Where do you find a lead singer ?

Bloodfist · #1 08-05-2006, 07:14 AM

Maybe you guys can give me some tips or links to some classifeds. MY band out of Charleston SC is haveing one hell of a time trying to find a GOOD lead singer. We've auditioned maybe 30 people who were all plain out horrible. It seems to me that these guys think that just because they can sing along with the car radio, their a natural born rockstar! So if you guys got any tips or suggestions, please let me know.

TheDarkReaver · #2 08-05-2006, 07:16 AM

try the bar.

Mr-Wunderful · #3 08-05-2006, 07:19 AM

Some one who's allready in the band should step up to the mic. Lead singers are dead weight.

Bloodfist · #4 08-05-2006, 07:22 AM

Well I have been stepping up to the mic, problem is it's hard for me to sing and play with the style I play. I might try to hit a kareoke bar tonight lol. Maybe I'll have some luck there.

Kenny Allyn · #5 08-05-2006, 07:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr-Wunderful

Some one who's allready in the band should step up to the mic. Lead singers are dead weight.

Say What! ... how did you come by this opinion? ...

The right lead singer can be "THE" best asset a band can have ... trust me at our shows they don't come to see me ...

Mr-Wunderful · #6 08-05-2006, 07:35 AM

I just like the dynamics of a 3 piece rock band. Just my personal taste. Yes, the right lead singer can definitely add to the band. Perhaps I should have said step up until you find the right lead singer and don't let not having one hold you back. Looks like that's allready happening.

Bloodfist · #7 08-05-2006, 07:39 AM

Yea basically thats what I'm doing just to help aid the songwriting process in order to keep it from sounding like an instrumental. I've never really cared for the power trio bands, as we are a 4 piece right now, and we want someone that just sings, a frontman. So I'm gonna have to agree with kenny, he needs to be our biggest asset.

Kenny Allyn · #8 08-05-2006, 07:41 AM

OK ... good explanation

In our case we have the dynamics of a three piece rock-n-blues band ... fronted by a very attractive blonde female singer who can do everything from Zep to Etta James ... as I said they sure don't come to see me ...

Dincrest · #9 08-05-2006, 07:52 AM

Places to find singers:
-karaoke bars (there will usually be the horrible car/shower singers, but eventually some good ones will take the mic.

-open mic nights. (EDIT: you may find solo performers at open mics who sing.)

B-NoteCowboy · #10 08-05-2006, 12:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dincrest

Places to find singers:
-karaoke bars (there will usually be the horrible car/shower singers, but eventually some good ones will take the mic.

-open mic nights.

Excellent advice. I work with a guy who's never been in a band and can nail anything from Elvis to Stain'd. Excellent singer and would make a great front man too for the right band. He owns the Karaoke bar when we go out.

invader3k · #11 08-05-2006, 12:51 PM

Also, ask around with other musicians that you know. Someone already in a band might be looking for another project to sing with, or they may know someone who would be a good fit.

Also...have you really auditioned 30 people, or are you exagerrating? Because I find it hard to believe you couldn't find one halfway decent person in that many...maybe your standards are too high? Remember, no one is going to be perfect the first time around during an audition...a lot of times you can find someone with potential who is willing to work with you, and you can "mold" them into a singer who's perfect for your band. Attitude is more important than raw talent, in my book.

bassmann50 · #12 08-05-2006, 12:54 PM

Untill the right person comes along, look in the mirror.

Bloodfist · #13 08-05-2006, 01:17 PM

We have literaly auditioned 30 or more people! And most them have had at least 2 auditions. Keep in mind that this has been going on since around mid March of this year. Our band style is real similiar to a cross between Tool and Godsmack. Every musician in this band is at the top of their game, and extremely talented. These "singers" come in and most of them want to scream their balls off, make some type of grunting noise, or basically just can't hit a single note. We had one who looked like he would have some potential, so we decided to work him. I worked with him on days we weren't practicing just useing my acoustic guitar, and he also took vocal lessons. He never prgressed, and actually got worse. His timing became absolutley horrible, and just listening to him became equivilant to nails on a chalk board. Because of that, and because this band has some awesome talent and some great songs written, we just not really willing to "work" with someone who might have potential. All that does is set us further back in terms of giging and song writing. Believe me I know because we just waisted about a month and a half on this guy. Basically what we need is a "natural" singer, who can use his voice like we use our instruments. People believe that if a band plays harder sounding music, you have to scream the entire time, and please don't let me get started on the emo wanna be's. And what's even funnier, is that singers who say they have been playing in bands most of their life, have absolutley no gear! Not even a mic! Luckily for us we have all that, but they act like it's the bands responsibility to provide it for them.

