Do Frontmen/women deserve all 'The Fame'

[Gaz[RC]]

just because im bored of all the other threads on here atm.....

do you think its fair to say front men/women deserve all the fame when it comes to bands?
they are seen as 'the face' of the band in most instances?

fair? not fair?

i know what i think.

explain your answers please.

[CrystalMountain]

I think the set up on stage should be swapped round, so the drummer is at the front, the singer and bass player at the side and the guitarist at the back ... and the drum kit should be see through.


ps
we have recorded our demo at Studio 58, paid up front and awaiting the mixed/mastered discs back.
hopefully before this Monday.
hint!!

[TJHawkesybaby]

paid up front
hint!!

there's something seriously wrong with this part of that post....!

I'm a frontman so can't really comment bit biast really lol!

[tauzero]

Context?

With a live band in a smallish venue (ie. no bloody great repeater screens), the singer (or lead instrumentalist, in an instrumental band) will automatically be the main focus of attention but other band members can attract attention too, for example (Different Glory) by moving six inches or so or (Falling Faster) by stopping jumping up and down. Even drummers can do things to attract attention to themselves , eg (Savannah) twiddling drumsticks or (Cyanide Suzy) twiddling drumsticks and dropping them.

If you're talking in terms of national-level bands, I suspect that video has been a driver towards focussing on the frontman. The close-up is a heavily-used shot, and the obvious person to show in a close-up is the singer singing rather than the guitarist pouting or the bassist wondering when the bar opens. Gaps in the singing are when the full band shot happens.

As for fair - I don't know. I suspect that if there's a significant musical contribution made by someone other than the frontman, then they'll get recognition too - guitarists, for example, getting similar recognition to the vocalist when they are separate people. If the drummer could be replaced by a drum machine after five seconds of programming or the bassist could be replaced by anyone capable of playing quavers on root, they'll get ignored unless they're a component in a Bay City Roller revival band.

[drivenlikethesnow]

It depends entirely on the band as there are a lot of different models. Bands such as The Fall, Nine Inch Nails and The Cure work on the basis that the frontman is the only important member of the band and all others are replaceable. very few people would have gone to see the Cure and spent most of the night watching Porl Thompson, or gone to see Nine Inch Nails and concentrated on Allesandro Cortini. Mark E Smith once said "if it's me and your granny on bongo's it's The Fall." agood example of a local band with this dynamic is Let's Burn Barney. no disrespect to the other guys in the band but every single audience member is focussing on Simon every time.

Then you've got the kind of equal partnership type bands like led zeppelin, the smiths etc. when you think of led zep it's Page AND Plant, and the smiths it's Morrissey AND Marr. Driven Like The Snow work this way (or at least that's the way i see it) with Liz being the lead instrumental focus and me being the frontman. the other band members are just as important (as with led zeppelin, the smiths, the who etc) but the main focal point being the lead instrumentalist and the frontman. a slight deviation on this is bands like Metallica where the main focal point is the frontman and another band member - Lars in Metallica's case who is not a lead instrumentalist but a band spokesman and often someone who put the band together in the first place.

Another model is where another band member who is not the frontman at all is the main focal point. AC/DC, Fallout Boy and The Manic Street Preachers all work this way. Angus, Pete Wentz and Nicky Wire do the majority of interviews, get the most coverage and are generally the audience's main focal point. I can't think of any local examples but there's probably one or two kicking around somewhere...

then there's the rare occurence of a band where every member is equally focussed on by the audience. bands like The Beatles and Fleetwood Mac. structures kinda work to this dynamic possibly due to the lack of a traditional frontman.

[Furyan Rob]

I think it varies greatly from genre to genre. Rock/metal seems to be quite good in this respect. There have been many examples of great frontman/guitarist teams: Axl / Slash, Angus / Bon Scott, Ozzy / Rhandy Rhoads, Van Halen / Roth, Anselmo / Dimebag etc etc. There are also some highly revered drummers in this genre.

I think standout instrumentalists get recognition, but they have to do something pretty special to wrestle a bit of limelight from the vocalist. The term 'frontman' says it all - they will always be the focal point of the band, but where other band members really are talented as players, they will get some attention. Someone like Flea on the bass is a good example. The bloke is brilliant and it can be argued that he is as prominent a symbol of the Chilis as the vocalist.

It's tougher in other genres of music. Rock has always had a bombastic side to it where band members are encouraged to show off their chops. Some people find this attractive, others find this self-indulgent and downright annoying. Lots of bands, particularly in the indie genre, take the 'greater than the sum of their parts' approach and try to craft a great whole-band sound. The downside to this is that the players in these bands may not get the kudos they deserve, although there are notable exeptions e.g. Johhny Marr, John Squire etc.

If you want attention as a non-vocalist in a band, become an egotistical prick and join a metal band (I'm not thinking of anyone in particular)......

[TJHawkesybaby]

Im a bit biast like ive said but this is my half arsed attempt to answer...

Its hard to get away from it really... Theres a difference between the frontman/woman and the 'singer'! In many infact most cases the singer is the frontman.... for people who "dont know music" the singer is the person 99%of the time they look at.... me (bein in a band) when im at gigs or watch videos n stuff i look at all the band members... but surely when your watchin a show you wanna look at whatever is entertaining the most? I do anyway...

AC/DC in my opinion had always had 2 frontmen Angus and either Bon or Brian.... Dr Feelgood had Wilko and the singer i cant remember his name.... the Singer Ill call him Bob... Was forever plagued by jealousy that Wilko was "the frontman" in the band its just that Bob didnt do naff all on the stage....?

Its a tough one to call.... but its just the way it is really!

[Rig]

does it depend on the individuals in the band?

i for one am happy sitting in the background and letting others (the singer) take the plaudits

[Saint]

I think the set up on stage should be swapped round, so the drummer is at the front, the singer and bass player at the side and the guitarist at the back ... and the drum kit should be see through.

i've always wanted to have that setup i'd feel bad for the drummer being constantly eyed whilst trying to keep the beat aha..
in my opinion it should be "you get what you put in," those who contributed the most, "composition,etc"
deserve the most. however i learnt last year that when it comes to roylaties of a song, the owner of the lyrics get like half and the other musicians and such get a equal partition of the remaining royalty. which in my opinion is utter boll.



frontmen/women are always the first to be recognised when it comes to bands, though with me i tend to recognise guitarists before other memeber, just cos i like seeing other guitarists play..
Frontmen and women, in pop bands especially are there alot for eye candy more than anything...
where would be lost prophets without ian watkins?
30 seconds without jared?
paramore without hayley williams?

i actually liked a band called "in this moment" once, female fronted metal band. had some nice music,reminded me of bullets older stuff
but the way they marketed just the lady on album art and stuff made me think "just another corporate band."

[Nick]

I think the set up on stage should be swapped round, so the drummer is at the front

PUT ME AT THE FRONT! Kyrbgrinder had this set up, but the drummer is the front man, so mehhhh.

I can't keep my eye off them drummers to be honest....