Does Your Band Suck?

As many Eastern Idahoans know, our local music scene is fairly one-dimensional. That’s not to say there aren’t standouts, or those who stray away from the norm, but unfortunately you don’t hear many around town. The bars seem to be littered with a never-ending string of “been there, done that” bands who never break away from the Sweet Home Alabama trap. Lack of creativity and effort on the part of the bands coupled with bar owners that are indifferent at best, have made this an ongoing problem, but not one without a solution. The issue is definitely two sided, but for this segment let’s start with the bands and musicians themselves.

We are so lucky to have some truly world-class musicians here in Eastern Idaho. Our current resident musicians are partly or wholly responsible for dozens of really great albums recorded all over the world. Many that you see in bars have had a go at touring with national acts and even more have played music every weekend since they learned Stairway to Heaven in their smoke-filled basements. The problem is not a lack of great talent. It’s in the misappropriation or total lack of regard for those talents.

Musicians in general have fragile egos, but egos nonetheless. Many will discount this article thinking it doesn’t pertain to them. What I do know is that there are very few if any bands on any given weekend that deserve more than what they’re getting right now, both in monetary and future growth potential.

So, here’s the plan. It’s my hope that it will spur some conversation among our local musicians, music lovers and venue owners to get this love train on track and headed in the right direction.

Look the Part

I’m amazed at how often I stop in to see a band and they look like they’ve just gotten off work. There seems to be no thought to any dress decisions whatsoever. They treat it like a hobby or a household chore. You’re either going to rake leaves or put on a show. You can’t have both.

Put some thought into your band’s look. Try to see yourselves as you would see your favorite national touring band. Sure, there are some of those who don’t really look like they’ve put a ton of thought into it, but that’s part of their show. You don’t have millions in the bank. You don’t have platinum albums and legions of fans. So, find a look as a band and bust the guitarist’s balls when he shows up to a gig in whatever he wore to the site that day.

Work on The Show

We all know bands that can get up on stage and do nothing but play amazing music for 3 hours. Bands like Dave Matthews and so many others kick our butts with their amazing talents alone. But the fact is, most or all of the great concert performers have worked like hell to become showmen. From their early incarnations, playing in bars and county fairs, they had a show. A persona. 

Many of you have seen Andy Frasco on one of his many visits to Idaho Falls. There’s a reason why he and his band have been so successful. The man puts on a show every fucking night. If he’s had an off night I’ve yet to see it in the 5 or 6 shows I’ve attended. He’s a showman and he’s damn good at it. He gets the crowd in a frenzy like no one I’ve seen. And from my perspective it’s not necessarily about the music. There’s nothing earth shattering on his albums. Anyone else playing the same music might get golf claps. It’s the show. Every song is written with the live show in mind.

Record your shows from time to time and listen to them as objectively as possible. Get a feel for what works and what falls flat. Constantly tweak your show and setlists to improve how the crowd responds.

Choose Your Set Lists Wisely

Do we really need to suffer through another shitty version of Born to be Wild, Mustang Sally or Taking Care of Business? I get it, sometimes you may need to do a “redneck check” and play Sweet Home, but for the love of god can we please just play the first 15 seconds and leave it at that? You’re as sick of playing these same 10 songs as the true music fans are of listening to them.

Be thoughtful about your set selection. Select songs based on the crowd needs throughout the night. And if your gig is to get people in a party mood, never play slow songs after midnight.

I once played in a band with a guitarist who refused to play two songs back to back in the same key. It made our sets disjointed because we weren’t able to play tunes that just fit the mood. If this is a thing with your band, please stop. It’s about tempo and dynamics. The crowd will never know or care of you play two songs in a row in C. Just play the song that best fits the mood.

We aren’t all songwriters. Many bands have little choice but to play covers. It’s also something that the bars like and many times require. But that doesn’t mean we can’t change it up a bit. Bands should not be mediocre jukeboxes. Take some time at each and every rehearsal (remember those) to break down one or two tunes. Do what you can to add dynamics, key changes, breaks or even new verses. Try to make every song your own without completely defiling the artist’s original intent.

Be a Tedious Musician

Virtuoso musicianship that comes effortlessly is pretty rare. We all need to constantly work at things to get from good to great. As a band it’s also important to work as a single unit so all parts come together as a solid musical sound rather than a group of individuals. If something isn’t right, if a song isn’t working, figure out why and fix it. It might be one bad chord, but if it’s never addressed it will never be fixed.

