Live bands vs. DJ's...

[SoulReflection]

Growing up in the '60's, the "sock-hops" at school were a lot of fun...mostly because they offered a chance to ask that special girl to dance (if I had enough courage that she might say no). It was all that was offered and listening/dancing to records was all that I could afford.

I then started to play bass, while still in school. I started a garage band and began to appreciate the dynamics of live music. Dick Clark's "Dance Party" was all the rage then, but I didn't appreciate the lip-syncing...again it sounded phony, you might as well listen to the records.

As the garage band progressed, we started to play gigs and, yes the audience (and girls) seemed to enjoy it more than records...at least they paid the price of admission and had fun! It was apparent, at least to me, that even if the cover band was not as good as the original recording, dancing and listening to a live group was preferred.

I know that I appreciated attending live concerts with Sam and Dave, Ike and Tina Turner, James Brown and various cover bands for other performers of that era. Although they did not necessarily sound identical their recordings, the "dynamics" were there...much similar to the Eagles recorded or live.

So, fast forward to the present. I am hoping that those who enjoy dancing to a DJ can also appreciate that a live group offers so much more and are prepared to pay for for that experience...thoughts?

 

[MarshallLaw]

Most music that people dance to nowadays is made on computers. I think that most people who go to clubs to dance to DJs would cringe at the sound of a live band.

That being said, there are plenty of wedding bands who do a fine job recreating current dance songs with a band, and people dance to them.

The difference is that those people are not there to see the band, and would still be dancing were it a DJ or an iPod.

 

[bluesblaster]

I think that there is two schools of thought here, there are those that could give a rats ass about any live band, they are mostly the hip hop/ techno crowd , these are the people who cant imagine a world without the smartphone. And then there are those weirdos that still like electric guitars and vinyl records, but still cant imagine a world without smartphones.

There is still lots of great music being made but the days of big time Rock n Roll shows is quickly becoming a thing of the past. Even the blues have the blues these days.

You don't need no band when you can have a party with a phone................literally

 

[SoulReflection]

Most music that people dance to nowadays is made on computers. I think that most people who go to clubs to dance to DJs would cringe at the sound of a live band.

That being said, there are plenty of wedding bands who do a fine job recreating current dance songs with a band, and people dance to them.

The difference is that those people are not there to see the band, and would still be dancing were it a DJ or an iPod.

Well, if that is true, I think it is very sad, IMHO. Cringe at the sound of a live band??? One might as well stay home and dance to their iPod or stereo. Again, IMHO.

 

[SoulReflection]

I think that there is two schools of thought here, there are those that could give a rats ass about any live band, they are mostly the hip hop/ techno crowd , these are the people who cant imagine a world without the smartphone. And then there are those weirdos that still like electric guitars and vinyl records, but still cant imagine a world without smartphones.

There is still lots of great music being made but the days of big time Rock n Roll shows is quickly becoming a thing of the past. Even the blues have the blues these days.

You don't need no band when you can have a party with a phone................literally

I am amazed! If everyone on TB shares these opinions, they should sell their basses and amps and buy /use smart phones.

 

[bluesblaster]

New country is the old "classic rock" RnB has been hijacked by hip hop, Hell there's even "country rap" ............ its a brave and/or weird new world, take your pick

I don't like it anymore than you do but what'd ya gonna do

I'm going to keep doing what I always did and if someone wants to listen and or dance and enjoy it than I would pleased and happy to have them do so.

 

[saabfender]

I don’t believe in the phony bifurcation the two kinds of listeners. Everyone prefers music made right in front of them versus listening to a recording.

The level of interest, excitement and appreciation of live music versus prerecorded music is no different than it was back in the olden days - smartphones or not.

 

[bluesblaster]

DJ clubs out number live music clubs by a huge margin, I'm sure there are places where live music is still thriving like it once did in my town, its all but relegated to a the VFW halls these days. Pretty damn sad if you ask me.

I'm not a big fan of paying 2 or 300 dollars for a concert ticket either, its just different these days

 

[SoulReflection]

New country is the old "classic rock" RnB has been hijacked by hip hop, Hell there's even "country rap" ............ its a brave and/or weird new world, take your pick

I don't like it anymore than you do but what'd ya gonna do

I'm going to keep doing what I always did and if someone wants to listen and or dance and enjoy it than I would pleased and happy to have them do so.

I will pick "weird" as I do not think it is brave. And, I applaud you for the opinions. I believe it is a generation thing. It may be that the current generation does not appreciate that what they have now is based upon what evolved in the past.

It could be that, when they have kids, they will criticize them for their new revelations, not knowing that they have reinvented the past...the circle does turn...just a thought.

