spinynorman Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 From time to time I look at other bands' websites for "inspiration". The section that always makes me cringe a bit is the band member biographies. They seem to fall into 4 types Straight facts, usually related to gear: "Fred plays a Fender bass...." Life history: "Started singing at the age of 4 ... played lead guitar with the Running Snots in Lewisham from 1982-1985...." Lists: "Favourite food: pizza." Whacky, off the wall, humorous: Generally just demonstrate why these people are in a band, rather than doing stand-up or writing sketch shows. Has anyone got a decent model for these? Are they even needed, or just there to boost band members' egos? I wish I knew. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3V17C Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 not really needed in most cases unless band members have some kind of decent back story/history that would perhaps up the kudos of the band... list of favourite food etc and 'humorous' biogs are pointless imho Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockfordStone Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 [quote name='spinynorman' post='1343085' date='Aug 17 2011, 01:36 PM']From time to time I look at other bands' websites for "inspiration". The section that always makes me cringe a bit is the band member biographies. They seem to fall into 4 types Straight facts, usually related to gear: "Fred plays a Fender bass...." Life history: "Started singing at the age of 4 ... played lead guitar with the Running Snots in Lewisham from 1982-1985...." Lists: "Favourite food: pizza." Whacky, off the wall, humorous: Generally just demonstrate why these people are in a band, rather than doing stand-up or writing sketch shows. Has anyone got a decent model for these? Are they even needed, or just there to boost band members' egos? I wish I knew.[/quote] if i do them for a band i usually keep it simple, tell them where we are from and what we are influenced by, nothing over the top. if i have comments from radio/newspapers/mags etc then i add them in to sell the band, but i dont fart arse about with pointless "favourite colour" type rubbish at the end of the day i keep it about the band, not about its members Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dood Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 The worst kind are the ones written by the band in the third person. MySpace having the most offenders. As soon as I spot one, they lose all credibility from me I'm afraid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sprocketflup Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 (edited) [quote name='dood' post='1343107' date='Aug 17 2011, 01:47 PM']The worst kind are the ones written by the band in the third person. MySpace having the most offenders. As soon as I spot one, they lose all credibility from me I'm afraid.[/quote] Sprocketflup agrees with Dood, and he also finds biog pages extremely cringeworthy Edited August 17, 2011 by sprocketflup Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Len_derby Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 [quote name='3V17C' post='1343096' date='Aug 17 2011, 01:43 PM']not really needed in most cases unless band members have some kind of decent back story/history that would perhaps up the kudos of the band... list of favourite food etc and 'humorous' biogs are pointless imho[/quote] I agree with this. Unless there's something really significant ('Fred, after a shark attack now plays with a bionic left arm') it tends to add to the lingering impression that a lot of bands are vanity projects. Ask yourself, has anything in a band member biog ever made you more interested in going to see them (or book them)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Low End Bee Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 They always remind me of player profiles in magazines like this... Favourite Food: Steak and chips. Favourite TV Shows: Benny Hill and Kojak Favorite Recording Artists: Peters and Lee and Chicory Tip Etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevB Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 (edited) I was recently asked to do one for my new band but my first reaction was 'we really don't need this'. However the web designer, who also happens to be the drummer, wouldn't let it drop so I rattled off a quick paragraph in hopefully a lighthearted veign. I can't see how it can possibly get us gigs or be of any real interest to the public at all. I guess it just fills up a bit of space that might otherwise be taken up by some pointless photo or something. I've never done one for any previous bands. Edited August 17, 2011 by KevB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skol303 Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Band biogs are indeed a tricky business... I used to read a bunch of these when I worked as a music journalist, and some of them were awful! Generally speaking, they need to be "interesting" and full of personality in order to stand out from the plethora of dirge put out by other bands competing for the same attention. And of course, the style of the biog should reflect the style of band and their music. A dash of humour - if done right - can add personality to a biog and help the artist come across as being "human" and not overly pretentious. But it's a careful balancing act and jokes about pizza, as mentioned by the OP, are exactly the sort of thing to avoid. The worst offenders are always those that try to be overly serious or generally over-sell themselves as being the "next big thing" (no journalist or A&R person wants to hear that, as they believe it's their job to decide who's the next big thing! Sad as that may be). There's also a certain annoyance that comes from reading about someone who first "first in love with music at the age of 3, listening to his/her father's Motown records..." etc. Nobody likes a smart ass, after all. So yeah, it's not an easy thing to get right. But I'd say the key things are to focus on conveying your personality, rather than trying to show-off. Journalists and A&R folks are interested in what makes your band [i]different[/i] from others, rather than what makes you [i]better[/i]. Why? Because they're looking for interesting things or different angles to help sell their magazines, or fill their artist roster. And they sure as hell ain't interested in what pizza toppings you enjoy! Keep that stuff for banter down the pub, which is where your band will stay if that's your approach... [disclaimer: not that there's anything wrong with pub gigs!] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 I like to see band equipment details, previous bands they`ve been in, musical influences, stuff like that. I don`t really care if they like pizza and don`t like cabbage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 I don't much like band biogs. I don't care what your musical influences are. If it's important I'll be able to hear it in your music. I don't care what your gear is so long as it's reliable and looks and sounds good when you play live. I don't care what you've done in the past unless it was something completely spectacular and it was within the last 12 months. Otherwise it's just stuff in the past and I might want to know why you haven't done anything that good more recently. For some reason Goth bands seem to be the worst offenders when it comes to biogs. You'd expect them to be all mean and moody, dark and mysterious, when in fact they come across as those boring people at parties who want to tell you every tedious detail about their lives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longtimefred Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 like everyone has said, keep it simple, most people give up reading or not even bother if they see an essay. Not really worth doing unless the band has a history behind it that people might find interesting. worst things i cant stand is when a band name drops who they have supported live. nasty! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dood Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 [quote name='sprocketflup' post='1343112' date='Aug 17 2011, 01:51 PM']Sprocketflup agrees with Dood, and he also finds biog pages extremely cringeworthy [/quote] With Dood's incredible talent and ability to nurse the finest tune from just a single note, he is surely the next big thing at replying to a forum post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spinynorman Posted August 17, 2011 Author Share Posted August 17, 2011 (edited) Well, at least it's not just me being old grumpy guts again. In one I saw, the bass player listed his influences as Flea, Geddy Lee and Jaco, adding "'nuff said" for some reason. Only, it was a wedding band. I suppose you can be influenced by them and still play Agadoo every week. A former member of our band has his biog on his new band's site and has not only listed the previous bands he's been in - which hardly anyone will have heard of - but also name checked every single member of those bands. And not one of those people is Jimmy Page, or even close. I can sort of see the point of "I played in The Running Snots in Lewisham" if you're still somewhere near Lewisham. But why do it when you've moved to Grimsby? Edited August 17, 2011 by spinynorman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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