Female or male singer?

eotpr · #1 06-09-2008, 02:00 PM

Ok, here is the deal. I found some people and we are starting up. (See: Help me get into a band Please!). We want to add to our variety by getting another singer. This person should play guitar and be a strong singer. Do we want a man or a woman? Visually a woman might be good because we are a bunch of old dudes....We call ourselves Old Dogs. But I worry about the baggage that often comes with a female singer. What would you do?

UncleBalsamic · #2 06-09-2008, 02:04 PM

Whoever is the best. Sorry for the annoying answer.

GianGian · #3 06-09-2008, 02:05 PM

Depends on the kind of music. Women in general bring more problems, but it depends a lot on the woman.

tZer · #4 06-09-2008, 02:16 PM

We were faced with the same decision. My band is currently made up of 3 people I was in a band with in the past that was fronted by a woman. There was significant value to the "eye-candy" factor (ok, call me sexist... done... good) - I cannot deny that having an attractive female vocalist (who can sing!) is a very good thing for building an audience. As for there being a downside - there were downsides, but they were not related to gender. They were the kind of downsides you could face no matter who is your singer. Style and taste conflicts... limitations or lack of versatility... so on...

We opted to seek both female and male vocalists with the idea of having a "co-fronted" band where a guy and a girl would handle front-person responsibilities. After auditioning a few girls and a few guys, we found our male vocalist and stopped looking. He was killer - versatile - perfect for the job.

After a number of months working up a number of original songs, we agreed that having a female voice to supplement the backups and even co-sing some of the songs (ala Kate Pierson and Michael Stipe) would be a really cool thing. So now that are material has evolved to a place where we know exactly what we need, we can seek out a female vocalist who wants to join us and fulfill that role.

I don't know if that helps or not - but it's how our situation played out so far.

Phalex · #5 06-09-2008, 02:17 PM

I've played in bands with male and female lead singers. All of the bands that had females eventually broke up because the guitar player made a play for them. (Some more successful than others, but all ended in disaster for the band.)

I guess in the end, you want a front person that does more than just sing real pretty. If you find someone that can drive the crowd wild with their antics as well as sing like a bird, you have a winner.

**cheezewiz** · #6 06-09-2008, 02:18 PM

Sexist or not, it's true. A band fronted by a good looking and talented female singer will almost ALWAYS outdraw a male fronted band. (Now we are talking local bands...not national acts)

zenman · #7 06-09-2008, 02:26 PM

Frankly I can't see the ladies lining up to audition for a band call "Old Dogs".

GianGian · #8 06-09-2008, 03:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phalex

I've played in bands with male and female lead singers. All of the bands that had females eventually broke up because the guitar player made a play for them. (Some more successful than others, but all ended in disaster for the band.)

I guess in the end, you want a front person that does more than just sing real pretty. If you find someone that can drive the crowd wild with their antics as well as sing like a bird, you have a winner.

guitarrists=trouble, women=trouble. Guitarrist+woman= end of the band.

Spinal Tapper · #9 06-09-2008, 03:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cheezewiz

Sexist or not, it's true. A band fronted by a good looking and talented female singer will almost ALWAYS outdraw a male fronted band. (Now we are talking local bands...not national acts)

Oh so true! With a girl frontman, you'll bring more girls to the gig thus bringing more guys too!

Although, through my past experiences, girls are a B!tch to work with sometimes...pun intended

I'll probably never be in a band with a girl again if I don't have to.

tycobb73 · #10 06-09-2008, 04:01 PM

Well...you're probably not going to find a female who plays guitar. I have 2 male guitar players who can sing, one can also play keys. We also have a female lead singer. This leads to great versatility and is the route I would try to go.

eotpr · #11 06-09-2008, 04:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zenman

Frankly I can't see the ladies lining up to audition for a band call "Old Dogs".

You might have a point there. I didn't think of that.

rrr_o_bbb · #12 06-09-2008, 04:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tycobb73

Well...you're probably not going to find a female who plays guitar.

***? I was going to ask "Are you living under a rock?!?!?" Then I saw you're in Grand Rapids

MakiSupaStar · #13 06-09-2008, 04:22 PM

I've played with both, and in my experience there always seems a point where the chick singer wants to get contemplative and pretty much mopey. There are great female singers out there, but I've this to be the case far too often.

scottbass · #14 06-09-2008, 04:29 PM

The bands I have been in have always had bigger followings and better gigs when we had a female lead singer. That is true whether or not there were also one or more male singers sharing leads. To be anti-sexist here, we have never had any more trouble with a female singer drama-wise than with male singers. Lead singers, regardless of gender, tend to be more emotional and higher-maintenance than the rest of us. Now, the potential for inter-band romance problems is definitely greater when there are mixed genders - unless you're THAT type of band...not that there's anything wrong with that...

All the above statements are IMHO, IME, etc.

rzpooch · #15 06-09-2008, 04:35 PM

I would go for a female singer! That said you all should sing too, then you wouldn't need both eh.

tycobb73 · #16 06-09-2008, 07:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rrr_o_bbb

***? I was going to ask "Are you living under a rock?!?!?" Then I saw you're in Grand Rapids

exactly, I've never met one personally, but they're probably out there and in bands already.

Bearded Bugs · #17 06-09-2008, 07:29 PM

Yummy yummy females

Bass Viking · #18 06-09-2008, 08:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spinal Tapper

With a girl frontman,

Girl frontman?!! Ewwwwww!

nsmar4211 · #19 06-10-2008, 04:29 PM

*ahem*
May I point out that some of us reading this thread happen to be women?

Regardless of whether we are bass players or singers, the disrespect being shown by lumping all female singers into the PITA category goes across instrument.
/end rant.

Now, as for the original question, how about not worrying if the singer is male or female and just find someone who a) can sing b) can fit into the band and c) doesn't have an overblown ego

Oh, and our lead singer/rhythm guitarist? Female. Not a drop of diva in her. Matter of fact, every female instrumentalist and vocalist I've ever worked with personally has been nothing but a good person. I've had more trouble with overblown/mopey/egotistical/emotional men (never a bass player... but every other instrument) than anything else.

You would have to change the band name though.....Old Dogs and a Young Lass?

Martin Bormann · #20 06-10-2008, 07:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eotpr

Ok, here is the deal. I found some people and we are starting up. (See: Help me get into a band Please!). We want to add to our variety by getting another singer. This person should play guitar and be a strong singer. Do we want a man or a woman? Visually a woman might be good because we are a bunch of old dudes....We call ourselves Old Dogs. But I worry about the baggage that often comes with a female singer. What would you do?

A nice hot 20 year old chick with big boobs should do the trick.