As musicians we often talk about and play our favorite songs but I know everyone of us has at least one tune we hate so much that they are an instant "channel changer". I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours. So which tune does it for you i.e. tantamount to fingernails on a chalkboard?
I feel your pain, but on a sort of somber note . . . I will never forget playing a gig back in the 70's when this gent stepped up to the stage and requested Fascination. We kicked it off and before he waltzed around the small dance floor the 2nd time he fell dead as a door nail right in front of the stage. Of course there were many jokes amongst the band for the next year or so. The one I like the most was "we really killed that night".
And the Chicken Dance, well I am right there with you, the band should be able to shoot anyone who request that tune. Just my opinion.
A couple of my cringe when I hear them being kicked off tunes are, Blackbird, anyone playing I Can't Help Falling In Love With You on a Ukulele and of course every-time I hear some person OVER SINGING "At Last" and that is almost every time it is played.
..................... And the Chicken Dance, well I am right there with you, the band should be able to shoot anyone who request that tune. Just my opinion.
......................
You ain't the only one. Sometimes we had to play it two or three times a night. They paid so we played but we never liked it!
Me, it's not about how many times you fail, it's about how many times you get back up. Cop, that's not how field sobriety tests work.
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
re: the chicken dance: Thank the Good Lord it never was to big an item in my neck of the woods, we had the Mexican Hat Dance even though they weren't any Mexicans in the audience, and oh yes, or the freaking Bunny Hop!
Last edited by Danny C.; 07/18/2002:22 PM. Reason: re: the chicken dance
And the Chicken Dance, well I am right there with you, the band should be able to shoot anyone who request that tune. Just my opinion.
We used to play it until I learned to say: "sorry, the drummer doesn't know that song". I figured that anyone who requested that number wouldn't know any better
BIAB & RB2024 Win.(Audiophile), Sonar Platinum, Cakewalk by Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M Monitors, Pioneer Active Monitors, AKG K271 Studio H'phones
My father and mother where both 300 pounds. My sisters and I had never-ever seen them dance. My father was a very good musician (amateur) and my mother played OK. But they never danced - ever.
One year they went off to Italy, to the old-a country on one of those Senior Citizen tours. We were all adults then and mom fixed dinner and we wanted to share pictures and memories.
They came back and told us they learned to dance.
We wanted to see so my dad walked over to the record player (it was a long time ago), dropped the needle on the disk, and my 300lb parents did the chicken dance. My sisters and I were rolling on the floor with laughter. They were grinning at each other like teenagers as 600 pounds of fun did the dance.
The sight vaguely reminded me of hippopotami dancing in Walt Disney's "Fantasia".
Now I've never enjoyed the song, and we will only play it when requested but I've never enjoyed it as much as I did when my parents did it.
There are a few stupid songs that we play. None of them are painful, so we just do them. It's like eating baked potato chips. All bulk, no substance. Junk food for the ears.
I had a day job once as a phone repairman. I was testing out what it was to be normal and found normal to be overrated.
I got to this pole I had to climb. When climbing poles you are held up by about 1/16" of spike into a pole that has been climbed so many times before, the outer layer can give out. There are two kinds of pole climbers, those who have fallen, and those who haven't -YET.
Anyway there are 4 chain link fences (don't want to land on those, especially if you happen to have one leg on either side), a couple of galvanized garbage cans, and some bushes.
So I climb the pole, open the terminal to discover about 100 paper wasps had called it home. They were not happy about having their roof and walls removed and were flying around like crazy.
Now you can't do anything fast on your climbers, because the fences and garbage cans were waiting for a wrong move.
So I carefully climbed back down the pole. Fortunately the wasps never figured out it was me who was the home wrecker.
Chicken Dance? Yakety Sax? Beer Barrel Polka? Alley Cat? No problem. They are just notes, and the notes don't hurt.
Sometimes you just have to put it all into perspective.
ahh - Bud - I often have said "by the time I have confidently learned a song and can play it without any problems - I never want to play it again" - now if I could learn them faster and with less effort, maybe I wouldn't feel that way lol
Anything by Lynard Skynard. (Though they DO know all 3 chords!) Anything by Led Zepplin. (I didn't even like them when they "were". Just loud.) Anything by Jimmy Buffett. (He can't sing, he can't play, and he can't write.) Anything by Tom Petty. (Nasal whining is NOT singing.) The aforementioned At Last. If I hear ONE more mediocre singer over-emote that song.... Anything that has to do with drugs (Cocaine) or has gratuitous profanity. Show some class on stage.
