Why You Need To Start A Band, Like Right Now

[Anonymous]

Earlier tonight I was at a pub in the area where they had live music. It wasn't terrible (that may or may not be too generous a statement) but I took note of the fact that the band wasn't exactly young and only played classic rock, which isn't a bad thing, just not exactly what people around my age are typically looking to go see. (Regardless, me being the old soul that I am, I still knew the lyrics to almost every song and did indeed sing along with them. You may not mock me.)

With this in mind I came home and started looking for bands in the area, because I felt like I needed to see some good live stuff. First I took the line-up list for that pub in particular and Googled every one of them for this month. Some weren't too bad, some kind of sucked, and in one instance I audibly screeched an obscenity before closing the YouTube tab.

What every band had in common though was that they were all roughly between 35 and 60 years old and played classic rock with a little country here and there (and the Lord knows how I feel about country music).

But I was determined. And so proceeded to search for more bands. Bands in this area, bands in the city, bands in other cities. And every single one that I came across had these same attributes: older, classic rock, jazz, country, and not a single squeak of pop, punk, hip hop or alternative in sight.

I find this really disappointing, but not exactly surprising. Not too long ago, before the modernization to touch screens and vapid entertainment, kids more often than not formed bands. Without the distraction of Instagram and Twitter, people my age would discover what they really liked musically (not just whatever is on the Billboard) and would get together and make music.

The only bands you would see were high school or college groups and they didn't play pub-style classic-rock covers (really guys, a person can only take so much of Pour Some Sugar On Me).
They formed new genres of music and created original material that related well with people their age.

Bands starting out in college or earlier always have the advantage because the majority of music buyers are young and everyone wants music from people they can relate too. And how can you relate any better than with a band that is your age, singing about all the same angsty self-absorbed problems that you have? (It also doesn't hurt that 20 year old lead singers are usually cuter than 60 year old ones).

Let's take Nirvana for example. Forming when Kurt Cobain was a mere 20 years old and Krist Novoselic was 22, the band went on to birth the entire genre of Grunge.
I think basically all the lyrics to Lithium had enough self-hate malaise to fuel every college kid in America, if not the world, which made them relatable.

The Ramones, essentially pioneers of Punk were just kids too. When the band started Johnny was 26, DeeDee was 23, Joey also 23, and Tommy was 25.

Their schtick was probably mostly that they literally walked around looking like how hormone-filled youngsters feel 99.999999999999% of the time.

But you don't see young Kurt Cobain's out at the bars anymore and you don't see young Ramones starting chaos for a bunch of fellow college kids in a music club.

You do however find a group of four 50-somethings named Mike, Dave, Ed, and Craig, in almost any bar at any given time, performing Free Bird three times in one set.

WHO IS BUYING THIS? TELL ME WHO.

Therefore, the reason good music will die will be because all the possible little Kurt Cobain's out there, barely getting buy in college, were too busy with their selfie sticks to go out and change the world.

Kurt's famous suicide note ended with the Neil Young quote "It's better to burn out than to simply fade away." and I truly believe we could be suffering the latter fate here. We are simply fading away into electronic Millenial-Pop, pioneered by the guys auto-tuning Drake's #1 hits.

So to all the 20-somethings out there that have been looking for their destiny: maybe you can be the person to save the music world. Because no one else seems to be doing it.

And hurry, hurry, hurry, before I go insane.

[dangerDoge]

I'm actually in a blues-ish (with latin-rock, jazz, and classical influence) band right now. With that, I'm also doing a progressive-metal project with a member of that band as a side thing. Guess I'm beating the trends.

Granted, we are relatively new. (This is a video of us from the first gig, before I got a desperately needed haircut. We were a bit nervous to say the least haha)

https://youtu.be/xaGEkSDd01U

As someone witnessing musicians around college campuses, I can say that there are many people who actually do play stuff. However, many suffer from...
1.) Lack of motivation -- They don't really feel too passionate about music so they would rather just keep as a hobby. Also, they may lack the motivation to go and find band members.
2.) Lack of skill -- Often contributed to lack of motivation. To get any success/happiness with a band, you need at least a basic level of skill to write your stuff or play your parts... Otherwise you are basically stuck with punk lol. Not everyone likes punk.
3.) Lack of funding/time -- They are college students. Music gear is expensive. College is stressful.

