hi! i'm new!

new to the forum. i just wanted to introduce myself. this is really my first forum and i thought i would try it. i noticed the forum doesn't get much activity, its probably better that way., but I thought I would check it out anyway. anyway.

mr. bowie is one of my favorite musicicans. i really like his old work but actually really liked heathen a lot. i can't wait to hear his new album. i would rather buy it on a cd or vinyl rather than iTunes. everything is so digital now. i hate it. even a lot of new music is electronic, i hate it.

besides mr. david bowies music i mainly listen to 60s and 70s rock and the blues. i also have a totally new appreciation for classical. mozart. not chicago blues or anything like that, but old time blues like from the 20s and 30s. that's the best.

so as far as why i joined this forum... i just really like mr. bowie's music, and thought i would try and find somewhere to discuss it and other things. i really just wanted to join a forum and thought this one would be perfect.

thanks for your time.

stephanie

Hi Stephanie, and welcome to the forum
As you have noted, this place has been rather quiet for a while. A few years back there were quite a lot going on, but then things died down. Its a shame, really.

It is marvelous that Bowie is releasing a new album and like you I cannot wait to buy it, the actual CD that is. Visconti has claimed that The Next Day will be more rock oriented than what the Where Are We Now single aludes to, which I think is good.

Welcome again, and please do start discussions and such

Thanks for the reply and welcoming me to the forum!


As far as the new album. I'm wondering if its coming out on vinyl. That would be awesome. I think that the fact that it is more "rock oriented" is great, but I sure liked Heathen. I do love his rock stuff though like "Panic in Detroit" and "Suffragette City".. so I'm definately looking foward to the possibilities of what it might sound like.

As far as starting discussions.. I will try.

Thanks again.

According to this (http://www.davidbowie.com/news/next-day-release-dates-round-49181) The Next Day will indeed be released on vinyl (with the 3 extra songs)

Awesome! Can't wait to get it!

BTW --

I saw a David Bowie ad on Facebook for this forum... maybe since he has a new album coming out.. there will be some action around here... and do I call you Angelman?

Feel free to call me Angelman (from the Outside No. 1 song, "I'm Deranged") :-)

Yes, that thought has occured to me too. With Bowie being back in the game, this forum should pick up speed again too, I hope. It was quite active only a couple of years ago, and then... over the course of a summer or something, it just died. Let's hope things pick up

(Just to make it clear though, I have nothing to do with running this site... I just post here :p )

Angelman -


Great, I love the fact that you just post here and you aren't admin. I think I read in a post that you are in a cover band though, is that true?

Yeah, that's true. I'm in a Ziggy anniversary thing called "Leper Messiah". Its loads of fun, although its hard to find gigs for a tribude band... Look us up on facebook or youtube

Cooool.

I would hire a David Bowie tribute band. That would be awesome to see. There's a club down the street from me that only hires tribute bands and such...

I was at a show there last week or so and this guy kept screaming "DAVID BOWIE"... so there must be some demand.

I'm going to check it out though, thanks for the info.

What do you do in the band?

I'm the singer.

We have these (https://www.facebook.com/#!/media/set/?set=vb.127060797444790&type=2) videos on youtube. The sounds is quite poor I'm afraid, as the recording equipment couldn't handle the sound...

We would like to play gigs anywhere in the world :p Let us know if there's a place that would book us.

I think you guys sound good. You probably sound 1000 times better in person than in the recording... but I still got the basic idea. Do you write any of your own music? I would be interested to hear that.

The club is called BFE rock club. It is in Houston, Texas, United States. The forum won't let me post a link to the club... because I'm new but you can do a google seach for it...

Yeah, the recording is quite poor indeed - the microphone on the camera couldn't handle the volume

For now we're doing the Ziggy-thing. Half the band is also involved in another project making original music, but that is nothing like Bowie - its more like an American roots rock thing. Unfortunately the project is sort of on the shelf.

Doing a gig in Houston would be awesome, but I'm affraid it is far outside our budget You see, we're Norwegians, heh heh

Well,

I think you definitely got your point across though. I mean, you can tell how strong your voice is, like MR. Bowie's.. the rest of the band was great as well I really like the guitar..

