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Vibraphone rock

S

StuntBacon

Feb 4, 2010
132
1
#1
Does anyone know of any rock bands with vibe players, or even any rock songs with any vibraphones? I know a vibraphone player at my uni who would be interested in playing in a rock band, and I need some inspiration.

I know Frank Zappa uses vibes often, QOTSA used vibes on Rated R and Opeth used them on the second song on Ghost Reveries. Anyone have any to add?

Xylophones are also acceptable
 
#7
These are all pretty good. Violent Femmes especially good, putting groovy solos into a relatively simple song.

Yes jazz fusion is fine, and keep coming up with suggestion from fusion. I am looking for something closer to the rock side of the spectrum. I'm also disturbed at how obscure these suggestions have been so far... there has got to be an obvious one that I'm missing.
 
#8
There were a lot of songs in the 1960's that feature vibes, not so much as a lead instrument as a chordal/harmony instrument, typically at the start of each chord. A lot of Motown tunes feature it, and stuff like the Four Seasons' "Working My Way Back to You Babe"
 
#15
StuntBacon said:
These are all pretty good. Violent Femmes especially good, putting groovy solos into a relatively simple song.

Yes jazz fusion is fine, and keep coming up with suggestion from fusion. I am looking for something closer to the rock side of the spectrum. I'm also disturbed at how obscure these suggestions have been so far... there has got to be an obvious one that I'm missing.
Click to expand...

I'm not that big a fan of Spyro Gyra, as they're a bit too smooth for my tastes, but ... they're not exactly obscure: They're one of the few jazz-oriented acts who have scored pop-chart action. Their '79 debut went platinum, and "Morning Dance" from that album hit the Top 40.

(and a side note: my jazz group opened for one of their Tampa shows in the early '90s)
 
#16
Tampabass said:
I'm not that big a fan of Spyro Gyra, as they're a bit too smooth for my tastes, but ... they're not exactly obscure: They're one of the few jazz-oriented acts who have scored pop-chart action. Their '79 debut went platinum, and "Morning Dance" from that album hit the Top 40.

(and a side note: my jazz group opened for one of their Tampa shows in the early '90s)
Click to expand...

Congratulations!

OK, I should have clarified, SOME of the suggestions were obscure, and I was showing concern because it doesn't look like popular music likes vibes. I actually never heard of that group before. Are they as smooth as, say, Steely Dan? They're definitely too smooth for me, but some of their songs are actually pretty good and they put on a good live show.

Also I bet there are loads of bands who reached the Top 50 in the 70s whom no one has heard of in my generation. Checked out Sharon Jones, that was great! Very retro indeed.
 
#20
Bill Bruford played vibes & xylophone on his 1977 solo debut album Feels Good To Me. Most folks would consider that "fusion" ...unless you're a fusion fan, and then for some inexplicable reason you scratch your head and don't know what to call it. I think Bill refers to that material as "instrumental rock".

I get the impression that the OP is looking for stuff that's unabashedly and unquestionably "ROCK'N'ROLL" with big loud distorted power chord guitars and pounding 4/4 drums and screaming hairy lead vocalists and, oh yeah, a vibraphone too. Not sure where to point you for that.
 

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