However, when you are 50 or whatever, I imagine chances are you have a bit more time (or at least are more organized in life), you have the skill developed over years of practicing, and you have the funds developed over years and years of work.

Nevertheless, I figure that other people truly motivated to perform will find a way with likeminded people.

[myTake Owner]

Thanks for your comment, also you guys sound great and it's cool to see 20-somethings putting the effort in. Keep going at it, I'm sure you'll become a great band :)

[redeyemindtricks]

Why don't YOU start a band right now? Why does someone else have to do it?

The world also needs the next generation of Shirley Manson's, Karen O's, and Mary Timony's.

I mean, you're saying this as though making music is something only boys can do. Like pissing standing up, or something.

[myTake Owner]

I am in a band lmao And also, who the hell cares about any of those people?
If you were going for naming successful female musicians at least use relevant ones, like Janis Joplin, Debbie Harry, or Annie Lennox lmao

[VomitV]

I don't think there's a need for more bands like the Ramones and Nirvana, partly because they were entirely devoid of talent, and partly because it's already been done a million times. Nickelback and company have spent years raping grunge's corpse, while Green Day and similar bands do the same to punk. I'm not going to bother mentioning the other genres like hip hop that you brought up, because they're not worth mentioning.

If rock's ever coming back, three things need to happen.

1.) A return to musical talent. It's been years since rock has had any defining musicians with unusual ability. Where are the Jimmy Chamberlains, Dimebag Darrels, and Freddie Mercurys? You get so much faggy core stuff and buttrock that it all blends together. We need more singers that can go four octaves, more guitarists that can redefine shredding, and in general less of this infantile crap that anyone who's been playing their instrument a week can handle.

2.) Thought-provoking lyrics. The past fifteen years have been full of awful angst-filled lyrics that sound like they're written by twelve-year olds. No one needs another weepy pop-rock ballad or nu-metal dirge about how much you loved her or how you've let your friends down due to your profound, edgy, Byronic nature. All great poetry uses words to tell a story, teach a lesson, or paint some kind of picture in your mind, with the most eloquent terms possible; that's been gone for a while. It can be written about most anything, but if there's no depth to the thought behind it, it's worthless. Look up the poem "Opportunity" by Edward Rowland Sill; it's got nothing to do with rock, but it illustrates my point well.

3.) The return of the riff. Between mathcore nerds who write percussive wanking in 12/8/16 or whatever made-up time signature that only other nerds care about, and three-chord monotonous buttrock, no one knows how to write a great riff anymore. There's a medium between being too progressive and too basic that most bands haven't understood for many years. For this I cite the song Gardenia by Kyuss, and I earnestly hope you look it up; though Josh Homme was a mediocre guitarist, he could write riffs like few others could. They were unorthodox, but they rocked. Rock music that actually rocks has been extinct for too long.

So, that's my (admittedly rambling and negative) view of the state of music today, or at least the shit I listen to. Have fun with it.

[VomitV]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=O8VmoqBz9Vg

[myTake Owner]

You are one of the most naive and non musically talented people I have ever had the misfortune of meeting in my entire life. How you can possibly say decade defining bands such as the Ramones and Nirvana are "not worth mentioning" is utterly disgraceful and, quite frankly, idiotic.
You seem as though to be the typical loser rock-on that has no idea what real music is.
In case you were wondering, there is a reason nobody cares about people like Dimebag Darrels and Josh Homme; because they are meaningless to the evolution of music. As are your opinions.
Have fun with your irrelevant opinions.

[VomitV]

lol. It's like you regurgitated back my points in a completely incorrect and poorly written format - perhaps because you didn't read them?

First off, how do you know I'm not musically talented? Not that it would have any any bearing on my arguments anyway, but I take that as an insult. I didn't spend hours singing chord tones, full scales, octaves and more, forcing myself through my limits and increasing my range, making my vibrato as tight as unpounded pussy, and in general perfecting my craft for some goober who respects awful musicians to say otherwise.

