So... that happened...

[BooDoggie]

I was always told that if you can't say something nice about or to someone don't say anything at all, but...

I was sitting here bored this morning and decided to check Facebook to look through the dumb crap posted by people I really don't know and the latest in targeted advertising when I saw a post from one of my "friends" that has a working band. Well, they do play gigs...

That post is a video of their performance recorded on someone's cell phone. I cannot emphasize to you just how embarrassed I am for both the band and the people there that had to listen to them. They were playing Eric Clapton's awesome classic Wonderful Tonight only it was neither awesome nor wonderful. In fact, it was so bad I couldn't listen to the complete train wreck video. I skipped to the end to see if it would get any better only to be slightly shocked by how bad it must have been.

The band was horrible. I mean really really bad. Timing issues, missed notes, wrong notes, and the singer was all over the scale except where he needed to be. I really really hope it was late in the night and they were just drunk...

I have been invited on several occasions to attend one of their gigs... I think I'll continue to pass so I don't have to endure the pain of telling them the truth if asked... It was almost as bad as the church guitar player that cannot tune his $2500.00 Taylor guitar.

Do these people really not know that they sound so bad???

 

[Waytootrue]

Bands should listen to cheap recordings of themselves practicing together occasionally. Same way that singers should, it just gives you a good sense of everything that is wrong with your performance.

 

[Slater]

Have a couple adult beverages and watch the video again. You didn’t experience it properly.

 

[Ironbar]

Have a couple adult beverages and watch the video again. You didn’t experience it properly.

OK now THAT was funny!

 

[Oddly]

If he's a real friend maybe you could tactfully ask if he's aware of how bad it was.

'Say, Chuck, I caught that Wonderful Tonight video on your facebook page...
First time playing it, eh?
You all just reckoned everyone knows this, no need to practice?
The drummer was drunk?
The guitarist forgot to tune up again?
The sound man hates you all and screwed up the levels?
You're trying to win a 'worst cover ever' competition?
Getting random people up from the audience to play your instruments seemed like a fun idea at the time?
You all thought you were playing a different Clapton song...and none of you thought of the same one?'

See if that helps.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

Do these people really not know that they sound so bad?

I'm one of those people & I somehow built up a false sense that I sounded ok.
I've since came to realize I was wrong, so I only play when no one is home & I don't record myself & definitely don't post any videos or audio of my playing.

 

[dragon68]

If he's a real friend maybe you could tactfully ask if he's aware of how bad it was.
<snip>
You all thought you were playing a different Clapton song...and none of you thought of the same one?'

See if that helps.

I literally laughed out loud!

 

[craigie]

OK now THAT was funny!

The only redeeming quality these bands have is they are eminently mockable but that is best live with friends.

 

[kartiste]

"Well, they do play gigs."

Just sayin'....

 

[AztecViking]

Bad bands who think they're good but never really take a close listen to themselves have little hope of improving.

Last videos I was sent of the last cover band I was in actually shocked me about how bad it actually wasn't.

Musicianship and overall groove were right on

except the singer/BL missed SO many pitches.

A bad singer is a tough thing to carry even if the instrumental players are doing well.

 

[craigie]

"Well, they do play gigs."

Just sayin'....

Some people can talk themselves into playing somewhere occasionally.

 

[BurnOut]

I hate when people post videos of us, they're rarely recorded well, and I know we aren't always on point. Unless it's up to par I don't want anything posted.

 

[boombloom]

The vast majority of audiences have no idea when a band is awful. I often wonder if those people find happiness more easily than we do. At small local gigs folks in the audience often know people in the band. Then they really can't tell if the band sucks.

 

[SirMjac28]

The vast majority of audiences have no idea when a band is awful. I often wonder if those people find happiness more easily than we do. At small local gigs folks in the audience often know people in the band. Then they really can't tell if the band sucks.

I agree because most musicians tend to listen with a more critical ear and the general population is just trying to find a way to "hook up"

 

[Fender_Bender]

Sounds like Shaggs level ineptness.

 

[bwoodman]

My band mates have a saying for this situation - say “I dig what you were trying to do.”

 

[selowitch]

I don't suppose you could re-post the video here? I'd like to see it.

 

[twinjet]

Do these people really not know that they sound so bad???

No, and it's up to you to tell them. No other way to get better. You settle for mediocrity, it becomes your standard.

Of course, if you barely know the guy, fill your pint and hang out with us.

 

[Bill Whitehurst]

One band I was in used a cheap, portable cassett recorder.
We would litterally toss it into the middle of the floor at band practice
and play it back on breaks.
It didn't make us great, but it made us deal with the worst stuff.
Funny thing is, as you eliminate only what is the worst,
one item at a time
there comes a point where the worst that is left is fairly trivial.

We can only hope they see that and do the same thing...
or that they were usually better when sober.

 

[spvmhc]

This may be an example of the Dunning-Kruger effect. Here's the description from Wikipedia:

In the field of Invalid Link Removed, the Dunning–Kruger effect is a cognitive bias wherein people of low ability suffer from illusory superiority, mistakenly assessing their cognitive ability as greater than it is. The cognitive bias of illusory superiority derives from the metacognitive inability of low-ability persons to recognize their own ineptitude; without the self-awareness of metacognition, low-ability people cannot objectively evaluate their actual competence or incompetence.[1]

Simply put, inept people often lack the ability to recognize their shortcomings.