Aberdeen bands that were tipped for big things but didn't do as well as expected

[Bigsby]

I'll kick things off with Colon Openbracket.

[Skubbs]

I'll kick things off with Colon Openbracket.

Ha, yeah "oh we're moving to London" then it became "oh, um, we've got a house in Aberdeen now, we'll just travel..."

[Christy]

Colon Openbracket achieved a whole lot more than almost any local band of our generation except perhaps The Xcerts and Copy Haho

[Captain America]

Toxic Distortion

[givemeasmile]

Colon Openbracket achieved a whole lot more than almost any local band of our generation except perhaps The Xcerts and Copy Haho

Yeah, quite an unfair thread to be honest.

When you say "ended up doing fuck all", do you mean that they didn't get into the charts and tour massive venues or that they did absolutely nothing?

[Bigsby]

Yeah, quite an unfair thread to be honest.

When you say "ended up doing fuck all", do you mean that they didn't get into the charts and tour massive venues or that they did absolutely nothing?

They were being tipped for "the big time" ie

As I've told Shaun, colonopenbracket are the future, they are the best, they are great. It's not just the tunes I care for, but their ideas and the whole concept. Their name, their format, and their planned end to gigs (I won't spoil it for anyone who doesn't already know) are Pop-Art genius, exactly what this game should be about.

I had wanted them to be our "running mates", but I fear they may go stratospheric before us

So yeah, Aberdeen bands that were tipped for big commercial success so selling lots of records, touring big venues etc etc etc

Driveblind were mentioned, they did more than most I guess, major label record contract, recording with name producers, touring the US etc but ultimately they just didn't have that one catchy single that could have put them into the big time.

[Adam Easy Wishes]

Who is Steve Temple?

[Stroopy121]

$huttr$pd

xx

[Paranoid Android]

As I've told Shaun, colonopenbracket are the future, they are the best, they are great. It's not just the tunes I care for, but their ideas and the whole concept. Their name, their format, and their planned end to gigs (I won't spoil it for anyone who doesn't already know) are Pop-Art genius, exactly what this game should be about.

I had wanted them to be our "running mates", but I fear they may go stratospheric before us

One of the most hilarious posts I've ever read on here.

I only vaguely remember them, never saw a gig.

What were the supposedly amazing ideas and concept?

Their name is awful.

Planned end to gigs?? ha, wtf?

[Bigsby]

Who is Steve Temple?

Found him in this thread.

Some real crackers in there. I really hope he was on a wind-up.

The NME decides who to break, because they know what's best for us. It's because they proclaim a movement that bands get signed, not the other way round. If any record company were to try and curry their favour, then it would be the record label that Keane are on, yet NME has mocked them from the start

It's not as simple as using synths rather than guitars on a recording, it's in the fact that they will each play PC keyboards live, using and abusing them in the same way as guitars, rather than sitting down with a laptop, a mouse and some preset data infront of them. As far as I know, this has never been done by an accessible band. This may sound like a gimmick, but from what Shaun tells me, Mart genuinely believes that they wiil replace guitars as the tools of pop. If pop is to define the modern world - as is it's job - then it should reflect the advance of technology by using it in creative ways. I know they call themselves Emo, but to my ears, their metronomic melody lines are devoid of emotion, which is always a good thing.

http://www.aberdeen-music.com/forums/music-discussion/26440-colon-openbracket.html

[Guest idol_wild]

Colon Openbracket achieved a whole lot more than almost any local band of our generation except perhaps The Xcerts and Copy Haho

Excellent post.

I absolutely hated everything about Colon Openbracket - especially their dreadful music, but they actually pulled their finger out and did more than most Aberdeen-based musicians have ever done. I always appreciate it when a band is willing to work. So many bands aren't, yet complain about a lack of opportunities.

The thing about being "tipped for big things" is that we actually have to ascertain who is offering these tips. I mean, are we basing this on some every day Joe who posted about their friend's band on aberdeen-music.com? Is that being "tipped"?

[Alan Cynic]

I saw them a few times...Mart plus 2 keytar-toting non-males, if memory serves correctly.

The Cuts were almost signed too, weren't they?

[Bigsby]

Excellent post.

I absolutely hated everything about Colon Openbracket - especially their dreadful music, but they actually pulled their finger out and did more than most Aberdeen-based musicians have ever done. I always appreciate it when a band is willing to work. So many bands aren't, yet complain about a lack of opportunities.

The thing about being "tipped for big things" is that we actually have to ascertain who is offering these tips. I mean, are we basing this on some every day Joe who posted about their friend's band on aberdeen-music.com? Is that being "tipped"?

