thebreakfast.info
Breakfast Babble => The Grand Scheme Of Things => Topic started by: Stephengencs on September 19, 2005, 12:45:41 pm
-
^ Namedropper!!! :)
Know what you mean about mraz\'s jamming (in)ability though - not great, though I do have a few nice versions of Sleep All Day where he lets loose a bit.
Good news about Ancient Harmony too - really do have to upgrade my mp3 shows though.
-
funny you should mention ancient harmony, boombox. they\'re the band i was talking about in my initial post... in good news for harmonites worldwide, they\'ve started playing together again. they did a night of all dead covers, sort of a \'hey, how ya doin\' to see how it all felt. now, they\'ve got the allnight set to close out the down on the farm fest down near tallahassee. i\'ve already got the time off approved!
funny you should mention jason mraz, too, as i used to play with him in richmond. he was my girlfriend\'s best friend at the time. he used to come over with his guitar, dying to play the newest dmb song he\'d learned. lol. good kid, never thought he\'d actually go and make something of himself when he got out to his brother\'s place though! i\'m kinda jealous, cause he couldn\'t jam for the life of him!
-
^^^^^^^^^doubled the length of the thread.....confirmed!! ;)
Just making up for not posting for nearly two weeks! :)
-
^^^^^^^^^doubled the length of the thread.....confirmed!! ;)
-
Wow, what a thread!!!
Has just taken me dog knows how long to read it, but a few points from the outsider perspective (ie, not raised on jambands and never having seen the dead nor the breakfast - both unfortunate facts, but I digress... ;)):
In no particular order...
* I second the request for more effects for Ron - not to hide his most excellent work, but to give jordan even more space to wig out!
* regarding steffmo\'s comment: "but Particle is a much easier band for folks to digest" - only if you are brain dead! I HAVE seen them live and believe me it was not an experience I care to repeat.
* regarding the moe.bashing: I have been a fan of moe for ages and though I went off them for a while, they are beginning to grow on me again. True, their guitarist is not as pyrotechnic as Timmy, but they are a solid band, who I wanted to see when they came here on tour, but unfortunately, work intervened. :( The Breakfast have been my favourite extant band for a number of years now, but that does not mean I won\'t accept that others are good at what they do (except gangsta (c)rap of course!)
* regarding shared bills with other bands: I agree another show with moe. would be advantageous, but please let there be enough breakfast merch available to feed the frenzy. Building a touring relationship with Raq could be a good move, as could a double headlining tour with Tea Leaf Green, who seem to be going from strength to strength. Hell, even a tour with UM would bring more attention - at least it would not be as surreal and awful as Hendrix opening for the Monkees!!
*regarding touring costs: employing a non-playing road manager might make tours too expensive. Having a member of the band as manager is not ideal, but even established bands like Jefferson Starship only have 1 techie (for Paul Kantner), while Country Joe toured the UK with his band in a people carrier - all backline was borrowed/hired and the band did all their own setting up/taking down, with only minimal help from the promoter.
*regarding phish and the scene in general. As has been said, phish made it because there was nothing else like it around. Yes, they may have had lots of financial backing from rich parents, but you cannot deny they didn\'t deserve their success; trey and mike remain two of my favourite all time musicians to this day. Nowadays, there are so many great bands out there who just never quite make it - Ancient Harmony, Hubinger Street, Drifting Through and Likwid spring to mind, but there are lots more. Bands need a break, which the jamband scene cannot easily provide. A band either has to be noticed at a big event, in support of someone more established, or dare I say it, they need a hit single. Blues Traveler made it here when Runaround got airplay after its use in a film, but I doubt they would have otherwise. Not a jamband, I know, but I first came across Maroon5 two years ago when they were opening for Jason Mraz (saw something on the lama about the opening act and downloaded some on a whim). They later got a big single and now they are uberfamous (but still trotting out the same set based on the debut album, I know, but you get my drift?!) We have to accept that we are fans of a growing, but very unknown genre of music - any breaks are going to take time. We just have to be there for the guys and show our support by raving about them and spreading the word, as indeed most of us do now.
-
Well..I love you Newbie....but you don\'t know of which you speak.
Moe did two records for Epic when Caplan was Sr VP of A and R there. The last was I think 1999....not ten years ago.
The point is...when they were on Epic...yes owned by Sony....a huge amount of money was spent on the band, but they basically bombed on Sony. But they didn\'t bomb in the jam scene. The money that was spent did break them mainstream, but it put them way ahead of other bands that didn\'t happen to have a couple of hundred thousand spent on them.
My point is, even though they didn\'t succeed on a major, they got a huge boost in the jam scene. That should be obvious.
I don\'t throw bullshit...and will bluntly respond when it is suggested I do.
vic....though we\'ve never met personally....love you too man!
in my post, i admitted my lack of knowledge regarding the music biz,epic records,mike caplan, etc...but you make one of my points when you say that their LAST album for sony was 1999. that\'s six years ago when that album was released. let\'s just say a year to make it (fair i think) so thats at the very least, seven years ago that they were signed. it\'s probably more like eight. this was after or right around the time that they were invited to play the furthur festival. they had already built a strong fan base and were regularly selling out places like the wetlands when this happened. they were already on there way and while signing with sony certainly helped, (financially i\'m sure) i stand by my statement, that i don\'t believe that a failed attempt at marketing by a major label was what got this band over the hump. IMO, it was talent, perserverence, management (i\'m not being critical of you here!), and a devoted fan base that spread the word everywhere. they got over that hump in spite of being dropped by a major label the way i see it. i regret my use of the word bullshit. it was inappropriate. i don\'t believe you were propagating bullshit, just that you may not be entirely correct. (once again, IMO). i was still reacting to the anger that i was feeling when i made my prior post regarding moe. bashing. the breakfast ccertainly has all of those things that i listed regarding moe.\'s success...and i think your point is....that a bit of luck always comes into play. i am sorry for calling you out. it was not my intention....just got a bit carried away. i just get upset when i spend a lot of time and effort on the moe. board, trying to get people over there to come visit here and then find uncalled for bashing going on around here. while i will always love and support the breakfast in any way i can, spreading the word on the moe. board is something i won\'t be doing anymore. it\'s a bit like recommending somebody for a job, and then they make you look bad. as for you vic....keep up the good work and know that you are appreciated.
-
Hey...I like you guys and consider you to be an important component to the bands success.
One of my ideas is to take the first 1000 members of this site and set them aside for some special offers, etc. A rock version of Jehovah\'s Witnesses or sumphin....
You can even give me ****....its fine.
I will however give it back.......
Its all good.
[are you say\'n your gonna send the 1000 people door to door on the weekend knoking on peoples doors on there day off and try to covert them to the Church of Breakfast]
[if that\'s the case, i wanna be a rock mormon. they get bicycles. ;) ]
-
Hey...I like you guys and consider you to be an important component to the bands success.
One of my ideas is to take the first 1000 members of this site and set them aside for some special offers, etc. A rock version of Jehovah\'s Witnesses or sumphin....
You can even give me ****....its fine.
I will however give it back.......
Its all good.
[are you say\'n your gonna send the 1000 people door to door on the weekend knoking on peoples doors on there day off and try to covert them to the Church of Breakfast]
-
very well put
very well put mark.....
-
Glad to see the heat of this thread dying down cuz I have a major headache after going through it. There were some good posts and some not so good.
One of the things that I have always liked and admired about the boys in this band is their modesty and humility in who they are and what they do. I don\'t hear them bashing other bands, they focus on what they are doing, and being as good as they can be. I think that is a big part of why I love them so much. It goes way beyond their musical prowess.
-
Hey...I like you guys and consider you to be an important component to the bands success.
One of my ideas is to take the first 1000 members of this site and set them aside for some special offers, etc. A rock version of Jehovah\'s Witnesses or sumphin....
You can even give me ****....its fine.
I will however give it back.......
Its all good.
-
i think the fact that vic even spends the time and effort to explain this **** to us says a lot about the fact that he\'s committed to making this happen for the guys. this is his career so i think he knows a lot more about it than we do. end of discussion. let him do his job.
-
after the amount of time youve taken to fill us in, steffmo, it baffles me that people are giving you ****. thanks for the insight.
-
Well..I love you Newbie....but you don\'t know of which you speak.
Moe did two records for Epic when Caplan was Sr VP of A and R there. The last was I think 1999....not ten years ago.
The point is...when they were on Epic...yes owned by Sony....a huge amount of money was spent on the band, but they basically bombed on Sony. But they didn\'t bomb in the jam scene. The money that was spent did break them mainstream, but it put them way ahead of other bands that didn\'t happen to have a couple of hundred thousand spent on them.
My point is, even though they didn\'t succeed on a major, they got a huge boost in the jam scene. That should be obvious.
I don\'t throw bullshit...and will bluntly respond when it is suggested I do.
-
(https://thebreakfast.info/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg398.imageshack.us%2Fimg398%2F2029%2Fholyhand4kn.jpg&hash=2739f3c0b49cd70f3fa29e3a9ff01309240017ee)
Then did he raise on high the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch, saying, "Bless this, O Lord, that with it thou mayst blow thine enemies to tiny bits, in thy mercy." And the people did rejoice and did feast upon the lambs and toads and tree-sloths and fruit-bats and orangutans and breakfast cereals ... Now did the Lord say, "First thou pullest the Holy Pin. Then thou must count to three. Three shall be the number of the counting and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, neither shalt thou count two, excepting that thou then proceedeth to three. Five is right out. Once the number three, being the number of the counting, be reached, then lobbest thou the Holy Hand Grenade in the direction of thine foe, who, being naughty in my sight, shall snuff it."
-
how bout we just trust vic? he seems to have a solid game plan. sadly it doesn\'t involve the breakfast getting huge right now, but thats not how it works.
