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Thread: The FrontMan Dilemma

  1. #1

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    Default The FrontMan Dilemma

    A fellow on another drum forum made a statement that has really stuck with me and made me do a lot of thinking. To wit:

    "Most cover bands are made essentially irrelevant by their frontmen."

    I've concluded that he's right. We all have a chance to watch a lot of cover bands on the internet. By and large, they are manned by some of the most talented musicians we've ever seen. From younger groups to those of us in the "seasoned" category, the level of musicianship is outstanding. But, almost without exception, the frontmen . . . uh . . . suck.

    Let's face it: lots of guys can "sing," and an even larger number have fantasies of fronting a band. But a good frontman possesses many more talents than simply carrying a tune.

    For example, one of my bands had two singers, each of them playing instruments in the band. One of them was a decent singer, fantastic musician, and had a personality as flat as plate glass. Even worse than mine! The other was a good musician, but with a powerhouse personality - on and off stage. He was relatively young, good-looking, physically fit, genuine, and uninhibited on stage. It was remarkable watching the crowd reaction as the singers traded off songs. When the latter took the spotlight, the crowd would literally come alive, dancing, waving, and singing along. When the other singer took over, the crowd went silent.

    In another band, the singer was, again, young and handsome and gregarious - a near dead ringer for Garth Brooks. This was a country band, and we played a number of ballads. The singer would walk around the room and sing to the ladies, and jest with the audience while on stage. He worked the crowd like he was talking to old friends. While the band was very professional, it was the singer that made it happen, and his performance spread a special electricity to the audience and to the band.

    Contrast that with the typical cover band: exceptionally talented musicians fronted by an overweight, shabbily-dressed, sometimes foul-mouthed guy who looks like he just rolled out of bed and straining to barely hit the high notes. He ignores the audience. He barely moves on stage, seemingly glued to one spot. Did I say that he strains to hit the high notes?

    Why is it that we are so willing to compromise on the band member that literally makes or breaks our bands? Do we hire guitarists that hit the right notes "most of the time?" Are we satisfied with keyboard players that are simply adequate?

    We seem to give our frontman requirements little thought, as though he's there just to fill the space between guitar and keyboard solos when, in fact, he is probably the most important man in the group. How often have we actually auditioned singers rather than grabbing a friend of the bass player because the bass player says "Joe can sing." That's usually all it takes, isn't it?

    I'm interested in hearing your opinions on this issue. How did your band choose its singer? Have you objectively watched a video of your band and imagined how audiences might be reacting to the frontman? Did your band actually search for and audition singers who might occupy this essential role? If you were not in your band, how would you judge your frontman's abilities? In the end, is your frontman making all of you look bad?

    GeeDeeEmm

  2. #2

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    For the majority of cover bands, vocals are the achilles heel of the effort. That's bad news because what most people remember about a cover band are the vocals and the lead guitar player. Unfortunately, those two things are what the "average Joe listener" identifies with when they hear songs that they are familiar with. Vocalists are very hard to come by. Vocalists that also have on stage personality and showmanship are even harder to come by.

  3. #3

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    All very true. There’s a lot of songs I want to introduce to the band, but we don’t have a singer that can pull them off. Many times it’s “OK...who’s gonna sing this one”. Vocals are an afterthought to the musicians it seems.
    -Brian

    "Too many crappy used drum stuff to list"

    Play the SONG......not the DRUMS!!!

    "I think that feeling is a lot more important than technique. It's all very well doing a triple paradiddle - but who's going to know you've done it? If you play technically you sound like everybody else. It's being original that counts." ~ John Bonham

  4. #4

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    We auditioned somewhere between 150-200 guys to get a lead guitar/singer, a rhythm guitar/lead (on occasion), and a keyboard player.

    Not 1 person in our band was the best player we auditioned, but they were the best for what we wanted to do. On the same page AND reading the same sentence. When you can go 32 years with 2 personnel changes (and 1 was due to the death our bass player and my best friend), you know you have done something right.

    I did work for a few gigs with a guy that was David Lee Roth with a guitar.

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    WILL ROGERS

  5. #5

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    Here is a perfect example. Normally our vocalists nail this song. On this particular night, we opened for L.A. Guns. Well, you know how that goes........"Uh guys, we need to smash you all up to the front of the stage and you only get 2 monitor mixes and we only have 3 mics for you......blah, blah, blah". It took a few seconds for our two vocalists to get their collective sh*ts together. If you take the time to listen to the entire tune, you'll see. Instrumentally, we nailed the song.


  6. #6

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    Sounded good Marc but smile a little.
    YOU MESS WITH THE DEVIL YOU KNOW.

    YOU DON'T MESS WITH THE DEVIL YOU DON'T KNOW.

    VAE VICTIS

    ONCE YOU HIT A CERTAIN AGE, YOU BECOME PERMANENTLY UNIMPRESSED BY A LOT OF CRAP.

