Local Scene Bands -> Big Stars

badgermonkey · 25 Feb 2007 at 06:16

I was just thinking...

Over the past few years I've seen a great many very good bands who have been on the verge of breaking out of the "local scene" or having just hit the mainstream etc. and then out of the blue announce a break up. Some recentish examples include:

Howards Alias (Now back together)
Adequate Seven (One of the best!)
Shootin Goon

etc.

Now I was wondering, is there some inbuilt fear into these sorts of guys where they don't WANT to be big famous bands? Taking Adequate Seven as an example, they played Reading last yeah, they had huge amounts of fans and so forth, had just released a fantastic second album, and then quit. I know it's nothing to do with that "musical differences" or "threatened friendships" crap, as their bassist now teaches ME bass. However I haven't bothered to ask directly as they didn't want to give a reason to the public, so it's not my business to push it.

So basically, why do so many bands split up as they hit the verge of greatness? Fear of fame? Or something else?

WotDa · 25 Feb 2007 at 07:55

badgermonkey said:
So basically, why do so many bands split up as they hit the verge of greatness? Fear of fame? Or something else?

"Hi.. HI JAMES FROM x BAND!!!!" Down the street everywhere you go.

I am suggesting that they can't handle the fame, or don't like the fame. I don't think that getting asked for autographs etc when you go somewhere is that nice.

badgermonkey · 25 Feb 2007 at 08:08

WotDa said:
"Hi.. HI JAMES FROM x BAND!!!!" Down the street everywhere you go.

I am suggesting that they can't handle the fame, or don't like the fame. I don't think that getting asked for autographs etc when you go somewhere is that nice.

Yeah, I guessed that anyway, hence why I have to restrain myself a lot at bass lessons. I'm sitting there with the bassist from my favouritest band in the whole wide world and able to chat to him normally, but a part of me wants to ask all those questions etc relating to Ad7. Everytime he asks me if there's any particular song I'd like to learn, the first few that flash into my head are all Ad7 songs.... it's a hard life

arc_of_time_ · 25 Feb 2007 at 10:09

surely though if anyone that made music bottled it and split up when theyre about to make it big, no one would have musical influences. If for instance the beatles or sex pistols had split up before they made it there would probably be hardly any of the bands that are around now.

badgermonkey · 25 Feb 2007 at 10:12

arc_of_time_ said:
surely though if anyone that made music bottled it and split up when theyre about to make it big, no one would have musical influences. If for instance the beatles or sex pistols had split up before they made it there would probably be hardly any of the bands that are around now.

Yeah but I'm not talking about everyone. Im just talking about how many I've seen recently.

arc_of_time_ · 25 Feb 2007 at 14:25

ye i know mate, im just saying why make a band and then split up at last minute. If your a music maker i cant think of anything better than showing more and more people your music.

THMRK · 25 Feb 2007 at 14:30

badgermonkey said:
So basically, why do so many bands split up as they hit the verge of greatness? Fear of fame? Or something else?

These bands can't get signed because major labels are scared of bands who are as DIY as that lot are. Busting your gut for no return and because no label has the balls to sign you, is pretty disheartening and you can pretty much see why they'd split up.

Most of it probably has to do with the fact they are British though. The British market is very much not ready for that kind of band.

v0n · 25 Feb 2007 at 14:59

Well.. I don't think it's about fame. The moment you become a bit more than just a friday night at the club gigging band, when something more serious comes along, you realise this cannot possibly be a hobby outside your dayjob anymore. If you have family to take care of, if you have kids, decision to just drop everything and try to break through, spend weeks out of home, get paid in irregular intervals, if at all it's that much harder. Usually there is one or two members in the band that would give everything for life in the spotlight and the rest who just couldn't possibly dedicate more time to something that might not last.
Then add at least one wife that tolerated "this whole gigging thing" for as long as no girls decade younger than her were chatting you up in the bar or as long as you weren't coming back home in the middle of the night smelling of booze, cigarettes and faint scent of some else's perfume on your clothes.

The world, I can imagine, is full of folks that sit in their morning bath decades later still thinking "what if we were lucky, what if we didn't break up and really hit it big time".

Myself included.

penski · 25 Feb 2007 at 15:58

Hahaha. Shootin' Goon...I remember them...

Local scenes suck. End of conversation.

*n

badgermonkey · 25 Feb 2007 at 16:01

penski said:
Hahaha. Shootin' Goon...I remember them...

Local scenes suck. End of conversation.

*n

Local scenes do not suck. If you ignore the emo kids

EDIT: Shootin Goon are awesome. Saw them for their "one time back together" thing at Ad7's final gig. When there are about 400 kids aged 14-21 in a room doing the YMCA, you must be doing something right

Scam · 25 Feb 2007 at 18:13

It's 'cos they're too underground, yo.