'The Next Great American Band' does the right thing
A couple of the bands got flack from the judges for cutting things out of their songs on The Next Great American Band. Perhaps that wouldn't have been necessary if the show hadn't burned the entire five minutes before the first commercial break giving us a recap of last week and airing a paean to Rod Stewart. Just a thought, show.
If you want my spoiler, and you think I'm spoiler, come on sugar let me know!
Tres Bien! finally got the boot this week, something I'd almost given up on. Look, they're likable guys, but they weren't the best band there -- hell, they shouldn't have outlasted Franklin Bridge, for one thing. When Sheila talks about then needing their own Saturday-morning TV show, she's onto something -- they did smack of the Monkees at times (which is not to say I don't like the Monkees -- I actually saw them live at the Mann in Philly in the 80s, which, upon reflection, I'm not entirely sure I should say out loud), in that they seemed sort of made-for-TV in a way. A little too quirky, too clean, too easy to package. I have a hard time imagining them out on the road.
Dot Dot Dot opens up the show with "Young Turks," which is a great song for them (and a great song in general). Michael adds some unnecessary synth flourishes, but otherwise I like their version. John tells them it was their best performance so far, and Sheila likes them, but warns Adam that he's got to really concentrate on his vocals, and that the band has to be careful with tempos sometimes. The crowd boos her for this, and folks -- Sheila E. knows from tempos, so shut up. Dicko comments that the song worked as a call to arms, but they lost the story (we never find out that "Patti gave birth to a 10-pound baby boy," for example), and wonders why Michael needs two keyboards. Good question.
D&MHO do a confident, swinging take on "Baby Jane." John tells them the vocals were great, they stepped up their performance, and it was great to finally hear their guitar. Sheila loves them, as per usual. What's not so usual is Dicko also liked it, with a few caveats. Again, they truncated the song to make it fit the time limit, and Dicko said they left out the good stuff.
Sixwire takes on Hot Legs, and it rocks. They seem a lot more relaxed, and Andy lets his voice get a little rougher, a little squeaky on the high notes, growly on the lower notes. It works for him. They include a bass solo, which gets roundly mocked. I liked it. A great version all around.
The Clark Brothers do a sort of swoony, contemplative, shimmery version of "You're In My Heart." It's lovely. I'm not moved to tears, like Sheila is, but I liked it a lot. Dicko wonders why they didn't incorporate fiddle, which he thinks would have worked well with this song. Was it because Ashley can't fiddle and sing at the same time? Dicko reminds everyone that the bands can be fluid -- they can bring in more people, fire people -- and wonders if they'll ever bring in a couple more Clark Brothers if necessary. Ashley says he'll make some calls. The audience squeals.
Light of Doom does "Infatuation," which is one of my least favorite Rod Stewart songs. It doesn't have the same high-energy feel I've come to expect from the boys, but the judges like it, and praise both Erik's lead vocals and Lucas' backing vocals.
Highlights, thoughts and odds and ends:
- Tres Bien! was apparently very well-liked by everyone -- the Light of Doom kids hug them on the way out, and Adam from Dot Dot Dot writes "Tres Bien! Rules" on his chest at the end of the show.
- In the opening montage about Rod, some of the guys from D&MHO say it's tough choosing one of Rod's songs because his racy lyrics don't work with their faith. I hate to say it, but my eyes rolled at this. One, it's not like every song Rod wrote was "Do You Think I'm Sexy." What about "Forever Young" or "You Wear It Well," just off the top of my head? Second, if the Clark boys, all preacher's kids, can take a Rolling Stones song about rape and murder and turn it into a song of hope, you can figure something out. It just seemed like unnecessary bellyaching on their part.
- Dicko agrees with me: "If at 62 Rod the Mod is too sexy for Denver, you're not going to like Pussycat Doll night next week."
- The commentary on D&MHO was fun. After Sheila gets finished gushing, Dicko said "I loved it -- to a point." Sheila cuts him off: "Wait -- can we applaud 'I loved it' first and then you can go on? He said he loved it, oh my god!"
- Dicko and Sheila had similar fun with Sixwire. Dicko: "You guys are so much better when you let your hair down and you have fun. It's sexy." Sheila: "You thought it was sexy, huh?" Dicko: "I'm not dead."
- Dicko was, however, unmoved on one thing: "The bass solo, I thought you still got the electric chair for that in some states, and you certainly should. Never do that again." Why no love for the bass?
- As always, the judges were blown away by The Clark Brothers. John: "A song like that is going to make guys hate you and make women love you." Sheila (after choking back tears for several seconds): "It's overwhelming what you guys bring here. This is what my life is about and that's why I'm here. I thank you." Dicko: "The original was simple, heartfelt and beautiful, and while yours wasn't as sing-along as the original, you brought something magical. You always, always do." Damn straight.