Second, I can say that "decade defining" bands such as the Ramones and Nirvana are bad because THEY WERE BAD. Kurt Cobain totally lacked technique and destroyed his voice with horrid throat screams, and likely wouldn't have been able to sing much longer had he not decorated his walls with brain matter. Joey Ramone wasn't much better, but mostly retained his voice, due to the fact that he never did anything demanding. He could

[VomitV]

Barely get above a baritone high G.

I'm not saying to go back to dudebro hair metal, but I'd gladly take that over Linkin Park or Creed, bands influenced by your precious Nirvana and Ramones.

As for your disrespect towards Josh Homme and Dimebag Darrell, I see some irony; Kyuss/QOTSA and Pantera were very influential bands, despite the fact that you're probably not familiar with them. I admit that most bands influenced by Pantera are shit, but Dimebag himself made many great guitarists pick up the instrument for the first time. Kyuss is considered the greatest band out of the Palm Desert, CA scene, and Queens of the Stone Age went on to be more commercially successful in addition to inspiring myriad other bands. Your lack of knowledge beyond bands you can find on a Walmart t-shirt doesn't justify your opinions, and Nirvana isn't a "classic" just because circlejerks like Rolling Stone and Spin say so.

[myTake Owner]

Lmao clearly you have further proved my point, that you have no idea what you are talking about.
Ramones and Nirvana are two of the most influential bands of all time and to deny their talent is simply naive and moronic in more ways than one. It's actually borderline insanity, considering the numerous #1 hits and influence they have had on society. Not to mention Nirvana not only was influential, but literally created the term "grunge"
Kyuss and Qotsa are so incredibly non existent that it's laughable. Not only does nobody care, but no matter how much you get a person to listen to them, they will never give a damn. Because they suck. There is a reason not many people know these bands, because there is no worth in knowing them. They are worthless trash really.
You are like I said, a typical rock-on loser hanging on to the threads of rock and roll hipster-ing thinking they are all high and mighty for knowing of bands nobody listens to because they aren't any good.

[myTake Owner]

Listen to some logic hun, there is a reason famous bands are famous. They became famous because they were good.
You know why not many people know the bands you like?
Because nobody else likes them

[VomitV]

Is Kesha good too? How about Taylor Swift? They're popular too, and a lot of people like them. They must be the fucking tits as far as musical ability goes.

No, much like political populism, they are famous because they pander to the lowest common denominator. The bands you mentioned couldn't play their instruments well; that's why they're not talented. That's what talent MEANS - spending years practicing to attain a higher level. Nirvana and the Ramones wrote music that anyone who had just picked up a guitar or microphone could replicate. That's the absence of talent. Whether or not dumbass liberal arts majors in college finds them relatable has no bearing on that.

You want to brag about their influence? Look at the bands they spawned - Bullet For My Valentine, Silverchair, Green Day, Staind, Good Charlotte. They suck even worse. If you want to know why old men playing Boston and Def Leppard are all that's left, it's because those bands had TALENT. Something I've defined too many

[VomitV]

times for you.

[myTake Owner]

Was I talking about modern music? I was not.
Also, we're supposed to be referencing people that have influenced music as a whole and not been a mere spark of celebrity for a few years. Nirvana and the Ramones changed the entirety of music altogether. Are you dense?
Saying that anyone could "pick up a guitar" and write songs like "Smells Like Teen Spirit" or "Hey Ho, Let's Go" is simply and utterly ridiculous and absurd.
Not one person you have mentioned has had any relevance to the evolution of music or any relevance to talent whatsoever, they just plain suck.
Also, Silverchair and Green Day are the bands you want to mention? Really? Although not nearly as fantastic as the mindedness of Kurt Cobain, these bands are also influential to all musicians.
DEF LEPPARD? DEF LEPPARD? Okay I'm just laughing in hysterics right now 😂 The absolute WORST band in existence 😂 "Talent" 😂😂😂

[myTake Owner]

Okay, I'm sorry but I'm still laughing.
Let me get this straight, you think the band that wrote "Pour Some Sugar On Me" is more talented than KURT COBAIN? 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[myTake Owner]

Def Leppard: AKA the cheesiest and most talentless band in existence (aside from Boston)

[VomitV]

Why does it matter whether it's a modern artist or not? I'm sure there were people saying that your favorite bands were just a flavor of the month, and that's true. Even the post-grunge and pop-punk trash they created haven't been relevant since the late 2000s.

