what makes a good band?

[spongebob_squarepanties]

hi, i been through lots of band meetings
gigs and jammings




seen alot of different pattern



so i wana ask everyone this

WHAT MAKES A GOOD BAND?


1) always ask for headline for gigs
2) just because you play on the same stage like e.g saw loser,blink 182,funreal for a friend and stuff. you demand a good slot
even thought organiser stated clearly that "no complains on slots"


3) humble as you go
4) make friends then use them to get the place you want


that's all i can think of... if you have more
[ you're wellcome to type here]

 

[soft]

A good band can play very soft.

It is a very difficult thing to do.

 

[tpiledriver]

What does that mean?
volume wise?

 

[wasp]

Good music makes good bands me think

 

[predz23]

it obviously means being able to go from SLAYER to LOVE ME TENDER, right...?

 

[roninriot]

A good band can play very soft.

It is a very difficult thing to do.

Not really. Just turn down the volume. lol.

 

[trianglebiscuit]

original and honest music that makes you all fuzzy inside

thats all

 

[ShadowsDiamond]

Commitment!!!!!

nvr late for practise, nvr MACAM PAHAM!!!

if anyone of ur band mates macam paham...i advise u leave asap

 

[daryl]

i think mr Soft is talking about dynamics in a band, which i feel, is very very important. or maybe he was just making some pun... look at his avatar all smiling and all chuckling lol

 

[blank]

If they can go "DANANANANANADONAOJANGCHUGGAJANGDADADADANANA"

 

[niteblade]

i think mr Soft is talking about dynamics in a band, which i feel, is very very important. or maybe he was just making some pun... look at his avatar all smiling and all chuckling lol

hahahaha amen to that

 

[roninriot]

What makes a good band
A band who doesn't listen to the advice of SOFTies (Slaps own forehead with a fish and a kangaroo!)

A band who does their own shit and paves their own way

A band who detaches themselves from the local scene and focuses on winning over the bigger market of their choice, the 99.9 percent that doesn't care about local scene politicking or patting the backs and stroking the egos of cynical, over-the-hill duds.

A lot of local bands make the mistake of becoming TOO involved in the local scene - worrying what others think, worrying about politics, worrying about how they compare to other local bands - the best way is to don't give a flying lovelovelovelove about petty rivalry and focusing on making a name for yourselves.

The smartest thing you can ever do is to never consider yourself part of a clique. To be your own individuals. Indie scene cliques pride themselves in the collective, but at the end of the day, if you're playing to the same 50 people, then I don't see the point in whether you're 'good' at not. I do not constitute playing to 10,000 people at Baybeats and selling 50 albums afterwards to be something you're shooting for as well.

Fact: If you're a good band, loads of local scene people will heap loads of praises on your shoulders
Also A Fact: At the end of the day, most of these people don't buy your albums anyway.

But that definition of good is measured in proportion to success (be it off-beat or mainstream). You can still be a good band either way - just that you'll be good in the eyes of maybe just your friends and yourselves. But given that you posted this question in a public forum, I don't think that's what you're aiming for.

So if your definition of 'good' means a band that has a large number of people who appreciates them, the wisest thing to do is pull yourself away from the local scene as far as you can. You will get a lot of backlash - people will call you betrayals, people will call you sellouts, people will call you whatever the hell they want. At the end of the day, if you get more fans, sell more CDs, go further in your career, you will be the ones laughing your way to success while the 50 or so cynics continue to complain about how life is unfair and worry about whether others think they're 'good' or not.

Then you can scroll back up to the very first point I made
and not listen to the advice of SOFTies

 

[fgl]

A good band may not necessarily have it's members being good frinds with each other despite each member's virtuoso abilities. I still session with many "good bands" and while being part of impressive "who'se who" players etc, I wouldnt trade it for being a part of my own band Retro Groove coz of the comaradie, humour and social status we share. Thats why I always keep the festive period dates specially Xmas Eve, NYE etc specially for my band and wont session with others duringthese dates.

 

[visa]

a good band is more than the sum of its parts- made up of members who put the band before their personal glory and ego

 

[edder]

A good band sounds like a good band to the general apathetic audience belting out their excellent Top 40's rendition. Esp with tons of beer and they start singing I wanna be sedated by the Ramones. Thats a bloody good band. *Singapore beer fest*

A good band(one band band?) sounds a fricken massive bunch of angry buzzing hornets waiting to peel your skin off and devour your innards and leave the rest for the vultures. *After massive dose of SunnO))) and Merzbow*

A good band sounds like a 3 piece jazz band belting out jazz standards while you ride down the north south highway for 2 hours soothing your nerves with their smooth jazz. *Nadja Stoller Trio*

A good band sounds like The Observatory. Nuff said.

 

[soft]

Ahh... regarding my "playing soft", it is really what I meant. Loudness.

You see, it is very easy to get big big amp or even stadium sound system plus tonnes of efx to make a band sound like they are 'good'.

But when you strip away all these electronic and listen to their real musicianship, this is where we see the difference between good and better.

The softer they play, the closer to their inner music-being you are experiencing.

* John Cage's 4:33 is not a good example though.

 

[rottenramone]

think a better qn for bro soft bro and bro roninriot bro would be "what makes a tight band" and "what makes a commercially successful band"

 

[visa]

At the end of the day, there are the obvious answers, and the more important ones which are only relevant to you.

Different bands are made up of different people. They play different kinds of music and do different things in different situations. What makes one band "good" in one context could absolutely destroy another.

There is not much point in asking other people for the answers that you can only find within yourself.

 

[XLayaR]

That's like asking what makes your army platoon good.

Function as one lor, most important

Strength in unity!

 

[cereal]

Its all in the hair bros...its all in the hair