have you noticed?

drummer 666

have you noticed that there isn't that many drummers/bassist's in Ireland?

Barryoh2004

that's cos they either suck or are already in bands

drummer 666

no, that there aren't that manyt drummers or bassist...there are to many guitarists out there

Mr. CooL ICE

I'm a bassist, and I live with a drummer, who is also on boards.ie

But there isn't necessarily a lack of drummers or bassists, just a surplus of guitarists.

drummer 666

LordChessington wrote:

I'm a bassist, and I live with a drummer, who is also on boards.ie

But there isn't necessarily a lack of drummers or bassists, just a surplus of guitarists.

true to that... my mate is a bassist and also on Borads.ie

we're noth really good mates and that

the thing is...a band is made up of bass and drums...don't ya think?

Waltons

I have noticed that there are far more guitarists than anything else. Have had real problems finding a singer

drummer 666

yeah.... the I'm in..we have one... now alls we need is a good guitarist and we'll be set

Carreira

There’s a distinct lack of musicians that actually understand what it takes to get a band to go places.

The ‘scene’ has never been as bad as it is now in Dublin.

Check out the hotpress top 10 bands to look out for this year… Mainline are in there.

Mainline are a decent enough, but by no means the finished article that Hotpress is biggin them up to be.

There’s just not enough muso’s out there with decent tastes in music. Most bands that play in Dorans or Voodoo either sound like a bad version of Nickelback or a bad version of Oasis.

And don’t blame the drummers.. I’m a drummer and due to not being able to find a decent band and because I can no longer practise at home, I’m left to go rusty. Unlike the guitarists, you cant just pick up a kit and start jamming anytime you want. the only way to get good is constant jamming with a band… now, if you cant find a decent band, how are you supposed to get good???????????

What we really lack are quality singers… there’s very few decent front men out there.

Jonathanpbk

I'm friends with some of Mainline... But don't get me wrong! I'm really not a very big fan... I'm not really a fan at all!
It sickens me to see how over-hyped they are when they're not even tight yet. They're playin' Oxegen for fúcks sake.
But back on topic, I'm a bassist and I know a few other bassists and a few drummers (although you're right, they're all in bands!). I'm not in a band and I have been told I'm very good but I just dont have the time to be committed in a band... And yes, there are WAY too many guitarists out there.

Carreira

Well they’re playing the sort of stuff that I would listen to except I don’t think their drummer is at the same level as the rest of those lads… he’s far too sketchy.

But its like the things, according to all the press last year, the things were supposed to be in the middle of an A&R battle… eh, they’re still not signed.

Being in a band in Dublin is just not fun.

Doctor J

There are plenty of drummers and bassists, just not enough good ones. There are too many drummers who either can't play or else feel they must play a billion beats per second all the time. There are very few drummer who can combine technique with musicality.

Carreira

Its very hard to play well to a bad song.

joejoem

no

Carreira wrote:

There’s a distinct lack of musicians that actually understand what it takes to get a band to go places.

This is the main problem I have found. Ive been in and out of bands for the last few years and I just got sick of the **** I was playing with. For me I can not be happy going on stage and doing a **** performance and saying "ah it was alright" there is no point. Practice is the only thing that will make it good, and I would hate to be a studio band, Live bands command the most respect.

Carreira wrote:

What we really lack are quality singers… there’s very few decent front men out there.

I think this is where our mentality comes into it. I love when a band is tight, like they all hang out together, but I have seen alot of bands where the music was so tight together but the front man was so weak, I think this is mostly down to a loyalty of friendship. Personally I was singing with a few bands and I allways seemed to have different directions to the others and I never slept in my dreams of grandure like the others. I have gone out on my own now and have been writing acousticly for the last two years, and currently have a number one (tied with Damien Rice even though I would count our music very differently) in the top downloads off the net. I would love to meet a band who wanted to get tight, **** the politics and just get on with it, but its just so dificult to sift through the wasters and euro star and peroxide wannabees.

Sorry about the long post. But I think its about time we had an Irish version of the Foo Fighters, Rock is dead but its time for a real revival. A blend of sweet and hard that will shake the Irish music scene to the core, discarding all the Linda Martins and cheese masters along the way.

My name is Mud

joejoem wrote:

its about time we had an Irish version of the Foo Fighters.... A blend of sweet and hard that will shake the Irish music scene to the core

gonna use this as shamless PR for JimNasty

and the problem with not many drummers in Ireland boils down to:
- Space to practice in i.e. sound proofing, and physical space
- Cost - drums aint cheap!
- Logistics - they arent easy to transport

Carreira

If you go into Music maker and ask them how many kits they sold at Christmas you would be shocked. I was speaking to a sales guy awhile back and he mentioned that sabian have sold so many cymbals thru music maker that there would be enough to put one in every house in this country….

Its very easy to sound decent on a kit, quite hard to sound excellent.. that’s why there’s so many joe average drummers out there. its usually a bassist or guitarist that really wants to be in a band.

Iv never played any other instrument than the drums and don’t plan to… you should pick and instrument and keep it for life… even if you suck like nobody has ever sucked before.

joejoem

no

Do you play at the moment?

Carreira

Im going to test the water and see what’s out there.

To be honest, I’m sick to **** of going thru a lot of **** for very little in return.

The logistical end of it is a bit of a nightmare and I much prefer jamming in a place that’s not a rehearsal room in town.