Mustang Sally Some Kind of Wonderful Brown Eyed Girl
Most of the others are just single songs by the list above.
And my personal gripe, DON'T PLAY BEATLES SONGS!! You can't do them as well as they did, and that is disrespectful to the band that changed everything. The exception is Will Lee and the Fab Faux. They do it letter perfect, so they get a pass. The same "respect" should be paid to Georgia On My Mind.
Many of the stuff mentioned above like that stupid Chicken Dance atrocity I don't even consider music, so they aren't listed.
And all of the above is why I don't see cover bands.
Last edited by eddie1261; 07/19/2011:18 AM.
I am using the new 1040XTRAEZ form this year. It has just 2 lines.
1. How much did you make in 2023? 2. Send it to us.
well I thought Bud and Janice kinda got it right. But there actually were some songs I totally enjoyed playing on stage. If we didn't like a song, as a band, we'd simply drop it from our nightly set list. There were songs that the crowd would not let us drop.....
But I will say, mostly, and this is the short list of what immediately came to mind.....
Freebird Toot toot (probably as bad as the chicken song which coincidentally, I don't think I have ever heard) Swingin' Old Time Rock & Roll Wipeout
But I'm also smart enough to know who paid my bills, and that was a satisfied club manager and a bunch of drunk party people. So yeah, we played those songs practically every night and sometimes even multiple times per night to groans of "oh god no, not that song again"
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.com Add nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both.
The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
At least 1/2 of holiday songs. I hope J. Pierpont forgives me... Its just hearing something like Jingle Bells endless number of times is like wicked hypnosis. Makes me wonder, why there are so few "sticky" ones out of thousands composed holiday tunes... in the past 150+ years!
P.S. Just thinking of Jingle Bells, plants a seed in the brain. Now I will go all day singing it to myself. Dangerous...
I never listen to the radio. First of all, I don't want to listen to what THEY want me to hear. Second, I refuse to listen to commercials and that incessant DJ chatter. Third, I have a thumb drive with 2000 songs on it, and I can add and remove them as I choose. Fourth, the music I enjoy isn't on any radio station. Who here has even heard of Dr. Dog, Dawes, Vampire Weekend, Neon Trees and The War On Drugs? None of them were ever mainstream enough to make it to top 40 radio, so I'll never hear them on the radio. It's mainly the commercials though. I wonder how many people get that commercials on the radio, which we have all come to accept, are nothing more than the audio counterpart of pop-up ads on your computer?
As far as silly stuff like The Chicken Dance (Put the Hokey Pokey in there too), never gonna happen. I understand why they are requested though. Weddings are typically the only time in a year that the people who think the Chicken Dance and the Hokey Pokey is dancing. They just don't know good music from bad.
I am using the new 1040XTRAEZ form this year. It has just 2 lines.
1. How much did you make in 2023? 2. Send it to us.
I never listen to the radio. First of all, I don't want to listen to what THEY want me to hear. Second, I refuse to listen to commercials and that incessant DJ chatter. Third, I have a thumb drive with 2000 songs on it, and I can add and remove them as I choose. Fourth, the music I enjoy isn't on any radio station. Who here has even heard of Dr. Dog, Dawes, Vampire Weekend, Neon Trees and The War On Drugs? None of them were ever mainstream enough to make it to top 40 radio, so I'll never hear them on the radio. It's mainly the commercials though. I wonder how many people get that commercials on the radio, which we have all come to accept, are nothing more than the audio counterpart of pop-up ads on your computer?
As far as silly stuff like The Chicken Dance (Put the Hokey Pokey in there too), never gonna happen. I understand why they are requested though. Weddings are typically the only time in a year that the people who think the Chicken Dance and the Hokey Pokey is dancing. They just don't know good music from bad.
Yep... that's a bad one. I have actually heard that but never knew the name....and I can honestly say I have never played it. I listened to 10 seconds and I will probably be replaying that in my head the rest of this evening...... I will get you back for that one day..... some how...... some way......when you are least expecting it.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.com Add nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both.
