They remind me of the atrocious combos that used to perform in the Mecca dance halls in the 1960s prior to the welcome introduction of discotheques.
The Dave Arch Band Are They Really That Bad
2 of 4
Have they changed the singers this year, they sound a lot better than the previous 2 years at least.
Bearing in mind the limitations of a sixteen piece band rather than the old-fashioned huge dance bands (I used to play in a school 'big band' once upon a time), I think they do a pretty good job and have proved to be incredibly versatile. I've been following one of the band guys on twitter, and he writes a blog. Anyone seen it? This, interestingly, from last week:
"You may wish to stop reading now but I would just like to take a little time to tell a tail from our perspective. When an artiste like prince, for example, records a song, he will take as long as he feels he needs to record it, he will also put what ever he wants on it, multi tracking maybe 7 tracks of guitars or more, numerous layers of synths, percussion, brass, strings, and, when it comes to vocals, there is no end, could be 1 to 50 or anywhere above or between. Then, he will take as much time as he feels he needs to mix it, could be a day, could be 4 months. So, how do we a band of 8 brass, 2 Guitars, Bass, Drums, Percussion, 2 Keyboards, 3 singers and 1 MD, (who will play some extra Keyboards, Guitar or Percussion. If his conducting allows), and a sound department, and we are lucky to have the best guys in TV do the Strictly sound by the by. Who get 45 minutes to sound check us, then 3 goes at hearing us play any one song before the live show. Not to mention all the rest of their sound duties, 5.1, HD, Dancers/celeb/presenter/audience mics etc. Anyway, How do we all make it sound like the record? Well, we don’t, because it is impossible to. All the above should tell you why, that and the fact the actual artiste isn’t singing with us, and if he/she would, they would not come and sing a one and a half minute version of their master piece, who could blame them. So this is what we try and do. We try to get as close as possible. Dave writes down every note of the song we’re doing. Then condenses the 7 tracks of guitars etc to work with 2. The same with the brass. If we’re doing a big band Sinatra track which has 14 brass player and a 40 piece string section for example. He will re voice it to work with our band line up. It is a real skill and Dave is as good as it gets at doing it. Lets not forget he could be doing up to 20 songs a week at the start of the series. Although he gets a couple of weeks notice before the first show. Then he finds out what the next week’s songs will be after the Saturday show. Leaving 4/5 days to do the lot.
We all love the versions of the songs we know by the original singers and musicians. I know I do. We are sorry if we get it wrong some times, bum note here, singer to loud or to quite in the mix there. But we love Strictly and do our best to come as close as we can to the original tracks for the Dancers and for you, the viewer. I know the dancers appreciate what we do and love dancing to a live band, as they have told me on more then one occasion. The American Version of the show has more budget and a bigger band, 24+ I’m told. But that’s the land of plenty. We all do our best to produce the best show we can. I hope you like what we do more then you don’t like it.
Didn’t mean to bore you with a mini rant, just some time’s it’s nice to know how much we, along with everyone on the show, put into it."
It's always easy to sit and snipe from the sidelines. Live performances rarely sound as polished as recordings, so unless you want to go to recorded music which would be a shame IMO, then other than the show using a much bigger pool of musicians and giving them much more time to arrange and rehearse, I'm not sure what can be done, and if it needs to be. It's also worth mentioning that sometimes it's the mixing that's at fault, so perhaps the sound engineers should share some of the criticism. One other thing I'll say is that I thought the music was pretty good on the live tour. I belive it was the same band, and singers, but could be wrong so anyone else know?
"You may wish to stop reading now but I would just like to take a little time to tell a tail from our perspective. When an artiste like prince, for example, records a song, he will take as long as he feels he needs to record it, he will also put what ever he wants on it, multi tracking maybe 7 tracks of guitars or more, numerous layers of synths, percussion, brass, strings, and, when it comes to vocals, there is no end, could be 1 to 50 or anywhere above or between. Then, he will take as much time as he feels he needs to mix it, could be a day, could be 4 months. So, how do we a band of 8 brass, 2 Guitars, Bass, Drums, Percussion, 2 Keyboards, 3 singers and 1 MD, (who will play some extra Keyboards, Guitar or Percussion. If his conducting allows), and a sound department, and we are lucky to have the best guys in TV do the Strictly sound by the by. Who get 45 minutes to sound check us, then 3 goes at hearing us play any one song before the live show. Not to mention all the rest of their sound duties, 5.1, HD, Dancers/celeb/presenter/audience mics etc. Anyway, How do we all make it sound like the record? Well, we don’t, because it is impossible to. All the above should tell you why, that and the fact the actual artiste isn’t singing with us, and if he/she would, they would not come and sing a one and a half minute version of their master piece, who could blame them. So this is what we try and do. We try to get as close as possible. Dave writes down every note of the song we’re doing. Then condenses the 7 tracks of guitars etc to work with 2. The same with the brass. If we’re doing a big band Sinatra track which has 14 brass player and a 40 piece string section for example. He will re voice it to work with our band line up. It is a real skill and Dave is as good as it gets at doing it. Lets not forget he could be doing up to 20 songs a week at the start of the series. Although he gets a couple of weeks notice before the first show. Then he finds out what the next week’s songs will be after the Saturday show. Leaving 4/5 days to do the lot.
