Saturday, November 12, 2005
Post-Battle Pity Party
Comments I received about last night:
Producer: "Maybe make songs more upbeat"
Music Teacher: "Nice jazz solo at the end, but not appropriate for a rock show."
Pop Expert (aka "dumb" Kappa): "Are songs original?! AWESOME!!!"
P: "Seems very in touch with contemporary folk. I kind of hear some Modest Mouse in there."
MT: "Tempo lagged in first song."
P.E: "2nd song captured the romantic in me. Definitely play it for the girls!"
P: "Strong voice, but band lacked cohesiveness"
MT: "Seemed to lose the crowd a bit"
P.E: "Are these your own lyrics? These are great! Wow!"
Well, so it goes. At one point, I knew something that I forgot. Band cohesiveness is the most sought after thing when it comes to producers and teachers. It displays a certain professional attitude to them. Not having a rhythmically solid band at a battle of the bands is kind of like rolling through a stop sign on your driving test. Your score plummets in light of other potentially redeeming qualities. And my scores certainly did that. It's frustrating. The drummer from the 1st place band said he wanted to lock John (my drummer) in a closet with drums and a metronome for two months. But I'm not going to scapegoat. Yes. John and I were off from each other. Either A. I was getting off, or B. He was getting off. Either way, I as the band leader should have been more serious coming in to this battle. I'm lazy when it comes to focusing on my own rhythm, let alone someone else's. I should have remembered that judges care far more about tightness than they do originality. They also came into the show distinctly feeling the show was ordained by God for a rock show. But the band that won was a Dave Matthews cover band (who were very tight). Juny, who came in second place, was even more mellow than I was. (But let's face it, Juny deserved a good nod. Dan is great.) Anyway, the set looked like this if you want to reference the comments:
1. Far Too Much (the last time I will play that...after singing it hundreds of times, it is rote and without feeling, vague, blah.)
2. Samuel
3. Lunita
But I'm through fellas. It's so frustrating playing these kinds of shows. As Silliman said, "People want to rage at these concerts. Your music calms them." I might try to play a show at the Annex coming up. So I'll let you know if I get something lined up.
Currently listening to:
¶ 10:50 AM 
Producer: "Maybe make songs more upbeat"
Music Teacher: "Nice jazz solo at the end, but not appropriate for a rock show."
Pop Expert (aka "dumb" Kappa): "Are songs original?! AWESOME!!!"
P: "Seems very in touch with contemporary folk. I kind of hear some Modest Mouse in there."
MT: "Tempo lagged in first song."
P.E: "2nd song captured the romantic in me. Definitely play it for the girls!"
P: "Strong voice, but band lacked cohesiveness"
MT: "Seemed to lose the crowd a bit"
P.E: "Are these your own lyrics? These are great! Wow!"
Well, so it goes. At one point, I knew something that I forgot. Band cohesiveness is the most sought after thing when it comes to producers and teachers. It displays a certain professional attitude to them. Not having a rhythmically solid band at a battle of the bands is kind of like rolling through a stop sign on your driving test. Your score plummets in light of other potentially redeeming qualities. And my scores certainly did that. It's frustrating. The drummer from the 1st place band said he wanted to lock John (my drummer) in a closet with drums and a metronome for two months. But I'm not going to scapegoat. Yes. John and I were off from each other. Either A. I was getting off, or B. He was getting off. Either way, I as the band leader should have been more serious coming in to this battle. I'm lazy when it comes to focusing on my own rhythm, let alone someone else's. I should have remembered that judges care far more about tightness than they do originality. They also came into the show distinctly feeling the show was ordained by God for a rock show. But the band that won was a Dave Matthews cover band (who were very tight). Juny, who came in second place, was even more mellow than I was. (But let's face it, Juny deserved a good nod. Dan is great.) Anyway, the set looked like this if you want to reference the comments:
1. Far Too Much (the last time I will play that...after singing it hundreds of times, it is rote and without feeling, vague, blah.)
2. Samuel
3. Lunita
But I'm through fellas. It's so frustrating playing these kinds of shows. As Silliman said, "People want to rage at these concerts. Your music calms them." I might try to play a show at the Annex coming up. So I'll let you know if I get something lined up.
Currently listening to:
¶ 10:50 AM