 

[4-fingers]

As a guy in his early fifties, I remember when all music was live at events outside and inside the home. It captivated me then and still does. I won't try and convince anyone that DJ clubs aren't here to stay and don't far outnumber live music venues........but my two cents is that there is a special energy with a live band and real in the flesh entertainers. I also feel that my band and I play better when the crowd is dancing and digging the band.....we feel that energy too. Now that energy is something I'm sure is not unique to me and is felt by many TB'ers that play out. My plan is to enjoy it as long as I can.

 

[saabfender]

I won't try and convince anyone that DJ clubs aren't here to stay and don't far outnumber live music venues...

I believe the blame rests squarely on the club managers. They’re offering an inferior product and they know it. It’s simply cheaper to pay a guy to spin records and that’s all the farther past their d!cks they can see.

 

[SoulReflection]

DJ clubs out number live music clubs by a huge margin, I'm sure there are places where live music is still thriving like it once did in my town, its all but relegated to a the VFW halls these days. Pretty damn sad if you ask me.

I'm not a big fan of paying 2 or 300 dollars for a concert ticket either, its just different these days

Yes, I agree it is different these days. DJ clubs would outnumber live music clubs. Their cost of entry is cheap because DJ's are cheaper than live bands. But, I would suggest that the DJ clubs cater to the singles/pickup clientele.

I really hope that there are people out there, today, that want to listen to music live, not the alternative.

 

[bluesblaster]

You pretty much nailed that one, but hey, its just business right ? if you owned a club you would want to maximize your patronage any way you could, what do you care what the kids listen to as long as the cash register rings. Even that's ironic as they probably don't even use cash registers anymore either.

If you have a great live music scene in your town today consider yourself blessed, go out and soak it up.

We use to, but its been greatly diminished, kind of sad really

 

[SoulReflection]

You pretty much nailed that one, but hey, its just business right ? if you owned a club you would want to maximize your patronage any way you could, what do you care what the kids listen to as long as the cash register rings. Even that's ironic as they probably don't even use cash registers anymore either.

If you have a great live music scene in your town today consider yourself blessed, go out and soak it up.

We use to, but its been greatly diminished, kind of sad really

Great post...I agree with you...and it is very sad...hopefully, some TBr's will offer some ideas.

 

[SoulReflection]

Here's a thought..it's called ETA. "Engage The Audience".

I have noticed that many DJ's go into the crowd and do their dance routines to get them engaged.

In the past, it was only necessary to play the music, but now, I believe the lead guitarist or singer needs to get into the audience to "engage them"...look at NBC Today to see what I mean.

This could help. IMHO...

 

[MarshallLaw]

 

[mikewalker]

Well, I kinda saw the writing on the wall in the 90s sometime, when they started having these things called "raves" in Vancouver. Loud, loud, loud sub-bass, and lotsa pulsating lights. Mostly just very repetitive rhythmic noise with variations. But ideal for its purpose... "dance music" as an excuse to socialize and/or enjoy some chemically altered states. Or just pure dance, for people who got a buzz off of dancing-mixed -with-serious-permanent-ear-damage. (what?)

Anyway, "musicians" are really an anachronism nowadays. Onceaponatime they were a necessary evil to allow composers to get their music out there nice and loud (so as to please their royal overlords who were competing with their peers to see who could command the coolest MUSIC. ) As time went on, recording studios, radio, records, 8-tracks, cassettes, CDs, minidisks, ipods... etc. more or less replaced any practical NEED to hire musicians. Now it's just a cult of personality thing, for the most part.

Thanks to improvements in Artificial Intelligence - you scarcely even need composers nowadays - let alone performing musicians. So are we going the way of the "insert obsolete 19th-century doodad here"?? Certainly.
Soon we can add "bass-player" to this long and growing list!


However, just remember that there are thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions of people still indulging in listening and/or performing "Classical Music", Baroque music (with period-replica orchestras even!) &etc... So just because it's obsolete, doesn't mean you cannot still enjoy it. In our post-modern society, a decent percentage of human beings actually have the leisure Time and leisure Money to do just that. And so they do.


Full disclosure: I still enjoy playing my own favorite sorts of mid-20th-century archaic semi-improvised electric blues rock and roll music, performed live in person with a few like minded people. And I fully expect to keep doing some variation of that for another 85 years at least, and I'm sure there will always be some sort of limited but enthusiastic audience for it. It's all who you know, really! If your town doesn't support your particular flavor of artistry... go find one that does! (it's a big world out there, people...)

 

[Kmonk]

Most music that people dance to nowadays is made on computers. I think that most people who go to clubs to dance to DJs would cringe at the sound of a live band.

