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 How
To Form A Band
Forming a band can be both a daunting and exciting task. Rock ‘n’
Roll stardom may be on the horizon, but first there’s a whole host of
obstacles in the way, from getting a place to practice to taking on that
daunting first gig.
That’s why we set up our very own ‘School of Rock’, inviting a group of
young, new bands to learn the tricks of the trade for a group of
musicians who have been plying their trade on the local and regional
scene.
Together, Chris Prescott of Liverpool rockers Bingo Wings, Testosterone
guitarist Ian Graham, Hobo Heist’s Phil Koller and Tim Greenhalgh,
former lead singer with The Bright Lights, have around 20 years
experience of playing in bands, and were more than happy to offer some
advice.
Starting Out…
CHRIS: When you’re starting out, it’s best to form a band with mates
and people who have similar influences as you. Even if one likes
Metallica and the other likes Megadeth, you’ve got metal music in
common, and that’s important to have because it means you’re all more
likely to want to go in the same direction.
PHILL: Perhaps start by playing a few covers, that way you can work
out what you’ll sound like as a group.
If at first you don’t succeed
TIM: Don’t be disheartened if your first band doesn’t last, because
they usually don’t.
IAN: There’s all sorts of reasons why. One of which is that most
bands form in college when you’re still discovering different types of
music and what you like. By the end, everyone’s tastes are likely to
change and you don’t share that common ground that you used to.
CHRIS: Don’t give up though. That first band is great for finding
your feet musically and thinking about what you actually want from a
band.
Practice makes perfect
CHRIS: If you wanna play like, Carnegie Hall, practice is very
important.
TIM: Yeah, if you wanna play Wembley arena…
CHRIS: Then it’s not that important!
PHILL: No, practicing is essential. Nail down one time every week
when you can all commit. By agreeing on it before hand there’s no excuse
for not practicing.
Be Open Minded
TIM: I think that’s the single most important thing about being in a
band, taking on board other people’s ideas and listening to opinions. If
you’re writing all the lyrics and another guy is writing all the music
but then the drummer has an idea and you say ‘well it’s not up to you,
we’re not listening’, that’s the wrong way to go about it. Arguments
happen and bands break up over things like that.
The Write Stuff
TIM: I don’t think you start writing good songs until you’ve done
about five or six. You’ll always go through all the rubbish before you
find something good.
CHRIS: It’s easier to write songs if you know what everyone’s about.
Like Phil said before, if you play a few covers, you learn about
everyone’s skills and abilities. It’s no good going to write a song and
saying ‘right, you put a really good lead riff in there’ if you’re
guitarist can’t do it.
PHILL: It’s normally best to write songs before you turn up at
practice, or at least have the ideas. We normally write all our songs on
an acoustic guitar before practice and then turn up and work on them
till they sound good.
For The Record
CHRIS: Being in the studio is normally very boring, but it’s
important because to get a gig, most places need to get a demo from you.
IAN: These days though, it’s not always necessary to go in the
studio. Technology is better all the time, and you can produce a decent
demo with a PC and the right software.
CHRIS: That’s right. You don’t have to spend £600 recording three
tracks because to be honest, a lot of promoters don’t actually listen to
them, they just like to have them because it proves you’re serious about
what you’re doing and really want a gig.
PHILL: I was speaking to one guy who books gigs and he said ‘you
give us a demo and we will give you a gig, its policy.
Let’s get this Show on the Road
IAN: The best way to get your first gig is through friends in other
bands. Chances are if you’re in a band then you’ll know other people in
bands at different levels, and they’ll always try and help you out. I
don’t think there’s any unsigned band around that would tell you to get
stuffed if you asked for a bit of help or advice.
TIM: Another good way to get a gig is to ring up a venue where you
know you’re not playing and ask them if you’re on. Keep doing that and
they’ll start to remember you.
IAN: That’s a good thing to get your mates to do. Then when you ring
up and ask for a gig they’ll think you’re in demand and will be more
likely to book you.
