A poll spurred by discussions I've had with music fans elsewhere:

BrewBillfold

Silver Member
What decade did you start playing and what decade did you first join a band or start working with other musicians?

Have you ever considered the Velvet Underground an influence on you?

Approximately what percentage of musicians that you've worked with over the years are you aware of considering (or would you make an educated guess might have considered) the Velvet Underground as an influence?




I realize the poll might seem odd, but I don't want to give too much information off the bat (I'll explain the background better later). I thought it would be fun to poll some "random" musicians about this.
 
I started playing in 1979 and had my first professional gig in 1985. I never listened to the Velvet Underground until about 1996, after which they were a big influence- they were great in a different way than anything I had heard before. I've never played in a group that sounded like them, and I certainly don't play anything like Mo Tucker, though. Many of the younger musicians I play with would probably consider them an influence on some level; I don't think any of the older ones would. So a percentage: maybe 20%.
 
First played 1970
Other musicians, if 14 YO kids qualify as such, 1972
Velvet Underground no influence
% of VU influenced musicians I've worked w/, I'm guessing very low.

Brew random guess, are you're a Velvet Underground freakozoid??? ;)
 
I started playing about 1960 or so on a drum set pieced together by my HS band director from an old marching bd, unused field drums (for toms), concert sd, concert ss, hh and bd pedal (both, the first I'd ever seen) for a school stage band. I, later, got my first drum set and played in a four pc rock band (The Renegades) till I graduated (1965) and went to college.

No influence from the Velvet Underground that I'm aware of.
 
1. '86 or '87 (that's when I started showing greater interest and applying myself. The old man's a drummer....I've been tinkering since I was born)
2. Late 1980's ('88/'89..... can't anyone help me remember??)
3. I like what I've heard of the Velvet Underground, but can't say I've really drawn influence from them.
4. No idea.....never heard anyone mention them. At a guess? None.
 
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Got my first kit in '81 but was learning on other peoples' kits since around '77 or ''78.

Starting playing with other people and playing parties / school talent shows in '81.

Never considered VU an influence and couldn't name a single song by them.

No idea how many of the people I've played with can cite them as an influence. That said, I've heard their name bandied about for years, so I'm sure that at least some of the people I've been influenced by have been influenced by them.
 
Brew random guess, are you're a Velvet Underground freakozoid??? ;)

The Velvet Underground are on of those bands that music journalists loved, and loved to write about, but the general public didn't buy many of their albums, and they were never considered particularly commercial successful.

To the point they were inducted into the Rock and Roll hall of fame, over bands that have sold far more records (the HOF being controlled by an exec from Rollingstone magazine).

And when the indie rock and low-fi scenes came about, they often cite VU as a major influence on that sound.

So my guess is the debate among Brew's friends is that

one side is saying: VU are a huge influence on so many musicians, they're in the RnR HOF, music journalists love to write about them, they voted as highly rated in music polls, look at all these bands that came from that scene.

And other side is saying: yeah, They never sold many records, Lou Reed was much bigger as a solo artist, look at all the bands who clearly don't show any VU influence, just because some music editors love them doesn't mean the general public/everyday musicians loves them.

Or something like that.

This was somewhat covered in the book "Bumping into Genius" by Danny Goldberg, a record label exec who got his start doing PR for Led Zeppelin. He wrote about how the journalists loved bands like the Stooges, Patti Smith, VU and such, and hated Zeppelin, but record and concert ticket sales showed the public had the exact opposite feelings.
 
Started playing 60's
With others in late 60's early 70's
No
I doubt it.
 
I started playing in the mid-sixties. The music I was influenced by at first was the soul music on the radio. Everybody in my neck of the woods played those songs.

Then it was Jimi Hendirx, then Cream, and so on.

I heard the Velvets when their first record came out and wasn't at all impressed. I didn't think they could play all that well, certainly not compared to the Stax/Volt rhythm section! But I have a great deal of respect for Lou Reed.
 
started playing - late '60's
started playing with other muso's - 70's
VU influence - a little
VU influence on other muso's - 40%
 
Okay, out of curiosity I pulled them up on Rhapsody and listened to a half dozen VU songs. And well, if you can't say something nice... Oh well.
 
