Two Singers??

[BillW87]

As someone who is in a two-singer band, just be aware that if you have someone who is a dedicated singer (aka doesn't play other instruments) it will limit some of your options as far as utilizing both singers. For example, we have a female singer who is our "lead" singer, but our male lead guitarist also has a great voice and they share a lot of the singing duties. However, we run into the problem a lot that some of the songs we write just sound better with a guy singing them, but we can't bench our lead singer for entire songs at a time and have her awkwardly stand off to the side when we perform. We eventually solved the problem by having our female singer pick up the keyboard (she was classically trained on piano, so when our original keyboardist left the band we were able to switch her right over) so that she could be contributing to the song even when she wasn't singing. It sounds like you won't have quite as much of a problem with that since your singers are filling very different roles in the band, but its just a potential issue to be aware of.

 

[mboogiemanusa]

I have seen lots of pro cover bands between LA and Las Vegas with 2 or more lead singers. Usually 2 women or 1 male and 1 female. It allows the bands to cover material better suited for each vocalist than having 1 vocalist try to cover every thing. Also adds to the stage presence as which ever vocalist is not singing is dancing or adding some percussion. As far as heavy music......the 2 singer approach seemed to work for Linkin Park although one guy is considered more of a rapper.

 

[Raymeous]

Sorry to say it folks but vocals rule the roost

I am a huge fan of "epic" metal acts like Nightwish, Kamelot, Epica, and all of that. Having two vocalists, especially male and female, offer you so many opportunities to do things that other bands just can't compete with. It gives you dynamics whether its a growly guy and a classically trained soprano, or two true singers.

Of all the parts of a musical act, vocals are the hardest to do when sick or worn out. A guitarist can play with sore fingers, but a vocalist with a sore throat is gonna be dying. Having two vocalists gives each one a chance to rest their voice during the set, which means as a band, not only do you get the dynamics benefit, you also get better vocal quality for longer periods of time.

I also agree with the others that this works better if one or both of them also play an instrument of some kind. The only down side to the singer also being a player is that if you are into "theatrics" your singers are gonna have a hard time acting out a scene if one of them is playing an instrument.


For an example, check these out...

Kamelot - "The Haunting" -


Seriously if your band wants to have two vocalists, and you don't want to add two bodies (egos, % of gig money), step up and start working on your vocal chops.

 

[electracoyote]

So, this new metal act I am helping form is going well. We need a drummer and singer. So, while talking about it, guitarist mentions he wants 2 singers in the band, preferably one male/one female. So we can have clean singing and growly/screamy vocals, one doing each.
I am open to new ideas, and this one could be cool, but not only does that cut everyone's pay, it means another person to get along with.

My question is do any of you guys have experience with a 2 singer band, be it male/female, or any combination of genders? I just want to be prepared for this idea to explode in my face, or if it will actually end up working out well and giving something for people to remember us by.

I play for two bands that feature both male and female leads. I think the enormous flexibility potential with both lead and harmony work and the positive impact those bring to a band are fully worth the price of adding an extra member.

Ideally, they work together and play off each other regularly, and not just sing leads independant of each other all night. I was in a band where the male and female didn't interact musically much. It was like playing for one band when she sang, and then a completely different band when he sang.