Band Thread
  • TomTom January 25
    Posts: 1,791
    So I put off making this topic even after it was suggested, but it seems like we have something worth at least updating you about. Basically this thread will be for everything band related, questions, blog type ramblings and progessions etc. So if you've never been in a band and want to know what it's like then post a question here.

    Last week I responded to an email about amp endorsements, and totally sucked up to what the brand was about. Basically said how we were "unmistakeably British" and that we strive to write good songs, not stick to the trend blah blah, and today they wrote back saying they want to endorse us! The brand is Hiwatt, who also endorse Coldplay and Arctic Monkeys, and more recently Foo Fighters and Noel Gallagher. It would be awesome to be on the list with those guys, even if it's just for a brand of amp which doesn't really mean anything. Just the recognition alone is enough for us all to be totally psyched. We have to buy some amps though (even at half price, these are really top-of-the-line amps and as such, very expensive) so we will probably have to go for the most basic we can afford.

    Also our manager replied to an email today saying he was really pleased with the direction and sound of our new material so that's good. It's definitely not chart stuff but the fact that he's being encouraging and not saying "write more hits" type of thing has really put us on a high. Honestly we haven't felt this productive in months. He hasn't even heard 3 or 4 songs we're sitting on. 

    It's all go!
    Post some questions yo.
  • TheMightyPeonTheMightyPeon January 25
    Posts: 4,914
    do the groupies show love? also, where are my backseat passes?
  • TomTom January 25
    Posts: 1,791
    We are small enough to attract the attention of brands, but not girls. The worst kind of band...
  • AdamAdam January 25
    Posts: 1,184
    What sort of budget does your group record with? 

    One of my friends was in this band that was on a decent path to making it big, but then for some reason they blew $20,000 of borrowed money on their debut cd.  This was on their "own" label so the promotion was shit and they broke up because of the debt.  It seems today its so easy to do decent home recordings that I couldn't understand how band's can still throw these huge amounts at studios.
  • TomTom January 25
    Posts: 1,791
    Fuck me 20 grand!? They screwed themselves over. For a 4-5 track e.p. we would probably spend about £500 max on recordings (unless we were going to someone specific - as an idea, a guy who'd produced stuff for Led Zep approached us and said a ten track album would cost £10,000). There are so many studios out there that it's become really cheap to record to a high enough standard. Failing that, if the recordings are bad you can find someone to remix your recordings to a MUCH higher standard for about £200. 

    To give you an idea, the recordings on our current facebook (everything except Charlie) were recorded in sessions of 2 songs, at £200 each. So that's £200 per 2 songs, then we got all 4 tracks re-mixed by one guy for about £75, so £475 to have 4 songs recorded to a standard good enough for radio play. Charlie was a bit of an exception, because we recorded it (and 3 other songs) for free in a friend's basement. It was then re-mixed by a guy called Stephen Hague (google him, did a track for Blur ((omfg)) and he basically made it FUCKING SICK. 

    So yeah, if you're unsigned and don't have much attention, you shouldn't REALLY be spending more than 800-1000 dollars to get a 5 track ep recorded. I think if it's more than you can afford between the members in the band, and you don't have the support of a label, it's too much. Find someone who will do it for free (students).
    Same goes for press photos, logos, banners, general press material etc. 
  • shoshoneshoshone January 25
    Posts: 1,150
    On a semi-related topic, any of you guys made music with FL Studio or some other Digital Audio Workshop software? I want to produce some of my own electronicsa music (trance and house mostly). Demonoid will help me out, but looking advice.
  • AdamAdam January 25
    Posts: 1,184
    ^ I'm not experienced in this, but I spent a few weeks trying to learn FL and it was a huge pain in the ass so I gave up.  I think you need to have a midi controller in order to get the best use of those programs anyway, most of my time was spent trying to program an on-screen keyboard and it was really time consuming.  Ableton is supposed to be better, I might try tinkering with that in the future.
  • Cazb0tCazb0t January 25
    Posts: 1,074
    Yeah you have to have a midi for FL Studio. It's still annoying to learn though.


    My friend is in a local band and they are doing well. They got studio recording from a friend for 20 dollars. The guy did a really good job and they now have their music out. No sponsorships or anything but that's now what they're into. Being liked and playing shows is enough for them.
  • The+Dunwich+HorrorThe Dunwich Horror January 25
    Posts: 5,859
    This is my brother's band in their first film clip.

    He is the one with his guitar in the air at 1:49
  • TheMightyPeonTheMightyPeon January 25
    Posts: 4,914
    why is a readheaded lindsay doing the news in australia??

    i like the song but they look odd as hell without long hair or being bald. doesn't fit the genre.

    EDIT: except maybe that one dude but it's gotta be longer, son.
  • Eterna1Eterna1 January 26
    Posts: 2,119
    Who in The Deets writes the songs? Is it collaborative? 
  • TomTom January 27
    Posts: 1,791
    The lead singer Jono writes the lyrics, although recently I've been helping out by throwing him whatever I can and he seems to like it so this looks likely to continue. In terms of music, we all write ideas (all 4 of us play guitar) and bring them to practice, and they usually end up sounding nothing like the original idea.
  • TomTom February 2
    Posts: 1,791
    So last night at practice our manager calls us and says he's got us a slot at Cornbury festival. I'd never heard of it, but it looks like they had some pretty big pop names last year. He also said he's trying to get us on tour with Nine Below Zero, a blues band that are past their height fame-wise, but have a really good following. That's all booked in for june/july time so that should be fun! This will be our first tour and proper festival, other than tiny local ones.
  • shoshoneshoshone February 2
    Posts: 1,150
    Good shit, awesome to see you progressing doing something you love. Keep it up bro.
  • creedcreed February 2
    Posts: 1,624
    Congratulations Tom
  • TheMightyPeonTheMightyPeon February 2
    Posts: 4,914
    nice. best of luck.
  • BlazeBlaze February 2
    Posts: 2,992
    Free tix for WCOM?
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