Post by "The Freq" on Apr 28, 2012 23:34:23 GMT -5
A week ago my band Wishbone took part in a fundraiser for the local Humaine Society. Basically, they had a Battle of the Bands to help raise money which it in fact did. There are always pros and cons to Battle of the Bands events and in most cases, they go on without a hitch. This one was really no different. It seemed to be organized well and most things went smoothly during the transition of bands. Rules were made up prior to the event but I know a bunch of us knew a lot of the rules were bent during the show which wasn't a big deal. I do wonder if all rules are followed during any of these types of events. So if any band broke rules they simple have to read the rules that were given to each band by the organizers. Again, no big deal. As for the event itself, I was disappointed in the turn out. A few things in my opinion hindered a good solid crowd one of which was the price of the tickets which was 20 bucks. I know you're getting like 9 or ten bands for that 20 bucks but that's still a lot of coin. I know a lot of people I mentioned the show to kind of gasped at the price. I think 10 bucks would have probably got the venue full. Another idea would have been even more varieties of bands. The old school theory is the more ear candy the better, after all, it's a fund raiser and you want a wide variety of people contributing. Lastly, I think the starting time of 5 or 6pm is way too early. With people having to get off work at 5 and then missing part of the show, it just seemed pushed. The bands for this event were all good and although I'm not a fan of the vocal style in some of the metal bands that performed, the majority of the bands had good solid musicianship. Sound was provided by a friend of mine from Basswerx Studios. They did a solid job and probably donated their time for free. I'm not sure and didn't ask.
As for the show itself, it went along pretty smooth with some odd moments thrown in that made you go "hmmmmmmm" but I know my band enjoyed the time we got to play. The judging had some really odd topics for judging none of which catered to my band for the most part so placing 3rd in the show was a shocker for us. Let's just say flat out, we're not headbangers. |O| We went into this strictly to play and promote our music and help with cause. I mentioned this to numerous band musicians prior to the show so when our name was called for 3rd place, we all looked at each other and questioned in disbelief if our name was called or not. It was a nice tag on a fun time for us. We said we were out of our element and that element being our music style because most of the bands were heavier metal bands. The tough part in judging I think, is to forget about the "style" of each band. If a judge has a favourite type of music you have to be able to shut that interest down and find other things to judge on. This has always been a sticky issue in these sorts of events. I think we all had our picks for winners and losers and I'm sure they were drastically different from each other. I also think that if the rules were enforced, the counts would have been different again. Does that mean my band should have won? haha no. I don't think we were the winning band. These kinds of discussions go on for a long time and really, there's a lot of "what ifs" involved. The key thing for me was how to make the show work better next time, should there be a next time. The one funny thing I felt at this show was the age difference. It was kind of the old school vs the new school. Most musicians my age are retired or just jamming in the basement these days with friends. I'm one of the few hanger ons. |O| That odd feeling stuck with me the entire night and I'm not sure why. I guess it's that typical conclusion of "old guys should just retire because they don't rock anymore" and the flipside is that "the young guys just don't know nuttin' about music". Being on stage is always fun for me no matter the situation but it was nice to see the younger generation enjoy what we had to offer and hey, we sold them some CD's so for us and our 3rd place finish along with best vocal performance, we were more than happy.
The venue itself was great and the onstage sound for my band was good for the most part. Of course, we would all love to play our own gear especially drummers who love our individual setups. A few minutes is never enough time for us drummers to setup up perfectly. I'd love to play the Grand Theatre at some point using our own gear. That would be such a treat. Maybe someday.. ;-)
As for the judges themselves, I don't think anyone had a problem with any of them. They were all musicians or music reporters and researchers and they knew their music. The choices were all good and well respected amongst the musicians there. Let's hope this is a yearly event that grows.
To end this off, here's a video of my band Wishbone's opening tune "Heartbeeat". Thanks to all that came to this show. We appreciate it.
As for the show itself, it went along pretty smooth with some odd moments thrown in that made you go "hmmmmmmm" but I know my band enjoyed the time we got to play. The judging had some really odd topics for judging none of which catered to my band for the most part so placing 3rd in the show was a shocker for us. Let's just say flat out, we're not headbangers. |O| We went into this strictly to play and promote our music and help with cause. I mentioned this to numerous band musicians prior to the show so when our name was called for 3rd place, we all looked at each other and questioned in disbelief if our name was called or not. It was a nice tag on a fun time for us. We said we were out of our element and that element being our music style because most of the bands were heavier metal bands. The tough part in judging I think, is to forget about the "style" of each band. If a judge has a favourite type of music you have to be able to shut that interest down and find other things to judge on. This has always been a sticky issue in these sorts of events. I think we all had our picks for winners and losers and I'm sure they were drastically different from each other. I also think that if the rules were enforced, the counts would have been different again. Does that mean my band should have won? haha no. I don't think we were the winning band. These kinds of discussions go on for a long time and really, there's a lot of "what ifs" involved. The key thing for me was how to make the show work better next time, should there be a next time. The one funny thing I felt at this show was the age difference. It was kind of the old school vs the new school. Most musicians my age are retired or just jamming in the basement these days with friends. I'm one of the few hanger ons. |O| That odd feeling stuck with me the entire night and I'm not sure why. I guess it's that typical conclusion of "old guys should just retire because they don't rock anymore" and the flipside is that "the young guys just don't know nuttin' about music". Being on stage is always fun for me no matter the situation but it was nice to see the younger generation enjoy what we had to offer and hey, we sold them some CD's so for us and our 3rd place finish along with best vocal performance, we were more than happy.
The venue itself was great and the onstage sound for my band was good for the most part. Of course, we would all love to play our own gear especially drummers who love our individual setups. A few minutes is never enough time for us drummers to setup up perfectly. I'd love to play the Grand Theatre at some point using our own gear. That would be such a treat. Maybe someday.. ;-)
As for the judges themselves, I don't think anyone had a problem with any of them. They were all musicians or music reporters and researchers and they knew their music. The choices were all good and well respected amongst the musicians there. Let's hope this is a yearly event that grows.
To end this off, here's a video of my band Wishbone's opening tune "Heartbeeat". Thanks to all that came to this show. We appreciate it.
