Best and Worst Local Bands

[floyds machine]

I love a good thread fight don't you?
Spill your honest opinions on this and don't be a whimp ass.
This is for local bands past or present.

Best

1. Band X - no one remembers them but they were great.
They won an Eastgate battle of the bands .

2. Second Hand Band - they played Jethro Tull for shit sakes
with flutes, keyboards, the whole 9 yards

3. The Crank Shop - the best jam band to ever hit
a local stage

4. Alyster - Jays old band. Megadeth never sounded so good

5. Big Suit - Tight band with great harmonies

Worst

1. Obsession - I don't understand how this band gets gigs

2. Gsis Murphy - The queens of play is safe music with not one
ounce of soul. They're worse than a dead lay |O|

3. Catherine Taddo - Queen of Blues? You're kidding right?
I know who the Queen of Blues is and you ain't it.
She was introduced as this I kid you not at Rotary Fest.

4. Stiflers Mom - The band that milks songs until you hate them
Learn some f**king new material

5. Tripod the Dog - Ska is dead and thankfully so is this band
Talk about an annoying band.

If you don't like my choices, screw you

["The Freq"]

You're such a shit disturber Floyd hahaha

Ok I'll play ;-)


Best

1. Slaughter House - My brothers band with full horn section.
There was a rumoured reunion for the 18 Forever show at the Steelback but it never happened. :-( Piss me off!!!

2. Big Suit - All the elements that I like, great musicianship, great vocals and great original material.

3. The Crank Shop - yeah I know it's one of my bands but I never had more fun musically than with this jam band. Most people didn't get the band but it was a blast.

4. Hogan's Goat - Country, Rock, MOD, band featuring Gary Hatch on guitar. If you never saw the band, it's your loss. ;-)

5. Alyster/ Hanger 18 - Both bands had almost the same members but none the less a great duo of bands. I enjoyed them both equally.

WORST

1. Gsis Murphy - Boring music by boring musicians who love to bore people who are boring |O|. Floyd you
are right when you say they have "no soul". They wouldn't know what that comment means even if you tried to explain it |O|
They are the "whitest" musicians locally.

2. The Werx - Yeah, I know.. I played for them in their last run but I didn't get why they were so popular. Actually, I don't really believe they were. It was an illusion. No offense to the band. I just didn't think they were that unique. To me this is proof that good musicians don't always make a good band.

3. Gates of Winter - *yawn*. Goth rock has been done over and over and it's dull. It's boring like Barry Manilow. Gates might be a promising band if they'd just get out of that style and break new ground. Goth rock = Sausage rock which means 99 percent of your audience is guys. The "cookie monster" vocals are so gay too.

4. Black Dirt Road - We sucked. Yeah another of my bands. We had great harmonies and that was it. Absolutely nothing stood out as being good besides the harmonies |O| yet people enjoyed us. Must have been the beer. Believe me, I have video tape and we SUCKED. Oddly, the guitar players are ego maniacs and control freaks now.. How sweet |O| This band was proof that 4 hacks put together sound even worse in a group haha. On a side note though, it was fun for a while.

5. Stifflers Mom - Floyd, again I agree, they never learn new songs and they take long breaks and on and on. Absolutely killer
harmonies though. Mike!!! change your f**king guitar sound. Talk about annoying. Same sound every song. That's the 80's mentality. Mike made me HATE harmonics.

[quartermass]

Here are my picks.

Best

1. Rainhorses - I met Glen when he played for them and the crowd
and enthusiasm surrounding their premiere show for the August Mask CD still gives me goose bumps. They were a well balanced band musically and they created beautiful music. By far the most original band going at the time. They made me want to sing and play acoustic guitar.

2. The Revue - I only saw them once but I loved their music instantly.
I'm sad they are no more.

3. Cleavland Steamer - I hate their name but I love their sound and vocal harmonies. Yes, they were probably more eye candy than substance but they were an enjoyable band

4. White Stallion - If ever there was a band for family entertainment this band was it. I always enjoyed their shows.

5. Liquid 3 - I just found this band totally original and entertaining.
It was a high energy musical comedy act in my opinion. I do think they drank their profits away |O|


WORST

1. Bangers and Mash - They just never won my fancy. Their sound was never clear and the vocalist was always buried in the mix and thin sounding. I do believe her voice wasn't like that but it's how the band mixed her. I know you liked this band Glen but their sound always turned me off. Material wasn't my thing either.
Very pretty singer though.