OK, tipped for big things on here then if we need a stricter definition.

My Mind's Weapon?

[Guest idol_wild]

OK, tipped for big things on here then if we need a stricter definition.

My Mind's Weapon?

Even then, they still played some high profile shows and toured considerably more than most Aberdeen musicians, and they sold a decent amount of records, if my memory serves me well.

[Bigsby]

Even then, they still played some high profile shows and toured considerably more than most Aberdeen musicians, and they sold a decent amount of records, if my memory serves me well.

Fair enough, this thread can perhaps serve a useful purpose as to WHY certain bands weren't able to make that next step. Having got as far as they did, how come Weapon or : ( weren't able to make the breakthrough to more "mainstream" success, however you want to measure it?

[Adam Easy Wishes]

Found him in this thread.

Some real crackers in there. I really hope he was on a wind-up.

http://www.aberdeen-music.com/forums/music-discussion/26440-colon-openbracket.html

What a twat.

Steve Temple, I mean.

[Guest idol_wild]

The Cuts were almost signed too, weren't they?

You did this on purpose, right?

[Diesel]

Hookers Green #1

[Bigsby]

EDIT: Feck all is unfair, they did achieve a lot, i remember Download 2008 there was weapon tshirts everywhere you looked so they obviously were doing something right.

That's why I included the question mark, as I really don't know how "big" they got. All I know is they were tipped for big things (again with the caveat about "what is big?") but never really got there.

Maybe the "feck all" comment in the title is what's annoying people, mods please remove it if so.

[Bigsby]

Changed thread title but ran out of letters, last word is predicted.

[Alan Cynic]

You did this on purpose, right?

Whatever I did it wasn't deliberate!?(

I just remember enjoying them, and there being a 'record company' buzz about them, then not hearing about them.

[givemeasmile]

Perhaps if we had more Brokencyde-type bands then our scene would enjoy more success.

[Guest idol_wild]

Fair enough, this thread can perhaps serve a useful purpose as to WHY certain bands weren't able to make that next step. Having got as far as they did, how come Weapon or : ( weren't able to make the breakthrough to more "mainstream" success, however you want to measure it?

It's quite simply down to economics, in my view. Bands and musicians require financial support in order to make the supply meet the demand. But that support isn't forthcoming in today's low-level music industry. So bands have to self-finance, which most bands can't afford to sustain. The balance between employment and musical commitments is probably the downfall of most bands that don't "make it". Musicians have rent to pay - this point was underlined by the legend that is Josh T. Pearson in an interview I read recently, where he hinted that making his solo album took him ten years because he found it so difficult to calibrate regular income with musical commitments, because musical commitments don't offer enough money to pay the rent and feed his belly. Therefore, his priority had to lie with earning a living.

[Bigsby]

It's quite simply down to economics, in my view. Bands and musicians require financial support in order to make the supply meet the demand. But that support isn't forthcoming in today's low-level music industry. So bands have to self-finance, which most bands can't afford to sustain. The balance between employment and musical commitments is probably the downfall of most bands that don't "make it". Musicians have rent to pay - this point was underlined by the legend that is Josh T. Pearson in an interview I read recently, where he hinted that making his solo album took him ten years because he found it so difficult to calibrate regular income with musical commitments, because musical commitments don't offer enough money to pay the rent and feed his belly. Therefore, his priority had to lie with earning a living.

Definitely, and yet the bands who DO make it "big" will usually have to contend with the same issue and presumably end up living in near poverty in pursuit of their dream.

I understand for example that Stanley got signed but their guitar player left because he wasn't willing to go "full time". But will he end up regretting not living on beans on toast for a while if they end up being the next Scouting For Girls?

[Guest idol_wild]

Definitely, and yet the bands who DO make it "big" will usually have to contend with the same issue and presumably end up living in near poverty in pursuit of their dream.

I understand for example that Stanley got signed but their guitar player left because he wasn't willing to go "full time". But will he end up regretting not living on beans on toast for a while if they end up being the next Scouting For Girls?

Bands these days have to reach quite a high level before music starts earning them a living. Even before they signed to Atlantic, a band like, say, Frightened Rabbit, who regularly play to crowds of 500 - 1500 in both the UK and the United States, have members who had to move back home with parents last year in order to give themselves the financial breathing space to allow them to work so hard as a band.

Pretty backwards, but it's just the way it is. And on a related note, I'm stoked they got signed to Atlantic. They'll be bigger than Snow Patrol. But hopefully remain considerably better and not have their songs ghostwritten.