Top five things other bands do that irritate you.

[PappaK]

i'm not sure when the dress code thing crept back in to music again but it certainly does not influence who i'll go and see....if thats your thing cool but i've seen shows in venues where people wear everything from tuxes to torn tee shirts and i don't recall ever caring...../QUOTE]

As mentioned, certain styles merit certain looks. You wouldn't see B.B. King hit the stage shirtless in torn jeans... but it would be totally acceptable for a rock band to do so.

Every successful band out there has a "look". I know some of you think dress codes are unimportant, but done right, it's an incredibly effective tool to help you stand out from the every-day-just-cut-my-grass-and-drove-to-the-gig look.

Bottom line: If you look good (whether it's tuxes or shorts), you'll have an easier time winning over the audience. If you don't care what you look like and put no effort into it, then why should the audience?

 

[PappaK]

This ...

Nothing to do with a "dress code" and/or the music,
if that is the stage persona a band or artist wants to
project ... more power to them, moreover if the target
audience accepts and embraces a certain look/style
again great. The OP ask what irritates each of us, looking
like a "performer" that could care less ... makes me care less.

...

+1 (the kid on the right needs a little help with his clothes in order to make this more believable to me IMO). Looking at them, I'm not assuming they're playing classical music.... lol... and that's their intention.

I'm the one who mentioned shorts in the first place and I realize that I probably should have said something like "shorts in a blues band" or something to that effect.

Peace.

 

[Rattman]

Bands (other than metal or grunge) that wear shorts on stage.

Having any class seems to be "beneath" people these days... in general actually...

 

[PappaK]

Having any class seems to be "beneath" people these days... in general actually...

You're right.

Well getting back to what the OP asked: "Top five things other bands do that irritate you"... all our answers are subjective. What irritates me won't necessarily irriate anyone else....

 

[BassyBill]

There are gigs where having a stand and music in front of you is appropriate, but nothing screams "unprofessional" to me more than watching a band where the lead vocalist (or any other band member) has his or her head buried in a music stand reading lyrics or parts instead of connecting with the crowd.

ROFL!

I'll be sure to pass on that message to the London Philharmonic next time I see that they're being so unprofessional as to dare to read music.

 

[BassyBill]

1. tune audibly.

Please refer to the post above.

 

[DennyOnBass]

ROFL!

I'll be sure to pass on that message to the London Philharmonic next time I see that they're being so unprofessional as to dare to read music.

See my line about there being gigs where it's appropriate.

And make sure that you also tell them that you consider them a "band." I know how my orchestra friends feel about that term in reference to their groups...

 

[PappaK]

Maybe I'll change things up and get a conductor for my band as well... LOL

 

[BassyBill]

See my line about there being gigs where it's appropriate

It's appropriate on a reading gig, yes?

Sorry for being amused, but it's just that so many people posting here have what seems to be a very restricted idea of what constitutes "a gig". They're making comments about what works in their guitar/bass/drums line-up that they've practised with for weeks or months before daring to go out and play.

For many of us, reading music while we're playing it is the main way we get to work. And sometimes with instruments that need to check tuning audibly (and quickly and competently), too!

I'm just saying that people should try to understand that there's lots of ways of getting to play to an audience that are completely different to their own circumstances. Music stands and audible tuning might be inappropriate for some of us, but to say they're out of line and unprofessional in other circumstances just shows people have a really narrow conception of what many pro and semi-pro musicans have to do when they're at work.

 

[DennyOnBass]

It's appropriate on a reading gig, yes?

I'm not really sure I need to clarify this, but if you're a typical club band and your lead singer is still reading lyrics off of a music stand I would suggest that you're band is not ready to be gigging out.

Again, there are situations where this is excusable. I've been a fill-in where I've needed to read through the book to get through the night. I hate doing it and try to avoid it when I can because I feel it detracts from the show.

 

[higgi]

I agree stands can be annoying if they detract, but a lot of us started out in orchestras and big bands so the stands seem normal.

 

[CatfishStudios]

i'm not sure when the dress code thing crept back in to music again but it certainly does not influence who i'll go and see....if thats your thing cool but i've seen shows in venues where people wear everything from tuxes to torn tee shirts and i don't recall ever caring.......

i recently saw julie slick here and she is reputed to play in bare feet......if you would have asked me at the show i would not have known or cared if she even had feet......

far too much emphasis is placed on this stuff and iirc the reason a lot of us older guys got into it in the first place is because it defied the conventions of an era that told us what to wear,how long ones hair should be,and the notion that even the music itself was somehow evil because it strayed outside of the box.......

+100 ... the clothes DONT make the SOUND.. I have never asked myself.."hey that band sounds good, but how do they dress?" ...

 

[FunkMetalBass]

Unless I'm playing in a jazz band or something that requires me to wear pants, I wear exclusively shorts or crazy costumes. It's hardly unprofessional IMO and it gets too darn hot on stage for me to comfortably move around for an hour if I'm in pants. (I mostly play rock, if it matters).

