Lack of style

[_godspeed_]

I've been a band manager for a year or so. If you consider yourself a serious band - get yourself a stylist or at least let someone do some basic wardrobe shopping. It could be very casual but at least uniform. Here's a shot of that band where I was bassist/manager 5 years ago :

 

[MatronMother]

All in black like Mr. Cash.

 

[Bajo Clarkko]

I always thought that Derek Smalls portrayed a good look. Certainly more dignified than Gene Simmons or Bootsy Collins.
Me, I usually wear jeans and a black or dark gray mechanics shirt- something that won't clash with my basses, which are Sunburst or Candy Apple Red.

 

[PortlandBass77]

You noticed them didn't you? Hell, even enough to start a thread about them, mission accomplished

 

[PortlandBass77]

Don't wear shorts. Seriously. Don't.

You'll never take my cargo shorts from me

 

[Big Hoss]

There are plenty of bands with a sense of style, might not be MY style, but they have a style anyway... A friend of mine is in a cover band and they all wear local team jerseys on stage. He typically wears a Texans Jersey, one of his guitarists wears an Astros jersey and so forth...

Another band local to us I have seen wears loud Hawaiian shirts, jeans and sandals on stage, every one of them, they all match, so it is obvious they go together...

Typical wedding bands wear tuxedoes on stage, or at least black suits...

We typically wear black. Or charcoal on stage. Probably not the best look, but I am pretty danged big and as they say, black is slimming...

I think I might have found what I am looking for in button down shirts. A black bowling type shirt with a blue flame print...

Or maybe not...

 

[friaraustin]

I don't care about how the band looks as long as it doesn't detract from the music.
Like if I were seeing a band that looked like this I'd rather not look, though in my opinion these guys don't really have music worth detracting from in the first place.

 

[JKB1957]

One band I was in always wore Hawaiian shirts for our last set. It was a nice gimmick. Even had a small following that would where Hawaiian shirts to the clubs. The first two sets were jeans and usually a polo shirt. Except the drummers. They usually wore t-shirts. Keep the groove.

 

[SteveCS]

I agree with you. Our singer is an awesome singer but please - drop the sweatpants...

Regards
Mark

Perhaps you meant swap not drop?

 

[mellowinman]

I've been a band manager for a year or so. If you consider yourself a serious band - get yourself a stylist or at least let someone do some basic wardrobe shopping. It could be very casual but at least uniform. Here's a shot of that band where I was bassist/manager 5 years ago :
View attachment 725261

How did this band do?

 

[zontar]

I've worn jeans & a t-shirt, I've worn a suit & in between
I once wore platform boots with a fake cop hat & yellow glasses.

Whatever--if it fits the context--then go for it.
There is a wide range of musical taste here--and a range of types of venues & crowds for those that do gig
What will work for one of us won't for another...

 

[Nic.]

I've been a band manager for a year or so. If you consider yourself a serious band - get yourself a stylist or at least let someone do some basic wardrobe shopping. It could be very casual but at least uniform. Here's a shot of that band where I was bassist/manager 5 years ago :
View attachment 725261

Looking awesome there!

 

[Feral Feline]

@zontar nails it.

Do what works for the given situation.

...
I think I might have found what I am looking for in button down shirts. A black bowling type shirt with a blue flame print...

Or maybe not...

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And plenty more where those came from...

 

[EddiePlaysBass]

I have a handful of shirts that are purely for "on-stage" purposes. They are a bit different from what I would normally wear (and most people for that matter) but not clownesque either.

I expect a band to not look as if they just decided on the spot to jam out to some tunes. I like there to be at least a modicum of thought re: visual appearance.

Having said that: black shirts and white ties? It's been done to death.

 

[JakobT]

In principle, everyone can wear whatever they want.

But it's also good to remember that everything you do communicates something, and it helps if that something pulls in the same direction as the music. Visual cues like how you dress lets the audience understand what you're about before you've played a single note, and can in fact help gigs along, because the audience knows right away how to act and respond to you. This matters particularily if you're one of many acts on a given night.

Conversely, projecting the wrong image can be perceived as very jarring, and can result in the audience writing you off before you've had a chance to impress them with your music. And if they expect one thing and get something else, their reaction might be very unfavorable indeed. Remember how long it took for Metallica to live down their collective trip to the barber?

 

[friendlybass]

For my sub gigs, I usually wear all black. For church its a black button down with black jeans or slacks and chucks, vans, or dress shoes depending on how formal the church is. For regular gigs its a T shirt with or without hoodie and jeans and chucks or vans. If I get a request I'll accommodate within reason. I'll dress for the gig but I'm not gonna drop 100$+ unless you're paying me enough that its worth it.
Now when I'm in a band and we discuss and prep something I'm totally on board. My old band we'd wear the same T shirts we were selling. Or we'd all wear star wars shirts or all wear plaid. I also love tasteful gimmicks. When we did our punk rock version of acdc's thunderstruck we'd all wear pants with snaps or Velcro down the side and tear them off to reveal acdc boxers (our lady singer was awesome at playing this off) and the only thing we learned quickly was to wear compression shorts underneath. Our rhythm guitarist had his Wang go rogue and uh, our tips went through the roof but we sorta lost that venue.
Dress to the gig, if you're playing Big Jim and the sweatpants band then hey, rock the sweats. If you're playing a regular bar gig though maybe lets lose the comfy pants, also probably the tux.

 

[Watchootognbout]

In all of the bands that I've ever seen onstage(Fusion,Prog Metal) I can't really recall any of them wearing anything other than regular street clothes.
Except for Eric Johnson wearing that Drum Major jacket in the late 80's.
For most Fusion bands,clothes aren't the performance.

 

[40Hz]

To me it comes down to showing some respect and consideration for your audience. So dress for the occasion (and your age) AFAIC.

I've never been much into fashion. But I don't like walking around looking like a slob either. And that applies whether I'm on or off stage.

FWIW Justin Hayward's more recent dress style on stage comes pretty close to my own. I generally go with a a nice shirt over a black T, with jeans or dark pants; or maybe a shirt + jacket (or vest) combo depending on the crowd and venue. Oh yeah... also some footwear that doesn't look like I just walked through a cow pasture in them.

In a nutshell: most times dress for the ladies, I guess. Guys generally don't care. But the women sure do. (You might be amazed just how much they notice about your appearance - and how much it affects their opinion of you.) So take it for what it's worth.

 

[hsech]

Neat is one man's style, but sloppy is another man's style. Unless you are a member of the fashion police who cares what other band's wear when they play. My band wears old jeans, tennis shoes or sweats in the winter and shorts in the summer. We clean it up a little for wedding gigs. At my age, I'm not out to impress.

 

[REV]

I remember reading a list somewhere. The top ten things a crowd will notice about a band. Appearance was number one. Sound quality was number two. Music was farther down the list. Gear wasn't even on the list. I wish I could find that list.