We learn about the bands' musical influences. Most are expected, but a couple of the stories or influences stand out:
- Light of Doom's Lucas cites John Entwistle and Bootsy Collins as influences -- and I'm pretty sure he disagrees with the judges on bass solos.
- Denver says he loved Huey Lewis, which makes sense -- not only was that a band with horns, but it's a successful act fronted by a guy who looked like he should be an accountant.
- Andy from Sixwire praises Glen Campbell, and I've got to respect him for that. "Rhinestone Cowboy"? "Wichita Lineman"? Good stuff.
- Austin Clark talks about seeing a dobro master Jerry Douglas at a bluegrass festival and buying all his CDs -- despite the fact he didn't have a CD player.
- Ashley Clark talks about hearing the Beatles for the first time at age 16 -- he'd never heard them before because they always listened to bluegrass and country gospel, and their dad didn't like the Beatles because there was no banjo in it. Hee!
Next week, it's Queen. This could either be absolutely fabulous or horribly wrong.
no comments? wow, that really reflects the low rating.
i didn't watch the whole show, but i saw the clark brothers and the light of doom, both are really good and enjoyable.
I was surprised too not to see any comments. It's really a shame Fox stuck this show in Friday nights. The ratings are in no way a reflection of the quality of the show. The music is great, it's really a better show than American Idol I think. The judges are so much more true and valuable in this show than on Idol. I don't believe any new show Fox has put in this time slot has lasted a whole season. I really hope this show gets a second season next year.
As for the bands. I'm still anti Sixwire and The Clark Brothers, just because they've been professional recorded muscicians before this contest. I'd like to see DMHO or Dot Dot Dot win. I really think Dot Dot Dot may be the most talented band, not sure why the judges are so hard on the singer. I will say this though, their live performances on this show are way better than their recorded songs on their myspace page, lol. I have to believe Light of Doom has met its end this week. I wish they would have been kicked off this week. But at this stage, all 5 bands are very talented and I don't mind watching any of them.
Hmmm... This week was a pretty good show. I was hoping Denver and co. would get the boot instead of Tres Bien but alas that didn't turn out.
Dotx3 are a fun band, granted one I would never listen to but fun.
Still bored by Sixwire, and they irk me in that they remind me of all the soulless bands and artists in country music these days. Not saying their part of it, just remind me of it.
LoD are improving, I think. Not much of a heavy medal girl myself but I get a kick out these kids.
Clark Brothers are pretty much the only reason I'm watching this show at this point. I thought their rendition of "You're In My Heart" was beautiful. Wasn't crying like Sheila but I can understand how it could move one to tears. I'm hoping they make it to the finale.
My humble opinion, if only to add to the comments of this discussion:
LOD: O.K. for what they are, a group of very talented young kids, but does that make them on par with the rest of the bands of this show? It does seem that they are being judged by the "judges" on a different scale. Even though the judges don't vote they do influence the viewers. The Vote for the Worst site has them as their "worst" of choice and their target audience has the time to keep voting for them for 2 hours after the show, so they may make it longer than expected. Actually, they already have.
Sixwire: I know a lot of people have them pegged as the winner from day one, but personally, they just bore me. 'Nuff said.
Clark Brothers: Also a very talented group. They do give a slightly creepy, controlling father/no childhood vibe; but all family groups are going to remind me of the Jacksons or the Osmonds that way. They lend credibility to their lyrics and presentation (despite their youth) that the L.O.D. kiddos just can't come close to. However, I am once again seeing the "judges" input having a sheeple effect on the voters and comments about them. 1. Sheila E.'s blog explained her weeping for a few seconds had to do with her childhood and her father playing that song with her (hence her comment "that's why I do this") ,not just an overwhelming performance by the Clarks, but most of American sees it the latter because they didn't give her time to explain it on the actual show (ala "reality" t.v., it's about the drama people). 2. The Clark brothers may have only known "Gimme Shelter" from the very successful Christian version performed by Ashley Cleveland http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.channel&ChannelID=50871937 . In other words, they didn't first turn it into a "song of hope" nor did they necessarily even know the dark subtext of the original due to their admittedly limited exposure to secular and rock music, this may be giving them way to much credit people.
Also, did anyone else notice their shocked look when ****o said they could add or remove band members during the competition? It was tough to see because the cameras would cut quickly, but it gave me the impression that they would told something different by the shows producers. I expect a drummer next week.
Tres Bien: a fun band. I didn't realize how great the lead singer's voice is until I watched their green room performance on the web site (thank you crappy Fox sound editing) They have a great sound, better suited to their original music, and I hope they go far.