-
Point is.....The Breakfast are building a solid base in enough markets that at some point the dots will connect. Mind you...it isn\'t easy. Even the more simple Breakfast tunes are more complex than commerial radio wants, and as much as the voices have improved, the bands sound does not easily fit into commercial radio, which is the fastest way to expose the band to more fans.
(https://thebreakfast.info/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg229.imageshack.us%2Fimg229%2F9287%2Fpeghole7zj.jpg&hash=461a1e8f70a44b8729f4a6dce18716261da7bdd2)
-
Sony = Epic = BMG
-
I\'ll spend a few more minutes on this to add some clarity for you.
As to Moe., they had the good fortune to be signed to Epic Records about five years ago, by my friend Mike Caplan. Caplan was at the time a muso at Epic....he is a fan of jam andprog., and he thought he could take Moe. mainstream. Epic probably dumped 500,000. into Moe....sold maybe 40k records. They were of course dropped, which is often a disaster for a band.
Not in Moe.\'s case, however, because the promotional boost had gotten them far enough ahead of the pack that they couls now make their own record and sell 20K.....which means essentially that you can spend 120,000 to make and market the CD. If they spent 20k on the record, they had a 100,000 buget to promote...which would hopefully come back in even more sales
i don\'t pretend to know the music business or the people in it. i don\'t know, or have never heard of mike caplan. i don\'t know if epic is owned by any other company. i DO know that it was more like ten years ago when moe. signed with Sony. if sony has anything to do with epic, i\'m not aware of it. since their last release on sony (tin cans), they have produced and marketed their own albums under fatboy records (which was their "label" prior to sony) i have never heard of moe. being involved with epic records. please enlighten me. if you\'d rather....dsdon@aol.com. i want to make sure i understand....your saying that in 1999 or 2000, failed marketing by epic records, was the financial vehicle that set moe. on the path they are on now? i call bullshit!
-
As far as topic goes:
Always be nice when talking about other jambands. Even if a particular jamband doesn\'t do it for you, they are good just because they\'re in this scene and playing jam music.
Think of a band in the jam circuit that doesn\'t do it for you...
...Now realize that they are better than 99% of all the music out there today. Done.
Whenever someone asks me about a jam-circuit band that doesn\'t do it for me, I say
"They\'re good! They do [xyz] really well. They\'re good at what they do." This has been my canned political response for years. But it\'s always the truth and it leaves everyone in the conversation happy.
As for The Breakfast, I\'ve definitely felt a big upswing over the last year, which is awesome. I have absolutely no idea how far it will go. At this point it really could be anywhere.
-
I\'ll spend a few more minutes on this to add some clarity for you.
I\'ve been working with bands for 30 years....and The Breakfast are a tie for best group of musicians I\'ve ever worked with. The other was a great hip hop Jam band from Boston, Fat Bag. to give you an idea...memebers of Fat Bag included Sam Kineneger (of soullive and his own band), Adam Deitch (who went on to join Average White Band, John Scofield, and others) and Adam Smiens of Lettuce). They were Boston based and had family in New York....first point being that The Breakfast is from a small town by comparision. Being the biggest or best here is a big nothing. Fat Bag won three Boston Music awards, and with help from family in NYC quickly developed a following. the had very inexperienced management that signed them to a bad Universal deal.....they did one record that got no support, and they broke up, because they did not have an adequate base outside of their main territories to support the band.
Point is.....The Breakfast are building a solid base in enough markets that at some point the dots will connect. Mind you...it isn\'t easy. Even the more simple Breakfast tunes are more complex than commerial radio wants, and as much as the voices have improved, the bands sound does not easily fit into commercial radio, which is the fastest way to expose the band to more fans. So, we have to work around radio and deal with touring as a main mode of fan building. This takes longer, but as you see the fans are loyal.
As to Moe., they had the good fortune to be signed to Epic Records about five years ago, by my friend Mike Caplan. Caplan was at the time a muso at Epic....he is a fan of jam andprog., and he thought he could take Moe. mainstream. Epic probably dumped 500,000. into Moe....sold maybe 40k records. They were of course dropped, which is often a disaster for a band.
Not in Moe.\'s case, however, because the promotional boost had gotten them far enough ahead of the pack that they couls now make their own record and sell 20K.....which means essentially that you can spend 120,000 to make and market the CD. If they spent 20k on the record, they had a 100,000 buget to promote...which would hopefully come back in even more sales.
Of course, the failure of Moe. at a major teally spelled death of jam bands at majors, though some try. Caplan signed Particle for one record and I think dropped it....but Particle is a much easier band for folks to digest.
At any rate, do not think that there isn\'t a constant dialog as to how to better your favorite bands situation. Alex Defelice and I discuss issues several times a day and there are long term plans to cover all parts of the country and hopefully Europe. We constantly look for a bigger label that we could partner with, but we need more juice to make a meaningful deal. And that is what we are trying to acquire.
Now...please let this thread die and get back to enjoying the bands music, which is readily available to you all.
VS.
-
i mean, i like to space-dance as much as anyone, but i\'d much rather thrash about in spasmadic throes of epileptic exuberance while straning to hear every nuance!!!
Holy ****, what a sentence! Please submit something to Breakfast Digest. Thanks.
I had to re-read that sentance about 4 times....that was a lot to take in for one sentence
-
i mean, i like to space-dance as much as anyone, but i\'d much rather thrash about in spasmadic throes of epileptic exuberance while straning to hear every nuance!!!
Holy ****, what a sentence! Please submit something to Breakfast Digest. Thanks.
-
the fact remains that moe. just cant get the panties wet.....they can do a good job at heatin em up.....but when it comes to actually making you feel something......sorry...moe. just didnt do it for me.....timmy playing dr. mario at 4:30am makes me more emotional than moe.\'s entire attempt at conjuring a shred of whatever during terrapin.........and i was **** into the terrapin......
moe. does their thing...and we will do our thing.....
if you want to be a part of it....cool....see you at iron horse
if you dont.....go on moe.tour...cause they have been "selling out" their gigs for years..
AHOY ****!!!!!!!
-
I\'ve seen moe. more then any band that I\'ve seen, and I they have their thing going. But I agree, I think this whole north east I hate your band and my band is the best thing needs to end from fans of every band. Support live music!
-
sigh. :sigh:
-
Wow I just did a lot of reading.
jking:
your last paragraph of that post really brought a tear to my eye. I could just open my mouth and you can just talk, that way I don\'t have to strain my vocal chords. I feel like Palermo from the Puppet House. Very astute of you!!!
oldnewb:
Well said, while brakfast is my favorite band I am not going to degrade any other band, especially those who are in the same so-called "genre". I\'m not a huge moe. fan but what I\'ve heard I\'ve respected if not out right liked. These are different styles of music and there is no need to draw any lines in the sand, accept differences and embrace them (except country nobody may listen to country). I should think that a message board with a Wookeelius McWookensteingbergskiwookerston would be more open minded and less judgemental. No offense
Oh and not to get off topic
I have no experience in the music business besides shopping @ Sam Ash and local guitar stores so what I say really means nothing, but I\'ll say something anyway.
This may be kind of greedy of me to say but it would be great if the band stuck around New England (easier to see them more often). This is obviously their strongest fan base and I\'m sure the guys love it here, it\'s home. There really is a huge market to blow open in these five states and not to mention upstate New York. It seems to me that a sense of urgency to make this band explode on the scene has fallen over the fanbase. I say let them saturate the New England Market, get the dedicate Ser fans even more Ser!!!
If they really have that much of a problem with the tour van how about another benefit show. I hope I don\'t get flamed for this like leith, but back in aht 1 they had a benefit show for stolen equipment. I would be happy to pay a little extra for an extra Ser show if all profits went to the band. Shall we see if the Puppethouse is available for rent again?
-
I love The Breakfast and there\'s a lot of great folks who I\'ve met at shows, but reading through these posts has been painful, and I\'m glad oldnewbie lashed out. Not because I\'m angry at the moe. bashing (though I think moe. is a great band), but just because a lot of people are looking at this through their Breakfast blinders, which is appropriate since it\'s a Breakfast forum.
But, let\'s put things into perspective folks. It\'s ridiculous to compare The Breakfast through their first 6 years to Phish through the same timeframe. Phish got their start in the 80s. There was no jamband scene at that time. Sure, there was the Dead, but they had been around for almost twenty years at that point. And, while they jam, they weren\'t looked at as a jamband the way we think of it today. Phish was just a freak occurrence of an amazingly creative, saavy and talented group of musicians. In my opinion, their success created a domino effect that led to the jamband scene that we know today. Today, jambands are a dime a dozen.
Jambands are everywhere. And, many of these bands, whom I don\'t personally like as much as The Breakfast, have much larger fanbases. It baffles me that bands like the Disco Biscuits and Umphree\'s McGee are so much bigger than The Breakfast, but they are. The fact is we are so enamored with The Breakfast because not only are they great musicians, but a lot of us consider them our band. They are from our hometown or our state, we have been seeing them since they first got together (**** - I saw Tim play when he was in Mokijam), we hang out with them, they\'re accessible, they\'re really **** cool. It\'s a unique situation that we get to go see Tim, the nasty lead guitar player of our favorite band, play live solo shows right down the road and we\'re making the setlists for him. I don\'t think Trey was playing solo shows to the same 10-15 guys/girls three nights a week 6 years into Phish\'s existence. And, while there are 900 people signed up on this message board, there are not 900 people posting. Many of you folks are obsessed TB fans, and that\'s okay, but you have to realize that most people do not feel the same. They think they\'re good and maybe even great, but perhaps only a handful of people would ever "go on tour" with TB. And, I imagine it would only be those of you who are personal friends with the band.
