Shinedown. Not a fan but heard something interesting tonight

[fek]

So this guy that hangs out at one of the watering holes I frequent is a roadie / tech for lots of bands. He said that Shinedown uses recorded guitar tracks live. Almost all of the live guitars.

I know nothing about the band and have no dog in the fight but I still found that interesting. I don't really know the guy so I don't know if he is for real or not other than that he does tour with several bands.

 

[glassjaw7]

Lot of bands do that with guitars, vocal harmonies, synths, etc. Some people think it's "fake" but I dig when bands like Sevendust do it because it just adds to the live show and brings the music closer to the album for the fans. I guess too much would be overkill, but for the album parts that a band can't replicate live due to not enough instruments or whatever, it's a cool option.

BTW, no idea about Shinedown..

 

[Stramm8]

I sold the producer of a couple of their albums who lives in the Atlanta area some vintage drums and he told me those guys couldn't play worth a flip. He (the producer) co-wrote a lot of and played on most of the recordings. When he told me that I was like "you're shitting me, right?". He said you would be surprised at how many of the bands these days are like that...so it makes perfect sense why they would use canned guitars live. So lame

 

[glassjaw7]

I sold the producer of a couple of their albums who lives in the Atlanta area some vintage drums and he told me those guys couldn't play worth a flip. He (the producer) co-wrote a lot of and played on most of the recordings. When he told me that I was like "you're shitting me, right?". He said you would be surprised at how many of the bands these days are like that...so it makes perfect sense why they would use canned guitars live. So lame

Wow..that is lame. I can see using tracks to fill out some extra parts but not to cover for the band because they can't play. Weak.

 

[Badronald]

Yeah, it adds to the live show alright.

People are ridiculous.

 

[sahlomonic]

I saw Shinedown back in '06 before they reached 'Super' status. Definitely didn't sound like they used pre-recorded tracks for anything, and they played/sang damn well. Saw them again a year ago, and I couldn't tell any different. Overall, I think it's a shame that bands use pre-recorded tracks.

I understand supplement tracks, but if you're going to Milli Vanilli the whole show, you don't deserve my attention, or my $$ for tickets to your show, alubms, etc.



But if you're forced to fake a performance for a TV show, there is no better way to do it than Muse did:

 

[duodecim]

[...]
But if you're forced to fake a performance for a TV show, there is no better way to do it than Muse did:

Hah, that's brilliant.

Taking about live concerts – I think faking most (or all) of the sound is cheating on people that have come out to see you. I wonder if they could get their money back if they would file a legal complaint.

 

[thiswaythatway]

Remember there's 3 sides to every story so I wouldn't put the roadies word into gold. Maybe some tracks but ALL the guitars? Did the guy have any axe to grind with Shinedown?

 

[Chris6870]

Remember there's 3 sides to every story so I wouldn't put the roadies word into gold. Maybe some tracks but ALL the guitars? Did the guy have any axe to grind with Shinedown?

Hey man he heard it from a guy in a bar, whats not to believe?

 

[baron55]

This kind of thing has been going on for ages. In the mid 80's musicians became performers. It wasn't about the music, it was the show. And that is what it is all about today. Auto tune, lip syncing, etc. Most bands don't even write their own songs anymore.

It is no surprise, bands can't win. A band goes out and plays for real and is not perfect, vocals aren't spot on, they suck and are panned. Same band uses auto-tune, prerecorded tracks, they suck and are panned..... posers and fake.

 

[glassjaw7]

Yeah, it adds to the live show alright.

People are ridiculous.

Not sure who that's directed at... I don't see a problem with bands doing this if it fills in an integral part of a song that can't be recreated live. Guess I don't see what the big deal is, but I'm talking more about parts like three part harmonies, synth stuff...basically parts that were added in production that can't easily be recreated by the band unless they have a guy on keys/synth.

