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New band feedback? :)


JamieTaylor

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You have some good ideas and it sounds like you can play, but the recording is terribly executed. Sort it out. You don't need any more demos of this or a similar standard. Don't "look" to start gigging "post-summer" - whatever that means. That's fucking forever away. Pull your fingers out. Make getting a bass player your top priority. When you get one scare yourselves into practising like fuck by booking a gig a month or two later.

How many songs have you got?

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As blunt as Bob is above he's entirely right, you need to gig as soon as possible for maximum experience (assuming of course you haven't gigged as a band before).

The recordings are really, really low quality which is a shame since the tunes seem to be alright.

Your vocalist needs to sing and octave higher or something, because - especially in the verses on "Taking My Identity" - it sounds really, really strained. Now my voice isn't exactly angelic but this is a pretty basic principle - if you have to force your voice to fit a song, you need to change the song's key or sing higher/lower to make it easier on yourselves.

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I completely disagree about 'gigging as soon as possible'. Why rush things? Get your sound right first and a set you'll be keen to perform (bearing in mind that in most of the bands I've been in since my very first have ditched a number of the initial songs that we came up with as we settle into our 'sound'). Then the first impression people will have of your band will hopefully be good.

Rather book some recording time and work towards getting a few decent recordings done than exposing yourself to a gig too early, in my opinion.

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Why rush things?

No rush. I am talking about goal-setting with deadlines.

most of the bands I've been in since my very first

There you have it. After gigging your very first band you've known what it takes to be in a band. Therefore, you can more reasonably assess when you're ready. You can even afford to indulge yourself by not gigging. But a band who do not have the benefit of this information, without a deadline of any kind, will not use their time profitably.

Let me ask you a question: Before your first gig, what difference would another 6 months of practise have made to your first band? Not as much as those 6 months of gigging did.

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To be honest i dont really like that, the recordings are quite poor as well.

I disagree with Bob, there is no point rushing into gigging, i have done it in the past, it does not help in the long run, you spend your entire time practising for your next gig rather than work on your band. You have plenty of time to gig, get your shit together first before getting onto the stage.

Get a bass player, and practise hard, if you cannot motivate yourself to practise without having a gig booked your in the wrong hobbie, get your band spot on, then worry about impressing people with it.

Just my opinion tho. :)

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I do like a deadline like. If you don't give yourself goals and milestones you'll end up writing a 3 disc mega album as your first release before anyone's even heard of you.

Sounds familiar...

Joking aside Jamie, although it's not really my cup of tea the songs do have some potential. The songs sound really empty without bass lines though. Do you have a keyboard player or something? Ask him to (or if it's you) play some bass notes through out the song at your next practice. You'll be amazed at how much 'fuller' your songs sound. Best idea would be to get a bass player though. I'm not talking about someone that can play guitar and give them a bass. I mean someone that can actually play bass and won't just play root notes all day. I'm lucky enough to play in a band with someone who knows how to play bass properly and it makes a huge difference to the music we make. Everyone else is saying it but it can't be stressed enough. Practice, practice, practice!

I've got a mixed opinion about the deadline thing though. Although having a gig booked can give you a well needed kick up the arse, if you stumble into a gig nervous and don't really know your songs well enough it can be a complete disaster. I'd prefer to set targets. Say aim to play a gig in August. If August comes and if you feel you're not 100% ready for a gig don't bother looking for one. I'm a firm believer in finding your band's 'sound'. Our band have changed an awful lot since the first 7-8 songs we wrote. In fact we don't even practice those songs anymore. We've taken a different direction from the music we stated as influences at the forming of the band. There would be nothing worse than having to play songs on stage that you don't want to play anymore.

Don't be afraid to try stuff either. Think that riff would sound better with fuzz instead of overdrive? (trust me it will ;) ) Give it a try! It's your band so do what you want!

I realise I've waffled on a fair bit but to recap, My main points are ;

1. Practice

2. Get a bassist or get a keyboard player to put in basslines.

3. Practice

4. Don't gig till everyone in the band is ready

5. Practice

6. Set realistic targets

7. Practice

8. Don't be afraid to wander away from the 'sound' you all agreed on. You might find something better!

9. Practice

10. and because I don't like leaving lists on an odd number, guess what. Practice!

One thing, can I ask where abouts you recorded those demo's?

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I agree with not rushing it. Get the sound right. Not just the songs being tight, but the tone, the balance between the instruments and such. You should play a gig once you reckon "all these songs are so fucking bitchin". If you don't think so, then what's the point? I'd rather be patient and let the songs develop than rush into a gig. Thats the trouble with first impressions; you only get one.

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have some good recordings before gigging.[/quote]Why is this essential? I don't think it is at all. I reckon bands get tightest from playings gigs and I'd want to sound tight as fuck on some decent paid for recordings. Don't even need good ones to book a gig. I hear there's this smashing bloke named Bri that will book bands for The Moorings without having a fucking clue what they sound like, cos he's just a top lad.

As for the songs themselves, ain't gonna say much as it's not my thing in the slightest and the recordings, as previously stated, are a bit naff. Definitely need to sort the guitar tone out is the only thing that stood out to me.

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Cheers for the replies everyone,

Aye the recordings were done quickly, by ourselves, on a crappy netbook running mixcraft. They were basically a way of allowing to hear people our style of music in an attempt to find a bassist. Previously we found that without any evidence of recordings, nobody would want to join. We have had a couple of offers from people since posting the demo's, so I suppose it worked in a way.

As for gigging, we were planning on gigging around August cause all but one of us are still at school and so we would be able to practice every day throughout the holidays.

How many songs have you got?

We've got about 5 or 6 in various stages of completion.

Cheers for all your replies, we'll try to take as much of it on board as possible,

Jamie

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