I\'m a bit older, so I\'m not going to shows like I used to. If I were 5 years younger, I would see more Breakfast shows, but I wouldn\'t dedicate my life to them. When I used to go to Phish shows, I used to feel like it was much more than a live show. It was an experience. You don\'t get that feeling with many bands. I feel that way about Widespread Panic. And, I used to feel that way about some moe. and SCI shows that I went to. While I thoroughly enjoy The Breakfast shows, and find them completely fullfilling, I don\'t feel like it\'s an experience. I feel like it\'s a live show. Some of you post reviews of shows that I went to, including Timmy solo shows, and I feel like I must have missed something because I didn\'t come away feeling like it was an Earth shattering experience like the reviewer did. I\'m not downplaying how great they are, but my point is that there are a handful of people who think The Breakfast are the greatest thing since sliced toast, and those are the same people who are posting day after day, show after show. Sure, there are some others, like myself, who post from time to time, but for the most part it\'s the same people. 50 completely dedicated Breakfast fans are not going to turn this band into the next Phish folks. And, for one to say that they feel okay about the state of things because Phish was still touring mainly in the NE after 6 years is laughable.
Just enjoy the music. While people have a right to do it, I used to hate it when people would criticize Phish because of this or that. They didn\'t like the setlist, they didn\'t feel like this sequeway or that segueway was appropriate. Bittersweet Motel was too focused on Trey. I hate it when they play Farmhouse. Blah blah blah. If Phish wants to play Farmhouse, then god dammit, I want to listen to it. We want The Breakfast to be this great band playing big venues, drawing a large crowd, but we are also upset because their management isn\'t personally coming out and shaking our hands and asking us what we want. It\'s a bit silly.
In every state and every region, there\'s probably a jamband who has a following like The Breakfast who has fans like us. It\'s tough to make it big. I\'m baffled that The Breakfast isn\'t playing Bonnaroo yet. I think to myself, if people could just see them, how could they not like them. But, I don\'t know what little bands are out there. There are probably tons of bands just like The Breakfast trying to make it. We have to remember that these guys are trying to make a living, they didn\'t form the band to please each of us indivdiually. I\'m sure that Tim, Adrian, Ron, and Jordan have a say in what direction the management is taking the band. If Gencs is thinking of all these questions, then I\'m sure Tim has already thought of them. There\'s no need to worry about the business side of the band, just enjoy the music. Be glad they\'re still playing runs in CT. But, also realize that if they\'re not filling up The Webster, which they don\'t (I am hard pressed to believe there was ever 500 people at a Webster show), they\'re not going to be the next big thing overnight. No band will EVER be as big as Phish was. And, The Breakfast will probably never be as big as moe. is. Just hope that they are able to make decent money while doing what they love, being creative, growing as musicians, writing great songs, making amazing music, and making us all smile, laugh, and dance.
Just my 2 cents worth. Actually, it\'s probably more like 100 dollars worth given the length.
-
Hold the damn phone!! Did a photo of Dorothy, Rose, Blanche & Sophia just get moderated because there was a little yellow happyface guy thrusting his nonexistent hips under it, when there still exists a thread titled ANT-MAN that has a picture of an ASIAN getting **** by a dog in the mud in it?!!!
hold on there :ass:. When you have 4,700 posts and start a thread that people actually post on topic and with no shennanigans, you can ask permission to have nonsense taken out of it...Thanks Cobby.... Till then go take catheter hits off of some old bag....
Done and Done.....
and now back to your regularly scheduled thread........
2 things....
I wonder what are the chances of a Turkey.Tour show in NYC post moe.?
another thing....
Why doesn\'t Ronnie have any effects or anything to "play" with. I am not saying that he needs effects or gimmicks to make him better, but I was listening to the Puppethouse Buquebus and man, there was some ser **** going on....could you imagine if he had some bass toys taboot?
We are trying to get on the Moe Roseland show.....though if I were them guys I\'d think twice about letting Mamalakabubadaya anywhere near that show.
fixed Vic..
HA....thanks and point taken...
Yes, the result of my original post was nonsense, but my original post was true to point. While I agree with the intent of your thread, I was merely pointing out that your methods of bringing out certain topics and conversations was fraught with bogus tactics. If you have questions about why things occur, you should think about better ways of asking the question.
-
it took me 10 minutes to read that since Im a retard when trying to read something longer than two sentences unless the name MARKY MARK is in the title
ditto
duane, although i am not a fan of moe and some other people on this board are aware of that because of my sometimes childish and evil behavior, i am sorry if i ever offended you about making jokes in reference to them. i have mentioned in my posts somewhere that i think all of the serious moe fans (moe.rons?) are dynamite people. i had such a nice time seeing you and your buddies and meeting people at moe.down. i can\'t remember all of the guys names but they were down to earth people and i can\'t tell you how awesome it was that someone at your campsite had rubber cement to fix my shoe before i could have tripped and had a nasty fall (kind of like when i walked into the tree at our tent)--i\'d probably be **** or robbed by the majority of people on dead lot (just a comparison, not trying to insult anyone) these days before anyone would help me out. i respect the band musically-they are all talented (although not my taste) and how well the band does business-wise..i cannot insult them on that subject, that is something they have down that i guess TB doesn\'t yet.
-
someone mentioned bass effects for ron.
good idea. there is nothing in the world like synth bass funk.
-
amen duane.. exactly how i felt when i went over to pt.moe to say thanks and saw that i actually had a mess to clean up because of that same attitude that you described..
-
Amen!
-
Post #92 is the enema that this board has been needing. Thank you for saying some stuff that needed to be said.
-
amen, duane; though it took me 10 minutes to read that since Im a retard when trying to read something longer than two sentences unless the name Harry or Potter is in the title
-
:shock1: :thumbsup:
-
you know....i\'m getting sick and **** tired of this bullshit. i just got done seeing moe. at a festival that brought over 8000 people, mainly just to see them. the breakfast was LUCKY to be invited to a minor spot. they\'re going to sell out roseland for two nights over thanksgiving, again, while the breakfast puts 30 people in the lions den and then you people **** about the venue. they tour nationally all year long. they play places like red rocks and vegas. i\'ve seen them with 5k in central park. they tour japan yearly. members of the band get invited to sit in with people like phil lesh and steve kimock and bob weir. at about the same age as the breakfast, they were invited to play the furthur fest. they\'ve turned down opening spots for the dead due to the gigs not being good for them. they open for the allmans and get 90 minutes where most people would get 45 minutes.they have an organization that develops and actually realizes special events designed to stimulate the fan base. they sold out they\'re own cruise. SOMEBODY THINKS THEY\'RE PRETTY GOOD! in the mean time.....the breakfast cain\'t get out of new england. we have to kid ourselves that 500 people show up at the webster when it\'s more like 175. if we go a long way away like....say....philly (real long **** way) it\'s doozie city...same in long island, boston, nyc....etc....and a trip down south or out west is nothing but a money loser. they do things like drop off 7 copies of the new disc at the moe.down merch tent (which sell out) and then there\'s just no more....sorry! we just blew your doors off but you\'ll have to get a copy of our music some other time. they play new years eve in support of a lesser band for the paycheck, not to payback they\'re extremely loyal fans with a party of their own. they come out with new merch about once every few years.
right now, i\'m listening to the breakfast almost exclusively because they are continually blowing me away. they seem better every time i hear them, but THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS......the breakfast could and should take a long hard look at moe.\'s business model and plan execution and try to learn something. i for one, am sick and goddamn tired of trying to promote this band amongst the moe.rons, having them respond in kind,curious and intelligent fashion about whatever they like or dislike about the music, while this board seems to think that they are building up the breakfast while cracking on moe.. all it sounds like to me is immature jealousy and pettiness. by inviting the breakfast to moe.down, moe. gave them one of the biggest hand ups that they\'ve ever gotten....yet you jerks just bash them as if that didn\'t happen. if the breakfast handle their careers anything like moe. has, they will be better off by far, than they are now. if the fanbase handles their end anything like the moe.rons have, it can only help the band. right now.....just as before....any moe.ron, who may have been excited by what they saw, or by what myself and others from here are raving about, comes to this site and see\'s this bullshit over and over is just going to say **** this. you all think your being cute and cool by bashing an extemely talented and successful band, that has always gone out of it\'s way to help younger bands, when all your really doing is making US ALL look like asses. i don\'t need your help with that....i can do a good enough job by myself. anyone has the right to express their opinion on any subject they choose (including me), but if someone like me, who truly loves the breakfast, is so tired of it that i really don\'t feel like reading this board much anymore, imagine the impression that someone who doesn\'t know this scene must think when they see crap like this. "moe. better not let the breakfast get near this show"? yeah...i\'m sure that they are really intimidated by a bar band who bring a few dozen people to it\'s shows in nyc which is an hour away. i don\'t care for the disco biscuits much, but i don\'t continually bash them as a way to express what a big breakfast fan i am. they do their thing and i choose not to go. end of story. so....take all your moe. bashing and your "my band is so **** good that your band must suck" attitude....and stick it up your collective asses!
