When I said next gig I meant for SON
Feb. 6th, 2004 11:50 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shermaramaPaul came in with printouts of a review last week. If you asked me what I thought of reviews, I'd say they generally don't matter much. Constructive criticism is useful; someone on Mono pointed out a crowded vocal line and so we've changed it, but otherwise people like what they like and if they like us that's good and if not, well, fair enough.
A recent post by verlaine exasperated and amused me in equal measure. He claims not to understand why musicians are seen as sexy and demanding respect. Anyone that can get paid to do stuff in public seems to command that, though; people like power. There are people out there who think Michael Howard is sexy, for crying out loud. Abjuring teenagers not to form cliched three chord bands is surely one of the classic columnist's cliches in itself?
The exasperating part is that in the same post, he's found the key to why people do it. Really, it's not to get laid. Spending half your time and money on practice rooms and equipment, being in another part of the country playing to half a dozen people when all your mates are out on the town on a Friday night, dissipating the immediate post-gig euphoria in shoe-horning all your gear into a small car while the audience are pairing up and buggering off to the next place of fun, this is not how you get laid. But karaoke, the act of singing encouraged by a small circle of friends, the experience of being *in* a song and making it your own, he gets the point of that.
So what do you think all those bands out there are doing? Those spotlights blind - you can't *see* the audience. If you've the time to look hard you may be able to pick out people you know well, if they're standing somewhere better lit. You get up there in front of people but you do it for yourself, because the process itself feels like nothing else. If it turns out that the audience don't like it, then okay; change something if that makes you realise there's something wrong, change the audience if you were playing in the wrong place, if all else fails play just for yourself in a secret place. If the audience do like it, for some unknown reason, then hey, it might be that you get to do it again only with added benefits like not having to pay through the nose.
So we have a very positive review. It seems the author of the webzine in question, alt-uk.com only writes positive and enthusiastic reviews but let's assume the best case scenario, that he doesn't bother to review bands he doesn't like. Some of it does go a bit OTT. What this offers to me, though, is not some sense of validation or being appreciated - it's more selfish than that. I don't know the reviewer and if his day is better for listening to us, I'm only glad for him in an impersonal way. The secret benefit, the glow of hope kindled, is just that we might get to do it some more.
Son Of Nothing are a four piece band from London mixing many different genres of music from Thrash Metal right through to Punk, passing through Progressive Rock on the way. For this Demo the band have recorded three tracks and these three tracks show really show off the fact that they have many different influences from various spectrums of the Rock genre. I think its more a case of wanting to make music which they like rather than making something which is different and every song on this CD is completely different in sound yet each song is equally as good as the text – showing that the band are multi talented musicians that can pull off a large variety of styles.
The first track, ‘Can’t Complain’ is a tune showing off their Punk influences with vocals that are undisputedly of the Punk Rock genre. There are some great drumming skills shown off in this song, as well as some storming guitar riffs, and cool bass lines. I love the break in the middle which makes you think that the record is over, then shocks you when it starts off again – it is neatly done by the band and really adds to the effect of the record. Vocally on this track, the band really remind me of some of King Prawn’s material with that fast and furious tone which if you had the pleasure of seeing them live then you will know well. This is definitely a good thing I would say as the band have probably not planned it this way, but I have always felt that King Prawn were one of the most inspirational bands of all time bringing up political issues in their songs, just as this band do.
The second fine track on this CD is the wonderful ‘AK47’ which takes on a more Metal approach. With its eerie guitars, fast drum pace, and pulsing bass lines, it really gives the record a feeling of Metal music madness and the vocals work well with the musical side of it in order to create an eerie feeling throughout the track. I like the feel which is created in this track and definitely think that this is a style which works well with the band, however I do not think that the band are as well suited to this as they are to the approach taken in ‘Can’t Complain.’
Third and final track, ‘Numbers’ is again a completely different story. Although the guitars are again creating a distinctly eerie feel throughout the record, the vocals are much more melodic – I guess showing off the bands leaning towards Prog-Rock. At the end of this track there is a tremendous instrumental part featuring no vocals with some defiantly fast drumming, storming guitar riffs, and deadly bass lines. This really creates a great end for the CD as they manage to finish it off doing what they do best – making fine, gritty guitar based music which will vibrate through your insides and put a massive smile on your face. This is a great finale to the CD – showing that this band is a force to be reckoned with.
So, this band should appeal to a relatively large audience as there are so different many influences to their music, making Son Of Nothing a unique experience which I found to be extremely enjoyable. If you are someone that enjoys a variety of genres, but has to change the CD every few minutes in order to make sure that you get your daily dosage of each genre, then make sure you get your grubby hands on a copy of this fine Demo CD as with three songs that are completely different to one another – you will never have to change CDs once as they perform every single genre to perfection. This band are currently an unsigned act, but with such a broad selection of songs, they are sure to be snapped up soon as bands that are unique are few and far between so when a label spots a band that have unique qualities, they start licking their lips with delight. I am sure that Son Of Nothing will have a whole string of record labels vying for their signature before long and wish the band all the best for the future.