On stage, I try to look as crazy as possible, which is totally part of the style. Everyone else is usually in jeans and a dark shirt:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

I really wish both pictures hadn't been taken during the 3 seconds I suffered from closed eyes and bass-face. **sigh**



Things other bands do to annoy me:
Don't say thank you at the end of a set and then come down into the audience and try to promote their next show. Obviously my presence didn't matter enough to them to extend a mass thank you...they clearly don't want me at their next show.

 

[BassyBill]

I'm not really sure I need to clarify this, but if you're a typical club band and your lead singer is still reading lyrics off of a music stand I would suggest that you're band is not ready to be gigging out.

Again, there are situations where this is excusable. I've been a fill-in where I've needed to read through the book to get through the night. I hate doing it and try to avoid it when I can because I feel it detracts from the show.

I think you posted before I finished my edit - see above for clarification.

One of my gigs is with a cover band where I need to read from dots as we have a big, often updated repertoire that means a frequently changing set list. We make decent money (£1200-2000 a gig), including repeat bookings. But by your criterion, we're not ready to be gigging out? Please, don't tell our agent.

 

[Jim Campbell]

i'm not sure when the dress code thing crept back in to music again but it certainly does not influence who i'll go and see....if thats your thing cool but i've seen shows in venues where people wear everything from tuxes to torn tee shirts and i don't recall ever caring...../QUOTE]

As mentioned, certain styles merit certain looks. You wouldn't see B.B. King hit the stage shirtless in torn jeans... but it would be totally acceptable for a rock band to do so.

Every successful band out there has a "look". I know some of you think dress codes are unimportant, but done right, it's an incredibly effective tool to help you stand out from the every-day-just-cut-my-grass-and-drove-to-the-gig look.

Bottom line: If you look good (whether it's tuxes or shorts), you'll have an easier time winning over the audience. If you don't care what you look like and put no effort into it, then why should the audience?

please.....you obviously don't see enough shows......perhaps bb king would not appear without a suit these days,but i have seen pix of him playing in shorts,and i've seen buddy guy in bib overalls....and if you care to turn on mtv any time you will see tons of successful bands with clothes that the salvation as my would reject.....

like i said if it turns you off,cool,but personally i would not pass on a good performance simply because of the look of the band was not up(down) to my standards.....methinks that as some of us aged we really did become our dads

 

[5StringBlues]

Edit: ^ BB King? Shorts? You got it!

+1 (the kid on the right needs a little help with his clothes in order to make this more believable to me IMO). Looking at them, I'm not assuming they're playing classical music.... lol... and that's their intention.

I'm the one who mentioned shorts in the first place and I realize that I probably should have said something like "shorts in a blues band"

 

[PappaK]

please.....you obviously don't see enough shows......perhaps bb king would not appear without a suit these days,but i have seen pix of him playing in shorts,and i've seen buddy guy in bib overalls....and if you care to turn on mtv any time you will see tons of successful bands with clothes that the salvation as my would reject.....

like i said if it turns you off,cool,but personally i would not pass on a good performance simply because of the look of the band was not up(down) to my standards.....methinks that as some of us aged we really did become our dads

LOL... I think you've misunderstood almost everything I've said. But that's ok. As mentioned, the shorts thing is generally inappropriate to ME (save for aggressive bands). MY opinion. You're right, I generally don't get out to many shows. I'm busy gigging, writing and recording.

If you're an aspiring artist, my suggestion would be to pay at least A LITTLE attention to your look. It's not always just about the music, believe me. It's a business... and a very cut-throat one at that.

Peace.

 

[PappaK]

Edit: ^ BB King? Shorts? You got it!

LOL... It's a cool pic. It's a famous one. We've all done dumb things in the past - even B.B.!

 

[BassyBill]

Here's a recent snap of some of our orchestra cowering behind their music stands with their audibly tuned instruments, whilst visibly failing to connect with the crowd.

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[DennyOnBass]

I think you posted before I finished my edit - see above for clarification.

One of my gigs is with a cover band where I need to read from dots as we have a big, often updated repertoire that means a frequently changing set list. We make decent money (£1200-2000 a gig), including repeat bookings. But by your criterion, we're not ready to be gigging out? Please, don't tell our agent.

No, I think you're taking my generalization, which was qualified by saying that there are exceptions, and making it sound like I was making a blanket statement about every possible type of performing group.

For the record, I do a LOT of reading gigs. But one of my fill-in gigs requires me to stay on top of a 120+ (and growing) setlist with no charts/stands/notes allowed onstage and no rehearsals. That's bass parts and vocal harmonies. And I do it because they draw great crowds, make great money, and put on a great show.

And that's why I have a hard time figuring out why a band going into a bar and playing 30 cover tunes can't manage to do so without music stands. Sorry, they aren't the London Philharmonic, and they DON'T look professional.