Stroopy121

So young. So, so young. xx

I am, why d'you ask? xx

Pretty much agree with all of those points - learning covers is definitely a great way to push you to learn new shit. Covering The Who on bass is a good example, learning a bunch of ridiculous noodling that I'd never play otherwise. I do also enjoy playing longer sets in a cover band, but that's because it's nowhere near as intense. A 45 minute set with Needleman nearly kills me as I spend the whole time screaming! xx

I think the band you're in pretty much nails the spectrum that any band could get away with - obviously Miles Davis and Megadeath are just two arbitrary extremes, but lets look at the bands you listed there - it's a mixture of classic pop (Beatles), contemporary pop (McFly), classic rock (Quo, AC/DC) and contemporary "rock" (Oasis and Blink). It's a great range to cover but I think many local bands have a similar range in their sets, from light, poppy tunes to riffy guitar rock. It's no criticism against cover bands, simply rebutting the criticism against original acts. It's fair to say that you COULD have much more range with a cover band (Miles Davis to Megadeath) but, as you rightly pointed out, it'd be stupid to do so because you'd never get a second gig. All I'm saying is that you COULD so the same thing in an original band, it'd just be much harder to do and the results would be equally unpleasant. Both types of band generally pick a loose collection of genres and stick to them. The bonus to being in an original band is you get to mix genres up, take influence from whatever you want when you're writing your guitar riffs, etc. xx

I don't know what band you play in so this isn't a personal dig or anything, but I've never seen a cover band stray from one genre. It's always a very generic mix of contemporary and classic pop music, or the rawk classics with a few chart poprock tunes thrown in to please the younger crowd. As I said, I don't know your band, you could play everything from Miles Davis to Megadeath (I would watch the SHIT out of that band!) but I've never seen it happen before. xx

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I might be interested in bass duties here. Keep me posted. xx

I agree with this post. Particularly the bit in bold, which is the main reason why I've seen so many cover bands with fucking horrible sound. xx

I like the analogy but it's obviously not a perfect parallel. Learning theory and practicing technique is a mandatory part of learning new skills, but I like the idea that learning an instrument isn't the same as learning "music". I know so many people who can't tap on a desk in time with what they're listening to. The video is definitely worth watching through. xx

I disagree with colour_organ and think that anything that's adding valuable content to the site is a good thing. xx

I prefer the term fauxtographer to iPhoneographer. #CSB xx

Fxd. xx

Can't think where to put this, maybe the youtube thread. But anyway, take 20 minutes, this is pretty cool. xx

Zombie thread revival. xx

The "atmosphere" comment was probably more of a personal preference - i.e. I, personally, enjoy a CD as much as a cover band. Same as above, different people take different things from seeing live music. I have my preferences, and everyone else is wrong xx

In the 10 years or so I've been going to Leeds I've never seen (noticed) a cover band on any stage. Presumably there may be some tucked away in the little tents and shit, tough. xx

I've been in and out of cover bands since I was about 14 and always treated it as a totally separate experience from being in an original band. When I write and perform songs with Needleman, it's me expressing my opinions on subjects that really mean something to me. It's a way of sharing something personal and meaningful in a (hopefully) entertaining way. In Sanctuary, and all the other cover bands I've been in, it was more about going to the pub, playing a few songs in styles I don't have much chance to experiment with otherwise (even classic rock material is well outwith my usual M.O. when composing music) and getting paid for it. It was, on the whole, a pretty shallow experience but a fun one that paid pretty well. Being in Sanctuary funded me buying the equipment we used to record the Needleman record, so it all feeds into the same creative pot. Re: festivals - I agree with Frosty but that's mainly out of jealousy. I'd bend over backwards to play a main-stage festival slot with Needleman. Being in a cover band is a lot of work, there are a lot of songs to learn and the sets are long as fuck. It's not easy, but it's a very different kind of "difficult" to being in an original band. You learn, you don't create. You don't develop the same level of attachment to the songs so if one gets a shit reception, you can just cut it from the set, no big deal... But if you've poured blood and sweat into writing, re-writing and crafting a piece of you into a song and then have to cut it, it's like cutting an arm off! With that in mind, I feel that your average original band, even on a local scale, work much harder (or at least more intensely) that a comparable cover band. Ergo, I don't think a cover band have the same "right" to a place on a festival stage. Tribute bands are different - if you're trying to recreate the experience of seeing a band who are now dead/gone, then you're catering to nostalgia and there's always a market for that. Especially at a festival. Bottom line, I think a venue paying a cover band is pretty daft when you can turn a CD up loud and get the same atmosphere with a DJ at a sliver of the cost and I don't understand why people want to see cover bands either - I don't understand why you'd want to see LIVE music specifically but want to go to tunnels and see someone who has really sweated over their art and busted their ass to create something. That being said, if that's what people want, it's what promoters will book. As a slight aside, I remember when I first started playing originals, both my parents kept badgering me to play covers in the set - "Get the crowd on your side by playing some Oasis songs that everyone knows and likes, THEN play your own stuff..." fucked me right off. It's that same redneck attitude that keeps a lot of punters in the Globe on a Saturday night: "I've heard this song before, that means I like it." / "This is unfamiliar, that means it's shite!" xx

He'll have seen your post above since Matt quoted you. xx

I thought it'd've been cool if The Wolverine came up saying "based on actual events" since the opening sequence is set in Nagasaki during the atomic bombing. xx

Have a test and see if your laptop in-build mic is any good? I've used mine for dodgy demos before and it's held up OK. xx

Just started watching Arrow. Loving it so far. Deathstroke has both his eyes though. Hoping we get to see him lose one! xx

I assume you meant useless, instead of unless? I know a few folk who only smoke their weed through a vaporiser now and swear by it! That's a desk top one though, rather than one of those efag things. xx

http://www.aberdeen-music.com/topic/54449-mods-delete-my-account-please/#entry789877 xx

Oh man. That show just keeps getting funnier IMHO. DeVito DEFINITELY makes it better. Him and Charlie together makes pure comedy gold. xx

Fck. xx