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Post by dial8 on Mar 6, 2018 16:34:12 GMT -5
Thank you RosyStain. The band have played The Fleece in Bristol on several occasions, but before I joined! We're doing our best to get to play there again, but unfortunately there is one too many DD tributes on PLANET Earth at the moment! Nuff said!
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Post by More Play Time on Mar 6, 2018 17:27:49 GMT -5
Okay, I believe we're putting our heads somewhat on the block for posting this, especially after another Duran Duran tribute band recently asked for an opinion of their particular efforts and the lead singer was shot down for sounding more like Andy Wickett than the living legend that is Simon Le Bon! That was me who said that, I yes I did feel really, really bad, given the quality of the music was AAA*. I was going to PM the guy to suggest he could manage the band and put them on the road, a bit like how fast drivers end up running Formula One teams rather than get a chance to race themselves. I feel he took it very badly, and I was waiting for a stream of comments to shoot me down but the thread was removed. Even a bit of professional voice coaching might have done the trick, to give the guy more confidence and a bit more vocal range. The music linked in the playlist was outstanding. The lead singer I thought carried the music very well, and even his ad-libs sounded like Simon! An extreme feat. You guys put slightly more rock back into the music than even the band themselves, and when playing the venues you guys will play, I'm not surprised you are aiming the music towards people who just want to have some fun. It felt a little more 'dad rock clubby' than 'power rock stadium', which is just a matter of playing tighter with more front, like the other band, and hammering each songs eccentricities. Like JTs power pops and slides, and Andys random fills, and you have a terrific recipe for shows. The set was great and I love the fact the singer went with the outfit. I would like to see the keyboard player, and all the band take on their roles a bit more, and as Warren famously wore a wig during his Duran Days, why not have the guitar people wear something spikey? A spring season in Benidorm would certainly help iron out the creases, and in a nice warm and sunny climate too. Its all about tribute bands in Benidorm, you cant move for them, and the clientele are mostly over 40, so a calm, warm and appreciative audience, ripe for retro music.
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Post by dial8 on Mar 6, 2018 19:25:18 GMT -5
Thanks for your comments MorePlayTime and it's good to know that the 'rock' sound is coming through, it's what we intended! You're right about playing to audiences that want some fun, we love it and it's great to have so much audience participation! Interestingly at the end of our last show our drummer overheard one of the audience say, 'I don't like Duran Duran, but I liked that'! I'm not quite sure how to take that, but ultimately I guess he was complimenting us! Your 'clubby Dad rock' statement made me laugh and I know where you're coming from, however all but one member are dads! Ones that unfortunately have to keep a regular job to allow us to continue playing the music of our favourite band! If only we had the time and resources that DD have...oh, and the looks! Thanks again.
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Post by More Play Time on Mar 7, 2018 11:39:57 GMT -5
The looks arnt so bad. The keyboard player looks slightly like Nick, and the lead guitar looks a bit like Andy. The Singer is close to SLB, but also looks like Mark Radcliffe, which is great - as he looks like a personality, and could always go back to pundit chart hits during the week. lol.
The only thing 'breaking the barrier of disbelief' for me was visually. I want to put this in a polite way, but it looked like a group of builders on stage, who took a day off to play music, perhaps because they were. Obviously you blokes dont want to diet just to play DD more convincingly at the weekends, but I think the rolly-polly image cheapens what you wanted to achieve. But at the same time, maybe you dont need to be a Ferrari when you are fine as a Fun Bus. The latter requires less maintenance and is cheaper to run around with at the weekends.
You are just starting so it will take time to spread the word. People of my mums age like the 60's and 70's music, but they are passing away all the time, and soon there will only be 80s fans left (or at least our generation), so popularity will only increase as you go along. I see from your booking schedule you are very busy, so the 'one too many Duran Tribute Bands' comment doesnt quite hold water - you are in demand!