IAN: But don’t get too big. I know this band who did their first gig
at The Academy in Manchester, they got about £200 for it and now they
won’t play for anything less than that.
TIM: Yeah, they said to me that they’re nothing less than a
headlining band now, which is stupid. I can’t see many people who would
want to deal with them if they’re going around with that sort of
attitude.
PREC: The best gigs are actually the ones where you don’t get paid.
The ones where people give you money there’s normally some catch to it
when you first get started.
PHIL: The worst ones are pay-to-play gigs, where they say ‘give us
fifty quid and you can play’ or ‘go and sell tickets and give us the
money on the door’.
PREC: Those sort of places are not interested in your band or your
music, they’re just into the money, so don’t bother.
IAN: The best promoters are the ones who give you a chance. Even if
they don’t charge to get in, they’re the ones who care about music
rather than getting bums on seats and money in the bank.
PREC: You rarely get a gig at a venue without a promoter. There are
places who will just put you on, but you mainly get promoters acting as
middle men.
Bad gigs will happen
CHRIS: Our first gig was a disaster. We went down for a meeting at
The Collective just to introduce ourselves and say that we were looking
for a gig at some point in the future. Whilst we were at the meeting,
one of the bands who was supposed to be playing that Saturday rang up
and cancelled, so they offered us the spot. Problem was, we only had two
songs recorded, so we booked a practice session in on the Saturday
morning, wrote four songs that morning and played them that night. It
was a terrible gig, one of the worst we’ve ever played, but it was a
good experience.
IAN: Everyone has bad gigs, you’ve just gotta think about what went
wrong and how you can make it better next time.
A word about Reviews...
CHRIS: The worst gig we ever played was the first time somebody had
come to review us, not exactly ideal.
IAN: The thing with reviews is that you can play a belting gig, but
the person who’s reviewing it or even the audience may not be your
target. You could play the best gig of your life, but if you’re in a
pop-punk band like we are and you’re playing to a crowd of metal fans,
it’s a lot harder to impress.
PHILL: Speaking of reviews, the funniest review we ever got said
“Next are Hobo Heist, as you can imagine the name would conjure up
images of a Scottish Ska-punk band. I was really disappointed when they
weren’t ska-punk, but they were definitely Scottish. The singer sounded
Scottish when he sang and spoke.” We’re probably the least Scottish band
in the world. There was nothing good or bad in the whole review, it just
kept going on about how Scottish we were.
We’re Jammin’
CHRIS: Jam nights are a really good place to get a bit of experience
playing live, even if you’re not in a band. People are always willing to
give you a go and offer constructive criticism…or obviously compliments
if you’re good!
Fools Gold
TIM: You’ve gotta be prepared to make a fool of yourself at least
once.
CHRIS: If you don’t want to make a fool of yourself then you
shouldn’t be a band. Its easier to be in a band with your mates because
you can just laugh it off.
IAN: Yeah, it’s just part and parcel of playing music. You’re up on
stage in front of people, it’s not always gonna go smoothly!
PHIL: I’ve had a few comments on my moves on stage, but I don’t
care, I just get on with it now.
Final words of wisdom
CHRIS: Have patience. Enjoy it and don’t take it too seriously.
PHILL: Find people who have similar influences. It’s not gonna work
if you like Metallica and your mate digs Curtis Mayfield.
TIM: Respect your band mates' opinions and listen to ideas.
IAN: Above all else, believe in what you’re doing and enjoy it. As
long as you believe in yourself and your band, that’s what counts.
* Many thanks to all the staff at Ashton Leisure Centre for their
co-operation with this feature.
Recommended Links:
►
Testosterone –
www.myspace.com/testosterone
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Bingo Wings –
www.myspace.com/bingowings
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Hobo Heist –
www.myspace.com/hoboheist
For a list of venues, promoters and other local bands, check out our
‘Music Links’ page
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