# Making a 1 man metal band?



## Ultraussie (Jun 1, 2013)

Not sure what subforum to post but here goes..

I really want to get out their and start playing shows.
Theres a half decent scene where I live (mostly Hardcore/Deathcore type bands, not too far from the capital city where big bands tour) and a few good AA venue that gets big names like Thy art is Murder, Cattle Decapitation, iwrestledabearonce, Veil of Maya etc

I really want to make a band, I write my own stuff, jammed with a few different people (there was a drummer, a guitarist and a bass player, drummer was really good,) i've jammed with in the last year or so but we could never agree on a rehearsal time or creative direction etc and none of them were really as passionate and persistent as motivated as I was to start playing shows.

It was confusing me because I wanted to play METAL and they played METAL as well that there was such a creative flatline


No one was learning the songs with excuses like "oh my computer doesnt work I cant read the tab files" "Oh my cd player doesnt work" "my phone doesnt work" etc etc


So yeah.
I basically considering writing as a one man band, recording, releasing a demo (me on vocals, guitars, and bass with fake drums) and looking for people to join my "band".

I might even play live shows is this possible?
With the backing track on my laptop and a mic as well as my guitar + amp,
while doing vocals.
How would people receive this if I did it well?
How would I approach people to be on their shows if I'm not even a full band.
I have seen some terrible bands that even play their stupid BREAKD0WNS sloppy get to support major acts though... 

How would I promote myself? Online?
I do want to generate a fanbase in my local area mostly but overseas fans liking the facebook surely cant be a bad thing 


This might not be a permanent thing, I ideally want to be in a full band situation, and there are a few one man projects that blossomed into proper bands. 

I know a few bands that are one man bands that are succesful (early animals as leaders, Putrid Pile, Burzum etc etc).

I should point out I'm 16 and I have shit free time and my transports arrangements are shit 
I can program pretty good sounding MIDI drums in tuxguitar I am a beginner at playing drums and I understand how beats and fills and all that stuff works without sounding bland or being redicuosly unplayable
I have a bass lying around I could use to track the bass tracks with

Cheers


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## DarkWolfXV (Jun 1, 2013)

Well, Onset of Putrefaction era Necrophagist is done by one man with a drum machine (at least on album, not live tho, he hired some people, which you can do to but you gotta pay em'), but there are bands who are basically just one guys. Look at Putrid Pile and their live videos, the guy has everything except guitar and vocals on backing track, and it works. It looks odd for one guy to play but thats it, it has capability to sound as good as full band if you are able to program drums well. I dont see why would you have problem getting shows, its also more convenient to just carry a cab a head a guitar a mic and a laptop than gear of the whole band. Stuff could probably fit in a car.


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## Nemonic (Jun 1, 2013)

I start with the fact that I am in the same situation. It is hars to co-operate with my bandmate who is studying quite far away, in fact it is only possible to send him material to get him something done. 
What I am doing right now:
I am home-studying stuff about music and gear. It is like workout. I do a bit of something every way, that way I am getting to know how drums and their beats are working, I am getting better at tweaking bass and guitar sound while improving my playing of those instruments. I am progressing in terms of mixing, which is going to be the key to make a good backing track for live playing. 
I am still not ready for playing live, also I do not have enough complete material, I do not want to play something unfinished. That is what you should ask yourself.
Use the Internet as your weapon. Use Soundcloud for your clips, use public advertising at music based places. It is highly possible that you are living in place swarmed by good musicians. You can use live playing as advertising.
Music is, is my opinion, based on energy. If you see a band that is tight and they are exicted by their own playing, it does a lot to you. This way you can even like a band that is not your kind of stuff. It is about people, but you can try it alone.


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## stevo1 (Jun 1, 2013)

This guy does pretty well at it. He finds people to play exactly what he wants them to for live situations occasionally I believe.





You could do the same if you inclined to. Just record something like all the backing tracks, and put them on an mp3 player. Then hook that up to the sound system you're playing at. Once people hear you, you might have better luck finding people who can play what you write for live shows.

I would say you would have to do vocals and guitar, as doing one or the other ight not end too well, like doing vocals to a full band recording.


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## Rev2010 (Jun 1, 2013)

Playing heavy music onstage as one man is something I personally wouldn't want to watch, it's going to look odd IMO. It works ok for calmer types of music and acoustical stuff but metal is all about the energy and one dude standing there rocking out by himself to an audience just comes across odd to me. Again, this is all my personal opinion.

I think your best bet is to do one of two things, and I've been in your situation before and am in it again with the new metal project I am trying to start up:

1. Write all the material and pay musicians to play for you live, or give them a percentage of money earned since you're 16 and it might not be possible to pay them all upfront. You can also consider paying musicians to lay down some parts on your album so the drums are more human and maybe the bass parts are improved upon.

2. Write and record a few tracks, say 3, and burn them to CD with a simple label saying you're looking for bandmates and contact info under the track names. Then go out to any club or concert in your area where metal is playing and stand outside somewhere in the area and hand those CD's out to people going in or coming out. This is what I did to find a singer for my electronic project. We're just a two man band intentionally since I do all the music and he does the lyrics/vocals. Worked wonderfully. Gonna have to start doing this again when I throw another track or two down.


Rev.


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## coffeeflush (Jun 1, 2013)

I was in a similar dilenma. I recently did a small show as one man performance with backing played from laptop and audio visuals co ordinated to music. 

I think it worked out quiet well. 

I don't have any up coming shows, but I only like playing with people I have made music with. So I do what I do.


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## leechmasterargentina (Jun 1, 2013)

Well, I started my personal project called Leechmaster with that intention. Overtime, some musicians heard my music and proposed me to jam. The outcome was a new band called Noosfera. So, I have a live local band where I play guitars and sing, and my personal project which has been a studio project so far where I have control over everything.

Mind that my personal project has been going since year 2000, so a decent amount of people around the world and locally knows it. I've been frequently asked when I've going to take it live, so I'll be considering that option after I release the upcoming record of my project.

Mind that if you plan to go live all alone, you have to compete with many things live bands have. I think there's nothing crazy and at some point Trent Reznor must have done it. I'm also considering that option in case my band mates don't wanna play in my project or that I can't find suitable musicians for it.

If I were considering going solo on stage, I'd pay attention to 2 important things: You'll most likely take your music (Except your voice/instrument you play) on a laptop. I'd try to get an external interface with at least 8-10 outputs. Why you may ask; to compete with live band sound, you have to be able to give independent signals to the sound guy, so he can sculp the sound the best way he can. Otherwise, you'll sound like a guy playing/singing over a studio recorded song, which as a live performance, sounds like Karaoke performance...

Another very important thing...Being with a band on stage, live, where you get nervous and try to make things the best way possible, helps a lot because you know you're not alone. Overtime, you and your band learn to improve onstage presence and overall show, and doing that with at least a couple of guys more helps a lot. You should mind that and prepare a show where you're the only attention and give the best possible show. You could start giving very small shows for friends only, say, in an empty room of your house, build a small stage and use some colour lights, and you could see how far can you go with it.

I'm writing fast because I have to do things, but I hope I've helped you giving you my experience gained over the years. Best of lucks!


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