MyGen
Profile GeneratorI was just cookin' for the first time in like a year or two the other night just jammin' along to the Chili's live in my living room. I forgot how powerfull you feel - suddenly every ego battle I've ever had with anyone over the past year became laughable. I was The Si again lol...What I'm Looking For in My Next Band:SOUNDInfluence wise I'm really not bothered. The sound should always be a natural untampered product of everyones collective tastes anyway. I actually believe that having musicians whoses tastes vary vastly would result in a more interesting sound.When I play with people I'm evaluating their mentallity, approach and listening skills rather than their technique or musical tastes.POLITICS and APPROACH TO SONG WRITINGI guess there's two distinct philosophies towards band politics and particuarly how you write.You can write as a group where the most anyone comes into the studio with is like a five second riff or something for the band to jam with. Loads of my favirot bands are like this, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rush, The Meters and so on. It takes great chemistry and I think these guys tend to be more exciting. Better musicians (the ones who haven't had the session mentallity battered into them) tend to find their way into these bands as well.The only problem with that approach is that a GREAT hook can only be concieved by one mind. When you hear a couple of great notes in your head - they sound completely different depending on what chords you play underneath them as well. This initial conception is a very personal process I think.Making up a melody over an existing riff like in a rehearsal with the full band is ok but loads of bands suffer for it. The singer is really put on the spot with hearing something instantaneously as he's singing. Ian Gillan was great at it. In the Chili's early days Kiedis just rapped all the time (which is cool). Lennon and McCartney actually wrote very seperately. Rush have so many really shit songs - if it wasn't for the arrangement and musicianship no one would know them really.I see arrangement and song-writing as two distinct qualities in a band. You can't have one without the other ofcourse but loads of bands are just great for having one of them. What I always think is that if you take any song at all whatsoever - strip it down to just singing and acoustic guitar (just the basic chords and melody, even on a piano by its self or whatever) - you will find out if the song itself is anygood. If its shit but still sounds great with the band then it's that particular arrangement which makes it shit hot.Bands built on great songwriting: Neil Young, Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Dire Straits, Bon Jovi, Red Hot Chili Peppers (Californication and By the Way albums esp).Great Arrangers: Rush, Jethro Tull, (all prog rock almost), early Chili's stuff, Rage Against the Machine.Best of both: The Police (catchy hooks yet so minimalist in their arrangement - such a clever band).I think the Chili's are especially interesting. The first three albums were all out jam products with Flea, Hillel Slovak and Jack Irons belting out the funk whilst Keidis just rapped all the time over the top. When Frusciante came along on Mothers Milk we got the first Chili's song with a melodic hook in "Knock Me Down". Reading Keidis's book confirmed that Frusciante concieved the melody as well as the chords. And ofcourse on the next album Blood Sex Sugar Magic we got a whack of melodies and singles.It is little suprise that One Hot Minute flopped. I like Navarro but he's what I call a "layerer" in the studio - he likes to hear whats down already and he'll add some really cool stuff over it - he's not really a jammer or a melodic genuis like Frusciante, as was proven on Californication and By the Way. Navarro is just a great guitarist with his own style.Its easy to understand why Flea has nearly quit in recent years - he joined cause he could jam till his heart was content - pouring every ounce of creativity on the bass he had every day even if it meant changing a recorded track live. They were built on jammin. Frusciantes melodies have really forced him in his shell for the majority of each show these days and so he probably feels depressed like a session guy (or like I do when I have to play a bass part I've actually been given).Anyway what I'm after is the best of both worlds..I think there should be a band rule that if you have something creative, through it in.Constructive criticism should flow freely without fear of upsetting anyone.We all know how important communication is in a relationship - so in a collective song writing unit where it becomes like a four or five way relationship it is absolutely crucial. If someone is sulking they should just get whatevers bothering them out in the open.There is no "designated songwriter". There may be a melodic secret weapon like Frusciante (well lets hope for at least one), but we should always arrange as a band and be able to get our individual styles in the album so that we all feel equally proud of it.Jamming is crucial. All musicians should have the confidence and the ability to jam and I think we should do it as part of every rehearsal.Rather than formal rehearsals all the time we should hang out casually as well. Once a week we should all go to a different one of our house's and indulge in whatever music that persons into.EXPERIENCEIn the 10 years I've had a bass till now I've played hard rock riffs with Graduation Day, blues with the Easy Riders and Brothers of Intention, chilled out Mark Knopfler-esc song writing with Ronnie Smith, and improvised all the the time with instrumental funk band The Whyos. All in all I've probably played about 100 gigs from 5 to 5000 people and about 200 pub jam sessions.I decided to keep this up: its my old instrumental funk-fusion band The Whyos live in Jaspers (now Rockers) just jammin as we always did. My next project will hopefully have a similar approach in that everyone is encouraged to be as inventive as they wish.