Another skill that sets great bands apart from the rest is well-practiced harmonies. Sadly, I’m never surprised by the lack of effort local bands put into harmonies. It always seems to be the last piece thrown into a song. Take some time, a lot of time if necessary, to get them right. Learn the part, know it with confidence and sing it right, every time. If no one else in the band has the vocal chops to pull it off well, don’t sing harmonies.

You Are the Bar’s Best Salesperson

Like it or not, you are there in that bar to sell drinks. If you don’t make an impact on drink sales or cover-charges you won’t be invited back. Some bands can do this simply by whipping the crowd into a frenzied state of euphoria that keeps them drinking (this is proven). But for most they need a nudge.

For most, drinking goes hand in hand with having a good time. It’s part of the appeal. Add a great band to the mix and you’ll make the bar owner happy. Happy bar owners like to pay those bands that promote sales. It’s pretty easy economics.

Work with the bars to have your own drink specials each hour you play. As you take the stage that hour, announce the drink special and push it a couple times that set.

Obviously this section comes with a caveat. Over-drinking has its own set of inherent complications and liabilities and that’s not what we are advocating. It’s about maximizing the sales to those who are drinking responsibly. Let the bar to decide who has had enough to drink. Your job is to get people to stay until the end, having a great time and drinking throughout the night while at the same time encouraging people not to drink and drive.

One more note on this. Can we please ban the phrase “Please tip your bartenders and servers”? It’s overused, unoriginal and frankly, ineffective.

Call them pet peeves or simply annoyances, but here are a few more changes we’d all love to see with local bands.

·      A break of more than 5 seconds between songs really kills the mojo and energy. Work like hell to have smooth and quick transitions between songs.

·      Have a damn good reason to tune your instrument between songs. This absolutely kills me to sit and wait for a guitarist to tune between songs. You don’t have a guitar tech to switch out your axe after every song. But you can do a lot to make sure tuning is as unobtrusive as possible.

·      Breaks are not mandatory. Every local band I see takes a break every hour. But probably half the time it’s only out of habit, not necessity. Every time you take a break you lose momentum, not to mention the crowd itself. Imagine your break like an ad between songs on the radio. If you’re like many of us, you simply tune to another station. And if that break goes too long (I see bands take 20-25 minutes between sets) you lose even more people.

·      If you have something to say, either be the coolest person in the room, the weirdest person in the room or plan ahead. So…plan ahead. Too much talk or random, poorly thought out rants can be worse than no interaction at all.

·      But dammit, interact! Find ways to interact with the crowd. This does not mean walking around the bar with your bass guitar just because you’re wireless. (You know who you are “guy who smokes outside of Karen’s while playing”) Have a plan as a band and stick to it. That’s not to say there can’t be some spontaneity, but work out as much as possible. 

·      If you’re too drunk or high to play, you shouldn’t be invited back. It’s fine to have a drink with the bar on occasion when allowed. It’s another thing to let it affect your playing. Whether it’s good pay or not is irrelevant, you’re still being paid to play at your best. If you can play at your best while being stoned and drunk, go for it. The other 99% should revert to moderation and professionalism.

·      Re-evaluate your gear. Take a look and listen at your PA, lighting and instruments. Bands don’t make much money and it’s hard to justify upgrading usable equipment but even a mediocre system can sound better with the proper use of crossovers, delicately used effects and EQs. We have a few great sound guys here in town that can help with this area. Pay them a bit to come in and tune your PA to the room. After a couple times you’ll get the hang of it and be able to get it close yourself. For the record there aren’t any great sounding bands in town from an audio engineering standpoint. Most are passable but some are flat out bad. If you’re not sure which category you fall into, you’re probably in need of some help.

·      Lighting is another area that is poorly lacking for most bands. A simple, well thought out lighting rig and show can really take your band to the next level. $1500 can go a very long way towards a decent, easy to program lighting package. I also believe this is something that could be helped greatly by venue efforts so I’ll talk more about lighting in the venue segment.

Most of us started out with pretty big ideas about music. Many dreamed of being working musicians, traveling the country to the admiration of our loyal fans. But then reality kicked in and we decided to do it for the love of music. I’ve no doubt that even that love has left most and it’s just become a part time income and a way to kill a weekend. At the very least, maybe we can get back to the love of music.  

Bottom line is that being a musician playing in Eastern Idaho is far from the glory hole it’s made out to be. Low pay, playing for the same drunken crowd night after night can be a soul-sucking venture. But we can all take steps to make it better.

Bar owners need to step up as well. In fact it may be as much or more in their hands to get our local music scene in better shape. Some are sincerely trying, but most really need some help.

Check back for our next segment and see what they can do.