Small towns breed interesting bands?

[Musicman20]

[color="#000000"]Maybe this is just purely by chance, but I’m originally from a small town in NE Lincs, and surrounding the town is various villages and other small towns.[/color]

[color="#000000"]I’ve since lived in Nottingham, Leeds and now Newcastle.[/color]

[color="#000000"]I couldn’t personally, at this stage, go back to the small town way of life. It just isn’t for me. I need to be in or at least near a major city.[/color]

[color="#000000"]However, I’ve noticed a weird thing about my old area; we had really interesting original bands. They still do.[/color]

[color="#000000"]Maybe its boredom, lack of pubs/clubs, lack of easy transport to get to where you need to be, lack of big gigs, but something about certain small towns seem to lead to really good young bands. I mean, really good.[/color]

[color="#000000"]All my old friends still play together, have different bands, are busy gigging, etc. All swapping roles, swapping bands, etc.[/color]

[color="#000000"]One guy, from my old band, is now working full time and singing/recording/playing in two alright bands. I don’t know where he gets the time, but he does. The drummer I used to work with is equally as busy.[/color]

[color="#000000"]There is small rock n roll band like the Hives, who seem to be getting radio attention. Another band, The Talks, from Hull, have been doing very well.[/color]

[color="#000000"]One guy, who used to play shows I put on, is now playing in a grunge band and has been on Jools Holland. He is from my old town. Jools Holland?!?![/color]

[color="#000000"]I checked their webpage, they are touring all over the place. [/color]

[color="#000000"]Whilst I am very pleased these guys are busy, it makes me wonder what is going on.[/color]

[color="#000000"]Nottingham – Played in amazing bands. Really enjoyed it. It took a few years but I ended up joining a band that sold out a few venues, The highlight was playing the large stage at Rock City and selling out the Rescue Rooms.[/color]

[color="#000000"]Leeds – Lots of time wasters, but eventually found a really interesting band. I moved so I couldn’t keep this up. We played a lot and they are still going strong. Leeds has a pretty good scene. [/color]

[color="#000000"]Newcastle – Nowt. Not one good band....yet.[/color]

[color="#000000"]I’ve had the ‘oh you need to settle’ or ‘meet as many people as possible’. Tried that. Tried out for bands who were incredibly dull, and even started a fresh new band, which meant I had to do everything, and I just didn’t want to be the one person who organises the entire band. I’ve even got a lead guitarist at the ready, but we just haven’t met one decent frontman or even a band who need a few new members.[/color]

[color="#000000"]I’ve had a few chats with a few other musicians, in their mid 20s, and they say the same, the Newcastle scene seems to be really dead at the moment. Everyone seems to be either playing covers or AWFUL metal. [/color]

[color="#000000"]Nothing wrong with covers, but I’m not interested in that. I want to write exciting new music.[/color]

[color="#000000"]I’ve tried really hard to get people going, but it seems so dead at the moment. No one can be bothered to practice for £5-6 once every two weeks, they can’t be bothered to write music, they just want an easy way out.[/color]

[color="#000000"]What happened to everyone enjoying it, writing, getting excited, all putting effort in, etc etc???![/color]

[color="#000000"]I love this city, and although I may end up moving, I don’t want my experience of it to be tarnished as we have some fantastic venues and the people here are as expected; lovely![/color]

[TheGreek]

Explored Bandmate or similar sites?? Have you left your details in local music shops and venues??

With a Town/City as big as Newcastle I can't believe you can't find 3 or 4 like minded people....

Hope something happens for your soon..

[Shockwave]

Living in London for a couple of years now. Haven't found one interesting band to join that made me go "Wow, I would put in the effort". Formed my own instead. Decent songwriting is almost non-existent.

Bristol has/had much more interesting bands.

Edited April 28, 2014 by Shockwave

[Musicman20]

[quote name='TheGreek' timestamp='1398693045' post='2436593']
Explored Bandmate or similar sites?? Have you left your details in local music shops and venues??

With a Town/City as big as Newcastle I can't believe you can't find 3 or 4 like minded people....

Hope something happens for your soon..
[/quote]

Hahah! Me neither. I've tried incredibly hard and done all of the work for people in the past. Nothing has come of it.

We had 4 of us jamming at one point. The guitarist, drummer and I clearly knew we could be good. We attempted to audition vocalists. Absolute waste of time and organisation. People didn't show (and didn't tell us) or simply ignored us or added all of us on Facebook then never spoke again. They hadn't even heard us by this point!

I'm traditional, I like to meet in a bar, talk about what bands we like, why we play, get excited about it, delegated a few things between us all, then crack on.

I met with one songwriter who was convinced she was playing Glastonbury this year. She isn't. She didn't audition anyone, she met up with them and didn't ask about playing. I was told I was 'too formal' after having to go straight from work to meet her. Bizarre! You would think a decent fashionable suit would be a good thing.