A bit more confidence and a good booking agent is all you need, but I would definitely experience the glitz and the glamour and the flavour of Mediterranean style Europe this year, perhaps Monaco, France or Spain, to get that carnival spirit in to your soul. Its vigour mixed with passion mixed with class, I cant really explain it, but you cant simply absorb this by performing a pub in Bolton or Barnsley. I'm flying out at the end of April, hope to see you there.
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Post by dial8 on Mar 7, 2018 14:08:46 GMT -5
More Play Time, you know how to flatter us! Thanks again for your comments, we'll take SOME of them on board! We're never going to be a 'look-alike' tribute, it's mainly about the sound for us, but I agree we can raise the bar on our look and our performance. Strangely enough there are a few other Duran Duran tributes with 'builder types' for members! Maybe we should title our next tour, 'Working for the Bin Trade'? Lol!!!
By the way, I'm a painter and decorator, so not quite the builder, but I certainly mix with those trades! I wonder what the Fab 5 might have looked like if they'd have never been famous or in the public eye and what professions they'd have ended up in?
As you're aware, the reason for starting this thread was to get some good honest opinions from true fans and what you and others have contributed so far have been helpful.
Thanks and all the best!
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Post by More Play Time on Mar 8, 2018 17:30:12 GMT -5
I wonder what the Fab 5 might have looked like if they'd have never been famous or in the public eye and what professions they'd have ended up in? I'm not sure what the stock answers are anymore, I think Nick wanted to be a designer and John wanted to sell cars. In this video they also mention being compared to the Beatles:
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martin1970
I posted a little more
*Watching*
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Post by martin1970 on Mar 8, 2018 20:29:26 GMT -5
Just caught up on this thread, thought i would add my views. I can see you guys are good but i kind of agree with the builder rolly polly image. Dial8 - i can see the passion you have for this and your band are very good, but as you are requesting feedback i think your vocals need a lot of training as they are not consistent and on key. Don't get me wrong they are good but a little uncontrolled and out of tune. your image is amazing and the drummer bloody hits those drums hard !!! - i see your comments about other DD tribs, i will have a wonder about the internet, take a look at them and report back my thoughts.
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Post by dial8 on Mar 9, 2018 17:47:53 GMT -5
Hi martin1970! I see you’re new round here, only 4 days old and just a 'baby member'! Lol! The YouTube clips from The Musician are filmed on a night that I had particularly bad congestion which was left from a chest infection I've been fighting since late December, so I was straining for notes I usually reach a lot more comfortably. I do work at getting Mr Le Bon's intonation as close as possible and in doing so probably forgo the pitch accuracy. Simon Le Bon is such an underrated singer and emulating him is tough, but I feel I need to give our crowds that same familiar style of his that he delivers so well and so consistently, show after show! By any chance are you a singer yourself? To save you some time in looking for other UK DD tributes let me help you out with one of the other tribute bands on the tribute circuit at the moment, they're a newbie just like you, and called 'Planet Duran'! Their singer Simon Lee Baker (SLB!!!) posted a thread here back in October announcing to the message board his new band! (see link below) duranduranboard.proboards.com/thread/37357/new-tribute-band-planet-duran?page=1&scrollTo=393506As you will see from the link he didn't like the reviews he got and promptly deleted his initial post as I think he found being compared to Andy Wickett was too much to take! Lol! The funny thing is he did one show for DURAN - UK Duran Duran Tribute Show after my very good friend Gwyn Evans hung up his microphone. Gwyn was a tough act to follow and in January 2017 Simon Lee Baker was promptly dropped by the guys for not cutting the mustard! Apparently not only did he not sound anything like Simon Le Bon, but he was a bit shy of the crowd too! By all accounts he's a good singer and has worked with lots of bands in the past, but he just wasn't a SLB! Lol! Presently I'm enjoying my time with DURAN and hopefully over the years our show will grow stronger in performance, look and energy as we're so passionate about their music and strive to get it as close to the Fab 5 as possible. All the best.
