Help my band!!!?

Question

My band kinda sucks a little bit... We really can't put on a good show to make our classmates amazed (we are a high school band, composed of 14 y/o guys)... Plus we don't have ample equipment (I only have an electric guitar and bass, the rest dont have instruments)...What's more is that there are a lot of people better than us out there... I take bass lessons but it doesn't seem to help me play that good... And our vocalist, probably the most experienced member, has left... I wan't to show those cocky people (well one of 'em has bragging rights as he can play the guitar on his back...) what we are made of!!! But recently, all we can do is cover songs made by famous artists...

Answer 1

Ok dude from one band person to another. Listen up.
Number 1. Before you get a gig and preform learn and acquire your instruments. Number 2. Learn and write your own songs. People will be more interested in your band when the songs come from you and hear what you have to say. Number 3. Get a singer. Number 4. Check this site out. MeetYourBand.com

Answer 2

I'd like to add one point to BlackJack's excellent advice: the key to a great performance is a great arrangement. If no one in the band has a flair for arranging, solicit the help of someone who does. A few arranging tips:

1. Start off simple and built to your impressive finale.
2, Make use of dynamics (loud and soft)
3. Put in a few stops where the whole band cuts off for a few beats.
4. Vary the rhythm and/or change the key for the instrumental break.
5. Change the key (up 1/2 tone is effective) for the last verse or the final chorus.
6. Vary the vocal arrangement in the course of the song--sometimes the lead is all by himself, sometimes with two or three part harmony, sometimes with chorus backing up the lead.

Don't use all of these in one song and don't regard them as hard and fast rules--there are none. The point is to make your arrangements interesting and original, which sometimes means doing something that hasn't been done before. But you need a plan for each song.

Finally, and most importantly, test your arrangements out in front of a live audience to see what works and what doesn't. Your arrangement can be wrong, but the audiences never are, so don't let your egos interfere with the process.

p.s. You need one more member of your band--your sound man. He can make the difference between a show stopper and a stopped show.

Answer 3

First off, is there any possible way that you can get those who don't have instruments, instruments? (If you can't afford brand new ones, try ebay or maybe www.recycler.com if you live in the LA area.)

Also, if you're only goal as a musician is to beat off others, show off, or to have bragging rights, you shouldn't be in a band. Being in a band is about having passion for music and just loving to make and play music.

The only way to get really good is to practice a lot! (Think of a commitment that has you practicing at least an hour or two a day!)

Find another vocalist! There's always good singers out there, and experienced ones at that. Try some of your friends, maybe one or two are decent singers!

Oh, and just ignore the cocky people. They show off because they don't really have that much skill. Being able to play on your back doesn't mean much.

And if you're only able to play cover songs by famous artists, do so. Sooner or later, you'll be able to get to a point where you'll be able to write your own songs, so for now, just be content where you are!

Just have fun... and make sure you show you're stuff to the annoying cocky people! (...Just don't get cocky yourself) ^.-

Answer 4

Some excellent advice has been posted, particularly from "BlackjackCF" and "nightserf".

My performing arts work is not band-based or even in rock, but has enough similarities to apply [work commitment, audience expectations, competition from others, etc]. So I fully concur that your primary goal should never be to one-up others. If those "cocky" people are bragging, ignore them and rise above them -- do you really want to be that stuck-up and shallow?

If you're bent on impressing others, then do it the right way -- do the work so that you CAN impress them. In other words, impressing them is something that will happen in the future, so completely ignore that for now. You need to concentrate solely -- SOLELY -- on improving and refining what you're doing. Actually, you DO have to keep audience reaction in mind, but do so in terms of what will entertain them, not just what will impress them. The whole point of performing is supposed to be giving people an enjoyable listening/viewing experience -- it is not about doing just enough to garner glory and adulation.

And above all, when you do get your act together and improve it, when performing make sure you ENJOY the performing. If it's your passion, then give in to it and have fun. Your audience will like you better if you're enjoying it. Look at the Rolling Stones -- they're still at it in their 50s and 60s, and still have a great time in concert. They don't just stand there and belt out their old hits on automatic pilot.

If you have the passion to perform, use it to your advantage to do the necessary work. If you're just trying to find a way to feed your ego and be better than others, your priorities are out of whack and will not produce satisfactory results.

But I have a feeling you have a passion for this. :-)

Answer 5

Hey, if you can sing cover for any of the rock lyrics I rewrote for a musical environmental campaign, I could hire your band to record a track for public radio broadcast, and possibly a music video if I can use the track to get grants. Then you can rightfully claim professional experience since you would be getting paid.

Please see the collection of song lyrics posted at
http://www.houstonprogressive.org/songbook.html
"Rock the Earth" Music Campaign for the Environment

I am especially looking for bands who can cover
NIN, as a lot of my songs are written to that music.

The performance doesn't have to be perfect, just passionate about causes that you personally care about. For public radio, it's mostly an activist audience where it is more important to address social and political issues and they are not trying to compete with broadcast standards of commercial radio.

Answer 6

Well, what I have to say is practice and keep on practicing. Look for a new vocalist. Well instead of covering songs made by famous artists, make up your own stuff.