Dot Dot Dot: also bore me. They just remind me of the explanation (on one of those really really true Hollywood shows) MTV vjs gave for the music videos they played when they first started in the 80s. They had to fill the 24 hour time and there weren't that many videos out there yet so all the new wave/soft punk/synth pop bands with a video got air time until bands of other genres got on board the video train. So, this stuff became the music of the 80s by default. Aside from the two keyboard question, someone once asked them about why use the ugly synth keboard at all? MTV doesn't need to fill space with this stuff anymore, so my only question for this band is ...why?
DMHO: Once again treated to silly questions from the judges . Ridiculous that they (and Dot Dot Dot) had to answer "why did they cut the songs" when the show made them cut the songs! You're right, this show is doing too much filler and not letting America really hear the bands they are voting for. It's like, we will show you a picture of this band and you can imagine what they sound like. Speaking of which,I have heard Denver's voice from other songs online and he has an excellent professional singing voice, full of subtle inflections and crisp and clear on the delivery. I once again say, "thbpppt" to the sound editors at NGAB for messing that up. BTW, at 62 "Rod the Mod" isn't too sexy for anyone :)
and another thing... since my first comment just wasn't long enough ;)
It just struck me that Denver's comments on the last two shows, something like trying to "show America who this band is", reflects my frustration with this show. Aside from having it on the the "night of ratings death" and formatting all kinds of filler and nonsense taking away time from the bands' performance. They don't allow the bands to play their original music and thereby "show who they really are". I have to say, I liked almost all of the bands green room performances of their original music A LOT more than this cover-band garbage they must do.
@ Effie:
One thing I definitely agree with is that the original songs are better. That's one of the things I really liked about the show in the beginning. And the original performance was almost always (if not always) better than the cover performance.
This whole 'theme' crap is just stupid. Once they went from 2 hour to 1 hour shows, they should have cut the damn covers and just did original music. Is this the Next Great American Band, or the Next Great Cover Band?
The only band left that really interests me is The Clark Bros. DMHO are fine and Dotx3 are amusing, but I can take or leave either of them. Sixwire is OK, but not really my thing. And could we get rid of LoD already?
wow!, i gotta agree with a few here, i also liked the org songs, and i hope with just 5 bands left [they] the bands will be doing a queen song, and a org, but one thing i dis-agree with, is this, ALL these bands have put out thier music, cd, and not only did sixwire, and the clark bros have some deals in the works so did some of the others, this show NEVER said that any band never had a cd out or a deal at onr time, so i am cool with it!, the deal didnt go through or we would be hearing from sixwire, and the clark bros. JMO they are the BEST 2 bands left, and i HOPE the clark bros DONT bring in anyone, if it isnt broke! dont fix it!, if the judges love these guys so much, [and the ans] i say leave it alone!, sixwire, is also a very good band, and i loved thier org song!, i hope these are the last 2 bands standing, and than i dont know who i would vote for, it would have to be the one that really blows me away that night. this could have been a GREAT SHOW, but i dont like the host that much, and i dont like all the cover songs, and the rush rush, again JMO!
When you're in a band, there is a certain amount of commitment involved and it's not cheap. This isn't American Idol where someone singing in a high school play or church choir can decide to just try out and be a big star. These bands are all professional musicians who are making a living from their music. That means putting out cds, working the clubs, studio work, touring, and any and everything to make a living with their music.
Most of these guys have and are paying their dues. Just because a band was once signed to a label, doesn't mean anything. Music store have tons of bins full of cds of artist who had made a cd with a label and it fell though the cracks. Most labels barely promote the bands they sign. Labels no longer let bands grow and bulit a following, if the first cd doesn't do well the bands are dropped.
None of these bands currently have contacts and none had great success or made it big with ones from the past. Which,I believe are the rules.
GREAT POST! [SG] i agree, all these bands have had a deal at one point or another, music has been thier LIFE!, for some reason like you said the deal fell through the cracks, and i bet LOD, as young as they are, have played at afew places [with thier parents, being with them] it doesnt matter if these bands have had a deal at one time , like you said these bands play music for a LIVING! they arent just a group of guys that threw together a band to go on this show!
sorry, i wanted to make another point, JMO but i dont think DMHO should win this!, but they have what 15 band members,this show [i bet] isnt getting alot of calls in] so you got all of DMHO family members and fiends calling in, and thats ALOT! they could win this, just for the fact this band is WAY to BIG! and i dont think they should have ever been on this show, please lets face it, denver isnt going to record, yes they are a good band to watch! but JMO not good enough to make it BIG!