Meanwhile, the next gig for me is a Bad Fucks one, tomorrow night in Burgess Hill. About six bands on the bill in total and we're not even on first. I'd better get it right..
A recent post by verlaine exasperated and amused me in equal measure. He claims not to understand why musicians are seen as sexy and demanding respect. Anyone that can get paid to do stuff in public seems to command that, though; people like power. There are people out there who think Michael Howard is sexy, for crying out loud. Abjuring teenagers not to form cliched three chord bands is surely one of the classic columnist's cliches in itself?
The exasperating part is that in the same post, he's found the key to why people do it. Really, it's not to get laid. Spending half your time and money on practice rooms and equipment, being in another part of the country playing to half a dozen people when all your mates are out on the town on a Friday night, dissipating the immediate post-gig euphoria in shoe-horning all your gear into a small car while the audience are pairing up and buggering off to the next place of fun, this is not how you get laid. But karaoke, the act of singing encouraged by a small circle of friends, the experience of being *in* a song and making it your own, he gets the point of that.
So what do you think all those bands out there are doing? Those spotlights blind - you can't *see* the audience. If you've the time to look hard you may be able to pick out people you know well, if they're standing somewhere better lit. You get up there in front of people but you do it for yourself, because the process itself feels like nothing else. If it turns out that the audience don't like it, then okay; change something if that makes you realise there's something wrong, change the audience if you were playing in the wrong place, if all else fails play just for yourself in a secret place. If the audience do like it, for some unknown reason, then hey, it might be that you get to do it again only with added benefits like not having to pay through the nose.
So we have a very positive review. It seems the author of the webzine in question, alt-uk.com only writes positive and enthusiastic reviews but let's assume the best case scenario, that he doesn't bother to review bands he doesn't like. Some of it does go a bit OTT. What this offers to me, though, is not some sense of validation or being appreciated - it's more selfish than that. I don't know the reviewer and if his day is better for listening to us, I'm only glad for him in an impersonal way. The secret benefit, the glow of hope kindled, is just that we might get to do it some more.
Son Of Nothing are a four piece band from London mixing many different genres of music from Thrash Metal right through to Punk, passing through Progressive Rock on the way. For this Demo the band have recorded three tracks and these three tracks show really show off the fact that they have many different influences from various spectrums of the Rock genre. I think its more a case of wanting to make music which they like rather than making something which is different and every song on this CD is completely different in sound yet each song is equally as good as the text – showing that the band are multi talented musicians that can pull off a large variety of styles.
The first track, ‘Can’t Complain’ is a tune showing off their Punk influences with vocals that are undisputedly of the Punk Rock genre. There are some great drumming skills shown off in this song, as well as some storming guitar riffs, and cool bass lines. I love the break in the middle which makes you think that the record is over, then shocks you when it starts off again – it is neatly done by the band and really adds to the effect of the record. Vocally on this track, the band really remind me of some of King Prawn’s material with that fast and furious tone which if you had the pleasure of seeing them live then you will know well. This is definitely a good thing I would say as the band have probably not planned it this way, but I have always felt that King Prawn were one of the most inspirational bands of all time bringing up political issues in their songs, just as this band do.
The second fine track on this CD is the wonderful ‘AK47’ which takes on a more Metal approach. With its eerie guitars, fast drum pace, and pulsing bass lines, it really gives the record a feeling of Metal music madness and the vocals work well with the musical side of it in order to create an eerie feeling throughout the track. I like the feel which is created in this track and definitely think that this is a style which works well with the band, however I do not think that the band are as well suited to this as they are to the approach taken in ‘Can’t Complain.’
Third and final track, ‘Numbers’ is again a completely different story. Although the guitars are again creating a distinctly eerie feel throughout the record, the vocals are much more melodic – I guess showing off the bands leaning towards Prog-Rock. At the end of this track there is a tremendous instrumental part featuring no vocals with some defiantly fast drumming, storming guitar riffs, and deadly bass lines. This really creates a great end for the CD as they manage to finish it off doing what they do best – making fine, gritty guitar based music which will vibrate through your insides and put a massive smile on your face. This is a great finale to the CD – showing that this band is a force to be reckoned with.
So, this band should appeal to a relatively large audience as there are so different many influences to their music, making Son Of Nothing a unique experience which I found to be extremely enjoyable. If you are someone that enjoys a variety of genres, but has to change the CD every few minutes in order to make sure that you get your daily dosage of each genre, then make sure you get your grubby hands on a copy of this fine Demo CD as with three songs that are completely different to one another – you will never have to change CDs once as they perform every single genre to perfection. This band are currently an unsigned act, but with such a broad selection of songs, they are sure to be snapped up soon as bands that are unique are few and far between so when a label spots a band that have unique qualities, they start licking their lips with delight. I am sure that Son Of Nothing will have a whole string of record labels vying for their signature before long and wish the band all the best for the future.
Meanwhile, the next gig for me is a Bad Fucks one, tomorrow night in Burgess Hill. About six bands on the bill in total and we're not even on first. I'd better get it right..
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Date: 2004-02-06 02:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-02-06 03:19 pm (UTC)