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Good band did everything wrong

#123
two fingers said:
OK, let's just get real. There's a band around here that is ..... elderly. They're all old rockers from the 70s. Musically, they KILL! They play and sing their buttons off. Three part harmonies. Dual guitar leads. They're all old friends of mine (although I'm 20 years younger than they are). Of course, I go see them and stay all night with my jaw hanging down. But I'm both a.musician AND a friends of theirs.

However, I sat all the way in the back of the room. I had a view of the whole room all night. (Honestly, tue sound guy is an old friend too so that's why I sat in the back.)

They had about a dozen people in tue room at the end of the night. ALL of them were old musicians and their spouses. During the course of the night, younger people would step inside and have one look at the band and turn around and walk out. Mind you, the band was KILLING IT when they did that. All they played all night was smash hits....from Beatles to 80s. And they NAILED every singe song.

The bass player is having some health issues. Tue drummer is a close friend and asked me recently if I would want to play with them if/when he leaves. It would be an honor for me. Those cats smoke it all night long. I'm in! But I know what I'm getting into. It's a killer geezer band that will NEVER draw a big crowd. Why? They stand still, use the house lights (which are horroble), and say exactly zero in between songs.

When we (my bamd) played the same room not long ago, it was elbow to elbow at the end of the night and they were yelling for more. We're no better than they are. But we dress the part, put on a.light show, and interact with the crowd. Musically, we're pretty much equals. In fact, the geezer band may even edge us out on a couple of things because they have two killer lead guitar players to our one.

The one amd only reason they don't pack the house every night is that they look and act boring. Seriously, group after group walked in, looked at the band, amd walked out. And they weren't just playing "oldies". They were rocking!

I don't make the rules. But I observe them constantly and I obey them. My band has one wardrobe rule. "Don't look like you belong in tue audience." I don't dress like Gene Simmons. But I don't dress like some average Joe on tue way to tue hardware store either.

Sorry I ruffled all the geezer feathers. You guys go back to enjoying Fripp and Levin. They deserve it.
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Can you lay off the geezer stuff? Please?
 
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#126
tbz said:
Good show. But I thought the Zappa band was more entertaining than Crimson. The three drummer thing is just not enjoyable for me.
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The Zappa Band was definitely amazing. I loved both acts, but I felt terrible for Ray White in their set. Between straplock failure and the tech forgetting to plug in his transmitter for the replacement guitar, he was not having a good night. Keneally was having some technical issues too, I think with his keyboard pedals but I'm not sure. They certainly smiled through it , for the most part, except the shock on Ray's face when his Les Paul fell - how could you not react with shock at that? But they were really good!
 
#127
LBS-bass said:
The Zappa Band was definitely amazing. I loved both acts, but I felt terrible for Ray White in their set. Between straplock failure and the tech forgetting to plug in his transmitter for the replacement guitar, he was not having a good night. Keneally was having some technical issues too, I think with his keyboard pedals but I'm not sure. They certainly smiled through it , for the most part, except the shock on Ray's face when his Les Paul fell - how could you not react with shock at that? But they were really good!
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Yeah. That was their first show in quite some time. So they were working out a lot of the kinks.

Spoke to Jamie after the show and apparently the headstock on Ray's guitar broke when it fell. Felt terrible for him.
 
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#128
tbz said:
Yeah. That was their first show in quite some time. So they were working out a lot of the kinks.

Spoke to Jamie after the show and apparently the headstock on Ray's guitar broke when it fell. Felt terrible for him.
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Yes, it did. From where I was it was clear that it was picked up in two pieces. That's not uncommon when Les Pauls fall, but still it was a crappy thing to happen, and even worse was that it was the second straplock failure on that guitar. It's possilble not everyone noticed but he almost dropped it once, handed it to the tech who handed him his strat, then came back later and handed him the Les Paul again so he could play his solo on it. Shortly after that is when it fell to the floor.
 
#129
two fingers said:
25535651[/URL], member: 52936"]OK, let's just get real. There's a band around here that is ..... elderly.
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two fingers said:
25535651[/URL], member: 52936"]When we (my bamd) played the same room not long ago, it was elbow to elbow at the end of the night and they were yelling for more.
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two fingers said:
Sorry I ruffled all the geezer feathers. You guys go back to enjoying Fripp and Levin. They deserve it.
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Dude, we get it. You are a rule follower. Anyone who does it differently is wrong. Music is not art. Music is for money and young, drunk idiots. There are rules, damnit.

If I was a better person, maybe I might rather listen to your band than to King Crimson.

But I'm not a better person. So I have front and center tickets to see KC tonight. Hopefully they took your excellent advice and now look as cool as your band does. If not, I guess I'll just listen to the music.
 
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#130
dkelley said:
hrm LoL interesting point. I'm not sure... I don't hang out at bars.... maybe you're right? But I mean, if my local bar played string quartets or weather report, I'd never leave the joint! So... sure it's unlikely and merely hypothetical, but a person can dream :)
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Different strokes for different folks, right? I got up during Starless because I really had to pee, and when I was on my way back I walked past a guy who worked there and overheard him telling his friend, "yeah, this band just doesn't do it for me."

