Should I go it alone? - Lounge - Forums : Best Ever Albums

Kiki

This is related to my band problem and how much trouble I have had finding members to form one. While I want to start one in the general Rock/Pop area, I find many people are always so specific about the sounds of bands they want to be in. Most of the time when I send them messages asking for a compromise I get no reply. They give a few bands, a specific sub genre and thats it. Every guitarist I have ever played with (apart from guitar teacher) has moved onto something else, most of the time unrelated to playing.

Anyway, today I was reading a book titled '100 Highest Selling Albums of 1970's' or something similar. Just reading to pass the time. They were counting down to the highest so I was only reading the 100-91 entries. One of them was an album called 'Red Headed Stranger' by Willie Nelson. In the entry they mentioned something about him being part of an 'Outlaw Movement' which was going in his time. I immediately thought of my username on this website and occasional stage name I put on my recorded songs Laughing

It didn't go into great detail about what it was but it did mention briefly about "doing things by yourself" or "doing your own thing"... something to that effect. I think it mentioned how he recorded a bunch of songs by himself with an acoustic guitar one time. I haven't researched it further... however it stuck with me. I don't think I would have thought about it more if the word 'Outlaw' hadn't of been there. For the first time I seriously thought about the idea of playing music without a band.

Thinking a little more since then, I wonder if it would be the same. My idea is to still have a band in the way 'Nine Inch Nails' and 'The Divine Comedy' are bands but I worry if this would effect the... the feeling some what. I don't really know a word to describe it. A fan of early Manic Street Preachers might be able to see where I am coming from. Perhaps My Chemical Romance too. Like how for the biggest fans it went a lot deeper than the music? Would people make the same connection if all but one member were session musicians? How do you feel about bands which are more or less the work of one member?

Also, to those who are tempted to say "only the music matters" I would like to point out I am a person who loves band aesthetics and a rich mythos behind a band. Embarassed

My enjoyment of music is increased by who the artists are. You may have noticed it in my chart over your time here.

Cymro2011
The Beatles were objectively average

Gender: Male
Age: 28
Location: In a deep, dark bubblegum graveyard

If you think you can do it then I say go right ahead. You get full creative freedom and all the credit.

nutso42

I find it's good for me to at least have someone to bounce ideas off of. But that's just me, if you can do it alone, great. Though it may improve your sound having someone else to keep you reined in or whatever.

Kiki

Cymro2011 wrote:

If you think you can do it then I say go right ahead. You get full creative freedom and all the credit.

Creative Freedom does sound tempting. While I would like to say I would listen to somebody I sometimes wonder how much I actually would. It's easy to say I would change songs now yet when in the actual situation. Think

Ofcourse I can do it myself... the biggest problem lies in what I would become. It might not feel the same if it is just the one person and session musicians. To have a group of minds working together would make it more... authentic. Like Gorillaz... because they're cartoons its easier to accept they're not real and mostly the work of two guys. It's easy to pretend they're real though. When the people are real, it's not the same. It would be preferably (in my eyes) if the group is a group rather than one person.

On the otherhand... if I choose to scrap the idea and form a proper band, who knows how long I might be waiting.

Kiki

nutso42 wrote:

I find it's good for me to at least have someone to bounce ideas off of. But that's just me, if you can do it alone, great. Though it may improve your sound having someone else to keep you reined in or whatever.

And this is something which I would want as well Sad

I'm liking what I can do now yet I wonder would things go up to a whole new level if I have another song writer to work with like so many others since the dawn of Rock N Roll.

EyeKanFly
Head Bear Master/Galactic Emperor

Age: 33
Location: Gotham

Being alone or having the main creative mind can make the music immensely more personal. That being said, a band dynamic is often great and it's hard to get a good "back & forth" kind of feel with one person playing a lot of the same instruments. Multiple personalities often lend to a band's prominence, even in the case of the Gorillaz, where each cartoon member has such a distinct, unique personality.

Establishing yourself as a solo artist may help persuade other musicians to join your cause, but on the other hand it may dissuade others from joining you as they wouldn't want to sacrifice their own creativity.

I've never had any serious experience with other musicians, it's mostly just jamming and playing covers. I've written songs that I can play by myself, but I've never played them with a group, so I can't really give you much advice based on my experience.

In any case, I wish you luck with whichever direction you take!
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Jackwc
Queen Of The Forums

Location: Aaaanywhere Sex: Incredible

EyeKanFly wrote:

Multiple personalities often lend to a band's prominence

lol what?

Also, hasn't Outlaw posted pretty much this exact thread like seven times before?
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Romanelli
Bone Swah

Gender: Male
Location: Broomfield, Colorado

Moderator

Are you talking about just recording, recording and playing live, or just playing live?
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EyeKanFly
Head Bear Master/Galactic Emperor

Age: 33
Location: Gotham

Jackwc wrote:

lol what?

Hehe, poor choice of words I guess.

Actually, looking at that, I'm not entirely sure what I meant. I think I was going for:

In the case of the Gorillaz, it's only really two people behind it (one graphic artist, one musician), but they put so much into the backstories and personalities of each of the cartoon members that it makes the band's aesthetics and mythos (as outlaw put it) very interesting.

And then think about Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band: while Springsteen is the main creative mind, E Street Band members like Clarence Clemons, Garry Tallent, and Roy Bittan added a lot to the whole act (both live and studio). As opposed to Elvis Costello and The Attractions. I can't name a single member of the Attractions, and I don't think they added much to Costello as an act.

I don't know if that clears anything up or makes it more confusing.
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Bork
Executive Hillbilly

Location: Vinson Mountain, GA

Can't help you on the choice but happy that you finally found them outlaws. Don't just read them in the book though. Go listen to a few albums.