Musician Forum - Band Discussion Board - BandMix

So I'm new here but there seem to be a lot of people floating around so I figured I would pick your brains. How does one, i.e. being a chic, manage to find and front a metal band? It doesn't seem to be widely sought after nor the norm in the metal world. I live and breathe metal and would want nothing more than to have my own little local band to goof off and perform with. I mean don't get me wrong, I LOVE to sing, but just to be able to have a band and make the music that gets me through the day would be rewarding enough. Sure, making it big and having money is great and all but the music is what's really important. Please let me know what you guys think.

Liza, please check these two metal bands fronted by women.

Nina fronts Bloodlined Calligraphy. She is awesome!
http://www.myspace.com/bloodlinedcalligraphy

Tonya started singing as a joke in her friend Mike's band after listening to auditions for lead vocals. She smokes any guy I've ever heard!
http://www.myspace.com/girlscouthandgrenade

1) Get a vocal coach and practice what they teach you
2) Get enough guitar skills so that you can eventually sing and play and write
3) Start hanging out at all of the local open mics. Network like crazy!
4) Be prepared for lots of hard work and disapointment
5) Never give up on your dreams!

I agree with Mr. Danger from Rock city! coaching or unless you have $$ then you could try V.I.T. in CA. or one of the schools in the north? Also just so you know the money`s not all you may think it is @ signing. Made the national level once made a nice lick n the start but ya gotta keep selling records or it all just falls to hell!
Keep trying and don`t give up! Good luck!

BUY A PA SYSTEM!

Howlin'

What Howlin said and practice singing whenever and wherever you can. Just sing and sing and sing, start to record yourself, give yourself an unbiased critique if possible, jam sessions, karaoke, ask to sit in with metal bands at their gigs, do whatever it takes to better yourself and sooner or later you'll be a lead singer in a metal band. JUST GO FOR IT FULL FORCE....

Yep, buy your own PA>.

Hard to argue with a person that BROUGHT the PA.

(They just get pissed off and leave)

quite honestly, it's all fake (selling yourself / band) so here's my list:

1. Dress / look like a total slut, wear lots of black and lots of black eyeliner /. makeup. Don't go total goth, but come off as 'dark' and mysterious. Show enough skin to make 'em want you, but not enough that they can see what they would get.

2. Be able to scream like a metal band expects.

3. Be energetic and move around, look at people in the eye and connect to the audience (or potential bandmates at an audition)

4. Know what a "key" is and how to be at least near it when singing.

5. Have a sense of humor, you are going to need it.

Frankly, being in a band is 90% work and 10% reward. Nothing comes easy or for free, expect to get back what you put into it. It's great to have dreams, but don't expect anyone to hand anything to you. You have to work extremely hard for crumbs in this biz.

jimmydanger wrote:1) Get a vocal coach and practice what they teach you
2) Get enough guitar skills so that you can eventually sing and play and write
3) Start hanging out at all of the local open mics. Network like crazy!
4) Be prepared for lots of hard work and disapointment
5) Never give up on your dreams!

I coundn´t agree more!

Hell just get out there and do it!

Thats what every active musician I know did.

Theres really no rules, especially in metal.

All the metal chick singers I've seen are either super hott or kick some serious ass on vocals.... You can't get up there looking "frumpy"... Guys can get away with that but not girls... So work real hard on not only your vocals but your image... Hey... It's metal.... it's the sad truth...

Imho, if you want to "make it" as a singer, there's only one thing to do.

You can get that PA. It'll certainly help you get that band together.

You can get those lessons. You can always learn more about your craft.

First & foremost, however, you must SING!!!! Sing at every opportunity. Go to those open mics. Hit the karaoke bars. Sing in the shower. Sing your butt off whether there's anyone around or not. Practice in your living room, your kitchen, your bedroom, out in a field, wherever, & every time you sing, work it like you have a crowd of 100,000 screaming fans out there. When you get that audition, make like you're in front of an audience. Interact with the band members. Flirt with the non-existent ppl. BE that kick-ass perfect front man & just DO IT each & every time you sing a note. Stage presense is your most important tool, perhaps even more important than hitting those notes & grabbing the feel of the song. Be a star before you ever hit a stage. Keep the excitement level at 11 on a scale of 1 to 5. Put in the time to be great. Record yourself at every opportunity, & BE CRITICAL. Take notes if you need to. Figure out where you can improve, & don't forget to give yourself those all-important kudos for nailing it when you do. You must ooze confidence from your every pore to have ppl pay attention to what you're doing. All eyes should be on you before you ever sing a note, & NOT because of your clothes or the lack thereof. You must command the stage simply by standing there. When you move, give your gestures meaning. Relate them to the lyrics. Spend a LOT of time with your microphone, & perfect your dynamics so you don't blow out the diaphram when you bellow out those loud notes. Try to keep your volume at a constant as you go through your paces by pulling away or getting right up on it.

Being a front man is one of the hardest things you can try to do. You have nothing to hide behind. It's all just you. The more you work on it before you take the stage, the more confident you will be. The more confident you are, the more successful you will be. And the best way to have good honest confidence is to be sure of yourself through the training you should be doing each & every day, whether you wanna or not.

Force yourself into "the zone" when you don't feel like it. Some of the best shows I have ever done started off with me feeling like crap, or when I just didn't think I could do it. Once you get into that zone, though, nothing matters but the job at hand. You get into it, & the ppl will follow.

Sorry if this isn't helping, or seems off-topic, but it's the best advice I could ever give a budding singer.

Crip2Nite wrote:All the metal chick singers I've seen are either super hott or kick some serious ass on vocals.... You can't get up there looking "frumpy"... Guys can get away with that but not girls... So work real hard on not only your vocals but your image... Hey... It's metal.... it's the sad truth...

That's not exactly true.

I saw a female fronted band recently, I shall not utter the name.

The singer WAS frumpy, but dark looking like she was unbalanced.

I kind of thought she resembled the female version of Peter Steele.
The music was interesting and they were totally into that vampire thing, but "hey what the hell", they had entertainment value and they jammed hard. lol

So yeah I guess I could say I (gulp) liked it?! ? lol

Point is you can be frumpy, ugly and fuct up in the head, just as long as you practice your craft and you can actually deliver what you are supposed to produce, whether it be growling/screaming, singing or any stop in the middle.

I think the most valuable trait is to be unique and yet good.

If the Donna's can do it , so can you. I love those frumpy ones myself , but my opinion don't count since I'm an old fart .


But its another day in Paradise !!!

If Cap'n said it you can do it. Now a reply from you is the correct thing to do.

Well...All I can say is that if you're gonna look frumpy, you better be able to belt it the hell out! .... and that was my point in my 1st post... Not all chick singers look hot but they can really kick some serious ass!