-
ser post jking....
thanks
-
The point is that as exceptional as The Breakfast are, they are a challenging listen in an environment where lots of folks want mindless music.
just thought that this should be reiterated.
a couple other thoughts. i\'ve seen some situations where a smaller, growing band\'s manager/spokesperson gets on their board, sees all the criticism/concern/confusion and begins trying to justify their actions to the fans. a little bit here and there seems to work, but i\'ve also seen where the band\'s manager/spokesperson gets into arguements and drama trying to explain why the band is doing every little thing. frankly, it seems to work best when the spokesperson just comes out and says \'we\'re doing this\' and then let everyone yell and scream if they want to, but since there are so many aspects of behind the scenes stuff that we\'ll never even know about, there\'s really no reason for them to try to explain and justify everything. besides, that\'s not really a manager\'s job. i think steffmo does us a great service (as you said, gencs) to give us a little insight now and then, but he\'s not their manager.
that being said, remember that a booking agent is not a manager. they\'ve got someone getting them gigs. that\'s it. whether its venue/towns/areas that seem wiser than others, as long as the band is getting paying gigs, the booking agent has done their job. and they deserve to get paid for it. the better the gig, the bigger the market, obviously, the better for the band, but anything else should be between the band/band\'s manager and the booking agent. if you\'re gonna send the booker an email, it should really be limited to \'i can get these guys a gig at x place\' or \'have you considered trying to get them in x as that venue usually pulls a good crowd\'. unless the agent is incompetent and booking them, say, at hip hop clubs. then flame the mutha!
i also think that having a band member as manager isn\'t the best idea, but that\'s primarily because of one particular band that i was close with that imploded, partially due to one guy having to make decisions for the rest of the band andthe rest of the band getting bent out of shape over it (even though they didn\'t want to make those decisions themselves). there were other factors, of course, but i truly believe that the band should focus on the music, and let someone else worry about the business end. now, finding someone they can trust with the right connections and know-how and savvy, not to mention paying that someone, is a whole \'nother set of concerns.
what the breakfast needs to do now is tour and they know this. but barring them adding a fifth, rich member, touring right now will a grueling financial and psychological undertaking. gas prices alone will make it almost not worth the hassle. and it will stay that way (playing to six or eight people a night in strage bars away from friends, family and home) for several tours. our job as fans is to send out as many damn freebies as we can to get the word of mouth and urge to see them flowing. our job should be to open folks\' ears and at least get them curious enough to go check out the band next time they come through. i got into a pissing match a week or two ago about them, and in retrospect, i wish i\'d just kept my keyboard shut and sent music to anyone who didn\'t agree with me. let the music do the talking. cuz it talks good!!
we all have ideas of how the band can focus its energies, of where they should be playing, of how they can get the word out and i think we should certainly voice them (like playing at all the top party colleges - the breakfast is a party, after all). i think at best maybe someone will provide an idea they simply hadn\'t thought of yet. but to think that the guys in the band haven\'t put more thought into this stuff than all of us combined is probably a bit near-sighted. we want them to succeed, but they want to eat and pay rent. preferably filet mignons and second homes, but first things first.
i think its wonderful that this core of folks cares so fervently about them and their success. i\'d bet that the band\'s pretty happy about that, too. but we need to support them and their decisions, not try to second guess them. not saying that anyone here is, just pointing out a pitfall i\'ve seen made before.
and i blame phish for introducing that lazy, whiteboy, faux-groove funk stuff to the masses, making the breakfast seem too in-your-face intense. excuse the comparision, but if the b\'fast isn\'t at 91-92 phish levels right now, i don\'t know who is! it seems like if you don\'t play over the same beat for 15 minutes, most of the kidz these days can\'t really grab on to the music. i think it has something to do with the recreational drugs of choice in today\'s youth combined with a generation of kidz growing up on 97-03 phish that didn\'t require as strong listening skills as the earlier, more intense stuff. you used to have to be an active listener (and i believe this applies to most jambands) to really hear/get what was going on between the musicians and now a lot of bands are relying on just laying down a \'groove\' and noodle about. sure there\'s still interaction between band members but the level of intricacy and subtlety (even in the most raging of jams) seems to be lazily missing these days.
but the breakfast just doesn\'t let you bob your head and trance-dance in a haze. i mean, i like to space-dance as much as anyone, but i\'d much rather thrash about in spasmadic throes of epileptic exuberance while straning to hear every nuance!!! i love the fact that i hear something new everytime i listen to a breakfast show, even if i\'ve listened to the same show a bazillion times before. i love to listen to the little, almost background stuff that jordan adds to compliment tim. i love to hear the interaction between ron and adrian. take 4/2/05 gravity>flower punk>gravity. listen to the whole band talk to each other as they segue. listen to ron get there first with adrian catching on, which grabs timmy\'s attention and jordan solidifying the deal. and notice that it takes a 2 or 3 minutes for the whole thing to happen, because as its happening, they\'re still playing with it. its not like one guy starts it and everyone falls into place, its an actual conversation, with ron saying \'hey, mind if i mention this?\' and adrian saying \'no, thats pretty cool\' and timmy sayin\' well, watch how what i\'ve been saying relates\' and jordan saying \'tha\'s funny because i was just thinking about doing something and it fits great into what you\'re saying\'. its simply stunning. and to have seen it being pulled off, watching their faces as it happened, timmy realizing what ron & adrian & jordan were doing and getting that silly grin of \'damn boys!\'.... that was what seeing live music is all about, to me, and why i think that once more folks get the chance to see them, they, too, will be inexoribly drawn in. because they truly take the best from the best, and make it more!!
ok, i digressed a bit there. sorry.
-
ya, with the moe sucks chant and all. atleast it would make moe step it up
as much as roseland ballroom sounds like garbage (and some would argue that so does moe), i\'d go to to that show in a second.
-
I would say not on the bill but the Official late night after party. that way they can play as long as they want and still draw from the moe.rons.
Roseland sucks and the show will be over early becasue it is union run
-
Bass Balls..he\'s got to get \'em. That sound/pedal is F**KiNG AMAZING!!!!!!
I would rather a post moe. show in the city, but I am sure it is better that the band open. Maybe an opener and a POST show(LATE NIGHT @ the Bowery!!!)
-
We are trying to get on the Moe Roseland show.....though if I were them guys I\'d think twice about letting The Breakfast anywhere near that show.
That is exactly the type of exposure the band needs, the pairing of Breakfast with other major acts at venues all over the U.S.
-
I heard SOMEONE trying to egg Ron into getting a boomerage. now that would be infreak\'nsain
-
as much as roseland ballroom sounds like garbage (and some would argue that so does moe), i\'d go to to that show in a second.
-
ya, with the moe sucks chant and all. atleast it would make moe step it up
-
Hold the damn phone!! Did a photo of Dorothy, Rose, Blanche & Sophia just get moderated because there was a little yellow happyface guy thrusting his nonexistent hips under it, when there still exists a thread titled ANT-MAN that has a picture of an ASIAN getting **** by a dog in the mud in it?!!!
hold on there :ass:. When you have 4,700 posts and start a thread that people actually post on topic and with no shennanigans, you can ask permission to have nonsense taken out of it...Thanks Cobby.... Till then go take catheter hits off of some old bag....
Done and Done.....
and now back to your regularly scheduled thread........
2 things....
I wonder what are the chances of a Turkey.Tour show in NYC post moe.?
another thing....
Why doesn\'t Ronnie have any effects or anything to "play" with. I am not saying that he needs effects or gimmicks to make him better, but I was listening to the Puppethouse Buquebus and man, there was some ser **** going on....could you imagine if he had some bass toys taboot?
We are trying to get on the Moe Roseland show.....though if I were them guys I\'d think twice about letting Mamalakabubadaya anywhere near that show.
fixed Vic..
HA....thanks and point taken...
-
We are trying to get on the Moe Roseland show.....though if I were them guys I\'d think twice about letting The Breakfast anywhere near that show.
-
PLEASE KEEP THIS THREAD ON TOPIC. thanks.
-
Hey Walsh, just so you don\'t feel left out, I\'m dedicating the next thread to you. It will be called the Wacky Wook Walsh McWookerston thread.
-
There is a WHOLE thread dedicated to Duane, Mark and Tickler??? Impressive guys.
-
THERE IS A NEW THREAD FOR SEX WITH OLD PEOPLE, PLEASE KEEP THIS THREAD ON TOPIC. thanks.
-
Well, jenx, your thread has now gone to ****... it\'s officially off topic & getting worse... next, ya may as well just close the damn thang!
-
not cool!!!!!! :mad:
-
Hold the damn phone!! Did a photo of Dorothy, Rose, Blanche & Sophia just get moderated because there was a little yellow happyface guy thrusting his nonexistent hips under it, when there still exists a thread titled ANT-MAN that has a picture of an ASIAN getting **** by a dog in the mud in it?!!!
-
welll in response to NYC
Just got an e-mail saying moe. was playing back to back nights at roseland Ballroom Nov. 25th & 26th. Perhaps The Breakfast can play 1 night and bill it as an after moe. party.
-
being aware of how little you know surely didn\'t stop you from slinging **** at band management earlier in this thread as a bunch of money hungry ship sinkers who didn\'t care about the fanbase.
-
I never admitted to knowing anything....and if anything this is an attempt to try and learn somthing about this crazyness that I have dedicated the past 6 years of my life to...
-
Enjoy it more, analyze it less.
ie. Put a sock in it, dope. Cause you don\'t know ****!
-
Enjoy it more, analyze it less.
You gotta know that I enjoy the **** outta this whole thing as much as I possibly can without spontaniously combusting or even suffering cardiac arrest.... Its hard not to analyse it with the ole internet and whatnot. However it is great that there is a forum like this for us.....
I guess the whole NYC thing is real tricky..... So does that mean a band can\'t make a name for themselves and make themselves prosperous (dare i say it? Okay, I will) WITHOUT a steady/constant NYC "THING"?
-
Stephen...
Sure...I think its cool the fans care enough ask the questions and make suggestions. And I don\'t mind trying to give some insight into stuff that doesn\'t necessarily make sense.
The part that most here don\'t realize is that it isn\'t strictly up to US....we have to do business with the industry at large. In order to do that you have to keep in mind that any business deal has to benefit both parties in order for it to work.
The Lion\'s Den seems tto be a bit of a lightening rod....but the fact is Howie digs the band and wants to make the band work there. Because the draw is still iffy in Manhatten, they stick all those bands on there. If we could guarantee him, or if he felt secure enought to let the band do to sets with two short openners, he would. But I don\'t blame him for doing what he\'s doing....if you saw his rent check for that place you\'d freak.