The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
Definitely some annoying tunes brought up here. I personally have a deep-rooted loathing for the song 'Cotton Eyed Joe.' Something about it makes me want to stick my head in a blender. 'Barbie Girl' by Aqua really irks me for some reason too.
At least 1/2 of holiday songs. I hope J. Pierpont forgives me... Its just hearing something like Jingle Bells endless number of times is like wicked hypnosis. Makes me wonder, why there are so few "sticky" ones out of thousands composed holiday tunes... in the past 150+ years!
P.S. Just thinking of Jingle Bells, plants a seed in the brain. Now I will go all day singing it to myself. Dangerous...
Around mid-November I can't wait to start playing Christmas Music, by the 2nd week in December I am ready to climb a tower with a rifle if someone request Deck The Halls again. So I somewhat understand. LOL
So now I disagree on Jimmy Buffett been a big fan for years, but to each their own. For me it’s anything ABBA. Especially.... (disclaimer: stop reading now because if you keep on the next mentioned song will play in your head as you try to sleep)
Waterloo! Sorry but you chose to continue reading
Lenovo Win 10 16 gig ram, Mac mini with 16 gig of ram, BiaB 2022, Realband, Harrison Mixbus 32c version 9.1324, Melodyne 5 editor, Presonus Audiobox 1818VSL, Presonus control app, Komplete 49 key controller.
Eddie, I’m a big fan of The War on Drugs. Even though several of the songs are pretty much just two chords, there’s something about them that just soothes the soul.
There are only two types of songs, songs I like and songs I do not like. Sometimes a song can change groups. Whether the song has lyrics or not has nothing to do with it. YMMV
Me, it's not about how many times you fail, it's about how many times you get back up. Cop, that's not how field sobriety tests work.
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
Waterloo! I guess I’m lucky in 70 years of playing and performing I have never played or had even a request to play Waterloo. Must a regional thing, I’m west coast.
There are only two types of songs, songs I like and songs I do not like. Sometimes a song can change groups. Whether the song has lyrics or not has nothing to do with it. YMMV
Well said Mario!!!
I feel the same way, especially about the change groups part.
And when I'm on the gig, I really don't care if I like it or not, I just play them (see previous post about the wasp nest and the telephone pole).
Scott, the lead dude (Adam) drives me crazy because he has that neurotic stage dancing thing playing with his pedals, but Under The Pressure in particular is a really well done song. Between them and Dr. Dog I get my indie fix. With some Dawes in there and some Vampire Weekend. A handful of others too.
I am using the new 1040XTRAEZ form this year. It has just 2 lines.
1. How much did you make in 2023? 2. Send it to us.
And when I'm on the gig, I really don't care if I like it or not, I just play them (see previous post about the wasp nest and the telephone pole).
Notes[/quote]
Same here, I play what the crowd wants. Just sometimes when I hear certain tunes at live shows (other than mine) or on the radio I just hit the channel changer instantly.
Another comes to mind . . . I still love many versions of Elvis' Can't Help Falling In Love With You, but I can't get to the channel changer quick enough when some youngster with a Uke starts with a long drawn out WIIIIIIIIIIISE Men Say. Lol
Waterloo! I guess I’m lucky in 70 years of playing and performing I have never played or had even a request to play Waterloo. Must a regional thing, I’m west coast.
Same here, in fact I can't ever having a request for any ABBA tune . . . just lucky I guess.
There are only two types of songs, songs I like and songs I do not like. Sometimes a song can change groups. Whether the song has lyrics or not has nothing to do with it. YMMV
Well said Mario!!!
I feel the same way, especially about the change groups part.
And when I'm on the gig, I really don't care if I like it or not, I just play them (see previous post about the wasp nest and the telephone pole).
Notes
Our rule was they paid so we played. It didn't matter what we thought of the song. They are paying us to play for them. I did the bookings so I could weed out gigs that did not match our repertoire, like gigs that wanted all country or all rock, etc. I had a very successful career leading a wedding band.
Me, it's not about how many times you fail, it's about how many times you get back up. Cop, that's not how field sobriety tests work.
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
We do "Dancing Queen" by ABBA. Listen to the underlying rhythm, It's a Dr. John / New Orleans thing.
The chords are decent, and the people like to dance to it.
I'm good with that.
