• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

P Diddy's Makin the Band.

#183
I guess I don't get what 'swag' is exactly (close), except something low quality that while cheap is never as satisfying. Analogous? You need to be 'dank' to be in Diddy's band?

Also, does anyone else besides me think that Diddy's new material sounds like hot garbage? To each their own I guess, or maybe it's just that the presence of Auto-Tune brings out violent tendencies in me.
 
#185
ElMon said:
I guess I don't get what 'swag' is exactly (close), except something low quality that while cheap is never as satisfying. Analogous? You need to be 'dank' to be in Diddy's band?

Also, does anyone else besides me think that Diddy's new material sounds like hot garbage? To each their own I guess, or maybe it's just that the presence of Auto-Tune brings out violent tendencies in me.
Click to expand...

They weren't bad, but they weren't good either. Just kinda meh to me. But that's just me.

Maybe I'm a mean guy, but I loved how the guy the girl keyboard player was crushing on was picked as the guy to look out for by the judges. I was also surprised how a lot of the people did in that whole jam thing. You'd think more of those guys would be able to at least improvise decently.
 
#186
I dunno y'all. There's a lot we don't see, but it just seems that the judges (to ME anyway) increasingly don't know what they are looking for..sure the violinist was off key (or so they said..I really couldn't hear the track). They gave the keyboardist turned drummer a chance...why not him? I guess they couldn't see a violin fitting in Diddy's scheme...I WILL say tho, as far as "swag" goes on a violin, I look no further than Boyd Tinsley in DMB...
 
#187
If I was on this show trying to win a spot on the band, once they played the first track from Puffy's album, I would have walked out. I couldn't seriously play cramp like that. I take my music very serious!!!! I live here in NYC, where bands are all over the place. I'm not insulting my ear, fingers and instruments playing that crap.

Miles Davis constantly challenged the barriers of music. But that crap I heard tonight isn't good at all.
 
#188
Sounbwoy said:
I dunno y'all. There's a lot we don't see, but it just seems that the judges (to ME anyway) increasingly don't know what they are looking for..sure the violinist was off key (or so they said..I really couldn't hear the track). They gave the keyboardist turned drummer a chance...why not him? I guess they couldn't see a violin fitting in Diddy's scheme...I WILL say tho, as far as "swag" goes on a violin, I look no further than Boyd Tinsley in DMB...
Click to expand...

I was thinking the same thing when they showed that first challenge. I really wish they could have at least tried to edit it in a way so that the music the people played sounded cohesive.
 
#189
I'm so sick of the judges talking about 'it's time to bring it' or 'time to get yo swag on' and all the other anecdotes they keep saying! I wanna know if 'they' can bring it since they always talking that hot garbage! Honestly, I didn't think the violinist was way off! He was improvising! That female keyboardist is gonna scare her way off the show! She has near total breakdowns before playing! WTH! It's gonna be down to Brockett and J Free on keys.
 
#190
DWBass said:
I'm so sick of the judges talking about 'it's time to bring it' or 'time to get yo swag on' and all the other anecdotes they keep saying! I wanna know if 'they' can bring it since they always talking that hot garbage! Honestly, I didn't think the violinist was way off! He was improvising! That female keyboardist is gonna scare her way off the show! She has near total breakdowns before playing! WTH! It's gonna be down to Brockett and J Free on keys.
Click to expand...

The one judge who never takes off his sunglasses annoys me for some reason. Sometimes I get the feeling he doesn't always know what he's talking about and/or seems high all the time lol
 
#191
DWBass said:
I'm so sick of the judges talking about 'it's time to bring it' or 'time to get yo swag on' and all the other anecdotes they keep saying! I wanna know if 'they' can bring it since they always talking that hot garbage!
Click to expand...

amour217 said:
The one judge who never takes off his sunglasses annoys me for some reason. Sometimes I get the feeling he doesn't always know what he's talking about and/or seems high all the time lol
Click to expand...