Edited April 28, 2014 by Musicman20

[Musicman20]

[quote name='Shockwave' timestamp='1398693283' post='2436598']
Living in London for a couple of years now. Haven't found one interesting band to join that made me go "Wow, I would put in the effort". Formed my own instead. Decent songwriting is almost non-existent.

Bristol has/had much more interesting bands.
[/quote]

Aye, my current idea is write and record it at a basic level (I'm alright on guitar) and just wait for the right enthusiastic people.

[Happy Jack]

[quote name='Shockwave' timestamp='1398693283' post='2436598']
Living in London for a couple of years now. Haven't found one interesting band to join that made me go "Wow, I would put in the effort". Formed my own instead. Decent songwriting is almost non-existent.

[/quote]

That's a bit unfair, isn't it? Good song-writing has always come from frustration and deprivation, preferable experienced while living in a garret. Whatever a "garret" is.

If you want good song-writing, obviously you need to live somewhere far less affluent than London ...

[Shockwave]

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1398693590' post='2436605']
That's a bit unfair, isn't it? Good song-writing has always come from frustration and deprivation, preferable experienced while living in a garret. Whatever a "garret" is.

If you want good song-writing, obviously you need to live somewhere far less affluent than London ...


[/quote]

Telling it how I have seen it! Saw one great originals band at the Roundhouse when I first came to London, turned out they were from Brighton, but liked putting on their website that they were based in Camden for the cred!

Edited April 28, 2014 by Shockwave

[MiltyG565]

Maybe it's to do more with the mentality and lifestyle of those from small towns than those from big cities?

[skankdelvar]

[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1398692078' post='2436584']
[color=#000000]I’ve had a few chats with a few other musicians, in their mid 20s, and they say the same, the Newcastle scene seems to be really dead at the moment. [/color]
[/quote]

Interesting. The North East has always been well represented here on BC which led me to suppose there was a fair bit going on there. Perhaps it's an age thing where the 30's-50's generation have sewn up all the interesting gigs.

For myself, leaving London for the boonies has seriously attenuated my musical activity. Five years in Banbury convinced me (perhaps erroneously) that there was a musical desert stretching along the M40 corridor from London to Birmingham. At best it seemed to be populated by competent vanilla covers bands and egregious numpties of the deluded variety.

That said, the Bradford / Trowbridge area seems to have a lively scene ranging across a number of genres and capabilities.

Perhaps all is not yet lost.

Edited April 28, 2014 by skankdelvar

[Left Foot]

[quote name='Shockwave' timestamp='1398693753' post='2436609']
Telling it how I have seen it! Saw one great originals band at the Roundhouse when I first came to London, turned out they were from Brighton, but liked putting on their website that they were based in Camden for the cred!
[/quote]

Depends on what you like listening to. Theres a few great bands all centered around NE london. Go see Henge tomorrow at Victoria Dalston, great band! Although I have no idea what you would call good sign writing, Coldplay stuff, Napalm Death stuff, who or what should they be writing?

[FinnDave]

[quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1398698238' post='2436687']
Five years in Banbury convinced me (perhaps erroneously) that there was a musical desert stretching along the M40 corridor from London to Birmingham.
[/quote]

Probably explains why we were offered a gig in Cropredy next Saturday unheard and unseen. Thought they must be desperate!

[Conan]

[quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1398698238' post='2436687']
Interesting. The North East has always been well represented here on BC which led me to suppose there was a fair bit going on there. Perhaps it's an age thing where the 30's-50's generation have sewn up all the interesting gigs.[/quote]

That is my impression too.

But most of us up here are a bit easier to please...

[Musicman20]

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1398701245' post='2436740']


That is my impression too.

But most of us up here are a bit easier to please...
[/quote]

I don't accept anything but the best

[Conan]

[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1398724857' post='2437078']
I don't accept anything but the best
[/quote]

Mightn't that be part of the problem? I'm not sure there is any such thing as the perfect band - any more than there is the perfect relationship. There are always compromises to make - it just depends on how much you are prepared to compromise and on what.

T'was ever thus IME...

[Musicman20]

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1398754763' post='2437155']
Mightn't that be part of the problem? I'm not sure there is any such thing as the perfect band - any more than there is the perfect relationship. There are always compromises to make - it just depends on how much you are prepared to compromise and on what.

T'was ever thus IME...
[/quote]

I didn't say perfect, I said the best, which was in jest to be honest. I do however have a very keen ear for good musicians and I've met a lot of people who do not have any concept of time, and no, I wouldn't work with people who don't have the same drive and are able to play what we want to play. It would be pointless otherwise.

I do strive for being as good as possible though....its important to try and be a really good band as there is so much dross out there (and by there I mean everywhere).

I would personally count a covers band, at this stage, as a compromise to my goals. It just isn't very exciting.

