General Music Chat

My 2 female singers have been missing rehearsals.
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I need someone I can count on, so, ok, I placed an ad on Craigs list.
. . . "Girl to sing jazz, blues, rock, and folk - all originals."
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I got 4 responses within a week.
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One actually said she'd commute 4 hours (every week) to rehearsal, but I'm skeptical about that.
. . . down to 3.
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Of those 3 (ages 36, 32, and 27), all live within half an hour from me.
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I started with 4, down to 3.
So far, so good.
I'm trying to schedule times for each and all of them. One said she'd show at rehearsal tomorrow; the other 2 are pending . . .
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If they're half-way good, I'll pour everything into them, and groom them to be real performers.
If they're ALL good - I'll take on all 3 of them, and make one of them a star.
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And, therefore, with attrition and cancellations, I might get 1-2 singers for every rehearsal and gig.
or not . . .

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OK, from past experience, I'm feeling cynical about this.
People talk big, but a real lot of my music is pretty hard to sing and play.
About 1/3 of it is relatively easy, but the rest . . .
. . . 4 and 5 part harmonies, call-and-reponse, synchopation, counterpoint, staggered responses, vocals centered around really unusual chords . . .
And most folks get cold feet.
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But I might be pleasantly surprised, this time; . . . who knows?
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Soooo . . .
Any bets as to how many of them I'll actually meet?
Or if they can sing, have the chemistry, and are dependable, and what-not?
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Probably meet all 3.
You might be able to keep 1.

You gotta give them some space to sing in

All 3 eh?
I'll keep you posted.
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About giving them space to sing . . .
Well . . . it's like this: we don't do covers, straight rock, or straight blues.
The songs are not ordinary songs; that's not what we do.
And . . . GOOD . . . that makes us unique and memorable . . .
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That's why it's hard to find people for my band . . .
And I can live with that.
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But - about 1/2 the songs ARE fairly straightforward to sing.
The other 1/2 will take real singers, and real musicians.
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So - you're right: a lot of this stuff IS really hard to play and sing. Again: GOOD!
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A little more detail: about 1/2 the songs are 'set.' meaning: "this is how they go: sing this, play that."
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So - not so much space.
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And - the other half of the songs, I tell them to sing any harmonies they want - just use the center of their comfortable range.
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I give them several notes, and chords, and tell them to follow along.
I give them all the space they could possible dream of.
But - often that results in lost or bewildered looks . . .
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So, if they get lost, or do something that sounds crummy, I make suggestions.
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And for the musicians - I tell them "play anything that fits."
A lot of time this is a big challenge for them (singers and musicians both) and they ask for a little guidance, anyway.
So - they often do not WANT the space you mention, which is pretty interesting, eh?
Either way - it's all good.
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Like I said - I'm looking for real singers . . .
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Regardless - when we perform or practice - we really, really get into it.
We are all often in a different universe . . .
You should see the emotions crawling across our faces as we play . . .
And every song is a different style of music - it's great . . . .
. . . nothing like it on earth . . .

Alan, you keep telling us "I give them" or "I let them" or "I..." etc. What if you get a really experienced professional who has musical ideas of their own? Would you do any of their songs, take into account any of their ideas? It sounds like you want to call EVERY shot. I've been in a few bands where one of the members was "the leader" on EVERYTHING, right down to deciding who did what on EVERY song. That's when I hit the road. Hopefully this works out and you get some highly qualified people. Good luck...

You couldn't be more right Bob. A band is NOT one person telling everyone what to do, even if they write all the music, own the PA and host rehearsals. I was like that when I was younger and less experienced. It very rarely leads to anything meaningful or long-lasting. You must respect the other people in the band and let them contribute or they won't be around long.

Bob,

I thought talent was based upon how great a female singer looks in a skin tight mini skirt and spiky heels.

Did that change again? I just can't keep up anymore.

You're thinking of a different talent heh heh.

Seriously, female musicians do have to look good, especially if they're the lead vocalist. Seems like male musicians can get away with ugly easier than females; it's not right but the way it is.

Hey, no sense making predictions, RM. What will be will be, & all that.

Try to stay hopeful. Heck, you might get 3 excellent singers that work really well together & take direction perfectly & make you famous...or it might be a total wash-out, in which case you aren't in any worse situation than you're in right now.

Hi Rhythm! When the vocalists contacted you, did they give you any links to any of their music posted on line? I think that would give you an inclination of who will work out ahead of time. I think most artists and musicians that look for a serious project would have a myspace page or website.

LOL I think Alan will have to groom them to be what he needs.

Professional with own ideas?

Wow, hey, wouldn't that be nice?

I think it's exactly the way he's thinking about it.

I say, KEEP ALL 3 if they are any good and rotate them.

You know at least 1 of them will want to cancel on a good show and that'd be time to bring in #2 or #3. LOL

Practice with all of them, have your favorite and teach any and all that are good enough. (replacements are a wonderful thing)

the title of this post is like a dream come true

its too bad they dont show up though

Yes AV a dream, but sometimes dreams turn into nightmares....

Back in the early to mid 80's I had bands with female vocalists. When it was good it was very good and when it was bad it was worse. Nothing against it but I vowed never to be in a band with women again. I like my rock testosterone fueled.

2/1 is my prediction.

Best wishes Alan.

Did you ever think about paying them up front. I know thats one of those flocked up capitalist ideas but even a few bucks for gas can sometimes turn the odds in your favor.

Bob, go back and read my previous - about 1/2 the songs I tell them to do anything they want . . .
I like working with people who can figure it out for themselves . . .