As far as doing the "Ziggy-thing", you should keep at it because you are doing a good job. I just don't understand from a motivational standpoint what the benefits are in being in a tribute band as opposed to a band with original work. I did notice that you don't make the mistake many bands make in dressing up like them and not putting in the work to actually sound like the band. Which, in my experience in trying to learn other people's music, it must be really difficult to do...

The American roots rock thing.. I think that's a great idea. What years of early american rock are we talking? That sound needs to be out there and more popular. It just seems that listeners are tasteless or record companies want us to listen to crap. Thing is, I'm a university student and I am majoring in the music business. I don't know if I even want to get a job in this profession.. but if I did, I would definitely like to manage a band that sounds something like early rock. I think they really need to develop it and get it out there. I don't like the music that's around these days..

Yeah. I didn't know you were from Norway... that makes me laugh. Yeah come on to Houston, guarantee you won't make any money; not saying your in it for the money.. but it would cost you more to fly here than you would make at the show. ha ha ha.

Thank you for your kind words, Shot I have no pretentions of having a voice like Bowie’s but it is fun to try to sing his material. We’re having loads of fun with this project.

You’re reservations against doing tribute material are understandable and shared by many. I guess, for me, you can equate doing a tribute project to such an important milestone in rock history with theatre troupes doing, say, Hamlet or MacBeth instead of writing their own plays. It is the pleasure of performing and interpreting a classic piece of rock legend that makes it worth the while. And as an avid Bowie fan I think it is important to share his music, especially performed live, to today’s crowd who might not even know who the man is! And as you say, there is a lot of shite music out there and the classics need to be dusted off and lifted high. There is also the matter of finding the time and inspiration, not to mention talent, to write great music, in between holding day-jobs and having families. I don’t necessarily think the world will benefit from yet another rock band doing original music, unless they turn out to be awesome. It is not like there’s a shortage of music out there and it is growing harder by the minute to make an impact and coming up with something artistically valid. If our muses inspires us to make great music, I am sure we will give it our all and try to get noticed, but for now it seems enough to wave the flag of this piece of yesteryear’s greatness.

As for the Roots rock project, I don’t know which acts to compare it to as I am actually not into the music much myself. One of the songs actually reminds me of Chris Isaak, a noted (soft) roots rock artist (among other things), while other songs might possibly be more heartland rock. I can’t place it properly as I don’t know the scene :p I was just brought in to sing, heh heh.

I can understand your frustration with the music business… Things have always been shady and bad in the business, but since the death/face lifts of the major rock labels in the 90s, very little good music has come out I feel. (Or, little has come to my attention, although I’m not good at keeping up with the world. I’m sure there are gems out there that I would love, but I can’t be bothered wading through the muck to find them). But yeah, a rock revival would be awesome, although I don’t think it is likely for the music business to devolve. It would probably have to be something re-invented rather than a return to the past. I hope you succeed in the business and get to manage some awesome acts

As for us coming to the US, my band got quite excited when I mentioned it, heh heh. We’ll see if we get confident enough to take on a US club tour at some point – if we break even we’d be more than happy, if not, well… let’s just call it a marvelous vacation instead

Best wishes,
Angelman/Vidar

That is great reasoning for being in a tribute band. I completely understand that it is like performing Macbeth.. you actually really helped me with something. I think before I sell my guitar, I should try and give it my everything to learn at least one song and try and learn at least one song because I respect the music that much. I respect Shakespere that much. More than being a "rock legend".. he contributed to history. David Bowie is a historical figure. And it is important to either create music of that quality or try and recreate it out of respect. You really helped me understand the reason for a tribute band.

Yes, the major label is not the only game in town anymore and you would think there would be some great music around. Maybe there is and I don't know where to find it, which is probably the case.

Thank you again for kind words, Shot

The only problem with my reasoning is that most people don't seem to agree with it - at least not over here - and tribute acts are generally regarded with disdain and ridicule. Oh well, I'll show them!

By the way, do you prefer Shot or Stephane?