I want a band. A real band. First, let’s review the bands of the past
Giant Robots Smashing into other Giant Robots: My first band. I played bass and played it in a mediocre manner. But we still rocked. And of all the bands, this one may have had the best name.
Sammy G and the Mike’n’ikes: We owned open mic nights with our ridiculous antics. Highlight? Destiny child’s ‘Say my name’ complete with Holla Back outfits.
So Tired: Rick Large was perhaps the single best lead man I’ve ever seen… rivaled only by Jim Morison. and maybe Axl Rose. we must have played about 6 to 8 shows and we actually made some money. highlight? WPI’s Novemberfest. Huge turnout and raucous party.
Showers Etc: The weakest named band and entirely acoustic. but we had a trombone and that alone was pretty sweet.
Generally Electric: A band formed entirely of General Electric Co-op students. I think we only played once. But it was fun.
8 of Bass: My crowning achievement. A band made entirely of bass players performing only Ace of Bass music. We only had one show. And we only played four songs. But 200 people showed up and the mood was explosive.
Now that I have the PRS… I’ve started practicing more heavily and the potential for real rock is… well… real. Jesse has suggested he might be willing to play some bass. And Dave Dude of 8ofBass has thrown out interest in dual lead guitarrage.
what I need is a really cool drummer. without percussion we are lame.
I also still need a really sweet name. I could resurrect Giant Robots… but it might be a disservice to the founder.
This band wouldn’t play every weekend. It would be play Quarterly. But those shows would be unstoppable.
These are my band dreams. Yes. It will happen.
I remember Giant Robots (as I was friends with Chris Knight prior to meeting you) and lord, you guys were bad ;-)
But nothing tops 8 of Bass.
I can’t really disagree with you on the Giant Robots comment. Our lead singer had less than perfect vocal stylings.
The same could be said about 8 of Bass but any flaws in our performance were likely lost in the insanity of the evening.
I should clarify my statement.
Every single one of those bands (with the exception of the occasional So Tired moment) was pretty terrible. They were all novelty bands. There only saving grace was the uniqueness of their existence.
I think I want this new band to be… good. to be a real band.
That’s why it’s such an exciting idea.
I can’t even begin to describe how much I’d like to sing with a real live band. Just once. The only live music I ever performed with was piano, organ, or solo acoustic guitar.
Often, while traveling down the highway to or from work, Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots will play on my iPod as part of the random shuffle (either one of the 4 songs from NovemberFest or the interview). Good times.
Best quotes:
“I’d like to apologize to the musicians, because it hurts the most for them.” – Mike D.
“Come back….please….” – Jesse, after being abandoned.
“Don’t worry, Slayer’s coming” – Chris Knight
“If you can sing, you can probably replace me pretty easily.” – Shamus
I can’t believe you didn’t give a shout out to Aspirin Snacks. I guess we never played a show, but we jammed. Plus, it was one of the cooler band names.
You know, I should have added Asprin Snacks to the list. Even if it never got much passed the concept phase, it was really great in theory. And that one jam session was pretty sweet.
I’ve often thought about taking up drums just because every “almost-band” ever needs a drummer. So I’d basically have my pick of bands.
I also think a lot about taking up the drums.
The immediate roadblock is my lack of a drumset, and difficulty transporting said drums due to my not owning a van.
Also, drums, aka “The neighbor repeller” are loud, and don’t make you any friends unless your skills rock enough to land you a place in a band.
On the upside I possess a real inclination towards, and possibly a natural talent for the drums. Or possibly just hitting things.
FYI – typo in the post, there is no such band as Ace of Bass.
However, it’d be halarious if you made a band named that, only you really meant the fish, not the instrument.
“Giant Robots Smashing into other Giant Robots”
OMG awesome band name.
“8 of Bass: My crowning achievement. A band made entirely of bass players performing only Ace of Bass music. “
LOL
Name suggestion: Cupcake Armageddon
Sander, you can totally fit drums in a hatchback. My sister’s drummer did it for years. The “neighbor repeller” thing is totally true though, especially for bad (i.e. learning) drummers.
I know this is quite old, but I just want to say that I still own a “So Tired” t-shirt and wear it with semi-regularity. I also feel like Showers Etc. while having a horrible name had plenty of untapped potential. All we really needed were a couple synth players, a percussionist and a violinist. Also, if I could have made a holster for my mini trombone out of duct tape or something attached to my back that would have been pimp.
I sang with Leather & Lace once, it was cool.