2. Gsis Murphy - I have a hard time liking any band with bad personalities. I will admit I enjoyed them when they started. I saw
them at what I believe was Oscars Den. They had an energy that is definitely missing now. The guitar player was a snot. Their material has always been drab to my ears. Maybe because I enjoy more of the underground scene but I don't really like hearing bands do material I hear daily on radio. I can see why forum members call them cheesie. ;D I dislike them even more after starting the hate Glen site.

3. Boogie Fever - I just found this band annoying. Yes the singer is good. They're all good players but just loud. The singer was just showboating too much for my liking but they always seemed to be at one volume. ****LOUD**** What's the term? I can't think of it. It's when you want a song to have soft spots and build ups. I'm blank. Help me out. No matter, they didn't have it.

4. Southern Guns - I'm talking the version after you left Glen. Horrible band and the replacement singer for Dale sounded like Froggy of the Little Rascals/ Our Gang movies. Their guitar player was a snot too.
They milked songs like you guys mentioned earlier. I never saw them again after they started doing a Michael Jackson song.

5. Gully Yodellers - The worst and sloppiest band I've heard
and they had egos on top of that. I was so not into them. I tried.
They did an acoustic show with 100 plus candles on the stage at Foggies one time. It was an interesting concept but they couldn't play well enough to make the concept work. Another ego melt down. Stifflers Mom is tied with them in my book. Both bands are just too loud.

[Finger_Bang]

And I was told I'm a shit disturber |O|

Best

1. The Crank Shop - no band tore it up like them at the
Satisfied Frog in Soo Michigan. Packed bar every time
they played there and that was for years. What a fun
band to watch

2. Midnight Rider - My home boys playing the best of country
rock.

3. The Revue - Freq got me hooked on them and I saw them
a few times live. I was hoping they would have continued on.
Strange how bands fade away.

4. The Wild Turkeys - Don't ask ;D I just love them and not with gravy either.

5. Big Wheel and The Spokes - Just a fun band to listen to.
I don't think they're better than most but their sound makes
me feel good and they're easy on the ears.


Worst

1. Cheezie Smurfy - Was there any doubt I'd put them first?
I thought so. If you want reasons, check out 20 of my posts on the
forum

2. Carbon Black - I use to call them Time Warp because their music was so dated. I saw them many times at the Eastgate and they were just not together. Good players but there was no gel as a unit. If I'm wrong, sorry, but that's my impression.

3. Buffalo Alice - What a great female singer in this band but having her sit at a keyboard is just stupid. I mean it looks stupid.
She's not a good piano player so why not just focus on singing.
There over all sound was so quiet, I hardly knew they were playing. Lack of speakers was always the problem. When was the last time you heard that? Most bands are too loud. This band is too quiet. Most of their material is pretty lame but they shined on some

4. The Cleavy Steamers - I'm sorry but they didn't do anything for me. They're poopy. The lead guitarist was the best musician in the band. The rest in my opinion were riding his coat tails. I'm so cruel ain't I?
I'm not a bimbo type chicky that follows bands that are cute and lovable and think that good looks and pesonalities make a good band. Get my point Smurfy Flockers?

5. I'm going to cheat here. These are tied because I think they're just horrible bands that give me a headache from either being too loud, playing crappy music or milking the cow for money or just plain being bad.

Stifflers Mom - The award for longest set breaks and shortest sets.
3B4U - or whatever their stupid name was
Obsession - get a guitar player
Gates of Winter - Goth rock is for musicians that aren't talented enough to play progressive rock.
Fitswitch - not once did they play in tune.. Not once.
Eye Candy - This is what happens when parents brain wash their kids to think they can be rock stars. This band was painful to watch
Thin Ice - another ego band waiting for their heads to pop
Lion's Ride - 3 chord heavy songs. How original. Not
Inner City Surfers - Great name but it stops there.

Did I mention I hate bands that take their clothes off to play?

[Sgt. Bilko]

I don't get to see many bands live just because I'm busy most weekends so my list will be shorter than Fingerbangs. That way, hers and mine will balance things out |O|

best

1. Huckster _ I enjoyed the band Freq. Too bad it didn't pan our for you. I love your singer. She's so hot (drool)

2. Settle For Silver _ the version with the gal singer you had in a band Freq. She was such a good singer. Too bad the band drowned her out constantly when I saw them

3. Shirley Kolminos _ She's such a good singer. Her duet band
is really good but her past bands were also good

4. Rainhorses _ I wish you guys would get back together

5. The Revue _ sounds like we all loved this band

Worst

1. Obsession _ I just can't get into this band. Their sound
is always boomy when I've seen them to the point it's like
a constant drone note drowning everything out. I don't know
what it is. They've had 2 good singers but you have a hard time
hearing them.

