Band Image

[MB1]

[quote name='jmstone' post='540907' date='Jul 15 2009, 02:02 AM']The singer in the band I'm in is really keen on band image, getting us all along for photoshoots, and having some kind of consistent "look" from the band. In fact, after our last gig I got some stick for wearing jeans (which apparently she really hates).

I have always really hated looking smart, and I seem to have got stuck in an indie/grunge time-warp so maybe she has a point, but I do find it all intensely irritating.. I would rather just play music and forget about all this photography/video/costume kind of crap.

So, what do people here think? Is band image that important (you have to bear in mind that although we are gigging, none of us is particularly fantastic musically in my opinion).. Do I need to bite the bullet and go out and get that red shirt and jacket (or whatever ridiculous get-up is planned), or is it OK to just look scruffy? - at least until we get that record deal ( i.e. never !!! )

James[/quote]

MB1.
Turn up in one of her dresses! (that should get her off your case!)
....Worked for MUD..

[iamapirate]

I think that after 7 pages, we can sucessfully conclude 5 things:
[b]
1) Some people care about the band's appearance on stage when they see a gig
2) Some people don't.
3) Some people Have a uniform/dress code in their band and try to make an effort
4) Some don't - although this doesn't matter to some people as they don't care (see 1))
5) For the sake of the people that do care we should all make an effort when playing live[/b]

[OldGit]

[quote name='iamapirate' post='545016' date='Jul 19 2009, 11:23 PM']I think that after 7 pages, we can sucessfully conclude 5 things:
[b]
1) Some people care about the band's appearance on stage when they see a gig
2) Some people don't.
3) Some people Have a uniform/dress code in their band and try to make an effort
4) Some don't - although this doesn't matter to some people as they don't care (see 1))
5) For the sake of the people that do care we should all make an effort when playing live[/b][/quote]


If only you'd said that 7 pages ago

[TimR]

[quote name='iamapirate' post='545016' date='Jul 19 2009, 11:23 PM']I think that after 7 pages, we can sucessfully conclude 5 things:
[b]
1) Some people care about the band's appearance on stage when they see a gig
2) Some people don't.
3) Some people Have a uniform/dress code in their band and try to make an effort
4) Some don't - although this doesn't matter to some people as they don't care (see 1))
5) For the sake of the people that do care we should all make an effort when playing live[/b][/quote]

6. Most people will look at a band photo and decide whether to listen to or book them based solely on that image. Think SuBo!

[OldGit]

[quote name='TimR' post='545902' date='Jul 20 2009, 11:57 PM']6. Most people will look at a band photo and decide whether to listen to or book them based solely on that image. Think SuBo![/quote]

+1

Had to google SuBo .. I guess I don't read the right papers :

[Geoff]

[quote name='OldGit' post='545906' date='Jul 20 2009, 11:59 PM']+1

Had to google SuBo .. I guess I don't read the [b]wrong[/b] papers :[/quote]

Edited for truth

[mrcrow]

[quote name='skipper' post='544918' date='Jul 19 2009, 09:16 PM']My 10 month old son went nuts when he saw that on the screen, he tried to pick it out of the monitor. Do they do it in a 18" scale? [/quote]


try this..it goes with my P

[mrcrow]

[quote name='RhysP' post='544975' date='Jul 19 2009, 10:26 PM']It depends on the scale of the performance. I agree that visuals can make a huge difference to a gig (one of the most enjoyable bands I've ever seen live is Kiss), but Slipknot or Marilyn Manson would look pretty stupid dressed in full stage gear playing to 100 people in the function room of a hotel for a wedding reception.

I've got to admit, if I ever go somewhere that has a live band playing & they come out on stage in matching outfits or suits* I head for the nearest exit. It makes me think "Grumbleweeds" or "Barron Knights" , and that makes me cringe.

*Jazz combos excepted. [/quote]

and the shadows

[alexclaber]

[quote name='jmstone' post='540907' date='Jul 15 2009, 02:02 AM']Is band image that important?[/quote]

Do you go to listen to a band or to you go to see a band?

Alex

[mrcrow]

[quote name='alexclaber' post='546177' date='Jul 21 2009, 11:14 AM']Do you go to listen to a band or to you go to see a band?
Alex[/quote]

or a wedding or a funeral....dress sense is common sense

its more about image anyway...and your hero bands

[EssentialTension]

[quote name='mrcrow' post='546147' date='Jul 21 2009, 10:53 AM']and the shadows [/quote]
and The Beatles, and The Jam, and absolutely loads of others.

[RhysP]

[quote name='alexclaber' post='546177' date='Jul 21 2009, 11:14 AM']Do you go to listen to a band or to you go to see a band?
Alex[/quote]
That's just semantics.
I have a blind friend who, when going to a gig, says he is going to "see" a band; it's just an expression.

Speaking for myself, the primary reason I go to "see" a band is to hear the music, and hopefully (depending on the type of music) they'll have lots of nice lights & lasers to give me something to look at. What the people on the stage are wearing (with VERY few exceptions, such as acts like KISS, where the image is actually more interesting & entertaining than the music) is of no interest to me whatsoever.

Edited July 21, 2009 by RhysP

[BigRedX]

Err the lasers and lights are part of the image.

Would you go to a gig if the band played behind a curtain in a dark room and there was nothing to look at at all?

[Earbrass]

[quote name='BigRedX' post='546431' date='Jul 21 2009, 01:51 PM']Would you go to a gig if the band played behind a curtain in a dark room and there was nothing to look at at all?[/quote]

yeah, or played most of their gig from behind a huge wall so you couldn't see them....oh, hang on a mo...;-)

[xilddx]

[quote name='Earbrass' post='546437' date='Jul 21 2009, 01:54 PM']yeah, or played most of their gig from behind a huge wall so you couldn't see them....oh, hang on a mo...;-)[/quote]

Floyd weren't in a darkened room with nowt to look at though, were they.