Those judges definitely know what they are talking about. Rob Lewis (the judge that always wears sunglasses) has been the music director for Patti Labelle, Christina Aguilera, Jessica Simpson, Brian McKnight, Babyface, Toni Braxton, and others. He's produced hits in the studio for those artists as well as Usher, India Arie, etc. He even produced that version of A Song for You for Herbie Hancock and Cristina Aguilera that won a Grammy.

Nisan Stewart is one of the top touring drummers in the pop/R&B world - he was the drummer for the Timbaland/Missy Elliott camp in the late 90's and early 2000's that was producing and playing live for Aaliyah, Ginuwine, etc. He's also produced for Gwen Stefani and of course Diddy. As a drummer he is one of the innovators of the current style that R&B and Gospel drummers play (along with Gerald Heyward who is also an innovator) as far as playing with kick drum heavy pocket and doing syncopated 16th/32nd note licks (it's hard for me to describe the style in words becuase I'm not a drummer, but if I posted a couple youtube links of those guys playing you would see what I mean).

I'm not familiar with the other two judges, but I'm sure they are also as experienced as Nisan and Rob. Here's the thing - being a great player and a great music director and picking out players doesn't necessarily translate to being a great "judge" on a reality TV show. They may have not dealt with being on TV before, and knowing the right critiques to say that will work well on TV. I'm sure that they have given some specific technical advice on playing to the people on the show that was cut out of the editing because the average MTV watcher wouldn't understand it. Also things like the incident from last week with the vocal judge arguing with the other judges would be completely normal if this wasn't a TV show and you had some guys from a label picking a band for one of their artists, but it was COMPLETELY out of line for a "judge" on a reality show to do that, because the panel should stand together on their decision. That stuff should have been handled off camera (and honestly, it should have been cut out in editing, but once again, MTV likes showing any drama that happens.)

The bottom line for me is that you can never take anything at face value on these shows. They tape TONS of footage and then narrow that down to an hour show, which means MTV can tell whatever story they want to tell. I just enjoy the show for what it is, and I'm gonna keep rooting for the cats I know that are on the show.
 
#192
vision said:
Those judges definitely know what they are talking about. Rob Lewis (the judge that always wears sunglasses) has been the music director for Patti Labelle, Christina Aguilera, Jessica Simpson, Brian McKnight, Babyface, Toni Braxton, and others. He's produced hits in the studio for those artists as well as Usher, India Arie, etc. He even produced that version of A Song for You for Herbie Hancock and Cristina Aguilera that won a Grammy.

Nisan Stewart is one of the top touring drummers in the pop/R&B world - he was the drummer for the Timbaland/Missy Elliott camp in the late 90's and early 2000's that was producing and playing live for Aaliyah, Ginuwine, etc. He's also produced for Gwen Stefani and of course Diddy. As a drummer he is one of the innovators of the current style that R&B and Gospel drummers play (along with Gerald Heyward who is also an innovator) as far as playing with kick drum heavy pocket and doing syncopated 16th/32nd note licks (it's hard for me to describe the style in words becuase I'm not a drummer, but if I posted a couple youtube links of those guys playing you would see what I mean).

I'm not familiar with the other two judges, but I'm sure they are also as experienced as Nisan and Rob. Here's the thing - being a great player and a great music director and picking out players doesn't necessarily translate to being a great "judge" on a reality TV show. They may have not dealt with being on TV before, and knowing the right critiques to say that will work well on TV. I'm sure that they have given some specific technical advice on playing to the people on the show that was cut out of the editing because the average MTV watcher wouldn't understand it. Also things like the incident from last week with the vocal judge arguing with the other judges would be completely normal if this wasn't a TV show and you had some guys from a label picking a band for one of their artists, but it was COMPLETELY out of line for a "judge" on a reality show to do that, because the panel should stand together on their decision. That stuff should have been handled off camera (and honestly, it should have been cut out in editing, but once again, MTV likes showing any drama that happens.)

The bottom line for me is that you can never take anything at face value on these shows. They tape TONS of footage and then narrow that down to an hour show, which means MTV can tell whatever story they want to tell. I just enjoy the show for what it is, and I'm gonna keep rooting for the cats I know that are on the show.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your perspective Jason. No matter what anyone thinks of Diddy, we have to give him credit for putting together a reality competition with really talented contestants, and judges who actually know something substantial about music, not just the music business. This show is basically what American Idol would be if all the judges had backgrounds like Randy Jackson.
 