We all love the versions of the songs we know by the original singers and musicians. I know I do. We are sorry if we get it wrong some times, bum note here, singer to loud or to quite in the mix there. But we love Strictly and do our best to come as close as we can to the original tracks for the Dancers and for you, the viewer. I know the dancers appreciate what we do and love dancing to a live band, as they have told me on more then one occasion. The American Version of the show has more budget and a bigger band, 24+ I’m told. But that’s the land of plenty. We all do our best to produce the best show we can. I hope you like what we do more then you don’t like it.
Didn’t mean to bore you with a mini rant, just some time’s it’s nice to know how much we, along with everyone on the show, put into it."
It's always easy to sit and snipe from the sidelines. Live performances rarely sound as polished as recordings, so unless you want to go to recorded music which would be a shame IMO, then other than the show using a much bigger pool of musicians and giving them much more time to arrange and rehearse, I'm not sure what can be done, and if it needs to be. It's also worth mentioning that sometimes it's the mixing that's at fault, so perhaps the sound engineers should share some of the criticism. One other thing I'll say is that I thought the music was pretty good on the live tour. I belive it was the same band, and singers, but could be wrong so anyone else know?
The Muse song was an odd choice. But Ricky and Natlaie's Rock 'n' Roll music was just out of tune! It really put me off!! 
Originally Posted by SilverBird:
“Bearing in mind the limitations of a sixteen piece band rather than the old-fashioned huge dance bands (I used to play in a school 'big band' once upon a time), I think they do a pretty good job and have proved to be incredibly versatile. I've been following one of the band guys on twitter, and he writes a blog. Anyone seen it? This, interestingly, from last week:
It's always easy to sit and snipe from the sidelines. Live performances rarely sound as polished as recordings, so unless you want to go to recorded music which would be a shame IMO, then other than the show using a much bigger pool of musicians and giving them much more time to arrange and rehearse, I'm not sure what can be done, and if it needs to be. It's also worth mentioning that sometimes it's the mixing that's at fault, so perhaps the sound engineers should share some of the criticism. One other thing I'll say is that I thought the music was pretty good on the live tour. I belive it was the same band, and singers, but could be wrong so anyone else know?”
“Bearing in mind the limitations of a sixteen piece band rather than the old-fashioned huge dance bands (I used to play in a school 'big band' once upon a time), I think they do a pretty good job and have proved to be incredibly versatile. I've been following one of the band guys on twitter, and he writes a blog. Anyone seen it? This, interestingly, from last week:
It's always easy to sit and snipe from the sidelines. Live performances rarely sound as polished as recordings, so unless you want to go to recorded music which would be a shame IMO, then other than the show using a much bigger pool of musicians and giving them much more time to arrange and rehearse, I'm not sure what can be done, and if it needs to be. It's also worth mentioning that sometimes it's the mixing that's at fault, so perhaps the sound engineers should share some of the criticism. One other thing I'll say is that I thought the music was pretty good on the live tour. I belive it was the same band, and singers, but could be wrong so anyone else know?”
Its when Arch messes around with the song, thats what annoys people, when a song is meant to be sung in a certain key and speed you dont bugger about with it, I bet Robbie Willaims wouldnt like Angels performed as a fox-trot
Originally Posted by SilverBird:
“
It's always easy to sit and snipe from the sidelines. Live performances rarely sound as polished as recordings, so unless you want to go to recorded music which would be a shame IMO, then other than the show using a much bigger pool of musicians and giving them much more time to arrange and rehearse, I'm not sure what can be done, and if it needs to be. It's also worth mentioning that sometimes it's the mixing that's at fault, so perhaps the sound engineers should share some of the criticism. One other thing I'll say is that I thought the music was pretty good on the live tour. I belive it was the same band, and singers, but could be wrong so anyone else know?”
