1. Music genre: Meta-pop: "Let's mix all/random styles of music (pop, rock, classical, punk, blues, metal, folk, etc.) together and see what happens."
2. Atmosphere: Attitude driven (not technique driven):It doesn't matter if our performance is not flawless, or we're playing stupidly simple/easy parts. If we're having fun, the audience will have fun too.
3. Focus: Team dynamic: Everyone constantly supports the other band members, and the band members respect the band leader's directions.
Each of these concepts come from lessons the Darkwinner learned in his previous bands.
We've all been to showss were the band sounded like they were playing the same song over and over again. It might have been cool for the first 10 minutes, but after a while, it got boring. None of my bands have ever had this problem.
That's because even my first band was a "meta-pop" band. The concept was "Let's mix all styles of music (pop, rock, classical, punk, blues, metal, folk, etc.) together and see what happens." What happens is that each song sounds very different from the previous/next song. There is still a unity to our whole performance, which I attribute to the flavor that's unique to a particular group of musicians. Whether a fast or slow piece, each band member is contributing their spirit to the song, and while the sound might change, the spirit is constant.
One advantage of this approach is that if the audience doesn't like one song, they just have to wait 3 minutes and they'll get a different combination of styles that they might enjoy. One disadvantage of this approach is that if the audience really likes one song, they might have to sit through a bunch of songs they don't like just to hear the song they like.
Now that I've played meta-pop , I don't think I could ever go back to playing just rock, or blues or whatever. I crave the variety that meta-pop offers.
I started to notice that my first band and I were going in different directions. I just wanted to have fun. They wanted to gig out and hoped to make a living with music. They wanted to sound "professional", while I just wanted to sound "good enough." So we amicably parted ways, and I started up my second band.
This second band was "attitude driven." It doesn't matter if our performance is not flawless, or we're playing stupidly simple/easy parts. If we're having fun, the audience will have fun too. To test this hypothesis, my second band did 3 rehearsals then an open mic show. Obviously 3 rehearsals isn't enough time to perfect any song, let alone 5. The 5 (original) songs that we performed were full of mistakes (the vocalist forgot some lyrics to a song and just sang "Dah Dah Dah" until we got to a part she remembered). But despite these mistakes (or maybe because of our ability to laugh at/accept them), our attitude and sense of fun kept the audience enthralled. The success was astounding even beyond my expectations.
The strength of the band has always been that we work together as a team. We don't have a "star" that gets all the audience attention. Everyone in the band gets a chance to be in the spotlight.
Just as we support our team members, we also support the team leader (who in this case happens to be me.) Members don't fight/undermine the leader regardless of past success (or failures). And the leader supports the team members, trying to make sure everybody gets their time in the spotlight, and that the group accomplishes its musical objectives.
These 3 concepts at the foundation of "Left to the Right Monkey" and are the key to the band's success.
After the 2nd incarnation of "LttRM" I added the "third unknown qualification" to the end of the auditions page. After the 4th incarnation of "LttRM," I'm expounding that concept to a 4th foundation of the band: Committment.
When I first started this band, I wanted it to be "just for fun," and I knew it wouldn't be for everybody. So if people gave the band a try, and decided it wasn't for them, they left- no problem. But this kept happening. And it was great for them, I mean, they got the experience of being in a band, and learned a lot about music in the process.
But what did I get out of it? Squat-ola! I invested a month into these guys, and when "it wasn't fun anymore" they left, and LttRM is no closer to playing out than when LttRM first started.
So there is a new 4th foundation to the band "Committment." After the first rehearsal, and you've met your band mates, you decide if can commit to the group. If you want to keep going with the band, you sign the band agreement which says you'll give two months notice before leaving the band. If you can't make that committment, don't audition for the band.
For the first month, everything goes great, because the band is new, fun, and exciting. But eventually, (as with anything done regularly) it begins to seem like "work." And then folks leave the band, which has sucked for LttRM. When it feels like work, you can either:
1) keep going with it, because eventually we'll gig out and it will be fun again
2) give us 2 months notice and leave. It might suck for you to have to keep going to rehearsals for 2 months when you know it's not going to directly benefit you (as you will be leaving.) But for the sake of the band, you have to give us time to find a replacement or let the band develop some momentum.
Basically, people have left after one month, and I'm getting frustrated. If I have people for 3 months, that's at least long enough to get a set list together and play a small gig (which is why I started this band in the first place.)
Yes, this commitment is a blind "cost" to you, but when we invite you to the band there is a blind "cost" to us: we're giving you a chance instead of someone else, and we're investing time training and rehearsing with you. Having a "cost" to you is the only way to get "serious" people to join the band, as opposed to flighty novelty seekers.
I really want to play out. We'll make mistakes, but we'll have fun, doing fun music and being a team, that the mistakes don't really matter. Playing music by yourself is fun. Jamming with another person is more fun. But playing with other people in front of an audience is the most fun. That's why I'm starting this band, and I'm hoping you think so too.