I've only been to one of these -- the Rolling Stones edition -- and thought it was pretty good for the 10 minutes I stayed. Had to leave because there were 300 people in the place and I couldn't breath, let alone get a beer.

It sounded good and the vibe was like a big party. I wouldn't expect note-perfect renditions, especially since as you mention there's only a few people locally with truly good voices.

Generally speaking about the GSMS, I am not a fan of the concept. "A celebration of the music" is what I constantly hear it described as. OK, fine. But too close to karaoke for me.

Standard disclaimer here:

"Do not take my opinion as any slight against the hard work/good faith/nice asses of the people who participate. I support the scene, or at least used to before I got old and my band broke up."

Please don't misunderstand. I feel that the people involved in these events are for the most part quite good. It seems a lot of detail and attention is paid to the quality MUSIC but not so much the quality of the singers. If it is so important to get he music right should'nt the singers be able to sing. I'd much rather hear two or three really good singers than a parade of not so good ones. I don't agree that it is Karaoke but I do feel like I'm hearing some perfomers that ought to go back in the wood shed for a while. Overall the shows are fun and seem to draw all walks of life. It just appears (and this is just an opinion. I don't claim to know what it takes to put a show like this together) that 90% of the participants are the same each time. Maybe who ever puts these together should look for some new blood?

I'm not trying to piss any one off here. If I hated this stuff I wouldn't have attended show after show.

i appreciate oneoftheboys' point. the music was amazing and a couple tunes didn't quite have the vocals to match, but i think the point's overstated. in general, i think the singing was quite good. i like seeing the variety of folks up there.

to me it's not about note perfect vocal renditions.
see: laurence lavallee. not quite pitch perfect but his 'seasons in the sun' was great. damn funny and the crowd loved it.

i enjoyed seeing duncan and gabe up there, who i don't believe are vocalists by trade. they're no craig rawding, but both did fine jobs.

how about michael thibideau's house shaking 'sweet caroline'? the highlight of the night. dan jenkins' 'rhinestone cowboy' was killer. two master showmen right there.

In response to preahahroe "...the point is overstated." I agree. I don't want to be too knit oicky about all this. None of us are perfect! I just wanted to see if this was just a big ego stroking festival. In some ways I think it still is but I'm glad to see a few people are not afraid to be honest. I have to say I very much enjoyed Rhinestine Cowboy, The hall and oats stuff and the sister of the guitar player thatsang carly simon. So enough on this already! What else shall we talk about?

How about what a freekin liar and war criminal our president is!

No matter what is said, positive or negative, people are either going to kiss your ass or tell you to fuck off.

I don't bother expressing my opinions about local bands to anyone but my friends anymore. If I say I love a band, I get called a ball-washer. If I say I don't like a band, I get called a bitch, or people tell me that's why they love me. I wish people could take ANY personal feelings and but them aside when someone expresses an opinion.

When I said I didn't like Hothead, the lead singer avoided me like the plague. That's ridiculous. It's not like I said I hate them all as people. I don't even know them!

Either way, you really can't win with most of the people in Worcester, so I don't bother anymore. I like what I like, I hate what I hate, and in the long run, my opinion really doesn't mean a fucking thing.

I think anyone accusing anyone of any sort of circle jerk needs to pony up some names. I for one play in a lot of bands, there are only a handful of bands in the area that I like. I prefer playing shows with these bands. As a result I become friendly with these people. Is that a circle jerk? By some definitions it may be. Considering how often I play shows and how many bands tend to be on bills these days I would not call these shows circle jerks.

Maybe you aren't referring to our band.

So folks, who is participating in this circle jerk? I am dying to know.

Quote:

terrible_buddhist wrote:
A better job could be done for the bands though, I would think setting up a place for CDs to be handed out would go a long way.

are you talking about at a GSMS show? There is no way there would be room for that.

Remember back when the Dog fist opened that area where the big TV is used to be a merchandise area. I wish that was still there.

The bands have over 300 opportunities to promote themselves at those shows. There is nothing stopping anyone from walking up to anyone or from tossing out some cds from the stage before, during or after thier performance. There is also nothing stopping other bands not involved in the GSMS from going to the show and flyering for shows, talking to people, leaving a card on the windshields and any other general networking. I know that when I know there is a big show with hundreds of music fans in Worcester I am thinking about how I can reach them to promote my own shit.

The only thing I have to say about the circle jerk thing is that I hate being chastised for having friends. We play shows, as do most of the bands we are friends with, with many different people, from out of and in town. Why is it so bad that we all play together every once in a while.

I also agree with Buck and Duncan that the marketing for all shows, including ours, needs to be 1000x better. The GSMS is an ideal time for promotion, but I never use it. Whose fault is that? Me! And let me say the Duncan is only second to Buck when it comes to promotion of shows.

As for the criticism of the GSMS, I think it was very fair and I agree with portions of it. I think it's about time that someone not involved heavily in music in this area way in on what we have here. It always means so much more when the consumer is critical of the product.

Regarding additional promo at GSMS shows. It would be great if there was some type of program/flyer/contact sheet that listed the participants bands/websites, etc. Frankly, we barely end up with enough time to get the show put together and the stage rigged, so it's hard to find the time to do little extras like that at the last minute (although I think I'll try to do that research for the next one ahead of time).