“
It's always easy to sit and snipe from the sidelines. Live performances rarely sound as polished as recordings, so unless you want to go to recorded music which would be a shame IMO, then other than the show using a much bigger pool of musicians and giving them much more time to arrange and rehearse, I'm not sure what can be done, and if it needs to be. It's also worth mentioning that sometimes it's the mixing that's at fault, so perhaps the sound engineers should share some of the criticism. One other thing I'll say is that I thought the music was pretty good on the live tour. I belive it was the same band, and singers, but could be wrong so anyone else know?”
I can see the band guy's point but I think it's a bit weak to say that people think they sound off at times because they are comparing them to recordings. I am a trained musician and am certainly not comparing them to recordings but to good professional live musicians.
Originally Posted by -meisje-:
“II am a trained musician and am certainly not comparing them to recordings but to good professional live musicians.”
“II am a trained musician and am certainly not comparing them to recordings but to good professional live musicians.”
So as a Musican would you say in your opinion, messing around with songs is a good idea, as some sound so strained it hurts
Originally Posted by Tabbythecat:
“So as a Musican would you say in your opinion, messing around with songs is a good idea, as some sound so strained it hurts”
“So as a Musican would you say in your opinion, messing around with songs is a good idea, as some sound so strained it hurts”
I think it can work but not with so little rehearsal time and you really need someone with an awful lot of talent to arrange it. I actually think the band don't do a bad job as performers to be honest. It's the arrangements that sound amateurish at times.
My issue is really with the singers. The black guy is really good at Sinatra-type numbers or Motown but the women just don't seem to be able to sing anything well. They are not always out of tune but they have horrible voices IMO.
I really don't have a problem with the band. Most of the time I don't have a problem with the singers either, although occasionally I will think to myself, "God, the singer is murdering this song!" I think it also depends a lot on whether you know the song or the piece of music because then you've got something to compare!
I'd give the band a 9!
I'd give the band a 9!
The situation with the band will always be a compromise, as I mentioned before with the penny-pinching attitude of the BBC. It's as if they are ashamed of it as they're hidden away at the back of the studio. The argument will be that they don't want to detract from the dancers.
But they won't if the cameras don't focus on them for long.
I like the old fashioned set up where dance bands were treated with more respect.
http://www.mosaicrecords.com/images/.../229-MD-CD.jpg
I'd take up the point made by the band member.
The photo of Count Basie's band I linked shows about a dozen musicians, plus one singer.
Sixteen was the average number in most of the touring "big bands" of the thirties and forties, some less, some a few more, these were household names.
We know Dave Arch brings in extra musicians, if for example strings are required.
But they won't if the cameras don't focus on them for long.
I like the old fashioned set up where dance bands were treated with more respect.
http://www.mosaicrecords.com/images/.../229-MD-CD.jpg
I'd take up the point made by the band member.
The photo of Count Basie's band I linked shows about a dozen musicians, plus one singer.
Sixteen was the average number in most of the touring "big bands" of the thirties and forties, some less, some a few more, these were household names.
We know Dave Arch brings in extra musicians, if for example strings are required.
Originally Posted by SilverBird:
“Bearing in mind the limitations of a sixteen piece band rather than the old-fashioned huge dance bands (I used to play in a school 'big band' once upon a time), I think they do a pretty good job and have proved to be incredibly versatile. I've been following one of the band guys on twitter, and he writes a blog. Anyone seen it? This, interestingly, from last week:
"You may wish to stop reading now but I would just like to take a little time to tell a tail from our perspective. When an artiste like prince, for example, records a song, he will take as long as he feels he needs to record it, he will also put what ever he wants on it, multi tracking maybe 7 tracks of guitars or more, numerous layers of synths, percussion, brass, strings, and, when it comes to vocals, there is no end, could be 1 to 50 or anywhere above or between. Then, he will take as much time as he feels he needs to mix it, could be a day, could be 4 months. So, how do we a band of 8 brass, 2 Guitars, Bass, Drums, Percussion, 2 Keyboards, 3 singers and 1 MD, (who will play some extra Keyboards, Guitar or Percussion. If his conducting allows), and a sound department, and we are lucky to have the best guys in TV do the Strictly sound by the by. Who get 45 minutes to sound check us, then 3 goes at hearing us play any one song before the live show. Not to mention all the rest of their sound duties, 5.1, HD, Dancers/celeb/presenter/audience mics etc. Anyway, How do we all make it sound like the record? Well, we don’t, because it is impossible to. All the above should tell you why, that and the fact the actual artiste isn’t singing with us, and if he/she would, they would not come and sing a one and a half minute version of their master piece, who could blame them. So this is what we try and do. We try to get as close as possible. Dave writes down every note of the song we’re doing. Then condenses the 7 tracks of guitars etc to work with 2. The same with the brass. If we’re doing a big band Sinatra track which has 14 brass player and a 40 piece string section for example. He will re voice it to work with our band line up. It is a real skill and Dave is as good as it gets at doing it. Lets not forget he could be doing up to 20 songs a week at the start of the series. Although he gets a couple of weeks notice before the first show. Then he finds out what the next week’s songs will be after the Saturday show. Leaving 4/5 days to do the lot.
