Musical dilemma. Go solo or band route?

frobisher

I sing, play ryhthym guitar, have bags loads of well written melodic songs, great gear, a really good recording studio and lots of industry experience and contacts. After a break from playing seriously I find myself writing lots again and with a burning desire to get my music out there (initially Irish TV, radio, press, good gigs, single releases then onwards)

So where's the problem?

Unfortunately, now that the time is coming to do some proper recording and sorting out gigs I seem to change my mind daily on whether or not I should be a solo artist or get a band together. I'm not a 17 year old whipper snapper anymore (early 30's) and it's been a while since I played with a band but I like the idea of having a group and different inputs on music and the craic that you have too. But bands come with alot of crap as well, don't they!?

Anyone else out there found themselves in this position or got any thoughts? Help me make up my mind!

Alchemist

Hi, my name is Marcin, Im 24, Im foregin and I play an electric and acoustik guitar....violin and piano...

influences: ozzy, dream theatre, pink floyd, metallica Queen, extreeme...and many more:rolleyes:

and I have good gear as well:D
and I just to play whith people oder than me...good experience.....

what kind of music, style, woud You like to play>?

ask me a question....

fitz

Have you got rough ideas for what you'd like from the drum and bass side of things for each of the songs?
If you do, I'd recommend just getting a drummer in to jam the song out with, then record. Once you've that done, do the same with the bass.
Then finish the rest yourself.

After that you can do what you like. Form a band, get everyone to learn the stuff and take it from there, or go solo with people playing with you.

eoin1981

i hear you man.
Have the same dilemma myself but am sticking to the band route. more fun and better for imput and ideas. Seems to be a revolving door for members with me. Solo is handy not having to depend on people. with a band it's a pisser when people show up and say they want to play music and then realise that "shock horror" some work has to be done. solo would be handier for that reason but having a band is more enjoyable. post your myspace address anyway. let us hear your stuff when its ready.
Best of luck

chess

im a drummer ... so goin solo isnt an option for me!
tho its tuff as nails to get a band together (yep im still tryin) you can have a great ol' time with it and havin other peoples input can really help push you and yer stuff forward.

Course at the end of the day it all boils down to what you wanna do?

emma27

At least you have that option! I have loads and loads of tunes, good tunes, and in total have written one song with lyrics. The rest I have recorded on a ****ty dictiphone its all mmm mmm mmm. everytime sit down i go blank thats ten yrs now. If i were you I would go down the band route..... and if you need someone to harmonize with you, call on me! Or if you have any spare time would you like to write a few lyrics for me??

Baggio...

frobisher wrote:

Anyone else out there found themselves in this position or got any thoughts? Help me make up my mind!

Howdy,

Yeah I'd totally agree - far too much baggage these days. So for the moment I've been doing the whole solo thing. I mainly sing (or growl in key), but I also play guitar and bass, and use a drum machine. So I've been writing and recording my own tracks. I've met up with a few guys from boards (all pretty sound guys) but I just can't find any one on the same wave length, and wants to do similar stuff.

So I'm stickin' to recording my own music (one minute heavy wonders ). Anf if the right people ever show up - Cool! I'll start a band. If not well, I'll keep on recording by myself - it's still fun anyways.

Baggio.

Sham Squire

Fair play Baggio. You have exactly the right attitude. It should be about the enjoyment of doing it first and if you can get something out there great, if not so what? At least you have the joy of doing it. It's too easy to get wrapped up in trying to be the next whoever, you end up ruining the reason you started doing it in the first place. Just 'cause you love doing it.
And if you'd like some to have a look at some lyrics emma, drop me a pm.

frobisher

Great replies all round.

Alchemist: PM sent.

Fitz: that's pretty much how I've been working. I can program decent enough too so my drum patterns are usable. BUt it's still different to working with a band where you have a fast workflow and can create energy working together (but also hassle!).

Emma: PM sent.

Eoin: That's one of the problems I find with bands. I work hard on my music and being in a fulltime band is like being in a relationship, except there's four of you! It can be diificult when people don't pull their own weight.

Baggio. If it's not fun it shouldn't be done!

Sham: I'll have to disagree with you a little. I can make music and want to get it out there without comprimising myself. At least I hope I can! I reckon it just involves the wearing of two hats, it can be hard to do but satisfying if you do it.