Invader3k, I agree with you that attitude is important. A vocalist must have stage presence, and be able to work the crowds. However, talent can not be sacrificed. I believe that no matter how good the band sounds, if the singer is not up to par with them, it will never sound good, and that leads to fewer people turning out to every show. After all the singer really makes or breaks the band. You and I might pay attention to bass players, drummers, and even the guitarist, but 95% of the people in the crowd probably can't play an instrument so they just listen to the "entire song" not individual players, and they pay attention to the singer most of the time.

I think I will definatley try hitting the kareoke bars tonight with the guys in the band. At least if we don't have any luck finding someone, we can have some beers and enjoy good company lol!

Bloodfist · #14 08-05-2006, 01:22 PM

Quote:

Untill the right person comes along, look in the mirror

I've allready been doing that, and I keep telling myself I need to shave.

invader3k · #15 08-05-2006, 05:17 PM

OK, I think you have the right attitude about it. Your band working with one guy shows that you're at least trying to make something happen.

It might be that your type of music is fairly specialized. A lot of good singers probably just aren't equipped to sing that type of music. You'll probably just have to keep searching until the right person comes up, and then you should be fairly quickly able to tell if they have "it."

Dincrest · #16 08-05-2006, 08:51 PM

B-Note Cowboy- in my last band, we recruited a singer from a karaoke bar. She was cute, had great vocal range, and a chill personality that suited us well.

And, yes, Bloodfist- even if you don't find a potential singer at karaoke night, it's always a fun night out. Best of luck to you. I know how hard it is to find the right singer (or drummer or guitarist or whatever). I know it's a frustrating process, but keep grinding it out and don't settle for second best. Because once you get the best, it will be all worth it. Believe me, we've all been there.

The Golden Boy · #17 08-05-2006, 09:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bloodfist

However, talent can not be sacrificed.

Depending on what you're doing, the presence of a great frontman/person can highly override vocal talent. The best frontman I've ever worked with was one of the most horrible singers I've ever had the misfortune to work with. The crazy thing is that we drew. And well.

When I was a kid, we had a show booked in the middle of winter, we were supposed to play with this band that was supposedly the mutt's nuts, the bees' knees, and the cat's pajamas all rolled into one... The band that showed up (a few hours later than was "acceptable" at the time) was a bunch of fresh faced polite kids- and I was sure they were going to suck like few bands have ever sucked before... From the first strike, that singer did a jump 5 feet vertical, he OWNED that stage, the other guys in the band were good- better than average, but the singer completely SLAYED. It wasn't until months later after I'd heard recordings and realized he had NO conception of pitch or key or anything. But live, you couldn't even notice because he was a force of nature.

And I'll add another recommendation for karaoke...

MarkMyWordsXx · #18 08-05-2006, 09:21 PM

i honestly gave up and now i do it myself. if you want something done right..

Bassic83 · #19 08-05-2006, 09:21 PM

Might I suggest the Atlanta area? Seems to me there are several around there...

gribuski · #20 08-05-2006, 09:23 PM

I'm in a very similar situation, too. We're a 4-piece metal band, along the lines of Pantera and C.O.C., and we don't have singer. One of the guitar players is an OK singer, and sang in a previous band. But, we rely heavily on guitar harmonies, and lots of them are in weird time signatures, so he has a super-hard time doing both at full capacity. Our thinking is that if he can't do both at 100%, its hurting is in the long run.

We've auditioned 5 guys. One of them was actually pretty good, but he was a douchebag. We absolutely hated him...as in his personality was such that no one in the band wanted to hang out with him at all. We tried, like a month, and decided to tell him he wasn't in the band.

I'm eager to see what everyone says here...We're still writing riffs and songs, but won't be able to really gig until we find a singer.