The Velvet Underground are on of those bands that music journalists loved, and loved to write about, but the general public didn't buy many of their albums, and they were never considered particularly commercial successful.

To the point they were inducted into the Rock and Roll hall of fame, over bands that have sold far more records (the HOF being controlled by an exec from Rollingstone magazine).

And when the indie rock and low-fi scenes came about, they often cite VU as a major influence on that sound.

So my guess is the debate among Brew's friends is that

one side is saying: VU are a huge influence on so many musicians, they're in the RnR HOF, music journalists love to write about them, they voted as highly rated in music polls, look at all these bands that came from that scene.

And other side is saying: yeah, They never sold many records, Lou Reed was much bigger as a solo artist, look at all the bands who clearly don't show any VU influence, just because some music editors love them doesn't mean the general public/everyday musicians loves them.

Or something like that.

This was somewhat covered in the book "Bumping into Genius" by Danny Goldberg, a record label exec who got his start doing PR for Led Zeppelin. He wrote about how the journalists loved bands like the Stooges, Patti Smith, VU and such, and hated Zeppelin, but record and concert ticket sales showed the public had the exact opposite feelings.

These bands you mention have had a huge influence on bands over here in the UK as well as in the US, you missed out The MC5 and The New York Dolls by the way. Most of the indie bands recently have shown huge references to these bands, most of all The Strokes, who were huge over here.

The masses like The Spice Girls, Take That...etc. which have had no influence on any musician that I know.

Bands like the Velvet Underground were the forerunners of the punk scene over here, which spawned so many important bands. U2, XTC, Wire, which are bands that are influencing some of the young musicians of today.

I grew up listening to the Stooges, Bowie, Lou Reed, I guess that I must be influenced by them in some way, I still believe that they created some amazing ground breaking music.

I always look to the Beatles. While they were making pop songs for the masses, the Doors were doing something that no other band dared to do... I'd go for the Doors over the Beatles any day... but that's just me.

Record sales are no measure of "genius"
 
These bands you mention have had a huge influence on bands over here in the UK as well as in the US, you missed out The MC5 and The New York Dolls by the way. Most of the indie bands recently have shown huge references to these bands, most of all The Strokes, who were huge over here.
yes, MC5 and the NY Doll were part of the "and such" I mentioned. I was trying to not totally high jack Brew's thread. LOL.

As a teenager in the 80's growing up in San Francisco, I can't say I heard of any of them when I was young. Until the early, or even mid 80's, musical tastes could still be fairly regional in the USA. A band could be massively popular in one part of the country, but no so much in another. So while these bands may have been larger in UK and the East coast, I don't know how much that translated to the west coast. Most of the "punks" in my high school were more about Black Flag, RKL, The Germs, The Dead Kennedy's and such, which were of course, all bands that were based on the West Coast. (although I wasn't listening to those band either myself). Of course, the Ramones and the Clash were wildly popular too.

I saw Lou Reed in concert, in 1986(?), as part of a bigger show, but even then, I had no idea he had been in VU before that. And while Lou Reed still gets a ton of air play on classic rock radio out here, I can't say I can name a single VU song off the top of my head.

I always look to the Beatles. While they were making pop songs for the masses, the Doors were doing something that no other band dared to do... I'd go for the Doors over the Beatles any day... but that's just me.
I liked both.

Record sales are no measure of "genius"
Of course not. Some of my favorite albums of all times are little known albums by little known bands.

But the question put forth wasn't "genius" but "influence."
 
1/ Percussion early 70's, kit late 70's
2/ Went pro' 1981-1986 (for pro' read; scratched out meagre earnings to support enviable hedonistic hormone driven lifestyle)
3/ No, but certainly The Tubes of a slightly later same era.
4/ No.
 
1. Started in '75

2. Played in bands a few months later

3. I've only been influenced by Mo since coming back to playing in 2009 - her approach locks into my interest in playing quirky kits, first spurred by Bill Bruford, and also in minimalism.

4. Don't know.
 
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