There was a night when me and my friends discussed questions pertaining to one of my deepest passions: music. I had this idea of sharing my answers here in this post since I have these “burnout moments” right now.
Let’s get this on.
Q: Why are touring bands mostly comprised of male performers? Even the most enduring musical artists in the mainstream are mostly comprised of men. Why do you think this is so?
A: I don’t mean to appear or sound sexist, but I think it has something to do with endurance issues. As a member of a small-time underground music community, me and my crew often do all the workload for ourselves: pack our stuff, carry our gear and practice for many, many hours. In these aspects, male band members excel naturally.
We can’t blame our female members, but in terms of handling pressures of the physical sort, they just can’t endure the way most males can. In gigs where there are just very little resources (small transportation vehicle, small sleeping quarters, etc.) and monetary returns, we usually refrain from allowing female members to tag along since they will either just slow us down, or pose some accommodation problems. (sorry girls)
This is the typical scenario for any starting performing group — a scenario that’s inconvenient for females. So how is this relevant to the question? Since I choose to put emphasis on the word “endurance” the reason why there are fewer female performers in the music scene is that maybe, most of them didn’t just have the longevity that’s required to make it through.
Or, it could be that the system just doesn’t have enough faith in them.
In these times when physical attractiveness seems to be more important than talent, maybe the next decades of the music scene could be a lot different.
Q: Why do most rock bands break up after 2 or more albums?
A: Why a lot of bands and musical groups disband after a few releases could be for the following reasons:
They are choked by their own fame.
They become really famous, but they party endlessly, forget the fact that they have obligations — rehearsals, behave well on interviews, preserve their image, etc. You might think that being a rocker is not about having a nice image, but you’re wrong about that. Once you get into the mainstream scene of entertainment, your image is something that you need, really need to take care of.
Even those rockstars who appear to be undisciplined bad-asses onstage or onscreen who happened to be still active for decades are in actuality, very disciplined and determined people — it’s the reason why they are still around and are still loved by their fans.
They are victimized by corporate greed.
Many producers, studio owners, and pretty much every recording institution you could think of would tell you they want to help you and that they love you and your artistry. Most of the time though, this is a lie. I’m not saying all of them are like this, but most of them only care about how many hits you can make.
Simply stated, all they care about is how much money you can funnel into their pockets. Many studios and promotion companies deceive their artists so they become more in debt than profitable. For this reason, most bands or any artists for that matter just vanish after one or two albums.
They are just not good enough.
This might be a bit too hard to hear, but talent is something that we as humans are born with. If a band is comprised of individuals who are just not naturally gifted with their craft, they will just easily get overpowered by the ones who are truly artistically equipped. Although luck and connections do make you famous, you still wouldn’t be successful enough for long if you’re not that appealing to people.
Q: If John Lennon and Paul McCartney never met, do you think The Beatles could have been as good or better? Even if the other 2, Ringo Starr and George Harrison are still there?
A: Since Lennon and McCartney are the real “brain trust” behind the greatness of The Beatles’ tunes, I’m inclined to say no.
Starr and Harrison were fairly good musicians, but it is very unlikely that they would be as famous as the better half of the band. It is stated in their biography that George was an impressive guitarist from John’s perspective, but accepting any average guitarist then could not make any Lennon-MacCartney written song any more or less beautiful.
As with Ringo’s drumming, it did make great contributions to Beatlemania, but any drummer with just the right rhythmic skills can make it nonetheless. The Lennon-McCartney tandem is the greatest musical pairing this world has ever seen, and it would still be as glorious as it is, regardless of who are the lead guitarist and drummer that accompany them.
Q: Are some K-pop boy band members gay?
A: Some K-pop band members are gay…
as well as some members of rock bands…
as well as some members of other musical groups…
as well as some athletes…
as well as some other social groups for that matter.
Having gays as members of any group is just a reality, a part of life, a part of this planet where we live in. So let’s just accept and deal with it, shall we?
Q: Do musicians get bored with performing the same music again and again?
Getting bored in respect to the question only happens during rehearsals, and if the crowd is not fun to be around with. In my experience, playing the same song can give you different levels of elation: sometimes, you feel like you’re the biggest star on earth, sometimes it just gives you the feeling of “just another typical gig.” Frustratingly, sometimes you feel like you’re the worst performer who ever lived — though the majority of the audience liked your performance.
In the case of professional music artists, my opinion would be that boredom in playing the same music or song again and again for the same crowd, the same airwaves, and the same stadium is something that they have outgrown or must outgrow. They may not feel like doing it but they have to. They owe it to the fans, or to their handlers, or to their contracts.
Have a pleasant day… Excelsior!