We would all like to build a bridge back to the Knit, but the stars haven\'t lined up right for them to be motivated to do it. Don\'t think its from a lack of trying. I think Crescendo does a lot of stuff at Tribeca....though I don\'t knowe that will be much better than The Lion\'s Den. So it becomes a question of do we we **** off the guy that supports us for an unknown when neither of the solutions really address the issue. I think generally we feel we might as well stay where we are until the Knit comes around.
The bottom line is that for wnatever reason we really haven\'t developed a great following in Manhatten itsef...the gigs pull fans from out of town. NYC is a really tough place to build. and since the Wetlands closed there is no really good Jam room in town where that kind of fan base can focus.
Remember....if it was easy, everyone would be doing it. This summer was the best growth the band has ever seen. Enjoy it more, analyze it less.
-
Vic, thank you much for coming out here and helping me (us) understand this thing a little better. I understand that the band needs to get to point where they can support themselves with the music that they make. My concern is "at what cost?".
Playing venues like The Lions Den, because it pays more doesn\'t make sense to me when they are going to play for 60 or so people of whom only 20 or so really care what is going on up on stage and coming out of the speakers.....
But then again, I really dont know what is best for the band from a business standpoint, but I am glad that there are people out there like you (Vic) who can help us fans, who genuinely care about these kids and what they are creating, understand what they are going through....
-
(https://thebreakfast.info/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forumsforjustice.org%2Fforums%2Fimages%2Fsmilies%2Fofftopic.gif&hash=8e93d7bd636312add3fb4be288dc97afb70fb9c6)
-
well like i have said before I know the people in charge of the farm where they had the Lew AU. many of you here probably do as well. THG presents is the folks they used to throw some killer shows at Tobacco Road. They never really got going with the Breakfast because Dave from Tobacco Road though of (PB) as his to book etc. The folks surrounding THG have been big PB/TB fans and have always wanted to get the camps together but things just never panned out. Lets make it happen.
-
The band has drawn maybe 600 at Toads and generally does close to 500 at Webster.
What moct of you don\'t realize is how few bands ever get to the point where they can consistantly draw over 150 people out of their home area. The Breakfast are actually doing fairly well in that respect.
The other point difficult for you all to understand is that there is a huge segment of the populace for whom The Breakfast don\'t work. Kids that are fans of MTV type bands, bouy or grrl bands, hip hop, etc. tend to be very song centric in their tastes and don\'t care about gow hard a band jams. I\'ve also had plenty of people tell me that The Breakfast wears them out with jamming. Some don\'t like the vocals. And then there are reviewers....that want the opposite.
IE.....it takes what it takes, as long as it takes. Moe. has been around how long????? Pjish were together for years before they started to break out of New England. I remember hanging with those guys at trade shows in 1988, and they were already together.
You can analyze it to death. The point is that as exceptional as The Breakfast are, they are a challenging listen in an environment where lots of folks want mindless music.
-
Honestly I have never seen the breakfast draw more than they did at the puppet house and they had maybe 200 folks. It was a local show. So that should be a decent benchmark and it doesn\'t involve their local fanbase driving 5 or more hours to get to the show.
If the band can draw 500 or more than I havent seen it. If it means getting 1 or 2 bands to fill the line up then who ? Who (what bands) does the Breakfast have good relationships with that can bring some people out ?
RAQ....they packed the webster during that show and that was 2 years ago...think of it now.
-
Honestly I have never seen the breakfast draw more than they did at the puppet house and they had maybe 200 folks. It was a local show. So that should be a decent benchmark and it doesn\'t involve their local fanbase driving 5 or more hours to get to the show.
If the band can draw 500 or more than I havent seen it. If it means getting 1 or 2 bands to fill the line up then who ? Who (what bands) does the Breakfast have good relationships with that can bring some people out ?
-
I stated my opinion, I didnt say they sucked, its all good music, but it isnt mind blowing, and yes I do think its generic, but they dont suck, and yes the fans on all the sites I mentioned, say those things "the breakfast sucks, they cant sing, they cant hold a groove" Let me repeat, they dont suck, I just dont dig them as much, and those are the reasons, mabye raq is a little too happy for me, and yes mabye AGP doesnt throw down hard enough, and particle doesnt do it for me in many ways, but i didnt say they sucked.
and Yes because eve 150 kids from Oneonta show up to see the breakfast here and go crazy, I bet I could get 1/3 to half of them to go, 30 kids from here went to moe.down to prettymuch see just the breakfast.
mabye it isnt like that where you live, but it is in enough places to get 500 kids to come out, especially if it was advertized Free with DJ Logic and JMP
-
for instance why is every Raq and particle move, tour, show, sit in, etc... announced on the daily jambands.com news, personally I think both of those bands are generic crap, I dont give a rats ass
The North East is retardedly competitive as well. If you go on someone elses message board and say "hey, the breakfast is playing come check it out" they reply with **** you, this band (whom ever message board it is) is the best band in the world and **** the breakfasst sucks.... go to phantasy anything, Bisco radio, BP radio, Hyperfunkalicious.com (Raq, these guys are serious jokers, the band isnt just a bunch of Breakfast wannabee\'s but their fans are too, you know how we have teams, all of a sudden they have clans, I am a lurker over there, but anyway they just started covering Message in a Bottle and they sadly hack Echinda\'s Arf, and their guitarist suddenly plays telecasters, I hate Raq) Enough of that rant
I go see these bands dont get me wrong, AGP (zzzzzzz) Raq (cheeseball) particle(trustfund, need i say more) Brothers past (dtssdtsssdtss), I give them a chance but none of them are mind blowing, the breakfast is mindblowing, I get so pissed when I see people dissing them. Then they say their vocals suck, thats a load of horse **** because they are doing harder harmonies then any band out there, they go beyond the simple triads, they\'re cool jazzy chords. The simple minds just dont get it. I just went on another rant
Perhaps you don\'t read your own posts. The above sounds exactly what you were talking about when discussing other borads. raq = cheeseball, AGP =zzzzz, Particle = trustfund.
And it is relavent. Free or not do you think that the Breakfast can get 500+ people anywhere ? I was making the point that if we have 900 memebrs on this site that 1/2 would need to show for the show to get those numbers. The Show was "free" meaning they asked for donations and you know what they made enough to cover the show and make improvements to the venue. So I will add this. If the Breakfast fans base was asked to step up for a show like this do you 1 think that they could get 500 or so folks and do you think those 500 or so would kick down ?
-
kindm\'s
Guess what particle doesn\'t suck. You might not like them but having money of your own doesn\'t get people to your shows. It doesn\'t get Mickey hart to Tour with you. Again you might not like them but why diss a band that has been able to break through a little (and they dont sing, go figure). The manager that has helped them tremndously is a friend of a friend and is very connected with the Grateful Dead family. He also learned from the Best (Bill Grahman). RAQ is another band that has been dissed in this thread and I like to compare The state of the Breakfast with the State of RAQ.
I never once stated any of these bands sucked, I gave my opinion on what I think of each of those bands, nor did I compare the singing abilities to Particle who has none.
Its my personal opinion to think something isn\'t mind blowing or grabbing my attention. I never dissed any of their musical abilities, cause they are all great players. It just musically doesnt appeal to me, but as I stated I still go and support music, I will continue to do so as well.
All Im saying is that if the breakfast had some cash and good connections they\'d be a lot further then they are, the aregument out there is "why isnt the breakfast huge?" and I was making some comparisons.
and this
Raq just played a farm in Northern NY (the LEW-AU) they had roughly 500 people there. Do you guys seriously think that the Breakfast could get 500 people to drive 5+ hours to go see them ? As much as I want to see that happen I dont think they could get that many people up there. To quote a stat from an earlier post if there are 900 members, more than half of us would have to go to the show for it to even come close.
is completely irrelevent
this little festival was Free and included Jazz Mandolin project and DJ logic, also is the number of people posting on their fan board. So in your eyes, since there are only 427 people on Raq\'s fan message board, and 500 show up to their free festival, that would mean if the breakfast has 900 people on their message board then over 1000 would show up.........
-
I think a lot of the issues can be seen in this thread.
Sure a lot of other sites take that your band sux route, but this site is no better and sometimes worse. Just in this thread alone raq has been called trust fund babies, particle has been called similar and worse. I can dig up many many posts on this site alone that say this band sux or that band sux.
Guess what particle doesn\'t suck. You might not like them but having money of your own doesn\'t get people to your shows. It doesn\'t get Mickey hart to Tour with you. Again you might not like them but why diss a band that has been able to break through a little (and they dont sing, go figure). The manager that has helped them tremndously is a friend of a friend and is very connected with the Grateful Dead family. He also learned from the Best (Bill Grahman). RAQ is another band that has been dissed in this thread and I like to compare The state of the Breakfast with the State of RAQ.
Raq just played a farm in Northern NY (the LEW-AU) they had roughly 500 people there. Do you guys seriously think that the Breakfast could get 500 people to drive 5+ hours to go see them ? As much as I want to see that happen I dont think they could get that many people up there. To quote a stat from an earlier post if there are 900 members, more than half of us would have to go to the show for it to even come close.
The big difference is that these 2 bands above have had MANAGEMENT! nothing more nothing less.
-
Stephen....
Management are not fans. It happens more than anyplace else on the phones of the world. Both Alex Defelice and I spend a ton of time everyday dealing with both everyday issues and forward looking affairs. Considering the fact that a year and a half ago the bands future was questionable at all, with huge debts to Sonance and Josh....its pretty cool that they are on solid ground now.
As much as issues of "selling records and making money" might seem secondary to you, these guys are not kids anymore, and they need to be able to support themselves in a reasonable manner, which they still don\'t do. Trying to get them into venues and situations that bring the band to that level....which VERY few bands evr achieve, is the most important goal of all.