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Post by dial8 on Mar 10, 2018 4:03:30 GMT -5
Hi Skinburn, you’re quite perceptive and I thought I was being subtle! Lol!
Look, I’ll be the first to admit there is some ‘bad blood’ going on, but not without good reason! I’m not going to go into the details here as I doubt that you or the majority reading this would be interested, and I choose to spare the person referenced in my last post further embarrassment.
There are numerous tributes to DD out there and largely we all get on. I used to regularly watch D-Ran D-Ran who were one of the first tributes and D2 are great bunch of guys, with several of DURAN’s band members, past and present, deputing for them. I guess there’s always going to be healthy competition between us and audiences will have their favourite tribute for differing reasons. As I said earlier there’s a good reason why I posted what I did which I’ll share to you privately if you so wish to know.
The comment deleted from the thread was written by our synth player Darran. Whilst editing it he somehow managed to delete it! Darran started DURAN in the early 00’s out of a desire and passion to play the music of DD live. He remains to this day as passionate as ever about recreating the music of theirs, with his growing synth collection being a testament to that in itself!
Out of the 5 of us 4 are fans of DD and with each song of theirs we play we aim to get it sounding as close as we can to the original, refusing to use commercially available karaoke multi-tracks, which in my opinion cheapen the music of DD. I appreciate that not everyone likes tributes, but so many fans do and we see the importance of getting at least the sound right. Every show we play we witness from our audience’s reaction and participation that it’s the music which gets them moving, clearly taking them back to a time and place in their lives that they treasure. Music has that power!
I’m a huge DM fan too and have seen the band live on numerous occasions. I’ve heard great things about Strangelove, but have yet to go to their show. I’ll try and catch them at some point.
As for the name DURAN, it’s a persons name, so I don’t see an issue with that, or for any of the other tributes using it.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts Skinburn, as well as that video. Until the next time, adios amigos!
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martin1970
I posted a little more
*Watching*
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Post by martin1970 on Mar 10, 2018 12:22:31 GMT -5
Dial8, are you choosing to plan a war with me also??? …. baby? - I do not have to explain myself to you - you was a baby at one time remember!!! - I’m now semi-retired and have time for this & yes I was a vocal coach for 35 Years. And it’s just not skinburn that can see the gripe you have with SLB. Looking at ALL videos you have posted (not just one venue) your vocals are consistent in relation to what I was commenting on earlier so you cannot blame this on bad congestion. As for looking at other DD tribs (your comment of they being newbie like me!!!) Grow up!!! - This forums for DD Chat not tribute bashing - keep your discreet comments between you & SLB. All i can say is you must feel threatened, do not know why as they are in a different league to yourself, i agree with more play time AAA* for music backing - and his Andy Wicket comments are his own personal choice. I see they have a promo vid - professional looking website - good FB etc (I can only presume that you ARE jealous). As i have worked in the industry i also know about multi-tracks & the fact you cannot get PLANET EARTH (Planet Duran’s Promo) on multitrack so once again i agree with More Play Time AAA* - well done PLANET DURAN (this also goes for quite a few other DD tracks - i applore anyone that gives the music scene a go and keeps live music alive!!! They may not be everyone’s cup of tea but from the research i have done they are bloody good IMHO - here is a link i found to their FIRST live show To me His vocal range is amazing (low notes e.g. - the chauffer & More songs plus his high notes - Ordinary World - may i add this is his modal voice 'normal range' not falsetto!!! and his vocals ARE consistent). He looks to me like he knows how to entertain the crowd & the band looks like they have been together for years. When i go to see live shows, MOST sound great on the night but its video playback where you realise and to me PLANET Duran are very consistent. This in my eyes is WAY better than any i have seen of yours. Like i said good luck as your BAND are very good. I'm not posting or saying any more on the matter - YOU and your band are good and i believe SIMON is more grown up & the better man as he has not retaliated (interesting as that may have been) and I’m sure he's viewing these comments. Sorry Dial8 but you have riled me and you asked for the truth.
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