We all love the versions of the songs we know by the original singers and musicians. I know I do. We are sorry if we get it wrong some times, bum note here, singer to loud or to quite in the mix there. But we love Strictly and do our best to come as close as we can to the original tracks for the Dancers and for you, the viewer. I know the dancers appreciate what we do and love dancing to a live band, as they have told me on more then one occasion. The American Version of the show has more budget and a bigger band, 24+ I’m told. But that’s the land of plenty. We all do our best to produce the best show we can. I hope you like what we do more then you don’t like it.
Didn’t mean to bore you with a mini rant, just some time’s it’s nice to know how much we, along with everyone on the show, put into it."
It's always easy to sit and snipe from the sidelines. Live performances rarely sound as polished as recordings, so unless you want to go to recorded music which would be a shame IMO, then other than the show using a much bigger pool of musicians and giving them much more time to arrange and rehearse, I'm not sure what can be done, and if it needs to be. It's also worth mentioning that sometimes it's the mixing that's at fault, so perhaps the sound engineers should share some of the criticism. One other thing I'll say is that I thought the music was pretty good on the live tour.[ but could be wI belive it was the same band, and singers, rong so anyone else know?]”
“Bearing in mind the limitations of a sixteen piece band rather than the old-fashioned huge dance bands (I used to play in a school 'big band' once upon a time), I think they do a pretty good job and have proved to be incredibly versatile. I've been following one of the band guys on twitter, and he writes a blog. Anyone seen it? This, interestingly, from last week:
"You may wish to stop reading now but I would just like to take a little time to tell a tail from our perspective. When an artiste like prince, for example, records a song, he will take as long as he feels he needs to record it, he will also put what ever he wants on it, multi tracking maybe 7 tracks of guitars or more, numerous layers of synths, percussion, brass, strings, and, when it comes to vocals, there is no end, could be 1 to 50 or anywhere above or between. Then, he will take as much time as he feels he needs to mix it, could be a day, could be 4 months. So, how do we a band of 8 brass, 2 Guitars, Bass, Drums, Percussion, 2 Keyboards, 3 singers and 1 MD, (who will play some extra Keyboards, Guitar or Percussion. If his conducting allows), and a sound department, and we are lucky to have the best guys in TV do the Strictly sound by the by. Who get 45 minutes to sound check us, then 3 goes at hearing us play any one song before the live show. Not to mention all the rest of their sound duties, 5.1, HD, Dancers/celeb/presenter/audience mics etc. Anyway, How do we all make it sound like the record? Well, we don’t, because it is impossible to. All the above should tell you why, that and the fact the actual artiste isn’t singing with us, and if he/she would, they would not come and sing a one and a half minute version of their master piece, who could blame them. So this is what we try and do. We try to get as close as possible. Dave writes down every note of the song we’re doing. Then condenses the 7 tracks of guitars etc to work with 2. The same with the brass. If we’re doing a big band Sinatra track which has 14 brass player and a 40 piece string section for example. He will re voice it to work with our band line up. It is a real skill and Dave is as good as it gets at doing it. Lets not forget he could be doing up to 20 songs a week at the start of the series. Although he gets a couple of weeks notice before the first show. Then he finds out what the next week’s songs will be after the Saturday show. Leaving 4/5 days to do the lot.
We all love the versions of the songs we know by the original singers and musicians. I know I do. We are sorry if we get it wrong some times, bum note here, singer to loud or to quite in the mix there. But we love Strictly and do our best to come as close as we can to the original tracks for the Dancers and for you, the viewer. I know the dancers appreciate what we do and love dancing to a live band, as they have told me on more then one occasion. The American Version of the show has more budget and a bigger band, 24+ I’m told. But that’s the land of plenty. We all do our best to produce the best show we can. I hope you like what we do more then you don’t like it.
