Starting a band

grimtraveller

grimtraveller

If only for a moment.....
If you were starting a band right now, which would you consider the most important elements ?
For me it would have to be a drummer and a female voice, but definitely a drummer. I feel that once the drums are part of the equation, it's all systems go and you can go in any direction.
 
I think the most important element would be for you to determine what the point of the band is.

Next would be to lay out what your philosophy is for achieving that goal.

You have to figure out your own mindset before you can start looking for like-minded individuals.
 
Number one is not just the "vocalist", but the "Frontman/woman" It's not just about having a great voice, you've also got to have a talent with people and charisma. Good examples: Mike Reno from Loverboy (great story teller), Peter Furler from Newsboys (constantly keeping the audience involved and engaged), Robert Plant (huge charisma), and very many more. All very talented vocalists, but there are literally millions of great vocalists. These people took their bands places they couldn't have gone by "being" the front.
See also Joey Ramone, Mac Powell, Siouxie Sioux, Iggy Pop, Annie Lennox, Tiffany Arbuckle Lee (Plumb), David Bowie, Alice Cooper...lots to choose from. Without interaction with the crowd, it's still possible to be great, but it certainly doesn't hurt.
2) image
3) songwriting
4) musicianship
That's how you make money at music.
Now, to have fun in music, change that order to 4, 1, 3, 2. You can have fun playing with a bunch of guys that are great musicians writing decent songs. The voice becomes a lot more important than the charisma and image becomes nothing.
If you can find a group of people to play/sing with that can have fun and make money, consider yourself one of the luckiest people on the planet.
 
I play well with my home studio equipment. Dealing with people in a band is a huge, "been-there, done-that" sort of headache. I have collaborators, but I give them tracks to play along with and I and let them do their own thing, then pick and choose what I like from that. Collaborating like that is fun, but bands are not that much fun for me anymore.
 
No rehearsals.

Good money .

One dude that is easy to make fun of.

Home , showered and in bed by midnight.
 
Playing in bands is a pain in the ass if you're not with the right people. I've got one band I've been in going on 7 years now and couldn't be happier. Then there's the other bands I keep jumping in and out of.

By the way, the drummer is the most important.
 
for me the first guy that needs hiring is ME!! After that I don'tcare so much but yes, if you can get a good chick singer, that's a major plus.

Also ...... for me, it's not a band without a drumber ..... without a drumber it's a trio or quartet or quintet or kumbaya group.
For example , your local symphony is not a band.
 
Armistice said:
Being in a band again would mean dealing with other musicians.... ewwww...
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Granted.
The question was more of a conceptual thing than a reality, more of a "what elements could you not do without ? What, in your band, if every kind of player was available, would be your primary choices ?"
Lt. Bob said:
Also ...... for me, it's not a band without a drumber
Click to expand...
Ever since I was a kid and even thought of playing and recording music, the drums were part of the concept. They've just never not been. I love percussion and have always used it and there have been and will be songs I write where there is only percussion as that rhythmic element. But though drums are percussion, percussion ain't drums ! I find no instrument even approaches the drums in terms of versatility.
Yet I can't stand solo drums, much less drum solos.
But in the context of a group sound, the term "multifaceted" doesn't even do them justice.
 
notCardio said:
I think the most important element would be for you to determine what the point of the band is.

Next would be to lay out what your philosophy is for achieving that goal.

You have to figure out your own mindset before you can start looking for like-minded individuals.
Click to expand...
Granted.
The OP took it for granted that all that was in place. So with that in mind, what would you consider to be..........
 
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