#193
I was probably more annoyed at the editing when they pieced together about 10 different 'time to bring it' clips1 I was like..."what's the point of this"?? LOL! I'm sure all the judges have skills and experience but I highly doubt they had to go through what they're putting these kids through!

I did agree with the dismissal of the one drummer who just played a groove but didn't "bring it" I guess! LOL The cat who switched from keys to drums is really really good! They seemed to like the other guy though who pretty much played the same way but I like them both! Hope we get to hear full ensembles next week.
 
#194
DWBass said:
I did agree with the dismissal of the one drummer who just played a groove but didn't "bring it" I guess! LOL The cat who switched from keys to drums is really really good! They seemed to like the other guy though who pretty much played the same way but I like them both! Hope we get to hear full ensembles next week.
Click to expand...

You know, that brings up something for me. The drummie that got sent home is, IMHO, a good drummer. Not flashy. The other guys are also good drummers, no argument there. However, can THEY, like the dude that was sent home, play a groove and resist flash? Remembr, they sent another drummer home because even tho he can shred with the best of them, he was not able to play/read/interpret a piece of music given to him. Again we're at the mercy of the editor, but I always ask folk, just HOW much of that stuff will you EVER use, or need?
I'm not saying that musicians should not push themselves to play better or do whatever, BUT I think the show has already proven that flashy isn't always good, BUT that is exactly what they ended approving- FLASH. I dunno..maybe it's just me...
 
#195
Listening to the Diddy tracks I couldn't help but think that the pro-tools guy is going to really work for his money on this tour. Diddy has been making little moves into the Dance music world for the last few years and is definitely going that way with this project. The thing about it is that musically, that music is not very organic in the sense that people are playing,you have to do a lot of triggering or run sequences to get the sounds right. And the amount of auto-tune is crazy!
 
#196
Sounbwoy said:
You know, that brings up something for me. The drummie that got sent home is, IMHO, a good drummer. Not flashy. The other guys are also good drummers, no argument there. However, can THEY, like the dude that was sent home, play a groove and resist flash? Remembr, they sent another drummer home because even tho he can shred with the best of them, he was not able to play/read/interpret a piece of music given to him. Again we're at the mercy of the editor, but I always ask folk, just HOW much of that stuff will you EVER use, or need?
I'm not saying that musicians should not push themselves to play better or do whatever, BUT I think the show has already proven that flashy isn't always good, BUT that is exactly what they ended approving- FLASH. I dunno..maybe it's just me...
Click to expand...
I work with a drummer who, when he plays solid simple pocket, is as good as anybody around but struggles to not throw in flashy things because as he tells me"that's what people react to" I just tell him not the people who really count $$$$$$$$
 
#198
willgroove2 said:
I work with a drummer who, when he plays solid simple pocket, is as good as anybody around but struggles to not throw in flashy things because as he tells me"that's what people react to" I just tell him not the people who really count $$$$$$$$
Click to expand...

Thank GOD I have a Gospel drummer who not only can give you all the flash and 'swag' that you'll ever want, but he can actually play an ENTIRE song without one SINGLE drum fill if that's what the song calls for. I know lots of drummers, but he's a musician who happens to play the drums.
 
#200
DWBass said:
I was probably more annoyed at the editing when they pieced together about 10 different 'time to bring it' clips1 I was like..."what's the point of this"?? LOL! I'm sure all the judges have skills and experience but I highly doubt they had to go through what they're putting these kids through!

I did agree with the dismissal of the one drummer who just played a groove but didn't "bring it" I guess! LOL The cat who switched from keys to drums is really really good! They seemed to like the other guy though who pretty much played the same way but I like them both! Hope we get to hear full ensembles next week.
Click to expand...

I went to the site for the show, and in on of the "behind the scene" videos they had it showed that same drummer and how he had to go to every audition for the show (and get rejected three times) before the judges finally decided to let him in. That may have played a role in his dismissal.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back