That being said, there are plenty of wedding bands who do a fine job recreating current dance songs with a band, and people dance to them.

The difference is that those people are not there to see the band, and would still be dancing were it a DJ or an iPod.

I disagree. I think most people would rather see a live band, The fact is that fewer people are going out to dance and most bands suck. 75% of the setlists are made up of the same songs under the excuse that "we have to play what people want to hear". Seriously, how many times can you listen to different cover bands butcher songs like "Sweet Home Alabama", "Can't Get Enough", etc? Clubs are not paying and as a result, fewer good musicians want to gig.

The real issue is that most bands are not very good, people are not going out and club owners have realized that they can pay a DJ $100 to $200 rather than pay a band $500 to $1,000. In the early 80s, I was in a cover band. We became the house band at a club and played every Tuesday and Wednesday and one week out of the month, we played Tuesday through Saturday. The weeks we played Tuesday and Wednesday as the house band, we played elsewhere Thursday through Saturday. The drummer and I handled bookings and kept us busy 5 nights per week for almost 4 years, until we broke up. We were averaging $3,500 per week as a band, paying our sound guy $300, our light guy $200 and pocketing $500 each which was good money in the early 80s. I supported myself through music.

15 years ago, I was in an original band. We sometimes did weekend gigs, sometimes we toured. When we did weekend gigs, I made enough money to pay my mortgage for 2 months. When we toured, I made much more.

Most recently I was in a tribute band. We played casinos, festivals and private parties. The least amount we made was $1,500 for a 90 minute set. We were always fed by the venue and had a 12 pack of beer if we wanted it.

Now I do music for television, "American Pickers" on The History Channel, "The Deed" on CNBC and others. There are a lot of musicians who write for these shows but I enjoy it and I don't have to deal with getting home at 2 in the morning with $50 to $75 in my pocket.

People's habits have changed. More of them are staying home gaming and watching Netflix. Unfortunately, live music is slowly dying.

 

[+6dB Dan]

Well, I kinda saw the writing on the wall in the 90s sometime, when they started having these things called "raves" in Vancouver. Loud, loud, loud sub-bass, and lotsa pulsating lights. Mostly just very repetitive rhythmic noise with variations. But ideal for its purpose... "dance music" as an excuse to socialize and/or enjoy some chemically altered states. Or just pure dance, for people who got a buzz off of dancing-mixed -with-serious-permanent-ear-damage. (what?)

Anyway, "musicians" are really an anachronism nowadays. Onceaponatime they were a necessary evil to allow composers to get their music out there nice and loud (so as to please their royal overlords who were competing with their peers to see who could command the coolest MUSIC. ) As time went on, recording studios, radio, records, 8-tracks, cassettes, CDs, minidisks, ipods... etc. more or less replaced any practical NEED to hire musicians. Now it's just a cult of personality thing, for the most part.

Thanks to improvements in Artificial Intelligence - you scarcely even need composers nowadays - let alone performing musicians. So are we going the way of the "insert obsolete 19th-century doodad here"?? Certainly.
Soon we can add "bass-player" to this long and growing list!


However, just remember that there are thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions of people still indulging in listening and/or performing "Classical Music", Baroque music (with period-replica orchestras even!) &etc... So just because it's obsolete, doesn't mean you cannot still enjoy it. In our post-modern society, a decent percentage of human beings actually have the leisure Time and leisure Money to do just that. And so they do.


Full disclosure: I still enjoy playing my own favorite sorts of mid-20th-century archaic semi-improvised electric blues rock and roll music, performed live in person with a few like minded people. And I fully expect to keep doing some variation of that for another 85 years at least, and I'm sure there will always be some sort of limited but enthusiastic audience for it. It's all who you know, really! If your town doesn't support your particular flavor of artistry... go find one that does! (it's a big world out there, people...)

Interesting perspective! I’m not sure to what extent I agree, but I find waht you’ve said bery thought-provoking! Gonna go chew on this for a bit.

 

[trevcda]

Unfortunately, live music is slowly dying.

As if it didn't already have enough going against it, the plethora of musicians striving for mediocrity is slowly twisting the knife left by an already fickle crowd. Dad bands, strat with a hat blues bands and quasi trop rock bands, all performing half learned renditions of songs that have been done to death. When is the last time you went to see a local band, cover or original, that left you with your jaw hanging open and the desire to go home and practice? PA on a stick jammed in the corner by the ATM with a light show that gets left on auto and changes colors when somebody talks into a microphone or breaks a rack of pool balls. Very rarely do you see any serious showmanship or effort put forth by performers these days. It's got to be frustrating as an audience member to go out hoping to be entertained, only to see one of ten bands play the same set of 30 songs that the other nine bands are doing.