visual appeal? I'll still take caNNONBALL ADDERLY OVER KENNY G. I'll take joanne brackeen before i would even consider lady gaga. Visual appeal is ridiculous and has nothing to do with anything musical. Who's side are you guys on?
I agree with you Kenny depending on the genre of music. There are four kinds of players.
Those who desire to be great at their craft, those who desire to be famous, those who desire
a bit of both and then those who are in tune with the business realities of what they do as well
as the artistic side. Visual appeal counts in many situations. I'm trying to the get members in
my own band, the Chiefs to see that. Wonderful band of players and it's certainly not the music
that's keeping this unit from the next level... Let's look at the realities:
4 middle aged R & B players (guys at that) up on stage all hidden behind instruments so there's no
real focal point. Cats up there in tennis shoes, baseball caps and beanies... And they're talking about
trying to go corporate?! Look at what the cover bands that are making the real good money are
doing... There's like ten of em in the band, balanced races and gender, at least two beautiful girls
OUT FRONT with another 2 to 3 male singers doing a veriety of tunes... All dressed nice or at the
very least they all look like entertainers and not like they just came from the meat packing plant
straight to the gig. You're right, the visual side has nothing to do with MUSIC but in many if not
most cases it has everything to do with entertainment. It's like that rockabilly band with the flashy
drummer, to you he was a clown but to a booking agent he's gold... And guess who'g gonna get
the fat paying gigs??!!
Now we don't need ten people in the band but we ARE at a disadvantage when it comes to getting prime
work... Thus, we HAVE to do it better. It's not so much about the music being better but how we present
ourselves within it. A sad fact you can't get around.... The fact is, from a marketing viewpoint, Lady Gaga
is doing it right.... However sad, it's a reality. I think this young lady realizes and understands her assets
and uses them to her own advantage. I'm personally cool with it because she can play and she's going
after that market, more power to her! Not everyone wants to be a great musician with an empty
refridgerator.
Don't misunderstand me, I hear what you're saying loud and clear.... And you're right. But every
musical situation has it's own set of realities that maximises your gains as a player/entertainer. If
you don't care about any of these gains then fine, keep doing what you're doing. But if you do,
then it's time to sit down and do some honest to goodness soul searching.