Didn’t mean to bore you with a mini rant, just some time’s it’s nice to know how much we, along with everyone on the show, put into it."
It's always easy to sit and snipe from the sidelines. Live performances rarely sound as polished as recordings, so unless you want to go to recorded music which would be a shame IMO, then other than the show using a much bigger pool of musicians and giving them much more time to arrange and rehearse, I'm not sure what can be done, and if it needs to be. It's also worth mentioning that sometimes it's the mixing that's at fault, so perhaps the sound engineers should share some of the criticism. One other thing I'll say is that I thought the music was pretty good on the live tour.[ but could be wI belive it was the same band, and singers, rong so anyone else know?]”
Yes they are the same band as on the tour
Originally Posted by SilverBird:
“Bearing in mind the limitations of a sixteen piece band rather than the old-fashioned huge dance bands (I used to play in a school 'big band' once upon a time), I think they do a pretty good job and have proved to be incredibly versatile. I've been following one of the band guys on twitter, and he writes a blog. Anyone seen it? This, interestingly, from last week:
"You may wish to stop reading now but I would just like to take a little time to tell a tail from our perspective. When an artiste like prince, for example, records a song, he will take as long as he feels he needs to record it, he will also put what ever he wants on it, multi tracking maybe 7 tracks of guitars or more, numerous layers of synths, percussion, brass, strings, and, when it comes to vocals, there is no end, could be 1 to 50 or anywhere above or between. Then, he will take as much time as he feels he needs to mix it, could be a day, could be 4 months. So, how do we a band of 8 brass, 2 Guitars, Bass, Drums, Percussion, 2 Keyboards, 3 singers and 1 MD, (who will play some extra Keyboards, Guitar or Percussion. If his conducting allows), and a sound department, and we are lucky to have the best guys in TV do the Strictly sound by the by. Who get 45 minutes to sound check us, then 3 goes at hearing us play any one song before the live show. Not to mention all the rest of their sound duties, 5.1, HD, Dancers/celeb/presenter/audience mics etc. Anyway, How do we all make it sound like the record? Well, we don’t, because it is impossible to. All the above should tell you why, that and the fact the actual artiste isn’t singing with us, and if he/she would, they would not come and sing a one and a half minute version of their master piece, who could blame them. So this is what we try and do. We try to get as close as possible. Dave writes down every note of the song we’re doing. Then condenses the 7 tracks of guitars etc to work with 2. The same with the brass. If we’re doing a big band Sinatra track which has 14 brass player and a 40 piece string section for example. He will re voice it to work with our band line up. It is a real skill and Dave is as good as it gets at doing it. Lets not forget he could be doing up to 20 songs a week at the start of the series. Although he gets a couple of weeks notice before the first show. Then he finds out what the next week’s songs will be after the Saturday show. Leaving 4/5 days to do the lot.
We all love the versions of the songs we know by the original singers and musicians. I know I do. We are sorry if we get it wrong some times, bum note here, singer to loud or to quite in the mix there. But we love Strictly and do our best to come as close as we can to the original tracks for the Dancers and for you, the viewer. I know the dancers appreciate what we do and love dancing to a live band, as they have told me on more then one occasion. The American Version of the show has more budget and a bigger band, 24+ I’m told. But that’s the land of plenty. We all do our best to produce the best show we can. I hope you like what we do more then you don’t like it.
Didn’t mean to bore you with a mini rant, just some time’s it’s nice to know how much we, along with everyone on the show, put into it."
It's always easy to sit and snipe from the sidelines. Live performances rarely sound as polished as recordings, so unless you want to go to recorded music which would be a shame IMO, then other than the show using a much bigger pool of musicians and giving them much more time to arrange and rehearse, I'm not sure what can be done, and if it needs to be. It's also worth mentioning that sometimes it's the mixing that's at fault, so perhaps the sound engineers should share some of the criticism. One other thing I'll say is that I thought the music was pretty good on the live tour. I belive it was the same band, and singers, but could be wrong so anyone else know?”