However, I do think it is lame if it's just for the sake of sounding "better", like auto-tune, etc. My buddy told me a long time ago that Angus Young does this for his live guitar tracks and at the time I had never heard of or realized that bands could even mix live/pre-recorded tracks and I thought he was nuts. Now I wouldn't doubt it. Maybe that's how he can move around like a school girl on acid while playing! Or he's just really got it down.

 

[kasperjensen]

It's pretty common place...

I don't have a problem with it, if it's "filler" stuff. Like a high ringing guitar in the chorus, or whatever. A bit of background synth, organ...

I think it's horrible if you actually replace what you are supposed to be playing. That's not cool.

 

[borninwinter]

[...]
But if you're forced to fake a performance for a TV show, there is no better way to do it than Muse did:

Hah, that's brilliant.

Taking about live concerts – I think faking most (or all) of the sound is cheating on people that have come out to see you. I wonder if they could get their money back if they would file a legal complaint.

Nirvana did the same thing even more blatantly back in the 90s, but the vocal was apparently live...

 

[mesa50w]

Total BS...while Im not a fan ..a good bud of mine, ex band mate is the bass tech for shinedown..Eric the bass player owns a studio about 5 min from my house as well... those guys can play no doubt about it ...

 

[guitarmike]

Yeah, it adds to the live show alright.

People are ridiculous.

Not sure who that's directed at... I don't see a problem with bands doing this if it fills in an integral part of a song that can't be recreated live. Guess I don't see what the big deal is, but I'm talking more about parts like three part harmonies, synth stuff...basically parts that were added in production that can't easily be recreated by the band unless they have a guy on keys/synth.

However, I do think it is lame if it's just for the sake of sounding "better", like auto-tune, etc. My buddy told me a long time ago that Angus Young does this for his live guitar tracks and at the time I had never heard of or realized that bands could even mix live/pre-recorded tracks and I thought he was nuts. Now I wouldn't doubt it. Maybe that's how he can move around like a school girl on acid while playing! Or he's just really got it down.

IMHO if you need extra vocals, instruments, whatever, then hire extras for the tour. I saw Poison a while back and that is what they did, they had a keyboard player and a couple of backup singers. Live means live, I do not want to see a band pretend to play their songs, that sucks.

 

[crwnedblasphemy]

I work in one of the top venues, and it is very common...not so much from the metal bands, but a lot of pop/hip hop/etc. There was one band I saw that sounded killer, and I noticed their setup side stage....I asked my monitor engineer how many damn backing tracks were they using? He said 8. I know Steel Panther uses performance tracks and no one seems to bitch cuz they are doing funny shit during their set and getting the crowd involved. Fear Factory used them every song...for the keyboards and it sounded to me like Dino had a backing as well...I might be wrong? My beef is I see people pay $$$ for hip hop shit....30 minute performance usually is norm for even top acts, and you totally hear the vocal backing as they sing along....yet the sheep still pay that kinda money to come out to these shows.

 

[fek]

Remember there's 3 sides to every story so I wouldn't put the roadies word into gold. Maybe some tracks but ALL the guitars? Did the guy have any axe to grind with Shinedown?

Hey man he heard it from a guy in a bar, whats not to believe?

That's brilliant! Well done sir. I laughed out loud at that.

Like I said, I don't really know the guy. I am a little surprised to hear about how common practice it is now days though.

 

[fek]

I sold the producer of a couple of their albums who lives in the Atlanta area some vintage drums and he told me those guys couldn't play worth a flip. He (the producer) co-wrote a lot of and played on most of the recordings. When he told me that I was like "you're shitting me, right?". He said you would be surprised at how many of the bands these days are like that...so it makes perfect sense why they would use canned guitars live. So lame

Reminds me of the Mixerman Epic!

Did anyone ever figure out who the band was?

 

[richardt4520]

But if you're forced to fake a performance for a TV show, there is no better way to do it than Muse did:

THAT was brilliant! I wonder if the producers or half the audience were aware of what was going on!

 

[chrisrocksusa]

lol, shinedown.