The band doesn\'t need cheerleaders on the gigs...you guys do that fine. What they need are level headed people behind the scene who know how to deal with the other upper eschelon people in the biz.
And I still find time to get to an occassional gig.
But hey...I don\'t mind the rant, I know its because you want the best for the band.
-
I couldn\'t live there, but I\'d definitely vacation there.
-
i\'d live there.
-
The in-ear monitors are the main reason in my mind why they can sing better now. They can sing well, because they can actually HEAR each other. Yes there are moments when there is an off note, but with the music being the way it is(read:intense), it is almost a given that you cannot be thinking vocals at some points. Trust me after being into the Disco Biscuits(let\'s not turn this into a Biscuits suck war), i have learned to live with avg voacls at times(they have gotten better, nut won\'t use in-ear monitors???), in exchange for mind-altering, soul shaking, aural orgasm music. Both bands make me happy, i just wish I could win the Powerball and start my own commune with LAVISH encoutrements like a "Breakfast Stage" and a "Bisco Stage" at different areas throughout the compound. I wold just pay the bands to play there and have festivals all year round. AAHHHHH Winter Festivals would be CRAZY!!!
-
Leith, Jer is most definitely my most favorite singer of all time. I dont think we will see, in our lives, a singer that can evoke such emotions with his voice - QUOTE]
Disagree all you want, but Eddie gets my vote
-
This is not really true in the fullest. Phish has said that they were really surprised at the amount of people that knew their music when they got to Colo. and were AT the shows. Phish did not have a crowd following them on their first national tours. It took some time for that but they still toured.
According to the Phish book, they took a shot and went directly from VT to colorado to do several shows all at the same bar. Some of those shows were taped by locals, but the crowds were light. They only saw crowds a year+ later when they did a proper tour and came back through, only to find that those tapes had been circulated all over and people stuffed the house, knowing every word to the songs that were circulated.
-
The thing is I do not think they translate as well on disc as when they are pouring the love all over you live.
that has to do with a different sound system and different room every night (not to mention different sound board) I think the vocals need more compression in the live mix ezpecially to balance out the harmonies
Yeah well tell that to Dobs. I know I like what I hear live and I know a bit about sound but I\'m a lighting guy. Soundguys are weird.
-
The thing is I do not think they translate as well on disc as when they are pouring the love all over you live.
that has to do with a different sound system and different room every night (not to mention different sound board) I think the vocals need more compression in the live mix ezpecially to balance out the harmonies
-
Puppethouse Sgt Pepper\'s set listened to it with a few friends. There was some mopping up of drool and some looks of " UH WHAT?" during some parts but the one comment that stuck with me was from an old tour buddy. His words were " The most impressive thing about that was the balls those guys have to try Sgt. Pepper\'s with voices like that." I scoffed but upon having some of the "cringe worthy" moments replayed for me made me realize that my mind covers up alot of the mistakes just as it did w/ other favorite singers. The thing is I do not think they translate as well on disc as when they are pouring the love all over you live.
-
Timmy Tour is definetly the factor that improved Tim\'s lyrics. Brought my parents to see Tim @ Porters a while back and they comented on how he has a nice voice.
The Breakfast is a band you just have to go out and see to get the whole experience. Brought my roomate who isn\'t even into this type of music to the WheelHouse last week and he loved it. Once they get over their mishaps jump on the road again, and attract some new people to their shows they will get bigger. They just gotta do it the old fashion way.....but thank god for .info!
-
Leith, Jer is most definitely my most favorite singer of all time. I dont think we will see, in our lives, a singer that can evoke such emotions with his voice - not to mention what he did with a guitar....
I guess I get what you are saying. And again, I am a bit biased, but I love to listen to the vocals now. Sure they can improve. And if this band has proven anything its that they get better every **** show.....
Definitely an exciting time to be a fan of The Breakfast....
-
Steve I love their vocals but I have grown used to them. Just as I got used to Jerry and got used to Trey.
No they still have a long way to go in the vocal dept. I still get the complaint from people that they play great but the singing could be better. These are folk like me that happen to really really be into lyrics and singing not just jamming all the time. Well your typical westcoast Deadhead ya know? We all know that Jerry\'s voice was not the best but NO ONE could bring that emotion to each and every song the way he did. Jerry Garcia is my favorite vocalist of all time. So I may not know what the hell I\'m talkin\' about anyway. I\'m just saying that their vocals can be better and they are improving every gig but for a majority of non Breakfast freaks the vocals are the only real weak link in the band.
-
no argument Al.....
I just know what I remember and am sure there are examples that can be sited where your point is valid....
not saying that your point isn\'t valid....but you know what i mean....right?
-
I\'m not trying to start a petty argument with you Steve, but I think Tim was singing better than Ron a few years back.
-
I think this band has mostly everything on target musically, now they need to start maturing into professional musicians...shitty vocals isn\'t exceptible anymore, not that i\'m saying their vocals are bad! IMO.
so then what are you saying?
The vocals haven\'t been shitty for a long long time....before you had pubes
You\'re kidding right? The vocals are passable now but they were absolutely atrocious up to about the end of 2003 imo and the opinion of every person I tried to turn on to The Breakfast up to that time. They are getting better and will continue to do so w/ the type of songs they are writing now that call for more developed vocals.
I see your point spunkster....definitely a good one....but since they dont have $$$ backing them from a familial point....they have to find other means...
****!!!!!!!!! That was the whole point of my Fund thread. Well at least I got you all talking. Sheesh!
passable???? This is how I see it.... In the begninng, Jordan was the best singer in the group. His raspy bluesy howl can and has brought tears to my eyes. Then Ronnie developed his vocals. I am not sure on when I realized this but I am pretty sure it was sometime in 2002, probably soon after the grand band slam. Next was Timmy. Vocal coaching, Ian Schumacher, and practice have turned Timmy into a pretty darn good - dare I say great - singer....And I don\'t know but hearing Adrian sing the VT song at SBC in milford, made me realize that now the enitre band knows how to sing, and you can tell in their harmonies. Leith, I know that you are less biased then me but I think passable is not giving them enough credit for how far they have come.......
As for the money thing....Those bands had money in their families not phamilies. Rich parents. Rich Friends. SER Money. From what I have seen at breakfast shows, there are no rich trustfund kids here with hundreds of thousands of dollars to throw around at their disposal....
On a sidenote referring to the derailment (and probable closing) of this thread. I would like to congratulate Wolfy for saying what some of us have only been thinking....that takes some balls my man and I commend you....
-
for instance why is every Raq and particle move, tour, show, sit in, etc... announced on the daily jambands.com news, personally I think both of those bands are generic crap, I dont give a rats ass
I think other bands are affraid, seriously affraid. I think they know how good the breakfast is.
The North East is retardedly competitive as well. If you go on someone elses message board and say "hey, the breakfast is playing come check it out" they reply with **** you, this band (whom ever message board it is) is the best band in the world and **** the breakfasst sucks.... go to phantasy anything, Bisco radio, BP radio, Hyperfunkalicious.com (Raq, these guys are serious jokers, the band isnt just a bunch of Breakfast wannabee\'s but their fans are too, you know how we have teams, all of a sudden they have clans, I am a lurker over there, but anyway they just started covering Message in a Bottle and they sadly hack Echinda\'s Arf, and their guitarist suddenly plays telecasters, I hate Raq) Enough of that rant
the northeast sucks when it comes to who everyones favorite band is, people get stuck in a rut and dont want to give other **** a chance. I dont disclose myself to the breakfast, I go see these bands dont get me wrong, AGP (zzzzzzz) Raq (cheeseball) particle(trustfund, need i say more) Brothers past (dtssdtsssdtss), I give them a chance but none of them are mind blowing, the breakfast is mindblowing, I get so pissed when I see people dissing them. Then they say their vocals suck, thats a load of horse **** because they are doing harder harmonies then any band out there, they go beyond the simple triads, they\'re cool jazzy chords. The simple minds just dont get it. I just went on another rant
leith ****!!!!!!!!! That was the whole point of my Fund thread. Well at least I got you all talking. Sheesh!
yeah but its not $5 from each of us, its someone investing big bucks in terms of marketing and promotion, grassroots is cool, but it only goes as far as like your home town and like 10 or 12 other markets where someone happened to tell their entire town..... like I did with Oneonta aka team red bull, I enlightened them all. after that its serious marketing and promotion that costs SER $$$
oh yeah, come to the show early on friday and check out my band Rezi
or whatevers left of it, it is unfortunately our last show for good, with guest keyboardist jeremy wall
-
I think this band has mostly everything on target musically, now they need to start maturing into professional musicians...shitty vocals isn\'t exceptible anymore, not that i\'m saying their vocals are bad! IMO.
so then what are you saying?
The vocals haven\'t been shitty for a long long time....before you had pubes
You\'re kidding right? The vocals are passable now but they were absolutely atrocious up to about the end of 2003 imo and the opinion of every person I tried to turn on to The Breakfast up to that time. They are getting better and will continue to do so w/ the type of songs they are writing now that call for more developed vocals.
I see your point spunkster....definitely a good one....but since they dont have $$$ backing them from a familial point....they have to find other means...
****!!!!!!!!! That was the whole point of my Fund thread. Well at least I got you all talking. Sheesh!
-
Look at these old timers trying to hijack this thread.....
Though Tim\'s busted SG is definitely applicable to the current state of the Breakfast...
I am wondering how he sounded with Adrian\'s Fender at Wormtown.... I didn\'t notice any posts about that in the Wormtown thread.... I do know that Adrians guitar is pretty **** nasty.... So the questions of the next few shows will be....What guiatar will Timmy be playing? Also, What will his newest "own" guitar be?
...problem being taken care of.....