“Bearing in mind the limitations of a sixteen piece band rather than the old-fashioned huge dance bands (I used to play in a school 'big band' once upon a time), I think they do a pretty good job and have proved to be incredibly versatile. I've been following one of the band guys on twitter, and he writes a blog. Anyone seen it? This, interestingly, from last week:
"You may wish to stop reading now but I would just like to take a little time to tell a tail from our perspective. When an artiste like prince, for example, records a song, he will take as long as he feels he needs to record it, he will also put what ever he wants on it, multi tracking maybe 7 tracks of guitars or more, numerous layers of synths, percussion, brass, strings, and, when it comes to vocals, there is no end, could be 1 to 50 or anywhere above or between. Then, he will take as much time as he feels he needs to mix it, could be a day, could be 4 months. So, how do we a band of 8 brass, 2 Guitars, Bass, Drums, Percussion, 2 Keyboards, 3 singers and 1 MD, (who will play some extra Keyboards, Guitar or Percussion. If his conducting allows), and a sound department, and we are lucky to have the best guys in TV do the Strictly sound by the by. Who get 45 minutes to sound check us, then 3 goes at hearing us play any one song before the live show. Not to mention all the rest of their sound duties, 5.1, HD, Dancers/celeb/presenter/audience mics etc. Anyway, How do we all make it sound like the record? Well, we don’t, because it is impossible to. All the above should tell you why, that and the fact the actual artiste isn’t singing with us, and if he/she would, they would not come and sing a one and a half minute version of their master piece, who could blame them. So this is what we try and do. We try to get as close as possible. Dave writes down every note of the song we’re doing. Then condenses the 7 tracks of guitars etc to work with 2. The same with the brass. If we’re doing a big band Sinatra track which has 14 brass player and a 40 piece string section for example. He will re voice it to work with our band line up. It is a real skill and Dave is as good as it gets at doing it. Lets not forget he could be doing up to 20 songs a week at the start of the series. Although he gets a couple of weeks notice before the first show. Then he finds out what the next week’s songs will be after the Saturday show. Leaving 4/5 days to do the lot.
We all love the versions of the songs we know by the original singers and musicians. I know I do. We are sorry if we get it wrong some times, bum note here, singer to loud or to quite in the mix there. But we love Strictly and do our best to come as close as we can to the original tracks for the Dancers and for you, the viewer. I know the dancers appreciate what we do and love dancing to a live band, as they have told me on more then one occasion. The American Version of the show has more budget and a bigger band, 24+ I’m told. But that’s the land of plenty. We all do our best to produce the best show we can. I hope you like what we do more then you don’t like it.
Didn’t mean to bore you with a mini rant, just some time’s it’s nice to know how much we, along with everyone on the show, put into it."
It's always easy to sit and snipe from the sidelines. Live performances rarely sound as polished as recordings, so unless you want to go to recorded music which would be a shame IMO, then other than the show using a much bigger pool of musicians and giving them much more time to arrange and rehearse, I'm not sure what can be done, and if it needs to be. It's also worth mentioning that sometimes it's the mixing that's at fault, so perhaps the sound engineers should share some of the criticism. One other thing I'll say is that I thought the music was pretty good on the live tour. I belive it was the same band, and singers, but could be wrong so anyone else know?”
Hi all,
As the only singer in one of the ballroom house bands around the end of the 60s, early 70s, I'm able to appreciate the band member's veiwpoint. IMO, under the circumstances, the band and singers do an excellent job.
The only thing that gets up my nose, is the sound of too many members of the audience marking time by clapping on-beat throughout the arrangement, no matter the pulse or feel of the music. Why bother with a rhythm section? Can't they just be quiet, and leave it to the professionals?
Kj
Did you not see the ITT detailed description of the music process? Thechoice is nothing to do with the band - they are given the music on the Saturday afternoon! I thought they must mean Friday, but they said Saturday. Bearing that in mind they do an absolutely brilliant job and those moaning on here about the choice are not critisising the right people.
It's the classic whinge factor you get in this country when someone produces a mediocre product.
'You have no idea how hard it is; we're doing our best'. Yadda, yadda.
Yes, but how long have you been the SCD band Dave? Eh? It's not like it's been sprung on you. If it doesn't work for you change the process. Play recorded music. Get better singers. Pull your socks up. You're supposed to be professionals.
Listen to the USA's Dancing with the Stars band - and weep!
I have the greatest respect for musicians, I really do. I'd stand up for them any day but Dive Arch and his Band are pants. Sorry, but they just don't get better with time. What Series are we on? Exactly.
'You have no idea how hard it is; we're doing our best'. Yadda, yadda.