Even playing "Yakety Sax" for the millionth time is better than climbing a telephone pole, working in an office, loading trucks, stocking shelves, or any other day job I can think of
And once the song starts I forget about how many times I've done it and actually enjoy it in spite of myself.
Add updated printing options, enhanced tracks settings, smoother use of MGU and SGU (BB files) within PowerTracks, and more with the latest PowerTracks Pro Audio 2024 update!
Download and install this to your RealBand 2024 for updated print options, streamlined loading and saving of .SGU & MGU (BB) files, and to add a number of program adjustments that address user-reported bugs and concerns.
Did you know... not only can you download your Band-in-a-Box® Pro, MegaPAK, or PlusPAK purchase - you can also choose to add a flash drive backup copy with the installation files for only $15? It even comes with a Band-in-a-Box® keychain!
For the larger Band-in-a-Box® packages (UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, Audiophile Edition), the hard drive backup copy is available for only $25. This will include a preinstalled and ready to use program, along with your installation files.
Backup copies are offered during the checkout process on our website.
Already purchased your e-delivery version, and now you wish you had a backup copy? It's not too late! If your purchase was for the current version of Band-in-a-Box®, you can still reach out to our team directly to place your backup copy order!
Note: the Band-in-a-Box® keychain is only included with flash drive backup copies, and cannot be purchased separately.
Handy flash drive tip: Always try plugging in a USB device the wrong way first? If your flash drive (or other USB plug) doesn't have a symbol to indicate which way is up, look for the side with a seam on the metal connector (it only has a line across one side) - that's the side that either faces down or to the left, depending on your port placement.
Update your Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows® Today!
Update your Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows for free with build 1111!
With this update, there's more control when saving images from the Print Preview window, we've added defaults to the MultiPicker for sorting and font size, updated printing options, updated RealTracks and other content, and addressed user-reported issues with the StylePicker, MIDI Soloists, key signature changes, and more!
A few excerpts:
"The Tracks view is possibly the single most powerful addition in 2024 and opens up a new way to edit and generate accompaniments. Combined with the new MultiPicker Library Window, it makes BIAB nearly perfect as an 'intelligent' composer/arranger program."
"MIDI SuperTracks partial generation showing six variations – each time the section is generated it can be instantly auditioned, re-generated or backed out to a previous generation – and you can do this with any track type. This is MAJOR! This takes musical experimentation and honing an arrangement to a new level, and faster than ever."
"Band in a Box continues to be an expansive musical tool-set for both novice and experienced musicians to experiment, compose, arrange and mix songs, as well as an extensive educational resource. It is huge, with hundreds of functions, more than any one person is likely to ever use. Yet, so is any DAW that I have used. BIAB can do some things that no DAW does, and this year BIAB has more DAW-like functions than ever."
Convenient Ways to Listen to Band-in-a-Box® Songs Created by Program Users!
The User Showcase Forum is an excellent place to share your Band-in-a-Box® songs and listen to songs other program users are creating!
There are other places you can listen to these songs too! Visit our User Showcase page to sort by genre, artist (forum name), song title, and date - each listing will direct you to the forum post for that song.
If you'd rather listen to these songs in one place, head to our Band-in-a-Box® Radio, where you'll have the option to select the genre playlist for your listening pleasure. This page has SoundCloud built in, so it won't redirect you. We've also added the link to the Artists SoundCloud page here, and a link to their forum post.
We hope you find some inspiration from this amazing collection of User Showcase Songs!
Our User Showcase Forum receives more than 50 posts per day, with people sharing their Band-in-a-Box songs and providing feedback for other songs posted.
One of our representatives will be happy to help you over the phone. Our hours of operation are from
6:00AM to 6:00PM PST (GMT -8) Monday thru Friday, and 8:00AM to 4:00PM PST Saturday. We are closed Sunday. You can also send us your questions via email.
One of our representatives will be happy to help you on our Live Chat or by email. Our hours of operation are from
6:00AM to 6:00PM PST (GMT -8) Monday thru Friday; 8:00AM to 4:00PM PST (GMT -8) Saturday; Closed Sunday.
Norton Music
Dansk
Deutsch - Windows
Español
Français - Windows
Italiano - Windows
Nederlands
Polski
Português
Svenskt
русский
Japanese
Simplified Chinese
Traditional Chinese
Korean