Yes, I am saying anyone could pick up a guitar and write "Smells Like Teen Spirit", because it's four or five power chords, a bass line that follows the root notes of those power chords, and a primitive drum pattern. Oh, and abrasive vocals. Do you really think it's difficult to do that? It's difficult to trem pick scales at 300 BPM, but any jackass can play that. Why do you think they have so many spin-offs that sound more or less the same?

As for Def Leppard, I can only speak from a singer's perspective, but Joe Elliot had a great low, mid, and high register, was capable of blending well, and has a plethora of strong high notes up to G5 (soprano high G). On "Rocket", he hit great notes in the lower fifth octave and made a

[VomitV]

great slide over two octaves down. On Photograph, he holds a sustained D5 for NINE seconds. The man was a talented singer, unlike Kurt "Vocal Fold Eviscerator" Cobain. Sure, their lyrics were cheesy, and their 80s look is out of fashion. But for the umpteenth time, talent is NOT angsty lyrics, a sad sack image, or "influence" (aka, the music press sucking dick for bands that aren't that great anyway, and causing more imbeciles to copy their formula). It's practicing your instrument until you attain a high level with it. You want to know why all you see in your local scene is old men playing classic rock? Because it's better than any of the shit you can muster.

[myTake Owner]

Alright, if it's oh-so-easy why haven't you, the genius that you think you are, gone out and made a hit like Smells Like Teen Spirit? Why haven't YOU gone and become a famous musician?
Because you can't, because Nirvana and the Ramones were real artists that created genres and defines decades and you are an internet troll who couldn't play music to save his life.

Def leppard was an absolute embarrassment to the 80s. A lacklustre version of 70s rock bands that 13 year old girl listened to while they were going through "a phase". Mindless music with no actual meaning behind the lyrics. Pathetic in every sense of the word.
Again, denying Kurt Cobain's legendary vocals and lyrics is downright insanity considering the impact he's had and the depth of his lyrics. The man contributed to the theme of the 90s altogether and was relatable to every kind of person that was worth relating too.

[myTake Owner]

No, there is no reason for old men to play shitty rock in bars, because not only does the stuff they play suck testicles, but it will also have no impact on the generations to come.
Your logic is senseless and your taste is that of an illiterate hipster. You are the definition of this decade: meaningless.

[VomitV]

I think I told you why I haven't written another Smells Like Teen Spirit: firstly because it sucks, and secondly, because everyone else has. That's how post-grunge bands got famous - playing simple power chord songs with the same tired, angsty lyrics. When everyone is capable of doing something, it's not going to get you famous.

Kurt Cobain was not any more "deep" than hair metal lyricists. He cobbled together whatever trite expressions crossed his drug-addled mind, and added depression and anger. There's nothing more qualitatively intelligent about them than lyrics from Whitesnake, Def Leppard, Warrant, etc. Maybe you think that he's some kind of pansy savior, and that his political activism made him a hero to your SJW kind? Wrong again. He bragged about his sexual conquests openly, killed a cat when he was younger, and was in general a sociopathic asshole. He was as generic as any sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll star in the 80s, only under the facade of a sweater-wearing vagina who

[VomitV]

was thoughtful and caring or some shit.

He wasn't organic or against the grain, either. He was just another Geffen whore releasing commercial pap. You seem to think he's so groundbreaking, yet there were bands in the 80s and earlier doing the exact same thing, and he often plagiarized them directly. "Come As You Are" ripped off a Killing Joke song exactly, just speeding it up a bit; and "Smells Like Teen Spirit" is a blatant ripoff of "More Than A Feeling". He wasn't moody and artsy because that was somehow original - he was moody and artsy because that was marketable. Dumb teens like you eagerly bought up his trash because you thought it was some genuine, groundbreaking display of emotion and artistry, when it was the same crap that other whiny bands like Pearl Jam and Smashing Pumpkins were releasing under the auspices of their record label. I guarantee you that music would have been as little-known as Kyuss had it not been profitable at the time.

