What makes a band FUN?

[Mike Sorr]

I've been in good fun bands, I've been in good not so fun bands, and I've been in terrible not so fun bands for very, very short periods of time. Forgetting the terrible bands, what the difference was between the good fun and the good not fun was the attitude of the other musicians in the band. If you're playing with a bunch of talented jerks it's not likely to be any fun. I'd rather play with competent, but maybe not great musicians who keep a light hearted attitude in their approach to music. Let's use Michael Anthony of Van Halen as an example. Eddie Van Halen sounds like he was an intolerable boob despite the fact that the any version of VH with Anthony in it was a lot of fun to see and listen to. Now contrast that to the time he's spent with Sammy Hagar in Chickenfoot and The Circle, and he just looks like he's having a blast.

 

[Spectrum]

If you aren't having fun, you should at least own it. Cover this song:

 

[monsterthompson]

A common mistake among amateur bands is insisting the singer be the front. I have fronted several bands as the bassist/backing vocalist strictly because I was comfortable on stage and could keep the crowd entertained. Pick the most affable person and start using them. Also, you need to practice being charming so do it whenever possible, including trying banter at practice. Don't just think "I'll just wing it when I get up there" because that rarely ends well.

yup. i added a bundle of fun energy to a band i joined. i was a few years younger, and brought a different vibe. no backing vox, just being me and having a blast. it brought up the energy of the whole band, and gave the singer something to work with. the other members were a mix of energy levels, but i rounded things up and helped vs. the previous guy. it was organic, and not forced. people said our shows were fun.

This drummer makes this boring band fun:


Audio here isn't great here, but it shows costumes are fun, and Ryan's energy is undeniable and infectious, in addition to his incredible chops:


Guitarists can even be fun:


The right tempo and swing feel goes a long way. Sing along choruses help. Dynamic and feel changes can be helpful; it keeps the audience on their toes.

 

[kenneffdupriest]

take your shirts off

 

[Bunk McNulty]

Nobody has mentioned playing Mustang Sally yet. Play that. It's the magic unicorn song.

We put it in a medley with War's "Low Rider." Our BL/singer/front person will sometimes get a conga line going behind this. Sounds corny--is corny!--but wow, people have a really good time with it. As for the rest of it, we have a wiseacre (BL), a class clown (drummer) and two guitarists who are best buddies and share leads. And then me, the guy who stands next to the drummer. We have wireless rigs, and once a night we'll get out into the audience and dance with them. Still don't have video of this, but when I do, I promise I'll post. It's pretty nuts. Me, having fun:

 

[aMoose]

Play with your balls out.

 

[AshInAmsterdam]

I've had different types of fun depending on the band.

Bands like Bloodhound Gang are fun because they goof about, get the audience involved, take the michael out of other bands.

Most bands I've seen keep this to a minimum, but still carry the energy of their songs in the performance, without necessarily moving too much or doing anything but play.

There's some abstract, unknowable factor that draws the audience in.

Me, I'm a shoegazer. I don't talk much between songs, I don't move much. Yet people have always enjoyed it.

 

[Whippet]

Good god!!!! No one has mentioned the two magic words that begine with the letter D yet !??!?!


D R I N K I N G
D O I N G D R U G S.


If that fails, find a common enemy. Say...... IRS or TSA???? that'll get everyone excited. If that fails, combine the D words with the common enemy.


Guaranteed to work.


just kidding guys. wait...... then again Motley Crue seemed to be having fun........ wait, didn't someone in that band kill someone?......

 

[interp]

Sometimes a little dumb looking choreography will do the trick, or juggling hats, or playing catch with each other while playing. This takes practice and can backfire, but if you laugh it off and include the audience in it, even if you look silly, you'll be entertaining. You don't have to be clowns, just a few things thrown in to keep people off guard.

I used to be in a really good band that was immensely popular in the local scene we were playing, and always had fun. We used to do silly schtick like holding up big cards with single-digit numbers on them to rate the audience's reactions. Sometimes we would say "And now we're gonna take you backstage at a rock concert" and then we'd all turn around and show the audience our backs.

It was silly sometimes but it helped us entertain the audience and ourselves.