I wouldn't expect the average person who wasn't specifically there for this band to enjoy what they do. To that guy, they probably looked just like what that other band looked like to Twofer, and probably sounded even worse. The truth is, we're all judging things all the time. We're just willing to overlook things when we get other things we want.

Also- I didn't start this thread to get into serious discussion about these TB tropes. I just thought it was a funny way to kick off the thread since so many of these "terrible" things showed up on that stage with this group of astounding musicians. So let's lighten it up a little, please?
 
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#132
two fingers said:
So.....the New Balance sneaker is the official footwear of old American musicians. Once they reach a certain age, they wear either shorts, pleated khakis, or the darkest jeans on Earth with bleach white New Balance sneakers.

And it's not just me. All of the musicians around here make jokes about it. So much so that, as a GAG gift for my 50th birthday, several guys got together and bought a pair. (The Smirinoff Ice is an inside joke.)
View attachment 4359966 View attachment 4359967

When these pics were being taken, a dozen of us were laughing our @$$es off. I wouldn't be caught DEAD in those things on stage. But "geezer" bands wear them as if it's a requirement around here.

So, again, it's not just me. It's as funny as getting AARP invites in my area. And it's a sure sign you're a geezer if you rock them on stage in the Mid Atlantic region.
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I will absolutely never wear those shoes. First off, bassist shoes are black. Or, if you can carry it off, dark blue. There are rules dammit.

Interesting how terminology is different this side of the pond - here a "geezer" is a wide boy, a crim, a con, an old lag, a yardbird etc.
 
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#133
LBS-bass said:
OK, so now that some of us get the joke, I'll also tell you about the opening act.

I got to see two great bass players tonight. I've been a fan of Tony Levin forever, so that one I knew about going in. The opener was Mike Keneally's Zappa band, with Scott Thunes on bass.

I want to tell you all, if you get the chance to see that man play, do it. He is a force of nature. I love a player who can play tastefully while also pulling everything possible out of an instrument. Scott was as aggressive a player as I've ever seen while somehow also doing everything right. Just absolutely loved watching him play.
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I'm not usually one for hyperbole, but in Scott's case I think it's justified. In forty years playing bass it takes a lot to impress me - especially in today's world where you-tube clones with machine-gun like chops now seem to be the norm. Scott is one of the greatest bassists I've ever heard, both technically and musically. His command of the instrument is simply astounding.

No doubt you're familiar with this, but it proves my point { I think }.

Frank Zappa - Does humor belongs in Music? (1984) - YouTube
 
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#134
LBS-bass said:
Different strokes for different folks, right? I got up during Starless because I really had to pee, and when I was on my way back I walked past a guy who worked there and overheard him telling his friend, "yeah, this band just doesn't do it for me."

I wouldn't expect the average person who wasn't specifically there for this band to enjoy what they do. To that guy, they probably looked just like what that other band looked like to Twofer, and probably sounded even worse. The truth is, we're all judging things all the time. We're just willing to overlook things when we get other things we want.

Also- I didn't start this thread to get into serious discussion about these TB tropes. I just thought it was a funny way to kick off the thread since so many of these "terrible" things showed up on that stage with this group of astounding musicians. So let's lighten it up a little, please?
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haha, yea, human nature is to be forgiving when you like the outcome :-)

And, I mean, in the band I just joined, I'm singing stones covers while playing bass. So bars, here I come!
 
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#135
PJ Muzikmansky said:
I'm not usually one for hyperbole, but in Scott's case I think it's justified. In forty years playing bass it takes a lot to impress me - especially in today's world where you-tube clones with machine-gun like chops now seem to be the norm. Scott is one of the greatest bassists I've ever heard, both technically and musically. His command of the instrument is simply astounding.

No doubt you're familiar with this, but it proves my point { I think }.

Frank Zappa - Does humor belongs in Music? (1984) - YouTube
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The thing that struck me about Scott's playing was how raw and physical he is, but also how precise and with a virtuosity I seldom hear. He seems to approach things with the same attitude you imagine Frank probably had, which is to say 100% fused with the music that's coming out of his instrument.

Reading some of the stuff recommended about him today I'm struck that this is maybe why the other guys on that tour back in the day had a hard time with him. He was playing what he felt... doing what he felt... with the chops to play whatever he felt, and the ear to make it right, and it didn't conform to their idea of what a bassist should do. But I'm guessing Frank was the one person who got it.
 
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#140
Was that really Mike Kineally, stage left of the Zappa band? He was the one guitarist out of all of them who did what I considered inspired playing, but I didn't recognize him - saw him once before, 20-odd years ago when he had a lot more hair and a bit less beard.

I thought the Zappa band were all really good players, especially Thunes, executing tricky material with verve, but I had a couple of problems, the main one being that Zappa's music, especially the stuff from the 60s and 70s, tended to have diverse instrumentation - there was always at least one brass or reed player in the band, along with tuned percussion, etc. Arranging it to be 100% guitar-and-keyboards somehow doesn't do the same thing for me.
 

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