    I HIT THAT AGE 20 YEARS AGO.

    IF DOGS CAN'T GO TO HEAVEN, I WANT TO GO WHERE THEY GO

    WILL ROGERS

  7. #7

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    I've never played that song but I've seen umpteen other bands do it -- always a cool tune -- your band did nail it.
    And yes..................always smile when your vocalists sing the pleasant and pretty lyrics of a song like that..............
    Gretsch USA & Zildjian
    (What Else Would I Ever Need ?)


  8. #8

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    I was in a band once where the singer was just mediocre but he was really good at working the crowd. They had a huge following as a result. As long as you don't entirely suck, half of the entertainment value for the audience is how well you connect with them. They're willing to sacrifice a bit of quality for the overall 'feel good' experience.

  9. #9

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    I fully agree with all the above. One of my bands formed when I accidentally met a female singer at a concert out side a mall. She thought she recognized me, and we got to talking. Anyway, I checked her out on FB and sure enough she's a phenomenal singer. That being said, she was NOT a front person, in fact most of her experience was as a background singer or as an additional singer brought in to do female leads. She didn't know how to engage the audience, barely moved on stage, and didn't generate any excitement. With her and 4 other singers, the vocals in the band were great, we could do CSN and Eagles harmonies very well. But at the end of the song we'd get a golf clap. People appreciated how good it sounded, but were not moved by it. In contrast, in my other band, we have a singer who is also a great singer, but not quite as good as the aforementioned. She is a ball of energy, constantly moving, smiling all the time, and charming as hell. While both singers are attractive, singer A is short with short blond hair and a bit heavy, while singer B is tall and thin with long dark hair. She is also very humble and friendly and our audience loves her. The musicianship in the 2 bands is about the same, but the energy in the 2nd band is MUCH higher and the response from the audience is completely different. People are dancing the entire time singing along and cheering wildly after very song. Just shows that there's a huge difference between a singer and an ENTERTAINER. People don't go to see live music for a singing lesson; they want to be entertained and have fun.

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  10. #10

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    Most of us play or played in cover bands. People that go out to see a band don't want to see Cedric the Entertainer.
    YOU MESS WITH THE DEVIL YOU KNOW.

    YOU DON'T MESS WITH THE DEVIL YOU DON'T KNOW.

    VAE VICTIS

    ONCE YOU HIT A CERTAIN AGE, YOU BECOME PERMANENTLY UNIMPRESSED BY A LOT OF CRAP.

    I HIT THAT AGE 20 YEARS AGO.

    IF DOGS CAN'T GO TO HEAVEN, I WANT TO GO WHERE THEY GO

    WILL ROGERS

  11. #11

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    I agree as well, Our current lead singer is pretty good vocally but absolutely horrible IMO as a front man. We have a new guitar player and have not played a gig yet but he keeps mentioning the importance of engaging the crowd so it will be interesting to see his reaction during our 1st gig together in a few weeks.

    BTW that was some good stuff inthpkt, I love that song but you need the singers like you have to pull it off. I love the bell hits you did at 2:11
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  12. #12

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    Quote Originally Posted by rickthedrummer View Post
    Most of us play or played in cover bands. People that go out to see a band don't want to see Cedric the Entertainer.
    By entertainer, I don't mean a comedian. Think of every successful live music act; is there one that didn't have a front person that audiences responded to?

    Acoustic Kits:
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    Slingerland 7 pc

    Electronic Kits:
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    Roland TD-27, Roland PD-85 (x4), PD-125, KD9, CY-8 (x2) VH-10, Lemon 15 and 18 cymbals
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  13. #13

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    Quote Originally Posted by drummer View Post
    I was in a band once where the singer was just mediocre but he was really good at working the crowd. They had a huge following as a result. As long as you don't entirely suck, half of the entertainment value for the audience is how well you connect with them. They're willing to sacrifice a bit of quality for the overall 'feel good' experience.
    Agree with this ^^^

    NUB : golf clap ? .................... funny !
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  14. #14

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    Below is a pic that I snapped from the stage at one of our gigs.

    This was mostly the singer's draw. The rest of us, although tight, were pretty much just ticks on a dog ...

    JA-Raxx-20160417.jpg

  15. #15

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    I’ve been pretty lucky so far. Our main front man doesn’t have a great vocal range, but the stuff he can sing he does very well. He has a great voice for Bluegrass/Country and Blues...as long as it’s in his range. He has a TON of energy...dances constantly, and engages the crowd. The ONLY problem is he’s almost 70yrs old and suffers from seizures. Over the last two years, he’s really lost his ability to remember lyrics and vocal timing. Our newest member is very much an “entertainer” and interacts with the audience very well...but he’s almost 60. Our last member that quit was the best. He could sing like a bird, he was in his early 30’s, he had a great stage presence....and he was a real “heartbreaker”. Every woman in the place wanted to take him home. It was a DEFINITE draw...especially with the cute college girls. And where the girls are, the heavy drinking guys follow, and the bar makes money.
    -Brian

    "Too many crappy used drum stuff to list"

    Play the SONG......not the DRUMS!!!

