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What to do when your lead singer complains
- Thread starter Robin Goud
- Start date
Well... It's obvious he can't sing to your bass lines because he's a virgin!!!!
But seriously. This is your project and your songs. If you decide to be more flexible and simplify the bass parts, then that is fine. It is also fine if you are married to what you are laying down and don't want to change. It's your thing. If that is the case, then you will want to find a different vocalist. Nothing against the guy you have, but if he's not happy, and you're not happy, the band will become a chore real quick.
But seriously. This is your project and your songs. If you decide to be more flexible and simplify the bass parts, then that is fine. It is also fine if you are married to what you are laying down and don't want to change. It's your thing. If that is the case, then you will want to find a different vocalist. Nothing against the guy you have, but if he's not happy, and you're not happy, the band will become a chore real quick.
There are always two sides to every story. Don't know the singer's side of the story. Given your flippant comments (humorous or otherwise) maybe the singer isn't right for you. Look for someone who sees the world in the same fashion as you. Good luck.
The hierarchy is set. When no one can make a decision you step up and start arranging what they have into the songs that the band will now play. You are leading the band's creative ideas into viable music. In my eyes you are the band's leader, and the singer may very well be intimidated or not able to rise to the level of your creative composition.
I'm not familiar with Ska Punk but I'm a massive Two Tone fan and the bass is a lead instrument, the singer needs to understand this. The only gear a singer brings to a gig is an arrogance that they are the focal point and therefore the most important band member. Next time he complains pass him your bass and say, "Here, show me what you mean"
I feel like I want to post a video of me singing over complicated bass lines (and a bunch of other complicated stuff) in a band I used to be in, but it wasn't ska so it's probably not relevant. However, I still feel like a singer with a decent ear should be able to work around most anything. The question here will probably boil down to whether or not the band wants to dumb down enough to accommodate what the singer is capable of.
Yes, but if the singer knows what they are talking about (some of them do) you might spend your life doing nothing but playing great gigs and making great money. Like it or not, vocalists are the stars. Always have been. Everybody else is a side man. Just saying. Oh, sorry. Side person!
Yes, you and your band mates can arrange things any way you want, of course.
OP, you have an inexperienced "singer" and experienced side men. Ask yourself this question: Why?
Some of them do know what they're doing, but "I can't sing over it" is usually not something those singers ever say.
Indeed. I think this particular singer is the problem. I was editing my post just as your message came up as an alert. I would personally have a problem hanging for very long in a situation like the OP describes.
I'm a big fan of Two-Tone, and have been since I first heard The Beat (known in the USA as The English Beat) in the early 1980s. The bass lines are not that hard, but are relentless. Songs like Twist & Crawl and Mirror In The Bathroom... awesome.
I guess, before I can really comment, I need to know what your singer means when he says your "bass lines are difficult to sing on". Do you know, or can you ask him? Typically Two-Tone vocal melodies are pretty simple. He doesn't have to sing the notes you play, or even how many notes you play. Are the songs you've written full of weird chord changes or odd tempos that make it difficult to construct a melody? You need to be a bit more specific.
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Well, to be fair, I haven't heard the guy sing and I haven't heard the music he's working with. But I've been a singer for a long time, and I've worked with a lot of other singers, and there are basically two types. There are people who can hear what needs to be done and people who can't. The ones who can't sometimes get by because they can parrot a melody, but they aren't able to hear a harmony and they aren't able to construct anything harmonious around a set of chord changes. On the other hand, if the music itself is really bad, it could just be hard to work with. But I'll assume for the benefit of the OP that this isn't the case.
My thought was this is a put-on.
I mean, getting chicks when yer inna a ska band?
Oh yes
Now more seriously, without hearing what this band is doing (any recordings?) it's hard to figure out what the singer means about the basslines being too hard to sing with and unfair on the others... So I've got nothing.
Pick a song the whole band knows. At a rehearsal start playing that song, but without bass. Have the singer sing it. If he has trouble you have the answer to the problem—the guy is not ready to sing in an ensemble situation. If he has no trouble, add a very simple, dumbed-down bass line. If he has trouble with this, it is confirmation that he is not ready. Then try it with whatever line you wish to play. If he has trouble with this, stop and ask him specifically what is giving him difficulty. If you cannot reconcile his singing problem with your desire to play the bass line you want to play, you should probably get a different singer.
