PULL THE PLUG!!!!!!!
i just got home from work and right now i'm sitting in the apartment having a beer and listening to rani's band practice. we set up a jam space in here with the drums, amp stacks, mics, everything...the real deal holyfield. if anything, it's definitely constructive use of floor space, since we have so fucking much of that....but what i'm getting at is this:
i need to have a beer or six when i listen to these guys practice....because they are AWFUL. katie, their guitarist's fiance, is sitting next to me right now on the couch just swaying her head back and forth and smiling from ear to ear...she LOVES this. she's not high either, or stupid...perhaps just a musical neophyte. what bugs me about this band is that individually, they're all talented musicians. raji's a great bassist, both guitarists are very capable, rani can hold his own on drums, the singer dude can sing and their backup vocals are pretty spot-on too...but for some reason, with their powers combined, they blow. it's absurd. i've never seen anything like it. what's more is that i think they're content with it. they're completely fine with being a bad band. it seems all they want to do is jam on the same 3 chords for 20 minutes and call it a song. they're totally one of those "anything goes, man!" jam bands. i hate those.
i actually confronted raji about it. not in a "why do you suck?" kind of manner, but i didn't want to blatantly rip his band apart...he's a really good musician so i figured he would at least openly listen...and he let me know that he's growing discontent with it. i listened to one of their post-practice conversations, and he was telling their lead singer that he doesn't think their "songs" are getting any better and wanted to change the way they approach practicing together...to which the lead singer responded "well, let's just jam and see where it goes." i wanted to jump in with "that's what you've been doing for the past 3 fucking hours!"
they're not just a goof-around band either....they want to play shows, record albums, develop a fan base and have people take them seriously. they promote the shit out of themselves too...they wouldn't do that if they didn't want to legitimately pursue this thing, at least to some extent. when i walked in the door just a few minutes ago they were playing their "new song" and it actually had some sort of structure to it. there were actually traces of calculated musicianship. when they stopped they asked me how i liked it. i told them:
"well....it doesn't sound like five guys dicking around aimlessly anymore."
right away raji was like "yes, thank you! that's what i've been trying to say!" the rest of them just gave me blank stares....maybe a discouraged chuckle. raji told me that next time they come over to practice i need to give honest opinions about what i thought because the rest of this band is apparently on their own little island of self-satisfaction...which i'm gladly doing right now. i get to sit here and take jabs at them. the lead singer's girlfriend just got here and now SHE'S telling them what they need to fix, HAHA. they've been playing the same lick for at least 20 minutes. it's not working and they're not stopping. such a fine line between persistence and hopelessness....
now they're fighting.
"no no no, only hit the kick drum on 1 and 4."
"are YOU the drummer or am i??"
"dude, you can't take suggestions."
"no, just play something simple!"
"this IS simple...but it's probably not simple to you."
katie is still rocking out to this crap regardless. the other girl isn't digging it nearly as much, if at all....just being supportive. didn't some researcher prove a while ago that listening to Mozart actually boosts your IQ a few points? there HAS to be some kind of music out there that has a counter-effect. i may be listening to it. i need another beer.
seeyall @ okie dogs
i need to have a beer or six when i listen to these guys practice....because they are AWFUL. katie, their guitarist's fiance, is sitting next to me right now on the couch just swaying her head back and forth and smiling from ear to ear...she LOVES this. she's not high either, or stupid...perhaps just a musical neophyte. what bugs me about this band is that individually, they're all talented musicians. raji's a great bassist, both guitarists are very capable, rani can hold his own on drums, the singer dude can sing and their backup vocals are pretty spot-on too...but for some reason, with their powers combined, they blow. it's absurd. i've never seen anything like it. what's more is that i think they're content with it. they're completely fine with being a bad band. it seems all they want to do is jam on the same 3 chords for 20 minutes and call it a song. they're totally one of those "anything goes, man!" jam bands. i hate those.
i actually confronted raji about it. not in a "why do you suck?" kind of manner, but i didn't want to blatantly rip his band apart...he's a really good musician so i figured he would at least openly listen...and he let me know that he's growing discontent with it. i listened to one of their post-practice conversations, and he was telling their lead singer that he doesn't think their "songs" are getting any better and wanted to change the way they approach practicing together...to which the lead singer responded "well, let's just jam and see where it goes." i wanted to jump in with "that's what you've been doing for the past 3 fucking hours!"
they're not just a goof-around band either....they want to play shows, record albums, develop a fan base and have people take them seriously. they promote the shit out of themselves too...they wouldn't do that if they didn't want to legitimately pursue this thing, at least to some extent. when i walked in the door just a few minutes ago they were playing their "new song" and it actually had some sort of structure to it. there were actually traces of calculated musicianship. when they stopped they asked me how i liked it. i told them:
"well....it doesn't sound like five guys dicking around aimlessly anymore."
right away raji was like "yes, thank you! that's what i've been trying to say!" the rest of them just gave me blank stares....maybe a discouraged chuckle. raji told me that next time they come over to practice i need to give honest opinions about what i thought because the rest of this band is apparently on their own little island of self-satisfaction...which i'm gladly doing right now. i get to sit here and take jabs at them. the lead singer's girlfriend just got here and now SHE'S telling them what they need to fix, HAHA. they've been playing the same lick for at least 20 minutes. it's not working and they're not stopping. such a fine line between persistence and hopelessness....
now they're fighting.
"no no no, only hit the kick drum on 1 and 4."
"are YOU the drummer or am i??"
"dude, you can't take suggestions."
"no, just play something simple!"
"this IS simple...but it's probably not simple to you."
katie is still rocking out to this crap regardless. the other girl isn't digging it nearly as much, if at all....just being supportive. didn't some researcher prove a while ago that listening to Mozart actually boosts your IQ a few points? there HAS to be some kind of music out there that has a counter-effect. i may be listening to it. i need another beer.
seeyall @ okie dogs