass. Some type of multiple track recording so we can record different parts at different times.

Basically, we're trying to make a mini-music studio.

I'd like to be all in for around $2k, if possible. Ideally, this would be equipment that we could take to smaller venues and play as well (coffee shops, etc)

how to design a band logo?

the schizophrenic mouse — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 08:35:15 -0800

Hello me and my father are planning on starting a band anyone know any good free programmes for a band logo or something like that?

How to setup a mixer at FOH

chitlin — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 11:41:16 -0800

How do you setup an audio mixer when mixing from FOH (front of house)? I have dabbled in many areas of sound production for several years, mostly doing MC/DJ gigs for parties, bars, and weddings. Recently, we've "run sound" for a couple of bands. I'd like to do more of this, and I've realized that to do it right, we need to setup the mixer at the FOH (front of house) to be able to hear the levels and EQ settings for each line, and do all the mixing. I'm sure you've seen setups like this at concerts and such.

My question is, how do you set this up with cables? For example, a typical band that we run sound for will have rhythm guitar, lead vocal, lead guitar, backup vocal, bass guitar, three drum mics, and maybe a keyboard. Do you have to run all the instrument cables to the FOH position? This would mean a 100 ft. XLR cables for each line. In the case of this band, that would be nine XLR cables to run to the mixer, and then a pair of Main Outs back to the amplifiers.

Is this how it's done or is there an easier way?

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.