[VomitV]

If I was a hipster, I'd want my music to stay underground, but I think we were at our peak when metal and hard rock were still around. They took skill to play and didn't make you want to fucking off yourself. That's more than I can say for alternative "musicians".

[myTake Owner]

"An' here I go again on my own
Goin' down the only road I've ever known,
Like a hobo I was born to walk alone
An' I've made up my mind
I ain't wasting no more time"

"Hey!
C'mon, take a bottle, shake it up
Break the bubble, break it up
Pour some sugar on me
Ooh, in the name of love
Pour some sugar on me
C'mon, fire me up
Pour your sugar on me
Oh, I can't get enough
I'm hot, sticky sweet
From my head to my feet, yeah"

"So come on, put you hands together
You know it's now or never
Take a chance on rock 'n' roll
Ooo are you feelin' satisfied
Come on let us give your mind a ride
Ooo are you ready tonight
Come on let us give your mind a ride You can do what you like
Come on let us give your mind a ride"

*Laughing hysterically into the next century* 😂😂😂😂😂 #MusicalGeniusRightThere

[myTake Owner]

People have repeatedly copied Nirvana because it was the FIRST. It was the first grunge band ever, you seem to have no recollection of that 😂 That's why there's Nirvana t-shirts in every Walmart and everyone know what Cobain looks like, because they were the pioneers of an entire genre. WITHOUT EVEN WANTING TO BE. Watch the Kurt Cobain documentary, Cobain didn't even want to make it in the industry.
Then we have the heroes like Boston 😂😂 Trying everything in their power to squeeze one good and intelligent song out of their permed hair 😂😂
You know nothing about music and you should just stop, you're embarrassing yourself 😂

[VomitV]

I agree that hair metal lyrics mostly sucked. There's no argument there, and I don't hope for a hair metal revival. But those hair metal bands were still exponentially better than Nirvana. They had competent musicians and the theme wasn't angsty and irritating. Kurt Cobain could not play guitar or sing for shit, and only got by because shrieking over some shitty Fender with loads of distortion was popular then.

And since you brought it up, Nirvana was NOT the first grunge band, nor were they pioneers of grunge. You could argue that it was Green River, Mother Love Bone, or a number of other sludge, heavy metal, and alternative bands, in Seattle and elsewhere, that birthed grunge. But no way in hell is it Nirvana. They were merely the first band to make "grunge" (which has no cohesive sound due to all the bands being very different) mainstream. It's a common misconception that they created grunge, and it doesn't surprise me that your Rolling Stone education in music didn't teach you.

[VomitV]

I'm done writing out responses, because you can barely comprehend them and spew out some unintelligible response that either ignores the facts I included, or blatantly goes into the realm of fiction. I'm not wasting more of my time on a thick-headed little cunt who probably plays in a shitty garage band with Line 6s and your grammy's karaoke mic. You know nothing about music beyond the talentless, popular "alternative" bands that every peon listens to, and even then you manage to fuck up half the information.

Every band and project you are part of will be a failure, and you have nothing to set you apart from any other poser "musician" faggot who has no concept of the finer points of their instrument. I doubt you can read sheet music, transpose a song, write harmonized leads/vox, or even count your time. You'll drown in the sea of other talentless shitholes who spend more time taking selfies with their guitar than playing it. If you think rock music is fucked today, then look inward.

[myTake Owner]

Nothing you say makes any sense or has any evidence to back it up.
Kurt Cobain wrote lyrics people related too and he put his soul into it, he sang about things he felt passionate about, which happened to be what everyone else around his age and time was passionate about. Do you comprehend this yet?
NOBODY gives a flying f*ck about any of the bands you mention and Green Mother and Mother Love Bone were next to meaningless in the evolution of grunge music. Do you have any idea what you are saying?
The fact that Nirvana was only around for eight years and made more of an impact on people than every band you've brought up put together is enough for me to come to the conclusion that you are a delusional, rock on, hair metal, space cadet.