-
I see your point spunkster....definitely a good one....but since they dont have $$$ backing them from a familial point....they have to find other means...
-
I havent read anything but steve\'s post
I think what is hindering them is $$$$ Cha Ching!!
Yea they make a good deal of money touring,
but a lot of the bands just above the breakfast have lots of $$ backing them
Particle..... apparently one of their parents bought their RV and trailer they tour in (Rich Kids)
I hear the same thing with Raq (same level as breakfast) someone is investing a lot of capital in these guys, as well as a very experienced manager, their guy (Brett) brought strangefolk from bars to clubs to theaters before they broke up. He has all the contacts he needs
Phish, i hate to break it to anyone but these kids has $$ too, 2 rich NJ kids, 1 rich MA kid, and 1 rich Syracuse kid
etc...
lots of money and some marketing genius would help in "making the band"
-
I think this band has mostly everything on target musically, now they need to start maturing into professional musicians...shitty vocals isn\'t exceptible anymore, not that i\'m saying their vocals are bad! IMO.
so then what are you saying?
The vocals haven\'t been shitty for a long long time....before you had pubes
-
I think this band has mostly everything on target musically, now they need to start maturing into professional musicians...shitty vocals isn\'t exceptible anymore, not that i\'m saying their vocals are bad! IMO.
-
^^HUH??? We are doing our part and that is the problem??? And if you mean that the fanbase isn\'t doing their part then you are **** NUTZZZZZZZZZ!!! I love these guys but if they aren\'t going to tour around the country what is the fanbase supposed to?? Is Spacey, who i know does ALOT, supposed to head out on a campaign trail to "Sread the word of the Breakfast"??? NOTHING good is going to happen on a large basis until the band starts touring and letting the rest of the country see them play music.period! To think that the fanbase has ANYTHING to do with the Breakfast not being larger is GARBAGE; and I feel dumber even reading your post!
Excuse me I think I just vomitted in my mouth!
WOW!
-
when was josh in charge? when did he stop being in charge? how many heads were on the .info then? how many have come out of the woodwork since then? just because it may seem better on a personal level, does that mean it was better for the band or their growth?
i don\'t have the answer to any of those, just curious.
From my complete fan/friend perspective, meaning that I have no idea what goes on behind the scenes, Josh left the band sometime in late 2003 or early 2004. It was a sad day, but I think it was for the best, at that time. And if he were to come back, I think it would be for the best, at the time. Considering him and the band didn\'t let their separation hurt their friendship, seeing as they were all at his wedding this past weekend. But who knows what will happen.... Time will tell, and boy is it a pretty exciting time to be a fan of this band....
Josh and .info are 2 separate things and really have no correlation other than his posting on the board.....
-
^^HUH??? We are doing our part and that is the problem??? And if you mean that the fanbase isn\'t doing their part then you are **** NUTZZZZZZZZZ!!! I love these guys but if they aren\'t going to tour around the country what is the fanbase supposed to?? Is Spacey, who i know does ALOT, supposed to head out on a campaign trail to "Sread the word of the Breakfast"??? NOTHING good is going to happen on a large basis until the band starts touring and letting the rest of the country see them play music.period! To think that the fanbase has ANYTHING to do with the Breakfast not being larger is GARBAGE; and I feel dumber even reading your post!
Excuse me I think I just vomitted in my mouth!
-
The amount of people that have heard of PB and now The Breakfast in this point of their career is way more than had heard of Phish @ the same point. So yeah The Breakfast are following that same path of developing a dedicated NE fanbase but my point is they DO NOT HAVE TO DO SO! They have a fanbase already spread all through the nation. They just have to tour and they will get crowds. It really is as simple as that.
:that:
Look how many users are on this .info website... almost NINE HUNDRED!!! While that is way more than I\'ve ever seen at the shows, knowing that TB has cause that many people to at least be interested in the band & to sign up on this board alone has really made me think about how much power we have as a fanbase... & the power this band must have to create that awe in such an extraordinary amount of users! I truly think the major problem is this: We, as a fanbase, are doing our part to spread word of this band...
-
when was josh in charge? when did he stop being in charge? how many heads were on the .info then? how many have come out of the woodwork since then? just because it may seem better on a personal level, does that mean it was better for the band or their growth?
i don\'t have the answer to any of those, just curious.
-
2 - Speaking of live shows and tours, it has seemed that the breakfast have moved away from taking risks while on stage. The Wheelhouse show last week was an exception. That second set was a huge risk, and it paid off. You could feel it in the venue, between the band and the crowd. That feeling just hasn\'t been prevelant in shows of late though.
agreed, however i think they would be experimenting more if they were getting to play longer sets. one of the reasons the puppethouse was so epic was because they were able to play for so f\'n long.
Another, and my final issue, regarding what is hampering this band is practice. Obviously they are amazing musicians and have been playing together for so long that they dont NEED to practice too much. And honestly, I dont know how much the actually DO practice, but I do know that if they have trepidations about taking risks with jams, or playing new songs, or trying new things, practice will take the hesitation out of that with a quickness....
practicing regularly is key in taking this band to the next level. ya they can pull off one ser show after another without much practice, but with it nothin can stop them.
-
I think tha tis what Leith was getting at as far as a stage/tour manager. That is the role Kroop played when he went to shows with the band and I always thought that they should have kept him on for that and gotten a managing agency for setting up gigs etc. Kroop was VERY good at running things "hands on" when any probs arose, at least fro what I saw.
Now it doesn\'t have to be him, but when they start touring regularly they will again begin to need one...not right away I imagine, due to having Dobz and EllisD on the road. As things get larger, then they will have the need for more people to help out on the road, voila...then they would have an "organization".
I volunteer now, and would love nothing else; but that is a ways off.
-
Mike, you hit exactly on my thinking and what I was thinking about.... I didn\'t want to bring Josh\'s name up initially, but was hoping that someone would.... thank you!!! and there will be no flaming regarding that post...
-
you know i will probably get flamed for saying this but when Josh was running things there was a much more hands on feeling. It was that group that was openly sticking their hand out and shaking peoples hands and bringing them in to the fold.
Sure I agree with Leith that management doesn\'t have to do these things but they make all the difference in the worl. A person or persons in the crowd during a show doing PR and that type of stuff gives folks a much more personal relationship with the band wether real or precieved it doesn\'t matter it all goes to making a "connection" with the band.
Josh was really good at that. So is/was Peck. those 2 in the early days really went out of their way to make you feel welcome. It was as simple as saying hello or a chat
-
i always thought that "the state of the breakfast address" was CONNECTICUT motherfucker!!!
more like the state of confusion.....but i digress
-
i always thought that "the state of the breakfast address" was CONNECTICUT motherfucker!!!
-
Look at these old timers trying to hijack this thread.....
Though Tim\'s busted SG is definitely applicable to the current state of the Breakfast...
I am wondering how he sounded with Adrian\'s Fender at Wormtown.... I didn\'t notice any posts about that in the Wormtown thread.... I do know that Adrians guitar is pretty **** nasty.... So the questions of the next few shows will be....What guiatar will Timmy be playing? Also, What will his newest "own" guitar be?
-
The neck on Tim\'s SG is ****!
:banghead:
-
The neck on Tim\'s SG is ****!
-
One of the reasons Phish was only in the NE area is the advent of internet trading had not begun.
Hey you know I hear they have the internet on computers now.
-
However, dont you think a bands MANAGEment should be concerned that the band doesn\'t have a MANAGEr? I would think that a MANAGEr would be intrugal in the band\'s MANAGEment to efficiently and effectively MANAGE their band.....No?
TOTALLY!
-
^^^^ I guess that is where my lack of knowledge about the biz is apparant.
However, dont you think a bands MANAGEment should be concerned that the band doesn\'t have a MANAGEr? I would think that a MANAGEr would be intrugal in the band\'s MANAGEment to efficiently and effectively MANAGE their band.....No?
-
For a band to expect to have a large fanbase, thay need the heads from home to want to come along. It is that "home" fanbase that is usually the first group to go on the road with the band for tours...following their shows across the country and getting a core base of crowd that the band knows is going to be there. These are the folks that get the energy going in those off the beaten path venues where not all have heard what the band has to offer.
This is not really true in the fullest. Phish has said that they were really surprised at the amount of people that knew their music when they got to Colo. and were AT the shows. Phish did not have a crowd following them on their first national tours. It took some time for that but they still toured. On a consistent basis. Alot of the people that did tour did so for limited jaunts or worked it around Dead Tour. I know I worked in a few Phish shows only due to the fact that I would be near there for GD. I do not remember a large contingent of VT folk @ ANY of my first Phish shows which all took place out here in the West. So I get your point but I think there are exceptions for the exceptional.
Leith...I totally believe you, from experience in the music scene, know what you are talking about....
My point is exactly that....Why have a management team that thinks only of how they are going to make money off of you????
Now I am not saying that I think they should abandon their management and use polls on the breakfast.info to decide every move they make. I am saying that I just hope that they are being guided in the right direction for what they are trying to accomplish in music. And if they aren\'t then they should do something to fix it.
I know nothing of the music business, nor do I care to from what I understand about it, but I know what I think and feel for this band that I (like MANY MANY others) have invested countless hours and countless dollars on over the past half a decade or so...
Don\'t get me wrong. I\'m sure management is STOKED there is this fansite for one but they have no reason to actually acknowledge it. It is literally not their job. Now if they have a Manager that they deal with on an everyday basis who should be attending a gig or two then yeah it is weird no one has met him/her. Esp. being as close as everyone is out there.
-
Leith...I totally believe you, from experience in the music scene, know what you are talking about....
My point is exactly that....Why have a management team that thinks only of how they are going to make money off of you????