Yes, but how long have you been the SCD band Dave? Eh? It's not like it's been sprung on you. If it doesn't work for you change the process. Play recorded music. Get better singers. Pull your socks up. You're supposed to be professionals.
Listen to the USA's Dancing with the Stars band - and weep!
I have the greatest respect for musicians, I really do. I'd stand up for them any day but Dive Arch and his Band are pants. Sorry, but they just don't get better with time. What Series are we on? Exactly.
One thing's for sure that when they get some decent music to play like the three delicious tunes for the Charlestons (yes sir, that's my baby...God alive, a 20s standard on SCD!!!) they can actually sound quite good.
But nah...I'm, still waving the flag for Laurie Holloway.
But nah...I'm, still waving the flag for Laurie Holloway.
Tbh I always thought they were pretty cr@ppy. And if you judge them by objective criteria - they still are!
BUT - given the exacting working conditions and deadlines described on ITT they are heroes. I'm a pianist/organist and I choose what to play or have at least one week's notice. Nobody makes me orchestrate anything for multiple parts and I don't have to transpose to suit a particular voice or edit to make a piece fit 90 seconds. Nor does someone ask me to change the piece at a dress rehearsal to better suit some third party!
I take back all the criticism I ever directed at them. Sorry, DA.
BUT - given the exacting working conditions and deadlines described on ITT they are heroes. I'm a pianist/organist and I choose what to play or have at least one week's notice. Nobody makes me orchestrate anything for multiple parts and I don't have to transpose to suit a particular voice or edit to make a piece fit 90 seconds. Nor does someone ask me to change the piece at a dress rehearsal to better suit some third party!
I take back all the criticism I ever directed at them. Sorry, DA.
Originally Posted by ESPIONdansant:
“Tbh I always thought they were pretty cr@ppy. And if you judge them by objective criteria - they still are!
BUT - given the exacting working conditions and deadlines described on ITT they are heroes. I'm a pianist/organist and I choose what to play or have at least one week's notice. Nobody makes me orchestrate anything for multiple parts and I don't have to transpose to suit a particular voice or edit to make a piece fit 90 seconds. Nor does someone ask me to change the piece at a dress rehearsal to better suit some third party!
I take back all the criticism I ever directed at them. Sorry, DA.”
“Tbh I always thought they were pretty cr@ppy. And if you judge them by objective criteria - they still are!
BUT - given the exacting working conditions and deadlines described on ITT they are heroes. I'm a pianist/organist and I choose what to play or have at least one week's notice. Nobody makes me orchestrate anything for multiple parts and I don't have to transpose to suit a particular voice or edit to make a piece fit 90 seconds. Nor does someone ask me to change the piece at a dress rehearsal to better suit some third party!
I take back all the criticism I ever directed at them. Sorry, DA.”
I must be feeling very susceptible ATM but just reading your first line is making me absolutely shake with laughter and tears down my face.......
Originally Posted by Kez100:
“Did you not see the ITT detailed description of the music process? Thechoice is nothing to do with the band - they are given the music on the Saturday afternoon! I thought they must mean Friday, but they said Saturday. Bearing that in mind they do an absolutely brilliant job and those moaning on here about the choice are not critisising the right people.”
“Did you not see the ITT detailed description of the music process? Thechoice is nothing to do with the band - they are given the music on the Saturday afternoon! I thought they must mean Friday, but they said Saturday. Bearing that in mind they do an absolutely brilliant job and those moaning on here about the choice are not critisising the right people.”
I did - I'm full of admiration for the job they have to do, which is amazing, given the time constraints.
Some people also don't seem to take into account that they have professional careers away from SCD too - Tommy and Dave are appearing at the 606 club nex week - and a song of Hayley's was recently a track of the week on Jazzfm - at least those in the music industry appreciate them.
The band are pretty good for the amount of time they get to arrange the songs, and one dress rehearsal while other technical equipment is being checked around the studio. I have always loved Tommy Blaize's voice, and think Hayley has really improved over the last few series, no idea where the other female singer has gone though. Vanishing, odd! Read on their website how much notice and practice they get!
Dunno if everyone would agree that Dave Arch is pants/crap/rubbish etc etc.
He's got quite a list of credits for his session work - Westlife, Il Divo, Andrea Bocelli, Joni Mitchell, Greg Lake, Kelly Clarkson, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Robbie Williams, Michael Ball, Cliff Richard, Montserrat Caballé...etc etc
He's the pianist on Susan Boyle's album and anyone who's heard it will know that on several tracks, she's only accompanied by the piano.
