Did you used to be in a band that never made it?

afterschoolvideoclub · 07-10-2015, 03:57 AM

I have. Lots.

How many bands have there been that got as far as recording and playing gigs but never ultimately made it commercially? Hundreds of thousands, must be. Probably millions. Of those, many would have course been rubbish, but I’ve seen my fair share of bands who really had something. And yet it was not to be… musical differences (both genuine and euphemistic) and perhaps as many stories of why the band ended as there are bands themselves.

I thoroughly recommend Killing Bono, a brilliant book by Neil McCormick who went to school with U2. He was there in Larry's kitchen for the first rehearsal in the late 70s. As U2 went on to become the biggest band in the world, Neil's own band lurched from near-miss to near-miss, getting painfully close but hitting every bad luck and self-destructive obstacle on the way. They turned it into a movie which wasn't so great as they made up most of the story, but the book itself is brilliant - fantastic therapy for anyone who was in a band (especially a good one) which, for whatever reasons, never really took off.

The millions of lost songs out there languishing on cassettes and forgotten hard drives in bedroom drawers, cupboards and lofts fascinate me. In fact I thought I’d contribute one more – a slightly retro song about lost songs, itself surely destined to be another lost song. I’m trying to crowd source a video, made up totally of real footage of lost bands. I’ve got about half of what I need – we’ve already got some brilliant stuff, including Neil McCormick’s old bands which he was kind enough to let us use. If you used to be in a band and there’s any online evidence, do post a link or send me an email at afterschoolvideoclub@yahoo.com .

My own best story is when we got a record deal with a small label, initially a cassette-only release. With about 2 or 3 weeks to go, the warehouse with all their stock burned to the ground. They were uninsured, and dropped all their new artists in their financial crisis that followed.

So what about your lost bands? Or did you ever see a band that you thought were gonna be big and were never heard of again?

Guy - After School Video Club

Plankton · 07-10-2015, 07:06 AM

I was in a band called Free Beer. We pissed a lot of people off.

Black Francis · 07-10-2015, 08:12 AM

Yea, all the bands ive been in never went anywhere but i was never under the illusion we were gonna make it big.

i remember asking my friends in the music scene that had somewhat successful bands about the struggle they went through to break out internationally which was hard as hell and not very rewarding.

I remember thinking "These guys have a better band than mine, if they didn't make it, what makes me think i will?" and from that point on wthvr remained of my rockstar dream of making it big pretty much died.

RoxyRollah · 07-10-2015, 10:49 AM

I was in a band called the originals...we later became the new originals.

Trollheart · 07-10-2015, 01:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Plankton

I was in a band called Free Beer. We pissed a lot of people off.

LoathsomePete · 07-10-2015, 01:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Plankton

I was in a band called Free Beer. We pissed a lot of people off.

Huh, I was in a band called Various Artists and we pissed a lot of people off with iPods.

**Frownland** · 07-10-2015, 01:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LoathsomePete

Huh, I was in a band called Various Artists and we pissed a lot of people off with iPods.

I liked Man Feelings a lot better.

LoathsomePete · 07-10-2015, 05:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frownland

I liked Man Feelings a lot better.

Curse These Metal Hands is still the best.

Norg · 07-10-2015, 06:01 PM

I was in a Stoner/Hardcore band called Dead plastic rabbits

we had some good songs Fast hardcore songs like 1 min long and like long 9 min like Drone stoner songs

but the singer left to skateboard more so we called it quits lol

Plankton · 07-10-2015, 08:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LoathsomePete

Huh, I was in a band called Various Artists and we pissed a lot of people off with iPods.

Help is on the way.

07-10-2015, 03:57 AM	#1 (permalink)
afterschoolvideoclub Groupie Join Date: Jul 2015 Posts: 3	Did you used to be in a band that never made it? I have. Lots. How many bands have there been that got as far as recording and playing gigs but never ultimately made it commercially? Hundreds of thousands, must be. Probably millions. Of those, many would have course been rubbish, but I’ve seen my fair share of bands who really had something. And yet it was not to be… musical differences (both genuine and euphemistic) and perhaps as many stories of why the band ended as there are bands themselves. I thoroughly recommend Killing Bono, a brilliant book by Neil McCormick who went to school with U2. He was there in Larry's kitchen for the first rehearsal in the late 70s. As U2 went on to become the biggest band in the world, Neil's own band lurched from near-miss to near-miss, getting painfully close but hitting every bad luck and self-destructive obstacle on the way. They turned it into a movie which wasn't so great as they made up most of the story, but the book itself is brilliant - fantastic therapy for anyone who was in a band (especially a good one) which, for whatever reasons, never really took off. The millions of lost songs out there languishing on cassettes and forgotten hard drives in bedroom drawers, cupboards and lofts fascinate me. In fact I thought I’d contribute one more – a slightly retro song about lost songs, itself surely destined to be another lost song. I’m trying to crowd source a video, made up totally of real footage of lost bands. I’ve got about half of what I need – we’ve already got some brilliant stuff, including Neil McCormick’s old bands which he was kind enough to let us use. If you used to be in a band and there’s any online evidence, do post a link or send me an email at afterschoolvideoclub@yahoo.com . My own best story is when we got a record deal with a small label, initially a cassette-only release. With about 2 or 3 weeks to go, the warehouse with all their stock burned to the ground. They were uninsured, and dropped all their new artists in their financial crisis that followed. So what about your lost bands? Or did you ever see a band that you thought were gonna be big and were never heard of again? Guy - After School Video Club

07-10-2015, 07:06 AM	#2 (permalink)
Plankton Just Keep Swimming... Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: See signature... Posts: 7,766	I was in a band called Free Beer. We pissed a lot of people off. __________________ See location...

07-10-2015, 08:12 AM	#3 (permalink)
Black Francis Out of Place Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: in an abstract house Posts: 4,111	Yea, all the bands ive been in never went anywhere but i was never under the illusion we were gonna make it big. i remember asking my friends in the music scene that had somewhat successful bands about the struggle they went through to break out internationally which was hard as hell and not very rewarding. I remember thinking "These guys have a better band than mine, if they didn't make it, what makes me think i will?" and from that point on wthvr remained of my rockstar dream of making it big pretty much died. __________________ "Hey Kids you got to meet the MIGHTY PIXIES!" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbRbCtIgW3A

07-10-2015, 06:01 PM	#9 (permalink)
Norg Music Addict Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 2,344	I was in a Stoner/Hardcore band called Dead plastic rabbits we had some good songs Fast hardcore songs like 1 min long and like long 9 min like Drone stoner songs but the singer left to skateboard more so we called it quits lol