Friday, December 7, 2007

Your Custom Made Rock Band

So Scott and I were chatting music again today at work. Go figure. He posed the question to me "Who is the greatest guitarist of all time?"

We both defaulted to Jimi Hendrix and went from there. For me it's probably Mark Knopfler after Hendrix. He's got a totally unique style and phrasing. He plays beautiful riffs and solos and can actually write songs. Dire Straits songs from the 70's and early 80's still stand the test of time for me.

Then we decided we'd extrapolate and form our own super groups. You should too. Here are the rules:

Choose one vocalist, one guitarist, one bassist and one drummer.

Pay attention to style and personal ego.

This is a band designed to play live. So, showmanship and stage presence should play a role.

That's it. Have fun. I'll post my own supergroup later. What's yours?

10 comments:

Bruce said...

So, my first dream lineup:

Drums: Stewart Copeland - one of the most versatile and creative drummers ever. Also a good songwriter in his own right. Hunble, fun guy. A good backbone of a band.

Bass: Flea. Also an incredibly diverse talent. A maniac on stage.

Guitar: Brian May. There are plenty of guitar virtuosos. May isn't even the best of them. But he's the right combination of hard rock, melodic tone and creativity to work in this dream band.

Vocals: Roger Daltry. 1973 Roger Daltry. The gravelly voice, range and power that the band needs. Plus the spinning mic on a cable.

Anonymous said...

Three cheers for Bruce! I feel like I've had the drummer conversation a hundred times, and 99% of people (basically, everyone except for me) always say Neil Peart. I then inevitably always feel like I need to burn Outlandos or Regatta for these people, and show them tour footage videos of Copeland so they can see how brilliant the dude was with intricate and elaborate rhythms. I've never heard anyone work a drum set as masterfully and creatively as Copeland. And now I know I'm not alone. Phew.

Trask

Bruce said...

Nothing wrong with Peart. Copeland (and Andy Summers) was overshadowed by Sting and his ridiculous ego. Neither of them got their due.

Lucas said...

Drums: John Bonham (Zeppelin)
Bass: Les Claypool (Primus)
Guitar: Frank Zappa
Vocals: Mike Patton (Mr. Bungle, etc.)

If you've never gotten into Zappa, one things people aren't aware of is that beside his gifts as a composer, satirist and all-around auteur, the guy could flat out play the guitar. Check out his mid-70s stuff.

The others are just my favorites at each position, or at least the first best ones I thought of just now. I don't know if this would actually be a good "band," though: the size of the egos and the idea of having all those alpha males in one band? Could be awful. But individually they are very often amazing.

The Cap'n said...

Hey Bruce,

My dream lineup would make an awful band if they actually played together. Here we go...

Drums: Keith Moon - Amazing drummer, could translate the story of a rock opera playing solo on percussion. Plus he's a lunatic.

Bass: John Paul Jones - Not the most craziest bassist, but a true rhythm section and composer who could also play the french horn (and other instruments) if needed.

Guitar: Tony Iommi. Hendrix and Page and so many others could do me proud, but I want Iommi to write just one more blistering Black Sabbath riff. And I'm sure it would sound splendid with a french horn!

Vocals: Freddie Mercury - Queen isn't my favorite band and Freddie isn't the best singer, but no one commanded a stage, a crowd or a persona like he did.

Bruce said...

Thanks for playing guys.

e.a. said...

This took me a while to figure out:

Drums: Dave Grohl. He's money. He hits hard. He hits smart. He hits tasty.

Bass: Justin Meldal-Johnson (Beck's bass player) Are you kidding me? Game over.

Guitar: George Harrison. Seriously. Game over.

Guitar: Jonny Greenwood (Radiohead) I like to break the rules and this guy is a great selection for that.

Vocals: Damon Albarn. I frequently ask myself WWDD, what would Damon do?

Producer/Engineer: George Martin.

As you can see I've added a producer/engineer category. I couldn't help it because that position can have such a great effect on a band in the studio and I couldn't ignore it. And then there's so much quality that I couldn't select. Jarvis Cocker from Pulp for vocals. He has a great stage presence and a fantastic vocal style. Alex James from Blur or Colin Greenwood from Radiohead on bass, either of which can hold just about anything down. Jonny Greenwood from Radiohead on guitar. I had to scroll through my iPod position by position to put this list together. You know, I'd like to have Jonny Greenwood as an additional guitar player, too. I'm certainly not playing by the rules but I think my ideal band would be a five piece. So to the gents above, I've added Jonny Greenwood.

Bruce said...

It wouldn't be rock 'n roll if we didn't break the rules.

Anonymous said...

I have no preference for any EXCEPT the drummer..........Rick Allen from Def Leppard. HIRE THE HANDICAPPED for Pete's sake!!!! Talk about showmanship! I'm not a big Def Leppard fan, but I am a Rick Allen fan....to watch him play and to comprehend what he has accomplished is, to say the least, phenomenal. He was only 15 when he joined Def Leppard back in England and 21 when he lost his arm.......it was actually severed completely in the vehicle accident, reattached, but had to be removed again.....permanently, due to infection.

Candy P

Anonymous said...

Drums- Nicko McBrain. (Iron Maiden)

Bass- Definitely Flea.

Guitar- Eddie Van Halen

Vocals- Dave Mustaine.

Would be great

Also glad someone else likes Mike Patton