Now you've resorted to insulting my musical talents when you don't even know who I am 😂😂 Talk about "fucking up information" 😂😂

Do you realize how ridiculously pathetic you sound? 😂😂😂

[AnArtisticMind]

Personally, I dislike shredding. Give me a soul-filled solo from Dave Gilmour any day, where each note has meaning.

https://youtu.be/y7EpSirtf_E

[Anpu23]

I worked as a sound enginer for a small dive of a bar, and used to own a small music venue. I also currently own a media promotional company. One of the big problems is that bars themselves dictate what can be played there. Venues get music from aspiring bands quite often, and they asl themselves "will my patrons like this?" And if the answer is no, they won't book the band.
I'll give you the example of Blue October the first time they came to Salt Lake City, they played to an audience of maybe 15 or 20 and I think I enjoyed it the most (I was the sound guy) and the only reason why the booking agent let them play was for a friend of his.

It's not that bands aren't being formed it's that you, the audience, just never get the opportunity to see them.

[myTake Owner]

I hear what you're trying to say but Blue October isn't exactly the type of band I mean. They are edging towards their forties and are alternative rock. There is nothing relatable to the masses of ITunes music buyers and alternative rock is nothing new.
My point is, is that you don't get a group of 18 year olds coming up with their own sound and going out and doing something with it. And if they get turned down buy a bar, is that it? Are you saying they just quit and that's why we don't see them?
The problem isn't that we don't see them, it's that they aren't here.

[Anpu23]

I'll hold my opinion until I get my next music venue open. Because honestly I have been out of the live music scene for about 10 years or so. I am currently building a sound system and when I am done with that I will know more.

[myTake Owner]

Alright, sounds fair.

[zagor]

I agree. The reason so many bands play classic rock is there hasn't been that much good new stuff for 20+ years. Where are the new great rock bands? So many of the bands I really like broke up years ago (in some cases before I was born) and those still around probably should have retired by now.

John Bonham's SON is a grandfather now...

[myTake Owner]

Exactly, there aren't even any real rock bands anymore and don't even get me started on punk rock. That just flat out died.

[Anonymous]

There's no reason to start a band in 2016. I would do it if I was living in the 80s (particularly late 70s and early 80s) and if I was born in a country like the US or Australia. Or maybe Canada and UK but only during the summer. Not the shithole I was born in.

Do you believe genres I listen to like AOR or New Wave would have any success in 2016? No. I would have to play this shitty Alternative Rock most people listen to in our days. And I'm not willing to humiliate myself like that just for the money.

But if we were in 1983 right now for example, then I would absolutely do it, record an album and make it BIG.

[myTake Owner]

What kind of country are you living in then?

Also, if you read correctly you would have realized that I was stating we should have young people coming up with NEW genres that aren't this Millennial Pop manufactured by computer nerds. And what kind of new music are you supposedly listening too? Because Rock at all is barely even a genre anymore. The closest you get is the Black Keys and nobody listens to them except 40 year olds.

You have no idea what you are saying.

[Opinion Owner]

Forgot about country. I'm ashamed to mention about it.

And I don't listen to new music anyway. I stick to 80s stuff mostly and late 70s as well.

[myTake Owner]

A) That's weird

B) Modern music is next to impossible to not hear on a daily basis and have a general idea of what it sounds like, so either you live in a cave or this is also weird.

[Opinion Owner]

1) Weird that I dislike my country?

2) Weird that I don't turn on the radio?

[myTake Owner]

A) Weird that you're talking about it like you're in the Holocaust

B) Yes

[Opinion Owner]

1) My country is really shitty, and if you were living here, then you'll understand.

2) How is this weird? Many people don't listen to the radio nowdays, and they look for music through the internet.

[myTake Owner]

Arguing with you about this is redundant

[Opinion Owner]

So why do you believe it's weird? I don't get it. About not listening to the radio I mean.

[AnArtisticMind]

I would like to see the return of progressive rock (bands like Yes, King Crimson, Rush, Emerson Lake & Palmer, early Genesis, etc). Musicians who were truly masters of their instruments.

[FallOutBoy2001]

I'd start a band if I could find people to start it with

[jesusnicolas768]

Nice I liked it

[myTake Owner]

Thank you!

[jesusnicolas768]

No prob