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frontman problems

P

pandaman37

Inactive
Sep 17, 2009
268
5
Clovis, CA
#1
kso, ive gotten into something of a band with a few pretty cool guys i met this year in class. first off, the band's name is psycoustic. now, im not an expert on naming bands, but if you want people to check out your band..... come on dude. its just like, i cant say much about it cos i joined after they formed.
anyways, our drummers a beast, theres me on bass, and then our pianist/frontman. thusfar weve been instrumental, just kinda practicing our (few) songs. pianist (matt) tells us, hey were gona audition some singers. im like, ok thats cool. the lyrics....... not the worst ive ever heard but like.... dude. this isnt the sort of thing a bunch of teenagers are gonna get gigs from. imagine a really mellow dream theater. with barely a fraction of the talent.
almost done. matt says, hey were renaming the band. im like, alright GREAT! psycoustic wasnt doin it for me. "just let me know dude"
i look on facebook a little while later, it has now become psycoustic ambition. THATS NOT RENAMING THATS ADDING ANOTHER WORD ON!!!!!!!!!!!!
alright so im kinda venting at yall, but i also know that this isnt the sorta name thats gonna get us gigs. a bigass awkward name like that wont help anyone. once again, i know image isnt everything, but stop breakin my balls over here, naw mean?
WHAT SHOULD I DO??
 
#3
Wow....I feel for ya...

That is one of the worst names I've heard here at TB.

Terribly un-creative and non-witty.

Let this thread ferment for about 2 days....and let them read it.

Then call a 'band name, revisited' meeting.
 
#4
I actually like psycoustic. Without the ambition tacked on the end. All original bands have ambition, thats the point, right? ;)
And ambition tends to say "havent got there yet"...

All you can do is decide if you can stand the name enough to play in the band. If the music isn't moving you, and the band isn't moving you, it might be time to move on. But if the songs are good, the hang is good maybe stick it out and market test the name and material by trying to get some gigs.

Best of luck with it!
 
#6
How come U cannot produce another name? I keep a notebook of no less than thirty band names I composed long ago.

This is similar to being a "brand name" or identity association. People know Yamaha makes pianos, motorbikes, jet skis and cameras. Not picture frames, shoe laces or ice cream. The name infers what you/group represents or stands for, be it a place, action, state of mind, etc.

Take an active roll in your bands' destiny if it is truly your group.
 
#7
It sounds like you're on a different wavelength then the other band members. The dreaded band meeting may be in order as it doesn't sound from your post that the band has a clear direction. The name sounds kind of like a free form acoustic jam or fusion band. If you're a different genre it might not work. HS or college bands are tough to get everyone on the same page. Good luck.
 
#8
i know, and the name doesnt really fit the music... like yeah we have an acoustic guitar in a song or two but its mostly piano, bass, and drums. and hes been talking about adding a guitarist, i just get a feeling of dread. i can live with a ridiculous name, but i just know its not gonna get us a ton of fans. ive come to realize, names are kind of important ha...
thanks everyone
 
#9
I feel your pain. The band I'm in now is called "Medicine". I had little input in the decision - they came up with it shortly after I joined - the idea came from the guitarists, and despite the fact that a quick internet search reveals that the name is already taken (by a perhaps-now defunct band, but nevertheless, its out there), they're sticking with it. Personally, I think it is lame. :rollno: I've used Band Name Generator to come up with a list of Medicine-related names, but to no avail. Since I'm the "new guy," I won't push it

I suppose that at some point, it could become an issue to the outside world, but since we aren't churning out CDs to market, I'm just gonna keep my peace and :bassist::bassist::bassist:
 
#10
YouTube - Processing Thoughts by Psycoustic Ambition
i mean, i like the music. i could do without the sound effects, but there you go.
however, another development. we now have two vocalists, another keyboardist/sound effects guy (matt plays piano already), and he added a lead guitar. so now were up to 7 people in a high school band. i thought it sounded great when it was just bass piano and drums! dude i dunno. id feel really bad backing out of it now too, he wants to pursue this as a career. i know the odds of us making a decent income is already astronomical, and split that between 7 people? i just dont know. the only real upside is he gives me full freedom in my realm of bass, he actually asked me to write a tapping bass solo for that song.

i mean, at least this isnt my life and soul, nor is it the music i would necessarily choose to write. ive been jamming with a friend of mine, doing john mayer, iron and wine, fleet foxes covers, just me him, bass, guitar, and him on vocals. honestly, im thinking this is the way to go, i mean its just two of us, hes got a good voice, were starting off recording a couple covers we both decided on, hes got a great setup (aerodyne telecaster, fender MIM P, recording equipment, and hes got a great voice).
i suppose ill stick to both, i mean, neither are super time consuming. just.... venting at this point haha. if you have suggestions, please, suggest away.
 
#12
Depth_Charge said:
I actually like psycoustic.
Click to expand...

I agree. Sure, it sounds kind of stupid, but then again, what isn't these days? Have fun with life. People don't like seeing the proverbial stick stuck up their........well.

Anyways, Take the whole acoustic concept and ride it. Don't think you have to be like every other bubble gum band. Do some modern Dick Dale take off stuff or something. I mean hell, listen to Misirlou today.

When it was released "back then": YouTube - Dick Dale & The Del Tones "Misirlou" 1963

A take of it in the "right now": YouTube - Dick Dale - Misirlou (live)

One version sounds really weak, almost asleep. Another version of it sounds totally thrashing, raging to be heard.

And both videos feature the same guy playing, go figure.

You may wonder why I'd pull Dick Dale out into a thread like this. Think of tracks that you make like this; it may suck now, but it might get a whole hell of a lot better in the future. It depends on how YOU are going to help things grow. You ARE just a bass player, after all, in the grand scheme of a band, and I know its easy to sit back and go "this sucks". Believe me, I've done it a lot. But provide a few kicks in the right direction to your friends, ignore the name, regardless of how stupid it may be, because for all you know, if you make that band really good, and you still want to leave, you'll be able to join another band a whole lot quicker playing with the guys your with now than if you were alone. Sort of like making a job transition.

This is all.
 
#15
The name is irrelevent so long as you have good music carrying the name, you'll get gigs. People can at most develop a preconcieved idea of what you sound like based solely on the name, and not want to check out the tunes, but thats a worst case scenario.

PS. Where's the bass on this track? I hear Piano and Synthesizers
 
#16
C'mon, guys...that IS seriously the worst, most bland band name I have heard in a while....names ARE important. They provide an instant clue as to what you are all about. "Psycoustic Ambition" sounds like two middle age acoustic guitarists at a small county fair!

Might as well call this band "The Nyrds" and be done with it!
 

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