Regarding the whole circle jerk theory: I agree that critical distance is a necessary thing, but the bands I like, I like, and I will tell them when they are good (which is often, and probably why I like them in the first place). If they ask me for my opinion on a set or a new song, I will tell them honestly what I think of it, pointing out good and bad points.

There are local bands that I don't particularly care for. I suppose I express my opinion by not going to see them (not that I get out to a ton of shows anymore anyway - I wish I could spend every night playing or listening to music). Shit, I'm the biggest critic of the stuff we play in the Bee's Knees, and always want to change and improve the songs/stage act/etc. There are lots of people that come up to me at shows and tell me that they don't like our music, but can appreciate our efforts. That is totally cool with me, and doesn't piss me off at all. It's just an opinion, and I welcome it, whether I agree with it or not.

I still think some of the best times I have had playing out are at Ralphs doing the acoustic thing...great atmosphere...good friends, and a great networking opportunity.

Quote:

duncan wrote:
I think anyone accusing anyone of any sort of circle jerk needs to pony up some names. I for one play in a lot of bands, there are only a handful of bands in the area that I like. I prefer playing shows with these bands. As a result I become friendly with these people. Is that a circle jerk? By some definitions it may be. Considering how often I play shows and how many bands tend to be on bills these days I would not call these shows circle jerks.

Maybe you aren't referring to our band.

So folks, who is participating in this circle jerk? I am dying to know.

By definition what you described Duncan would be more of a Daisy Chain, or maybe a Small Swingers Party where DP's are allowed; than a Circle Jerk. Just by admitting that there are only a handful of bands that you like in the area eliminates you from said Jerk. The problem I see, and refer to as a Circle Jerk, is just a pervasive niceness, a need for inclusion. I may be an asshole, but I don't think people who don't have their shit together should be given a chance when it comes to performing and believe a little honesty goes a long way in terms of helping a band mature.

I personally don't have a hard time sperating bands I like/dislike from PEOPLE I like/dislike. Arlene brought up Hothead earlier; a year ago I was asked to review a Christmas compilation, my first question when asked was "can I be honest?". The response to my honesty was shocking, and really changed my opinion of musicians in this city. I actually had all of Hothead show up at ralphs one night to confront me on my review. I had to explain to a group of adults, the difference between disliking them and disliking their submition to a fucking Christmas CD. That's weird. Brett Talbert is a genuinely nice guy, I personally don't have any use for his music, but unless he uses his band to define himself my opinion of his band should be taken no more personal than my opinion of his britches, which is to say not at all.

I learned a long time ago that the people who always have something nice to say are the people you don't want to put any capitol in. People by nature are very opinionated and unless Worcester is some sort of Matrix like anomaly, those onions matter. If you're not hearing or seeing those opinions then there is a lack of honesty. If there is no honesty there is no art.

The thing that I find funny is that it's musicians who are very talented who often are the people most unwilling to criticize their peers. Which is unfortunate in the sense that we have no tangible pecking order in Worcester. Without that hierarchy, there is nothing for younger, less polished musicians to shoot for; and the competition, the cut throat, back stabbing competition that makes the larger music business work the way it does never gets to teach it's lessons. Shelf life's, rehab and all.

Maybe I'm wrong, no that can't be; but until Worcester musicians talk about each other in public the way they do in private, the mildly entertaining year to year ebb and flow that we have grown to know and embrace in Worcester will stay just what it is; a very small ripple in a very big pond.

Paxton
OUT!

Quote:

JohnD wrote:
"those onions matter"

I know what you meant to type, but I like this phrase much better. It deserves to be in a song.

Maybe I ment to mean the onions.
You'll understand next time I see you onstage and a wing a vidalia off your mellon.

how many bands are there in this city? And where do they play? and of the bands, how many are really worth seeing? I suppose that's a matter of taste? I was driving home from work the other morning and I got to thinking that this is really a small town once you'been here for a while. Not like other cities like springfield where all the clubs are clummped together. It doesn't seem that vibrant around here. Could that be the reason why everyone seems to know eachother and winds up on the same stage so much?

for those of you who dont know Greg lives only one block from paris cinema.

That's an interseting point. It might be cool to see "interpretations" of hit songs

buck, you're just mad because the last time we were there i wouldn't let you sit right next to me. some people are so sensitive.

Quote:

Robin wrote:
I disagree with the whole cj thing. I was asked to play a major roll in one of the GSMS gigs as a stranger to most everyone in the band. So sometimes being a good musician and a hard worker still gets you the gig

That is exactly how it works. I knew you Robin, but the reason you were asked is because how many times could you see Joe Rockhead before noticing that you're an excellent guitar player, we all knew how you played. When we needed someone for that spot we talked about who in town could do the best job. You were it. Simple as that.

But trust me, to the people that believe this shit about Worcester being an incestuous CJ wont believe you. It is much easier to cry about things and blame everyone else than to just shut the hell up and play music, be friends with people, and hope everyone signs a 12 record deal with Sony.

Also let me add that as a direct result of these GSMS shows, more musical relationships and personal relationships have been created than existed before them.