battle royale

Round 1, Expansion Conference: Rock’s Greatest Backing Band

Dec 132011

Tournament play to determine—once and for all—Rock’s Greatest Backing Band continues with the Expansion Conference, composed of backing bands for some of rock’s initial genre-expanding bands as well as a few newer backing bands supporting artists working in similar a similar ’60s rock revolution vein. Please use this space to argue for your favorite backing band in each contest, using any or all of the following criteria, including criteria not listed here:

Ability to support the bandleader’s musical agenda/vision
Additional musical contribution to the bandleader’s sound/vision
Look and other supporting “rock superhero powers”
Catchiness of backing band’s name

You may log your vote on each contestant in the Round 1 games through the polls on the following page. Please make sure to register your support and votes for the other conferences at their respective threads:

Please review the contests and all supporting material, including any you may present in the Comments section, then cast your votes through the following series of polls.

Round 1, Legacy Conference: Rock’s Greatest Backing Band

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Dec 132011

Tournament play to determine—once and for all—Rock’s Greatest Backing Band begins with the Legacy Conference, composed of backing bands for some of rock’s founding fathers as well as a few newer backing bands supporting artists working in similar a similar roots-rock vein. Please use this space to argue for your favorite backing band in each contest, using any or all of the following criteria, including criteria not listed here:

Ability to support the bandleader’s musical agenda/vision
Additional musical contribution to the bandleader’s sound/vision
Look and other supporting “rock superhero powers”
Catchiness of backing band’s name

Please review the contests and all supporting material, including any you may present in the Comments section, then cast your votes through the following series of polls.

Rock Town Hall Tournament Seedings Released to Determine…Once and For All…Rock’s Greatest Backing Band Ever!

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Dec 122011

Don't discount the Jukes!

As the Rock Town Hall community—if not the music community at large—prepares for a Battle Royale of epic proportions, the seedings for the upcoming tournament to determine—once and for all—rock’s greatest backing band have been released! A PDF of the seeded field of 64 is available for viewing and download when you click on the following link:

Best Backing Band Tournament Field of 64

At the strike of midnight EST Tuesday, December 12, the first round of the tournament will begin, allowing Townspeople to argue for and vote on the opening matches in each conference. Please use this space to study the matches, reflect on the selections, and speculate on the battles ahead.

Rock Town Hall is not responsible for any wagering placed on the outcome of this tournament.

Battle Royale: What Rocker Would You Most Entrust to Grill Your Steak?

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Oct 102011

Little-known fact (at least for casual visitors to the Hall): One of the rock nerd community’s never-ending insider conversations revolves around which rocker would be most entrusted to grill a steak. In the right—or wrong, depending on how you look at it—circles, it’s a question that is sure to spark heated debate. Disagreements over this issue are typically so intense that the discussion has never been broached in a public forum before. For the first time ever, Rock Town Hall pulls back the curtain on this topic and encourages Townspeople to play out this topic for all to see.

What rocker would you most entrust to grill your steak?

Years ago a similar debate raged over which rocker would be most entrusted to prepare sushi, but near-unanimous agreement was reached as soon as the first rock nerd suggested Brian Eno. When the discussion turns back to rockers entrusted to grilling a steak, however, agreement is not in sight over even obvious rockers who might be considered trustworthy steak grillers, such as Ted Nugent or Midnight Oil’s Peter Garrett. “What about Roxy Music’s Paul Thompson?” some mouth breather is sure to exclaim.

What about Paul Thompson, or Nugent or Garrett, for that matter? Do you have a rocker ready to enter the squared circle, ready to take on any one of these grill masters? Bring it on!

Pop Quiz: What’s the Manliest Backing Vocal in the History of Rock ‘n Roll?

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Aug 162011

Yes, there’s one correct answer—unless you come up with an answer better than the one E. Pluribus Gergely and I discussed last night. See if you can identify the manliest backing vocal in the history of rock ‘n roll!

First to answer correctly wins a bottle of Mandom.*

*EPG and members of Nixon’s Head are not eligible for this contest.

Battle Royale: Best Argument for the Keytar

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Aug 042011

Is there any instrument that takes more abuse than the keytar? And does anyone ever feel the slightest regret for taking said shot at the instrument and any musician who’s ever played one? Today I challenge you to state the best argument for this deservedly derided instrument. I present the above clip and challenge you, Townspeople, to make a better argument for the instrument! (And don’t think I haven’t made it to the 50-second mark of this performance.)

Battle Royale: Is the Syndrum the Lamest Instrument Ever?

Posted by Mr. Moderator

May 102011

Did you know the Pollard Syndrum, the first electronic drum, was invented by a former studio drummer for The Beach Boys and The Grass Roots? I did not know that. That said, I propose that the Syndrum is the lamest instrument ever.

Has the Syndrum ever made a positive, essential contribution to any recording? The Cars‘ “Good Times Roll” is cited as a well-known example of the Syndrum in practice, but would you call that little tom-tom ping positive or essential? Would anyone call that noise both positive and essential? The good times are rolling just fine without it in this 1982 live performance of the song.

Furthermore, why did someone have to invent a synth that’s controlled by a drum pad? Why couldn’t Cars’ keyboardist Greg Hawkes have used his index finger to hit that blip on the downbeat of David Robinson’s tom-tom? Hell, he could have done it on a keytar, putting to rest any arguments that that lame instrument is more lame than the Syndrum.

Can you name one positive and essential recording driven by a Syndrum? Thinking of what that instrument did to the already lame Clash song “Ivan Meets GI Joe,” would you want to let the Syndrum off the hook by indentifying a lamer instrument?

Can you name an instrument more lame than the Syndrum? And don’t give me the Ovation Roundback acoustic guitar, because despite its aesthetic shortcomings thousands of hours on The Road have been logged playing perfectly fine music for The People.

(More about the Syndrum player in this post’s introductory video…after the jump!) Continue reading »

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