What I'm doing right now is I'm going to start gigging with just my acoustic and pick up musicians as I might need for certain gigs. Hopefully this will develop into having a good crew of people I can call on for shows and recording. Don't be surprised to see a post looking for musos up here soon!

lynnsback

Hi

I am a singer/songwriter and have TRIED to work with guitarists and various bands over the past few years and it has been one big hassle. In that time I have only ever had one guitarist that showed up and was reliable. I am looking once again for a guitarist as have just moved home from abroad so if you are interested in a duo I am available.

Bands can be fun and great craic but I find it's hard to get everyone on the same page. JMO.

Good luck!

Savman

It'd be no fun if it was easy...;)

binhead

Frobisher,

tis indeed a pickle you are in, You sound like you're more than serious about what you do so finding the right band is gonna be hard, But it does depend on the end result you want, You write all your own material so if you just want musicians to back that up then session players seem like the way to go, however if you want to use what you have as a part of a bigger sound then you need to find like minded people who you can jam with. You'll always clash with people, especially musicians (we're just built that way ) but if you keep looking and trying different people you'll eventually find the right mix. If however you choose to go the solo route, well then you'll have total control over your sound and far less stress getting there, however, you'll be doing it alone which can make the down times pretty lonely. I dunno but in my opinion Having a nice fat drum kick in to back up your sounds always makes a difference!

I'm 26 and have been in more bands than I can remember, it took years but I eventually found four other people that I share the same ideals, beliefs and musical drive as. Now I couldn't be happier with my musical set up. It's never easy man, But In my opinion, it's the most rewarding job/hobby/lifestyle you could ever ask for.

Best of luck!

Binhead.

psharkey

Hi Frobisher,

I know the feeling so I do. It's very hard sometimes to find musicians who are on the same wave length as you. Everybody has their own ideas and music is such a diverse art that there are bound to be differences.

Session musicians are a good idea alright I guess, but you've got to have a few bob behind you to avail of them. On the other hand at least there's unlikely to be any artistic differences!

At the minute I'm lucky enough to have a few good musicians behind me and we are hoping to record pretty soon, but it's taken me over a year here in Dublin to find the right people with a few disasters along the way.

I'd sure like to have a listen to your stuff. Do you have a MySpace or anything? At the end of the day, I reckon, if you have the belief in yourself and your music, then, if you just keep on plugging away, get your stuff out there and you're bound to have a modicum of success eh?

Best of luck with it all anyway.

Paddy.

blueskeys

have bags loads of well written melodic songs, great gear, a really good recording studio and lots of industry experience and contacts.
burning desire to get my music out there (initially Irish TV, radio, press, good gigs, single releases then onwards)

sounds like you have it all there above mate....
i was in a similar position and decided to be a solo act, but i have decided if i want my music to compete with all thats out there, that i should get friends ive gigged with in the past and session musicians to play on my recordings, always maintaining a high standard of musicianship.
i do most of my gigs as a solo act on keyboards and acoustic guitar, but the odd time i bring in a full backing band to rock out my songs.
if the melodies you have are strong enough, and you have the contacts,experience+contacts, i think its worth your while getting out and gigging the songs to see if they are well recieved.

check out my music at
www.keithoconnell.com
www.myspace.com/keithoconnell

Best of luck with your music mate.

Maccattack

This is my dilemma too (kinda) .

I played drums in pretty much one band for years but was writing songs in the meantime which the band weren’t interested in. So I have been concentrating on guitar the last few years and writing more and more.

I did have a band last year that was going fairly well but it all fell apart because of lack of commitment from the others. We were all of a similar level and all connected via family so we got together quite easily.

But the others weren’t that serious about it. It was a bit like pulling teeth to get a rehearsal together.

We started recording a 12 track demo during the summer but it all came to a grinding halt when the bass player got a girlfriend.

And we never talk about it now (the band). We didn’t speak at all for months.
So know I don’t know what to do.

Should I scrap the lot and try to find another drummer and bassist to start again?

Should I finish it on my own?

Should I hire session guys? How much are they anyway???

Should I just pack it in and keep my missus happy?

It wouldn’t be easy to find the right players unless I hire session musos. But that must be expensive.

Finishing it on my own might be a problem if they get the hump that ive used the tracks they cut.

So I don’t know. It’s a toughy.

I just want to make a record!

Fingers Mcginty

go the band route...much better fun. Playing on your own is boring.
With GOOD musicians you will be more confident on stage and enjoy it much more.

PSHARKEY....was that you i saw on You're a Star? ...shame on you