The rate at which the smaller bands that feature heavily on this blog change linueps and in some cases split up entirely means we should never take any of them for granted. One of the most common things I hear when a band splits is “And I never got to see them live”. Never put off seeing a band live; there might never be another opportunity. “Carpe Diem”, as the song says.
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Is this really new in the “Prog Rock” genre?
I listen to slightly more Jazz than I do Prog (and that still isn’t very much at all) and one of the features of the Jazz world was that any given line-up tended to last for one album.
I suspect that the recording industry were the driving force behind this instability, but the net effect was that it was almost impossible to see (or would hear be a better verb?) any given group live.
Not that I ever went to any, but my impression is that one could never be entirely sure who would be headlining at a jazz club any given evening, as once one had a certain level of reputation, it seemed people could just turn up and join in.
Probably the greatest strength and the greatest weakness of the jazz world at the same time?
I have found that bands that manage to keep stable lineups together tend to be the stronger live acts, when the on-stage chemistry works and all the band know the music inside out, you can get much more powerful performances. Though it’s also possible for things to go stale, and sometimes it’s only in retrospect you realise when something has run its course. And sometimes fresh blood can give a band a new lease of life. Or an up-and-coming band may go though a few lineups before hitting the winning formula.
Jazz is a different beast; I know Alun Vaughan (who once played bass for Panic Room), who plays a lot of jazz gigs in Swansea, frequently playing gigs with people he’s never even met until the day of the performance. Seems there’s a tradition of singers or soloists who don’t have regular touring bands, but put together ad-hoc bands with musos from the local scene wherever they play.
Have seen that happen in the world of prog-rock. There are a lot of musicians, especially drummers, who play in more than one band. At the Celebr8 festival in Kingston back in May (remember that?), the opening act on Sunday was Alan Reed and The Daughters of Neccessity. They’ve first met the previous afternoon, had one rehearsal, but you’d never have known from their performance.
Or be mischievous and read it another way …
it’s being mentioned on this blog that causes bands to change lineup or split.
See, it’s all your fault, Tim!
(removes tongue form cheek)
Sometimes it feels like it’s all a game of Umlaut:The Game of Metal, and they’re all ignoring the advice that it’s not a good idea to keep playing “Split” every time it’s your turn.