Two Singers?? Long Post

Humblerumble · #1 06-13-2008, 12:53 PM

Well as some of you may have seen from my earlier posts my band split because of the old singer and kb player and musical differences. Well we had a singer/KB player sub for us on a couple of gigs and it went great (I'll call him singer 1). Well since he was in another band I ran an ad and auditioned a few singers. We liked one of the singers. He has a good voice and good presence. He has a higher range voice and was able to pull off some Journey and that type of stuff pretty well (I'll call him singer 2) . One problem is that he is in the military and will probably be shipped off Fall of 2009. Well after that singer #1's band decides to call it quits and he wants to join our band. So were like GREAT! Then we mentioned to him the other singer we auditioned and he says bring him on it too and we can split singing duties. Well Singer #2 plays guitar and we already have two excellent guitarists. Well he brings his guitar and plays some and the sound is just muddy with three guitars. So after thinking about it I am not sure that another singer is going to make the band better and I am not sure what to do with him when he is not singing. Anyone had this problem before? Any suggestions thoughts etc appreciated.

bkbirge · #2 06-13-2008, 01:01 PM

Sounds like another guitar player won't make the band any better, but another singer might. Ask the 2nd guy to sing only. The more quality singers you have in the band the better.

anderbass · #3 06-13-2008, 07:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Humblerumble

Singer #2 plays guitar and we already have two excellent guitarists. Well he brings his guitar and plays some and the sound is just muddy with three guitars.

Your 3 guitarists need to be getting together on their own for extra practices to really work out all their song arrangements.

If two (or 3) of them are ever playing rhythm simultaneously, you may find they would blend much better if each is playing in different positions. (as in one might be playing the chord progressions using open-cords, one using bar-cords and maybe the other using power-cords or just fills, etc.)

If Singer #2 is the only guitarist thats causing the "mud issue", you'd probably find having him play an acoustic guitar would immediately help your situation. (at least for now and especially during Singer #1's songs)

crijan · #4 06-13-2008, 07:38 PM

+1 on acoustic guitar

RobTheSkanker · #5 06-13-2008, 07:47 PM

I would ask for just two singers. I've seen bands do this before, I was even in one where the girl who sang for us somehow just brought her friend in who sadly sucked even more and eventually caused the collapse of the band and wow long sentence and way off topic. but anyway, 2 singers works out really cool. plus I would hate to play guitar in a band with 3 guitar players, that'd just get boring.

Dogbertday · #6 06-13-2008, 07:54 PM

+1 on just keeping both guys but asking singer 2 to only sing. When he's not singing he could play some simple percussion (tamborine, cowbell, congas, shakers, etc) that way the stage presence issue doesn't come up.

Also if singer 2 has PA and balance knowledge you could use him as a singer/tech/talking to the sound guy so that you can try and get a uniform sound for the band wherever you may be... just be sure to clear this before he starts telling the sound gy what to do

**Stumbo** · #7 06-14-2008, 12:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dogbertday

+1 When he's not singing he could play some simple percussion (tamborine, cowbell, congas, shakers, etc) that way the stage presence issue doesn't come up.

+1 on percussion, also maybe harmonica if it applies.
If you haven't replaced the keyboard player, make him a "fakeboardist", filling in with some chords.

Humblerumble · #8 06-14-2008, 08:46 AM

Good ideas guys. Singer #1 is an excellent KB player so we have that covered. I wondered about the percussion thing and just wondered if a guy would feel a little wimpy standing there playing a tambourine or something

This guy has only been playing guitar for a couple of years where the other guys have been playing 20 + years. So he was playing stuff that was taking away from the sound. Singer #1 commented to me that singer #2's musicianship isn't up to the rest of the band and maybe we can help him with that. I am just not sure singer #2 realizes that....

nsmar4211 · #9 06-14-2008, 10:21 AM

Tell singer #2 that three guitars is too many and steer him towards percussion

.
If he feels wimpy, tell him to work on his stage moves

.
Acoustic guitar not a bad idea (my group is one acoustic one electric when we play with drummer).......but trust me an acoustic can muddy up sound just as well as an electric. Plus, he'll have a harder time hearing himself and may overplay to compensate if he's a new player. So......maybe just run him through the monitors and not the speakers?

Nothing wrong with saying, "your voice is awesome but we need you on a different instrument for this group". Maybe have a few songs he sings and plays guitar on (3rd guitarist goes on break?)?

rockdoc11 · #10 06-18-2008, 01:00 AM

I'm going to be the contrarian here. Go with Vocalist #1/Keyboardist only, and don't ask the second vocalist in.

The smaller the band, the easier management and coordination are.

Plus, look at all the classic bands that had great success with one primary vocalist.

Humblerumble · #11 06-18-2008, 08:15 AM

Well I have told vocalist #2 that vocalist #1 will be our main guy. I said they could start out splitting songs 50/50 and see how it goes. I also told him that he could play acoustic guitar in songs that needed one. He said he wasn't sure that would be worth his time commitment as he has a 45 minute drive to us. He wants to come to the next practice and talk about it but I get the feeling he is going to bail. Honestly I probably would if I was him. Hour and a half driving and three hours practice to sing 15 - 20 songs. Oh well we'll see. Thanks for all the input guys.