    "I think that feeling is a lot more important than technique. It's all very well doing a triple paradiddle - but who's going to know you've done it? If you play technically you sound like everybody else. It's being original that counts." ~ John Bonham

  16. #16

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    I would have done anything to get rid of my last singer and find someone new.
    No one thought the band would survive without him... yet he was the one dragging us down.

  17. #17

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    "Most cover bands are made essentially irrelevant by their frontmen."

    I read over that line rather quickly and went back tonight and re-read the whole thing. I would have told whoever said (wrote) that to go get a day job.

    I'm interested in hearing your opinions on this issue. How did your band choose its singer?

    We auditioned a lot of singers and guitar player/singers until we found what we were looking for, and, just as important, he found what he was looking for.

    Have you objectively watched a video of your band and imagined how audiences might be reacting to the frontman?


    No. I watched the rapport between crowd and band.

    Did your band actually search for and audition singers who might occupy this essential role?


    No, we had come out of a good band (the husband and wife demolition derby) they came to us.

    If you were not in your band, how would you judge your frontman's abilities?

    We actually had 2. If Casey (our lady singer) sang she would BS with people, same with our guitarist/singer. Sometimes we would have a menage a conversation going on between singers and crowd.

    In the end, is your frontman making all of you look bad?

    If he/she is, then the band probably is bad.


    Even Sinatra needed a orchestra.
    YOU MESS WITH THE DEVIL YOU KNOW.

    YOU DON'T MESS WITH THE DEVIL YOU DON'T KNOW.

    VAE VICTIS

    ONCE YOU HIT A CERTAIN AGE, YOU BECOME PERMANENTLY UNIMPRESSED BY A LOT OF CRAP.

    I HIT THAT AGE 20 YEARS AGO.

    IF DOGS CAN'T GO TO HEAVEN, I WANT TO GO WHERE THEY GO

    WILL ROGERS

  18. #18

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    Quote Originally Posted by n2bluz View Post
    every woman in the place wanted to take him home. It was a definite draw...especially with the cute college girls. And where the girls are, the heavy drinking guys follow, and the bar makes money.
    lmao !
    Gretsch USA & Zildjian
    (What Else Would I Ever Need ?)


  19. #19

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    This is the club we play about 5 times per year................great place for music.
    Large bar area plus an outside deck next to the river.
    On a good night we will draw 400 dancers/drinkers.

    deck06[1].jpg

    cajun_s-warf[1].jpg
    Gretsch USA & Zildjian
    (What Else Would I Ever Need ?)


  20. #20

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    What makes me cringe is dead air time between songs while tuning the guitars ...

    I once came from behind the kit and got on the mic to tell my hospital story and thank my bandmates for visiting me while i was in there... it wasnt bad at all getting on the mic... actually kind of enjoyed it!
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  21. #21

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    Quote Originally Posted by N2Bluz View Post
    . . . Every woman in the place wanted to take him home. It was a DEFINITE draw...especially with the cute college girls . . . .
    Hah! That's the way it was with our young "Garth Brooks" singer and the handsome bass player. It cost "Garth" his marriage and his career. The bass player's wife saw it coming and made him quit the band if he wanted to stay married!

    GeeDeeEmm

  22. #22

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    Quote Originally Posted by gdmoore28 View Post
    Hah! That's the way it was with our young "Garth Brooks" singer and the handsome bass player. It cost "Garth" his marriage and his career. The bass player's wife saw it coming and made him quit the band if he wanted to stay married!

    GeeDeeEmm
    Well, that has a LOT to do with our guy quitting. His wife showed up to one of our shows, and that was pretty much it. Now, I’m the youngest and best looking...and that’s pretty bad, LOL.

    Our steel guitar player has his own band on the side. A few years back, he hired a good looking and talented local kid from Hubble, NE to be his frontman. After a couple years, the kid packed up and headed to Nashville to try and “make it”. And by all accounts, he did. He has performed at the Grand Ol’ Oprey numerous times and even hosts a show on Animal Planet, LOL. Here’s one of his videos;

    -Brian

    "Too many crappy used drum stuff to list"

    Play the SONG......not the DRUMS!!!

    "I think that feeling is a lot more important than technique. It's all very well doing a triple paradiddle - but who's going to know you've done it? If you play technically you sound like everybody else. It's being original that counts." ~ John Bonham

  23. #23

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    Quote Originally Posted by slinky View Post
    what makes me cringe is dead air time between songs while tuning the guitars ...
    this!!!!!!!!!

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