[BigRedX]

[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1398692078' post='2436584']
[color=#000000]Nottingham – Played in amazing bands. Really enjoyed it. It took a few years but I ended up joining a band that sold out a few venues, The highlight was playing the large stage at Rock City and selling out the Rescue Rooms.[/color]

[color=#000000]Leeds – Lots of time wasters, but eventually found a really interesting band. I moved so I couldn’t keep this up. We played a lot and they are still going strong. Leeds has a pretty good scene. [/color]

[color=#000000]Newcastle – Nowt. Not one good band....yet.[/color]

[/quote]

What bands did you play in when you were in Nottingham?

I'm surprised that you're finding Newcastle such a musical dead spot. We get some of our best audiences when we play there.

BTW why is this in Off Topic? It's certainly more "on topic" than some threads in General Discussion.

[warwickhunt]

[size=4] [/size]

Newcastle has no interesting bands/musicians/songwriters or at least that aren't up to your standard; complete and utter total tosh... that is all.

[wateroftyne]

Gareth - there is an element of truth to your theory: City centres are transient places. Most of the good stuff goes on in the suburbs and satellite towns where musical relationships develop over years.

Newcastle is a big town, and it has a lot going on around the fringes. You just haven't found it.

[Conan]

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1398842708' post='2438060']
Newcastle is a big town, and it has a lot going on around the fringes. You just haven't found it.
[/quote]

Amen to that brother!

Take Whitley Bay for example. The place is full of bass players, most of which seem to be in at least three bands each! Not all are cover bands (although I never understood the antipathy towards bands that play other people's material. A good band is a good band, whatever they play!).

[Conan]

[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1398692078' post='2436584']
[color=#000000]Nottingham – It took [i][b]a few years[/b][/i][/color]

[color=#000000]Leeds – [i][b] eventually [/b][/i]found a really interesting band[/color]

[color=#000000]Newcastle – Nowt.....[b][i]yet[/i][/b].[/color][/quote]

There is a common theme here (my emphasis). Time. As in "it takes time".

Give it time and keep trying.

[Musicman20]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1398839097' post='2438019']
What bands did you play in when you were in Nottingham?

I'm surprised that you're finding Newcastle such a musical dead spot. We get some of our best audiences when we play there.

BTW why is this in Off Topic? It's certainly more "on topic" than some threads in General Discussion.
[/quote]

It was a Radiohead/Mars Volta-type originals band called Lo-Ego. I really enjoyed it. Incredible set of musicians who really knew the scene down there. The whole stop/start rhythms and odd time signatures was a lot of fun. They don't exist now, and probably haven't for a while. The vocalist is now on the comedy circuit in London and has pretty much started to 'break it' in terms of getting on TV and having a sketch show.

Nottingham is, in my opinion, still a really good place for music.

Edited April 30, 2014 by Musicman20

[Musicman20]

[quote name='warwickhunt' timestamp='1398839542' post='2438022']


Newcastle has no interesting bands/musicians/songwriters or at least that aren't up to your standard; complete and utter total tosh... that is all.
[/quote]

No originals bands, so far, that need a bassist or want to form a band, who aren't time wasters. No. Obviously it has to be music I like! Otherwise little point. Other genres might be completely different. No,, not tosh, its my opinion I'm afraid.

It wasn't really a blanket statement, so apologies if it came across like that, but it isn't aimed at NE players/muscians as most of the people I've met to try and form/join bands aren't from round here.

Edited April 30, 2014 by Musicman20

[Musicman20]

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1398843322' post='2438066']
Not all are cover bands (although I never understood the antipathy towards bands that play other people's material. A good band is a good band, whatever they play!).
[/quote]

Never doubted that, but it needs to be an originals band for me, I'm afraid. Takes a totally different mindset to write music and build your following that way. Tried both types of band, prefer originals. Others may differ.

[Musicman20]

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1398842708' post='2438060']
Gareth - there is an element of truth to your theory: City centres are transient places. Most of the good stuff goes on in the suburbs and satellite towns where musical relationships develop over years.

Newcastle is a big town, and it has a lot going on around the fringes. You just haven't found it.
[/quote]

Absolutely agree with this. I realise this is what has happened. There is a scene of music I used to be involved in around the country (but I'm not so much now) which is busy up here, but it is a tiny niche. I still catch up with it but its just different to the norm and they tend to have a certain genre playing the gigs. I've done that now, so I want to move on to something more mainstream.

[Musicman20]

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1398843520' post='2438069']
There is a common theme here (my emphasis). Time. As in "it takes time".

Give it time and keep trying.
[/quote]

Oh I do. I won't give up.

I'm not attacking anyone, I've just noticed it. Others I've met with have noticed it. I think the internet breeds certain time wasters who dream of being in a band but can't actually play/organise/do anything as they don't put the effort in. Good old wanted posters used to cause less fuss.