2. Gsis Murphy _ No one has mentioned the singers voice but it just
rakes on my ears. Not my kind of singer. It always sounds like he's forcing himself. Someone mentioned dynamics and this band doesn't have that at all.

3. IT _ I saw them a few times, once at Rotary Fest and they left a lasting impression. Horrible. A mish mosh of musicians from other bands
which sadly didn't work for me. Is it just me or is there a run on bad guitar sounds in this city?

4. Startle Fish _ Not sure if this is a band or not since every time I've seen them, the musicians were different. I saw them with a different version of IT at Foggies. I'm still suffering hearing loss.
Too political. I was depressed after hearing them

5. Big Wheel and the Spokes _ I know I'm the odd ball on them but they just don't sound like anything special or original to me. I'm not a fan of raspy singers either so you can mark that down against them. The guitarist is really good but not a fan of his singing. I like his bass playing in the Huckster vids Freq

["The Freq"]

Cool. The Revue seems to be a universal pick amongst us. I love their music but I also love the fact they did it all themselves, from burning the CD's to printing the covers. They just showed more creativity by doing so. The recordings were done in a home studio like most of us do these days. I love that. Why spend mega bucks on studio time when you can get a presentable product on your own rig. Even if you send it to record companies, it's probably a better choice to do it yourself. It's just unfortunate they threw in the towel but none the less an enjoyable band and effort.

[hbomb]

Best (In no particular order)

Garden Of Bedlam - IMO one the best hard rock/metal bands in the soo. Very talented band, they have a lot of strong originals. Some of the most friendly people you'll ever meet. I never rock out and sing along to bands live but I do when they're playing. They definitely own their genre.

Gates Of Winter - I know some of you guys don't like em but I think they were a good band. I liked the more recent post-Lux Aeterna version of them. Despite the geeky keyboard player's retarded stage moves I always enjoyed them live. Very talented people who wrote some good originals.

Midlife Crisis? - I heard these guys (and girl) at Docks one night. First impression = great bar cover band. I'm a musician and I enjoy playing covers more than I do originals. This band just rocks the cover tunes. Awesome singers, their voices were so clear and their pitch was amazing. Their harmonies were spot on.

100 Gran - I enjoyed this band a lot. Awesome blues rock band. They played originals and covers. The singer/guitar player is a very talented musician. Great leads on the guitar, the riffs just pour outta him, he's also got a good voice.

Black Water - Pretty different from what I usually listen to but this Semi-Acoustic-Soft-Folk-Rock-Whatever-You-Wanna-Call-Em is a favourite of mine. They play a great amount of originals and covers like Tom Petty, Neil Young, The Beatles, Grateful Dead, etc. The singer/guitar player knows exactly where his musical niche is and he just nails it everytime he's on stage. He sings, plays the guitar and the harmonica and half the time...all in the same song. The female singer has a good voice that adds that extra something to the music.

Worst (In no particular order)

Gsis Murphy - I'm not just saying this because I'm on this site. Horrible attitude. They have this, we're such a superior and more talented band than your's will ever be kind of attitude. What kind of band uses midi tracks and pre-recorded tracks during their live set? I know the greats like Rush do, but come on, theres no comparison. The singer? if you wanna call him that, is horrible. He thinks he's talented and has a good range but his voice craps out once he tries to go beyond his capabilities (which is very minimal). I heard their 2 originals, absolutely no creativity in that band. Basic instrumentation, a new band full of 12 year old's can write better music than them.

Stillbroke - f**k stillbroke, that is all.

Inside Spiral - horrible band, their frontman has such a huge, unwarranted ego that he belongs in Gsis Murphy. If you ever have the chance to speak to this guy...don't. He'll go on about he left town and recorded a pro album with some great producer who worked with bands like High Holy Dave or some shit like that and Three Days Grace or whatever.

Its a big tie here so I'll count these as my last 2 worst. Its between bands like Free Beer, The Fury, The Crossed, As It Stands, A Fall From Innocence, For July and all those other bands that play at the Oddfellow's Hall. I know some will consider these bands very different and blah blah but they all have the same basic sounds. Thin, weak guitars that constantly switch between horrible cleans with tons of treble and muddy distortion that try to play melodies and abstract chords but just end up sounding like shit. "Singers" that go back and forth between out of tune whiny clean vocals and ear-piercing screams. Drums that always seem to fall outta time and try to catch back up.

["The Freq"]

I just love other Gsis Murphy haters. |O| The band thinks I'm the only one that can't stand them but there are literally droves of Murphy haters in the shadows.

I've never heard of "100 Gran". I'll have to look into them.

The lead singer in Midlife Crisis builds some sweet Hotrod cars along with being a solid singer ;-)