Pro Backup Singers

[gogoblender 3,073]

Well...are they?

I mean in a concert, for instance. I was just watching an elo dvd that my friend gave me...the Zoom one. And in it Jeff Lyne, is singing...and this gorgeous blond girl is slightly behind him and doing the backups.

Jeff Lyne, has a great voice and he's the star...but wouldn't it be so easy for the backup singer to just "shine" more and out star the star? Do you think pro backup singers are purposefully coached to NOT stick out...to remain in the background? Kind of goes against human nature, right? I mean you're on a stage...and you want to connect to the peeps...but the JOB..is to stay in the background. More than anything, along with the huge voice talent a backup singer needs...they also have to know how to keep their place.

Right?

 

 

gogo

[Indy13 5]

Gogo, was this thread influenced by an ovedose of msg?

 

[Funkilicious 1]

Gogo, was this thread influenced by an ovedose of msg?

 

 

oh too funny Indy

[gogoblender 3,073]

LOL!

ahhh. maybe ^^

But...just looking at the way the band was performing...at her height, her over exagerated largesse ...I couldn't help to wonder how someone like that keeps a very good secondary presence. And it got me to thinking about the whole concept of being a backup anything. Yes we know they are needed...but how would you feel as a backup singer?

I mean..is that what you wanted to grow up to be...a backup singer...rather than Madonna? Don't you think that part of the girl who always wanted to be Madonna...would try to break out and be the star?

 

 

Oh well..strange, late night thoughts...

 

 

gogo

[gial 2]

Remember -- Cheryl Crow was a backup with Eric Clapton for a long time. Clearly, it's a gig, and often a really god one. But I doubt it's the goal for most.

[Ankhanu 0]

Being the spotlight is less important than making a solid composition. Backup vocals are an important part of the overall sound; if they weren't there doing their part, but rather tried to be in the limelight, the song would fall apart.

 

So much in the music industry is being in the right place at the right time; so much luck. Being a backup vocalist isn't a bad gig... sure you're not the star, but at least you're part of it. Many artists who play support are fully deserving their own solo stardom, but the cosmos haven't aligned to put them there... really, discovery and discovery at the right moment within the state of the industry to make an impact is almost impossible. It's amazing that anyone manages in to get that sort of star status at all with how fickle the industry and consumers are.

 

Stardom is a stressful position as well; not everyone who seeks to perform seeks to be the center.

 

But, I also have the perspective of being a musician who plays an instrument that is applied primarily in a support function... bass players are rarely the stars in a band, but goddamn we're important

[Guest FrostElfTwin]

I can't imagine any performer not wanting a larger audience...

 

Getting on stage is a hard proposition... but once you make it there... you want to maximize the rush! Well for most I would imagine.

 

I had the privilege of meeting a guy who was a band member (drums IIRC) for a touring band in Canada. They did cover tunes and travelled from bar to bar. It was weird.

 

The band members got their own rooms (worst ones in the place)--and this guy brought his own cleaning supplies to clean the bathroom before he used it. We're talking "gas station washroom" quality crud! *Blech!*

 

I asked him about the "I'm in a band" phenominum. You know, to quote the song, "get your chicks for free"... And he said the guitar player had it like that. The lead singer didn't--cause he was in a gay-monogomous relationship with one of the other band members. And the drum player was monogomous too (with his high school sweetheart he eventually married). So, the single, strait member of the band would be approached by a groupie... at least some of the time.

 

The gig paid money, but you had to travel everywhere by car, sometimes hauling amplifiers and such. You worked in the evenings and your days could be pretty empty... new town... the drummer only practiced an hour or so a day... (unlike the guitar player who was constantly practicing) He solved his boredom issue by taking a mountain bike along and riding around all day.

 

The gig paid money, but too much.

 

I suppose the forces (re economics) of the business is the same today. (He toured for 11 years with about 3 different bands) Young people willing to do all this for the stage time. The excitement. The thrill. The naughtiness of working after sundown.

 

Ah well. The life.

[Ankhanu 0]

Yeah, I've known many a touring band... the money is terrible and tours often end up costing the band money Most I know aren't in it for the chicks or what have you, they genuinely love making music. Mind you, none of the touring bands I know are cover bands, they write their own material, so that might have something to do with it. They'd be playing whether there was an audience or not.