Band direction... input wanted pretty please :)

Wackamole

Member
So There are four of us. The core has always been James and I, lead guitar/singer/songwriter and the drummer that can play enough gat to put in some ideas, and the rest of the band is two brothers, rythm gat and bass.

James and I are hard out dedicated, the other two are along for a ride plus just enough to kind of be annoying because they're really good and we're all best mates, like crazy close.

So I've got a few things we're kicking around I want to post and get input so far as which way you guys reckon is the way to go. Metal is always my number one, I love it, and James and I write good songs. Problem is here in NZ you will never get anywhere in metal. Seriously, there's room for one metal band at a time in the public eye and that only happens once every few years, and they just die out. Population 4.5 mil or such. MEH

So he's been working on some acoustic stuff, covers, new stuff, and he can sing pretty well... it's all easy to jam to, we play well together... and it's an easy market to corner here. be niche, be good at what you do, have fun, bam, done.

It just kind of feels like I'd be selling out... Spent soooooooooooooo much time getting good at metal and then BAM, boring laid back stuff. Yes you can make it fun but it's not ruthless circle pit in your face heavier than an elephant named Oprah goodness.

There's also the possibility of starting a straight up worship band, but feeding the sheep gets lame. I would honestly rather be out in the world sharing who I am and who I know than preaching to the choir. The sleepy, content, naval gazing choir.

All I know is I have the ability to make my living off of drums, I'm above average in most areas technically (A bit weak on a couple of genres but who cares, won't audition for reggae any time soon) and I groove well enough to make something feel ok (still need lots of work here though, kind of threw this out the window with metal, focused on technical) but there's a few things in the way.

Namely I have crap gear, nothing gig worthy any more, I just use church kits and my e kit all the time, and saving's going to be a little hard as our first bubzy is due November 23, which takes us down to one wage. I basically think that to say hey I'll join this or that covers band I need a semi decent four piece with hats crash and ride... And all I have is a rock star with cracked cymbals... So how to move forward in general? I'm sure there's plenty of people with plenty of experience who have been through similar so just putting it out there. I refuse to play my TD4 live. REFUSE.

OK, here's some links so far as what we do.

View attachment Evangel - Sea Of The Dead.mp3 - This is Sea of the Dead. It's an original. The first half is real killswitch engage, the bridge is KIND OF tooly. Kind of. It's just garage band with some midi drums through e kit, so it could be made to sound one million times bigger and more polished etc... but man I love this song lol.

http://soundcloud.com/ransomed/the-weather-unmixed-demo - This is An original acousticy song James wrote. It is what it is. Easy listening.

And this is what James can do with covers, I'm sure we could have fun... but I really want to pump out some original stuff.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsc8QJ-SvtA&feature=relmfu - From Yesterday 30 seconds to mars cover

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzVxtEiPHAE&feature=relmfu - Hey Ya Outcast cover

So Any advice anywhere appreciated. I just feel like at 27 the rubber really needs to meet the road or I should just focus on preaching (problem is I can't get music out of my blood lol)

Thanks for reading :)
 
Sounds like you're in a period of change!

In regards to the music I guess decide what you want:

Would you rather make money (play covers and acoustic gigs) so that you can support your budding family from your music career.

Or would you rather play only music you enjoy playing (metal) and work a day job to support your family?


Realistically it's not that cut and dry. If it was me I'd do the money gigs, make myself employable, make money to support my family and then do the FUN music on the side.

In regards to gear, assess what you've got I guess. If your snare and hardware is decent then just invest in a midrange shell kit from any of the major companies, they're all good for the money. If you need a new kit, you need a new kit, chat to your partner, budget it out and save up!

Good luck!
 
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