I used to be in a band and we secured our own praccy space in town and we rehearsed our arses off and sounded real tight towards the end, but that all fell apart..

joejoem

no

Yeah I know the feeling. I ****ing hate rehersal rooms like the ones in town, so small, hot and cramped. A friend of mine owns a rehearsal space (like the ones in town but with bigger rooms) in terrenure. Im going to try get into something new myself, but I work days and I dont want to give up my nights for people who are half arsed.

With the property boom any building bigger than lego has been knocked down and rebuilt into apartments so its hard to find somewhere decent to rehearse that you arent disturbing anyone. I was with a band in New York a few years ago and we had a huge cellar to rehearse in below a bar. It was ****ing great, go rehearse then get locked and go back down and play again.

Carreira

Yeah that sounds cool. The place we had in town had a fridge.. That was it! but we played as load as we wanted and anytime. It was great.

What do you play?

joejoem

no

Im a singer, play guitar too but I dont really like playing while Im singing. Like I was saying Im doing it on my own at the moment so I have to, but if I had the choice I wouldnt. Doing ok though, Ive gotten a bit of airplay, I just hate being classed as a singer/songwriter. That phrase just screams depression. My voice is too strong to do that kind of music. I guess I do an acoustic rock, a bit lighter than I want but its all I can do on my own. What kind of stuff do you play?

drummer 666

Doctor J wrote:

There are plenty of drummers and bassists, just not enough good ones. There are too many drummers who either can't play or else feel they must play a billion beats per second all the time. There are very few drummer who can combine technique with musicality.

well my friend....I can

drummer 666

Doctor J wrote:

There are very few drummer who can combine technique with musicality.

well my friend..I'am one of those few who can play with technique with musicality

Nidge

well, in fairness singers are the hardest "things" to come by. As a few of you have mentioned. Whoever said it is exactly right, there exists some sort of idea in a persons head that if they are leading the band, that they are the band, and are the most important person in it. I mean, there was a post there asking for an "excellent front person". In no way is the phrasing of that suggesting that the band want some egotistical son of a......in their band, but really most people who really are great at leading a band develope some sort of concept that they are almighty. It's even more hilarious when this starts off early, before they have even achieved anything.

Either way i don't think enough people have a go at trying to sing. Most people shy away from trying it out. strange, but true

Barryoh2004

well, if you count the number of drummer/bassists, subtract the crap ones, and divide that by whether they'd be compatible with your band, that might not leave much to choose from.

Nidge

that's an interesting theory, and goes quadruple for singers.

arbeitsscheuer

Nidge wrote:

that's an interesting theory, and goes quadruple for singers.

Very much so. Bands generally have a pretty precise idea of what they want their sound to be like, and they want a certain type of voice that'll complement it - which is by and large exceptionally difficult to find. Most bands end up making a compromise cos they get sick of looking for the "perfect" frontman.

And as Nidge said before, not enough people either give singing a go or have enough confidence in their own abilities. I was in a band before where the lead guitarist was a better singer than me (Nidge: "that wouldn't be difficult", Me: "Hey!" ) but however much I tried to persuade him, he wouldn't sing in public. Ah well, more for me I guess.

Nidge

yeah i don't understand that either, if you are willing to play in public at all i don't see the difference between the guitar and vocals, ok there are obvious differences, but either way you are putting yourself out there. I think one is much more likely to mess up when playing their instrument than they are when singing. That's taking that you have rhythm and ability to sing in key as a given.

joejoem

no

I agree and disagree, yeah the singer is the front man and you do have to put yourselves out there and show a load of confidence but its important that the rest of the band does that too. The best bands are the ones where each member compliments each other. Singers do have there flaws and some of them do make an arse of themselves but the same can be said for guitarists. Some guitarist can stupidly ruin a band by cranking the guitar volume right up and slamming in a load of solo's. I dunno, I think an ideal situation is where everyone meets in the middle and realises its about the overall sound coming out and the overall look not just the look/sound of one person.

Dr. Loon

drummer 666 wrote:

well my friend..I'am one of those few who can play with technique with musicality

There's nothing worse than an arrogant drummer. Have you got any stuff to prove this musicality and technique? 80% of drummers in bands in Dublin that I've seen are bóllox to be honest. They only "get away" with sounding okay because the band backs them.

spunkymunky

80%? Now i think that thats a bit harsh. Were the bands any good with these crap drummers?
I have seen bands and yes i do think some drummers could do with some work but thats not to say that the guitarist was the best in the world. Ultimately the job of the drummer is keep the beat and if he can do that hes a good drummer. Its up the the guitarist (frontman?) to spice things up (because guitarist generally write the songs) and a drummer should compliment this so if the he has nothing to work with then whats he suppose to do? Now this isnt a stab at guitarists.

robbie1876

Well, my tuppence worth is that there are plenty of good drummers and bass players out there, they just don't want to play in your bands for free when they can be making good money in the covers scene. In New Colour Soul (not a covers band) we had a bit of difficulty finding a new bass player when our old Czech bass player left last year, but we have a dynamite guy now luckily enough. During the search, I contacted a few bass players from the covers scene, some of whom are truly world class players, and none of whom were interested in original music. That, I believe, is the problem, and is unavoidable.

In my covers bands, there is never any problem finding stand in drummers or bass players at the last minute who are excellent players. Guitar players are ten-a-penny both in the covers and original scene, while keyboard players are the rarest commoddity (which is great for me, as it keeps my price for covers gigs nice and high )