Now I am not saying that I think they should abandon their management and use polls on the breakfast.info to decide every move they make. I am saying that I just hope that they are being guided in the right direction for what they are trying to accomplish in music. And if they aren\'t then they should do something to fix it.
I know nothing of the music business, nor do I care to from what I understand about it, but I know what I think and feel for this band that I (like MANY MANY others) have invested countless hours and countless dollars on over the past half a decade or so...
-
I disagree in that I think that a band that I feel has been one of the "most giving bands in rock and roll", it is important for their management to take them (us) into consideration....
I didn\'t mean for management to don funny tshirts and some heady slang and slug beers and whatnot..
Regarding Vic, I have exchanged emails with him a couple of times and he has been amazing in his ability to "take a moment for the fans" and is always welcoming in that respect....
Well I\'ll tell you now Management is NOT the band. The band may be one of the "most giving bands in rock and roll" but that does not mean management has to have anything to do w/ us as fans. This is not an affront to you but having worked in this industry for the past 10 years I can tell you you are sadly mistaken if you think management is going to take the time to deal w/ fans when they could be working on things for the band which happens to pay them. Steffmo goes beyond his capacity as record producer and it is very much appreciated.
btw the ONLY management that you may run into and get some time out of is a tour/stage manager. Which The Breakfast does not have nor need @ the moment.
But hey if you feel the need to contact management I believe the contact info is on the website. Let me know how it goes.
-
wow,how many different titles could this thread get?
-
^^^Ding ding ding!!! Although this board is fanatical about this band and there is a spreading fanbase across the country...you can still go to ANY Breakfast show and walk right up to the door 5 minutes before showtime and get a ticket. The Cafe 9 double headers are the only in my memory that this was aproblem. Though a tour is definitely needed across this country, the band still could use an even larger NE fanbase.
Mike Gordon, was quoted once as saying, that a band from the NE shouldn\'t even think about a National Tour before they could sell out the Somerville Theatre in Mass. Now this again like Leith pointed out, is from a time that Phish\'s music was not as wide spread as the Breakfast are able to do now with the interweb. However, it is an interesting point. For a band to expect to have a large fanbase, thay need the heads from home to want to come along. It is that "home" fanbase that is usually the first group to go on the road with the band for tours...following their shows across the country and getting a core base of crowd that the band knows is going to be there. These are the folks that get the energy going in those off the beaten path venues where not all have heard what the band has to offer.
Timmy Tour is amazing, but I would give it up in a second if the band was able to get residencies in Venues like the Knitting Factory, Plantation Club, The Trocadero/TLA in Philly, etc... The Breakfast would gain that city as a new "home".
-
I disagree in that I think that a band that I feel has been one of the "most giving bands in rock and roll", it is important for their management to take them (us) into consideration....
I didn\'t mean for management to don funny tshirts and some heady slang and slug beers and whatnot..
Regarding Vic, I have exchanged emails with him a couple of times and he has been amazing in his ability to "take a moment for the fans" and is always welcoming in that respect....
-
I hear ya freddie.....
However, I am sure that Alex gets a ton of emails a day, and I fear that the initial corespondence would be overlooked or misinterpreted....
Since when does management mix with fans anyway? Come On. The suits do the work the Band plays and we pay $$ to dance away. There is no need whatsoever for management to deal w/ anyone but the folk that hired them. Yet again the feeling that this band is a couple friends that just play around is prevalent. Professionalism goes a long way in this business. Management will send out a fan letter if they feel the need to do so or the band asks them to. I think Steffmo their record producer does a decent job of informing the fanbase of any events or progress of the band. This should be sufficient.
-
i think that once they start to sell out all bars and move to small theatres, then it\'s time to start going nationally more often. They need to get a stronger fanbase in NE first.
Agreed.
I have seen the fanbase grow bigger and stronger in the past 2 years. Much more than ever before.
One of the great things about the growth is that the time it takes to forge a strong fanbase is directly proportinal to the staying power of the band. I would welcome another 6 years of what is going on now rather than have an overnight bottle rocket situation, where all of a sudden there are thousands of overnight fans and the band becomes the dreaded "one hit wonder"
-
i think that once they start to sell out all bars and move to small theatres, then it\'s time to start going nationally more often. They need to get a stronger fanbase in NE first.
-
I hear ya freddie.....
However, I am sure that Alex gets a ton of emails a day, and I fear that the initial corespondence would be overlooked or misinterpreted....
-
well,they did just score a pretty damn ser agency that their manager hooked into..
things are doin,but like you said,there behind the scenes..
I understand that there is more stuff than we know about going on behind the scene. My concern is that these people making these decisions and navigating the ship that is The Breakfast, one haven\'t made it a point to at least introduce themselves to the people that have supported this band and love the members and its scene.
Which way is this ship headed? Are the navigators just doing what they feel needs to be done for the band to be profitable at any cost, or are they nurturing the music and its musicians all while taking into consideration the growing throngs of dedicated and loving fans....
im sure an email to alex defelice would certainly answer these questions plus some..
-
I wonder about the managment at times too.
-
well,they did just score a pretty damn ser agency that their manager hooked into..
things are doin,but like you said,there behind the scenes..
I understand that there is more stuff than we know about going on behind the scene. My concern is that these people making these decisions and navigating the ship that is The Breakfast, one haven\'t made it a point to at least introduce themselves to the people that have supported this band and love the members and its scene.
Which way is this ship headed? Are the navigators just doing what they feel needs to be done for the band to be profitable at any cost, or are they nurturing the music and its musicians all while taking into consideration the growing throngs of dedicated and loving fans....
-
One of the reasons Phish was only in the NE area is the advent of internet trading had not begun. How was anyone supposed to get tapes of this crazy band from VT. much less hear about them. It was not until phans began getting that **** out that Phish was able to trail the tapes and tour w/ a crowd awaiting them and knowing the songs.
Some of the frustration felt by fans can be attributed to being able to recieve and send out NEW Breakfast nearly every week. The amount of people that have heard of PB and now The Breakfast in this point of their career is way more than had heard of Phish @ the same point. So yeah The Breakfast are following that same path of developing a dedicated NE fanbase but my point is they DO NOT HAVE TO DO SO! They have a fanbase already spread all through the nation. They just have to tour and they will get crowds. It really is as simple as that.
-
well,they did just score a pretty damn ser agency that their manager hooked into..
things are doin,but like you said,there behind the scenes..
-
fixed....thanks dave....
-
Musically the band was always tight, innovative, and just amazing. Ronnie having been the weakest musician in the band in the early years, but since coming back from tour in 2001 and at the Grand Band Slam in August 01, Ronnie is on the level with the rest of the band, and still growing.
quick correction - this is 2002 you\'re thinking of..
-
Okay, I have seen a lot of recent posts about this band and where they are and where people think they should be. As a person that has followed this band pretty close (not as close as some but closer than others) since late 1999, I wanted to start this thread to discuss my thoughts on the current state of affairs of this band we all know and love dearly.....
The Breakfast has come a long way in the past 6 years. I remember when Jordan was the only member who actually knew how to sing. Shortly after, Ronnie showed his vocal chops. At this point the entire band knows how to sing, and they each have their own style and sounds. When they start harmonizing (which will require much more practice), they will be an unstoppbably musical and vocal juggernaut...... When that happens tears will stream from the eyes of the crowd.
Musically the band was always tight, innovative, and just amazing. Ronnie having been the weakest musician in the band in the early years, but since coming back from tour in 2002 and at the Grand Band Slam in August 02, Ronnie is on the level with the rest of the band, and still growing. And knowing the talent and experience of Tim, Adrian, and Jordan, this band has not yet reached their full potential, fills me with with insane anticipation...
I know its not really a good measurement, but I have tended to compare the growth of The Breakfast with the growth of Phish. 6 years into their life, phish played mostly VT and Northern New England shows. It wasnt until 1993 (10 years into the life of the band) did they start playing theaters on a regular basis. What were they doing in those first 10 years???? Building a strong and dedicated fanbase. I feel that the Breakfast are moving along fine along this timeline. And the growth of the Breakfast\'s fanbase in size and strength is coming along great. In the past 2 years, I have seen some amazing things happen in the Breakfast family. It has been a wonderful thing to be a part of and I look forward to continue to watch it grow and develop.
Right now I see 2 major issues hampering this band.
1 - I dont believe there is solid and dedicated "behind the scenes" leadership with this group. They have a their "people" working for them, but I have not seen or met one of these people at any show. Does this person have a plan laid out for them? Are there goals? If the goal is just for them to sell albums and make money playing shitty spots like the Lion\'s Den, then I believe that this ship will sink. This isn\'t a band like Moron 5 or The Goo Goo Dolls. Its the live shows and tours that is going to make the band the timeless legends that they are destined to be.....
2 - Speaking of live shows and tours, it has seemed that the breakfast have moved away from taking risks while on stage. The Wheelhouse show last week was an exception. That second set was a huge risk, and it paid off. You could feel it in the venue, between the band and the crowd. That feeling just hasn\'t been prevelant in shows of late though.
When the second set ended I went up to Todd and told him that the encore would be the PERFECT spot for them to debut a new song. Todd vehamently disagreed with me saying that they wouldnt do anything as unprofessional or risky as playing a song nobody knows for the encore... My reply, "well this is a band that is still playing at beginner venues like the Lions Den". Touchee indeed......
Another, and my final issue, regarding what is hampering this band is practice. Obviously they are amazing musicians and have been playing together for so long that they dont NEED to practice too much. And honestly, I dont know how much the actually DO practice, but I do know that if they have trepidations about taking risks with jams, or playing new songs, or trying new things, practice will take the hesitation out of that with a quickness....
I just wanted to get these things out and see what all of your thoughts are on some of these topics, as well as give you the ability to voice your own thoughts and opinions on the state of The Breakfast as 2005 starts to bleed into 2006......