Why Do Original Bands Struggle?
Hey yo, over the weekend, I went out to an event that featured a lot of local original bands, here in San Diego, where I live. The event had four stages, with bands doing 45 minute sets throughout the night.
I stumbled upon this totally by accident. My girlfriend and I were strolling by some bars looking for something to do on a Friday night, when a stranger and his girlfriend walked up and said they had two extra tickets to a local music event. I knew right then this was going to be an interesting night.
When we went inside, it turned out that I actually knew the event promoter, and she gave me a big hug. She used to book my band years ago at many of the clubs in town. She told me that the groups in the lineups had all played well enough, and brought enough fans to some prior events, that they were now accepted to perform here. So, it would seem, by a synchronous act of the cosmos, that we stumbled upon pretty big event with some of the top original bands in town!
We stayed the whole night, and watched almost a dozen acts. There were many different styles of music represented. And all of the original bands had great musicianship: the rhythm was tight, singing was flawless, the emotional impact of the music was strong. And the stage show performances were very engaging; the musicians all moved around, interacted with the audience, and put on good shows.
But half way through the night I found myself questioning, “the music and performances are all really good here, so why do original bands like this struggle so much to become successful?” And then, surprisingly, I thought, “If this is so cool, why am I becoming more and more bored?”
My dilemma was that after hearing sixty or so songs that night, I could not remember even one that stood out. You know what I mean, like that song you hear on the radio that keeps playing in your head for days. Or those two words of a chorus you sing with a friend at a party, and then instantly everyone in the room is singing along with you, because it is such a memorable song.
Here’s the test: Can you strip away the great performances and play the same song with an acoustic guitar around a campfire and get the whole crowd to sing along with you? If you can, then you know you’ve written a great song!
It seems to me that the reason most original bands struggle is that despite flawless musicianship, engaging performances, and massive talent, they often still do not know how to write simple, catchy, memorable songs, with infectious hooks that can soar the hearts and minds of fans to higher realms.
Personally, I have seen that the ability to do this does not come so often from flashes of inspiration, as it comes from diligently crafting songs with a tool belt of techniques. And I have found that these techniques can be taught and learned.
Has anyone else had similar experiences?
Type in some thoughts below; join the conversation.
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Yes I agree. A performer knows they have hooked at least some of their audience when some of people are singing a bit of the chorus with them by the time they are near the end of the song. It is really great if after the show is over some people from the audience are still singing those one or two lines. I have only one song where that has happened and on more then one occasion.I play acoustic.
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I haven’t written a hit song, so I obviously don’t know what the ingredients required to make one are, or how to put them together for a successful formula. I have written songs that a major recording band wanted to buy, and songs that, in my opinion, were recorded by other artists, without my credit being acknowledged. I don’t know if the test that you set as the standard, is equally true in all situations. I could play “Purple Haze”, by Jimi Hendrix, at a campfire on an acoustic guitar, but effectiveness of the ‘hooky’ solo, and the famous riff, on the breaks, is weakened without the power of electricity. This might just be my subjective feeling, but I believe it to be a ‘great song’, and more than adequately meets your criteria otherwise. In all, I do agree with you; songs that rely on production magic, hype ,and trendiness, are weak substitutions for songs that have catchy lyrics, memorable melodies, usually those sticking close to intervals of thirds and fifths, surprising breaks, and hooks, are the songs with techniques that deliver time-tested and quality results.
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Yes, there are tons of bands out there that have trouble writing songs with a great melody. A lot of the bands I have known put writing at the bottom of the priority list, and is should be towards the top. It’s all about the melody, for me any way
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Great post. Of course one of the reasons why an “unplugged” version of a song works is that people have already heard the full version dozens of times and can therefore mentally fill in the blanks. Because of this exposure they will also have a deeper connection with the song because they may associate it with what was going on in their lives around the time of release. But of course, how do we get songs played on the radio in the first place? Answer: through songwriting technique as employed by all the greats of songwriting, and in particular, contrast, contrast and C O N T R A S T!
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You have hit it on the nail. NO one remembers the hooks to many current established rock or pop acts as the music is repetitive and weakly crafted, often being derivative beats and chorus lines. Lady Gaga’s early hit song Paparazzi is an example of something you can hum and keep in your head. Most Beatle songs were like that. Today’s rap and pop songs have weak melody lines, verse, and choruses. Ah well…
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[admin:Kevin Thomas wrote] John, Alex, Michael, Geroy, and Alice, these are all great thoughts on why songwriters struggle. Most of the enduring great songwriters all study it as a craft. That should be given as much priority as playing, singing, performing, and the big monster–––marketing, which I have a big training coming up on soon. Thanks for your thoughts. Kevin