Edited July 21, 2009 by silddx

[OldGit]

[quote name='silddx' post='546438' date='Jul 21 2009, 01:55 PM']Floyd weren't in a darkened room with nowt to look at though, were they.[/quote]

and they knew a thing or two about image in the old days

[RhysP]

[quote name='BigRedX' post='546431' date='Jul 21 2009, 01:51 PM']Err the lasers and lights are part of the image.[/quote]
But not in way that I think is relevant to this thread, which is about what people WEAR when playing.

[quote name='BigRedX' post='546431' date='Jul 21 2009, 01:51 PM']Would you go to a gig if the band played behind a curtain in a dark room and there was nothing to look at at all?[/quote]
If it was somebody I really liked then yes I would.

Being quite a big fan of acoustic folk music I go to a lot of gigs where there are no light shows & the performers are just wearing their everyday clothes - I'm there for the music, not a bloody catwalk show & that goes for all styles of music I like.

Obviously I'm in a minority here as a lot of people seem to be suggesting that the clothes are as important as the music.
Maybe it's an age thing.

[xilddx]

[quote name='RhysP' post='546627' date='Jul 21 2009, 03:55 PM']Being quite a big fan of acoustic folk music I go to a lot of gigs where there are no light shows & the performers are just wearing their everyday clothes - I'm there for the music, not a bloody catwalk show & that goes for all styles of music I like.

Obviously I'm in a minority here as a lot of people seem to be suggesting that the clothes are as important as the music.
Maybe it's an age thing.[/quote]

When was the last time you saw acoustic folk music a Wembley Arena?

[RhysP]

[quote name='silddx' post='546631' date='Jul 21 2009, 04:00 PM']When was the last time you saw acoustic folk music a Wembley Arena?[/quote]
Eh? Where did Wembley Arena come from?
I must have missed a few posts.

[xilddx]

[quote name='RhysP' post='546635' date='Jul 21 2009, 04:02 PM']Eh? Where did Wembley Arena come from?
I must have missed a few posts.[/quote]

I am alluding to your using a non-commercial genre of pub music in defence of the argument that dress is not important in a band, when everyone has been saying it is if you want to get beyond the pubs, is a bit like putting your b0ll0cks in a golf ball washer.

[dannybuoy]

I'm still defending what I said, in that in that at least in the genres I'm interested in, clothing is not that important. Look at what the Arctic Monkeys, Blur, Sonic Youth, Pearl Jam, and countless others wear on stage. Jeans and a t-shirt and a pair of comfy trainers usually! All of aforementioned bands have played on the biggest stages. If they listened to half of the fashion advice being thrown around in this thread they would look ridiculous!

Sure, having a look can make you stand out but your musical talent should be enough to get you anywhere if it's good enough. Look at Tommy Riley, recent winner of the T4 unsigned competition. He just looks like any other kid his age, wearing the same kind of clothes as the man on the street.

I accept that certain bands have that theatrical performance element where the image is a big part of it, and that function bands / posh jazz outfits have to dress smartly to fit in. But that's just not most bands. Saying that Marylin Manson wouldn't have got where he is without his look is perhaps a valid point; but that doesn't mean that anyone else can make themselves successful by simply dressing like a freak.

Most of these bands just wear whatever they want and still manage to look cool. Of course, if you're the type of person who wears a football shirt whilst playing a gig then you've obviously got no fashion sense whatsoever, and sprucing yourself up a bit is the right thing to do! If you're cool, you'll look cool no matter what you wear. If you're not, you'll have trouble looking cool no matter what you put on and will often look like you're trying too hard!

Edited July 21, 2009 by dannybuoy

[thisnameistaken]

[quote name='dannybuoy' post='546731' date='Jul 21 2009, 05:05 PM']I'm still defending what I said, in that in that at least in the genres I'm interested in, clothing is not that important. Look at what the Arctic Monkeys, Blur, Sonic Youth, Pearl Jam, and countless others wear on stage. Jeans and a t-shirt and a pair of comfy trainers usually![/quote]

Blur might be a bad example. Compare how they looked during Leisure, to how they looked a couple of years later for Modern Life Is Rubbish.

[Tee]

[quote name='dannybuoy' post='546731' date='Jul 21 2009, 05:05 PM']I'm still defending what I said, in that in that at least in the genres I'm interested in, clothing is not that important. Look at what the Arctic Monkeys, Blur, Sonic Youth, Pearl Jam, and countless others wear on stage. Jeans and a t-shirt and a pair of comfy trainers usually![/quote]

It's still a style/uniform. That's the thing, they have a universal band image. It may look like just jeans and a t-shirt etc, but it's the specific type: old worn vans/converse, an influential band t-shirt and so on. Looking uninterested in fashion is the fashion in this case and it was very much so in 90s, when everyone was looking very Pearl Jam, Sonic Youth, Nirvana etc...

[xilddx]

[quote name='Tee' post='546794' date='Jul 21 2009, 05:56 PM']It's still a style/uniform. That's the thing, they have a universal band image. It may look like just jeans and a t-shirt etc, but it's the specific type: old worn vans/converse, an influential band t-shirt and so on. Looking uninterested in fashion is the fashion in this case and it was very much so in 90s, when everyone was looking very Pearl Jam, Sonic Youth, Nirvana etc...[/quote]

Precisely correct. They are wearing the stuff their intended audience is wearing. Marketing is everywhere.

[steve-soar]

[quote name='silddx' post='546631' date='Jul 21 2009, 04:00 PM']When was the last time you saw acoustic folk music a Wembley Arena?[/quote]Er... Paul Simon?