 

[Josh Gone]

Love the genre of music or hate it, I think this is a pretty good example of fun...

I love the F-it kind of attitude. It has that reckless abandon that rock and roll is supposed to be. A lot of rock music is so predictable and boring, it's supposed to be dangerous. This is fun.

 

[A. D. Fairhurst]

I think to make the music fun it should be generally happy sounding and moderately fast-paced, and for the band to be fun they should all be happy and lively-looking.

 

[Ric5]

What makes a band FUN?

1 - no ******** in the band
2 - not having to play songs on your hate list
3 - no lame gigs
4 - not having the band intrude into your personal life
5 - not playing with incompetent musicians
6 - making enough money on your day job so you don't need to make money from the band

 

[kiripunk]

The topic is a really good one. I've been playing music with basically two bands for most of my "musical career". I'm trying to get back playing my first band, but the "leader" left (he moved). Now the singer is very shy, not that she is with us, but she is on stage, she's always been like a sparring partner to all of the former guitarist's jokes and stuff. Now that would be my turn, since that's what I've been in my other band. Kind of a "clown" (since I was a founding member) and now I guess I should do the same. I guess picking a friendly guitarist would help me and I think that's exactly what I'm gonna do. Looking among strangers hasn't helped much in getting us back.

 

[RickyWoo]

My $.02

Q: What makes a band fun?
A: When everyone in the band is having it.

Solid rhythm section: Drums and bass NEED to be on the same page. If you've got this down, you're more than half way there.

No wankery: Nobody is the star, but the entire band. Play it only if it works, not because you know how to do a lot of stuff.

In my experience there is a such thing as musician's music. It doesn't always appeal to the masses like musicians might think it should. It's, at times, highly respected among our peers, for skill and technical complexities, but it isn't always "fun" to general listeners/onlookers who might not understand why it's respectable from a musician's point of view, which makes it justifiably boring/justifiably tight from the respective audience. Like anything, it's all subjective. I think that's what might be what was meant? If the consensus is "it's not fun" by critics, examine it. Question who your demographic is. Figure out who you want your demographic to be. If you aren't appealing to them, something is definitely wrong. Complexity doesn't mean fun... Complexity can be though!

 

[Flooflox]

Pull loads of mad faces

Speaking of making faces... there is a Canadian bluesman guitarist/singer by the name of David Wilcox. Still going as far as I know. Saw him with a University crowd back around 1981. He would make faces at those standing right up at the stage. The crowd thought he was mocking them so they booed. The booing lasted for the first 3 songs until they realized this guy was an axeman extraordinaire and was just having fun. Then the cheering started and never stopped.

 

[Blaargh]

If you're having fun and look like you're having fun, it comes across. Even though my band are super serious metulz we still have a good onstage banter between eachother and mess around. If you're on stage, you're not just providing entertainment through music- you yourselves are the entertainment too. One of my very favourite bands to see live is Anthrax because they just look like they love being there. Joey Belladonna is 55 and still runs up and down festival stages like a teenager.

 

[lbbc]

We always have fun....play to the best of our ability but not take ourselves too seriously. Bass wireless system works for me... I go out during leads or verses sit at the tables of the patrons and talk to them while I'm playing with. Always gets a great response.

 

[karl_em_all]

Speaking of making faces... there is a Canadian bluesman guitarist/singer by the name of David Wilcox. Still going as far as I know. Saw him with a University crowd back around 1981. He would make faces at those standing right up at the stage. The crowd thought he was mocking them so they booed. The booing lasted for the first 3 songs until they realized this guy was an axeman extraordinaire and was just having fun. Then the cheering started and never stopped.

That bear cat is living some kind of riverboat fantasy. I think he's a bad apple.

 

[Johnny Crab]

The best "singer/front persons" IMO are salesmen/women and showmen/women AND they are truly smiling from within(not like Van Halen's DLR now). The band is all having fun, smiling, laughing, and not just "handing down the music". Bonus points for audience involvement.

If the band is having a very good time and happy party onstage and the audience gets drawn into that, it is magic.

 

[jive1]

Still haven't heard back from the OP. I'm curious what kind of material they are playing.
If it's covers of Joan Baez protest songs or Nickelback, all this great advice isn't going to help much.