I DO agree with doghouse's point though - the musical ship is spoiled for a ha'porth of tar, and if the BBC historically weren't so scared of losing Bruce, they might have had a few more quid to chuck in dave's direction so he could rustle up a bigger band with a bit more rehearsal time.
I have to compliment them on their stab at a Muse track for the Matt/Brendan pro dance on Saturday though - best chuckle I've had for a while!
He's got quite a list of credits for his session work - Westlife, Il Divo, Andrea Bocelli, Joni Mitchell, Greg Lake, Kelly Clarkson, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Robbie Williams, Michael Ball, Cliff Richard, Montserrat Caballé...etc etc
He's the pianist on Susan Boyle's album and anyone who's heard it will know that on several tracks, she's only accompanied by the piano.
I DO agree with doghouse's point though - the musical ship is spoiled for a ha'porth of tar, and if the BBC historically weren't so scared of losing Bruce, they might have had a few more quid to chuck in dave's direction so he could rustle up a bigger band with a bit more rehearsal time.
I have to compliment them on their stab at a Muse track for the Matt/Brendan pro dance on Saturday though - best chuckle I've had for a while!
Originally Posted by sofakat:
“It's the classic whinge factor you get in this country when someone produces a mediocre product.
'You have no idea how hard it is; we're doing our best'. Yadda, yadda.
Yes, but how long have you been the SCD band Dave? Eh? It's not like it's been sprung on you. If it doesn't work for you change the process. Play recorded music. Get better singers. Pull your socks up. You're supposed to be professionals.
Listen to the USA's Dancing with the Stars band - and weep!
I have the greatest respect for musicians, I really do. I'd stand up for them any day but Dive Arch and his Band are pants. Sorry, but they just don't get better with time. What Series are we on? Exactly.”
“It's the classic whinge factor you get in this country when someone produces a mediocre product.
'You have no idea how hard it is; we're doing our best'. Yadda, yadda.
Yes, but how long have you been the SCD band Dave? Eh? It's not like it's been sprung on you. If it doesn't work for you change the process. Play recorded music. Get better singers. Pull your socks up. You're supposed to be professionals.
Listen to the USA's Dancing with the Stars band - and weep!
I have the greatest respect for musicians, I really do. I'd stand up for them any day but Dive Arch and his Band are pants. Sorry, but they just don't get better with time. What Series are we on? Exactly.
”
What exactly do you not like about the band and how do you think it sould be improved?
I assume that you are a fellow musician and as such are aware of the restrictions that the band work under?
Genuinely I'd like to know your views on making things better.
Show me a band who can do better with multiple music styles and only four run throughs of an arrangement they've never played before a few hours before live performance.
As I've said before, any issues are not down to a lack of ability but a lack of preparation, which is totally out of their hands.
As I've said before, any issues are not down to a lack of ability but a lack of preparation, which is totally out of their hands.
Originally Posted by sofakat:
“It's the classic whinge factor you get in this country when someone produces a mediocre product.
Exactly.”
“It's the classic whinge factor you get in this country when someone produces a mediocre product.
Quote:
“'You have no idea how hard it is; we're doing our best'. Yadda, yadda.
Yes, but how long have you been the SCD band Dave? Eh? It's not like it's been sprung on you. If it doesn't work for you change the process. Play recorded music. Get better singers. Pull your socks up. You're supposed to be professionals.
Listen to the USA's Dancing with the Stars band - and weep!
I have the greatest respect for musicians, I really do. I'd stand up for them any day but Dive Arch and his Band are pants. Sorry, but they just don't get better with time. What Series are we on?”
“'You have no idea how hard it is; we're doing our best'. Yadda, yadda.
Yes, but how long have you been the SCD band Dave? Eh? It's not like it's been sprung on you. If it doesn't work for you change the process. Play recorded music. Get better singers. Pull your socks up. You're supposed to be professionals.
Listen to the USA's Dancing with the Stars band - and weep!
I have the greatest respect for musicians, I really do. I'd stand up for them any day but Dive Arch and his Band are pants. Sorry, but they just don't get better with time. What Series are we on?”
Exactly.
”
Lol, I've noticed that the majority of slagging comes from sad old wannabes who have never made it in the music industry & call themselves musicians/singers
........or folk who haven't got the first clue on how to play/sing the 'doerayme' factor...............Which one are you Sofakat (with claws)
I think they do an pretty good job considering everything that is expected of them and to do it in such a short time-scale is amazing.
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