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The Next Great American Band: Old No. 7 Gets No Satisfaction
Episode 6 Recap by Gayl Killough
November 26, 2007
The top six bands performed on The Next Great American Band. One band went home, but unlike last week, it was not a shocker and was actually a little too predictable.
The week the theme question for the filler introductions was along the lines of what would people be surprised to know about the band members of each band.
The songwriting team this week is Mick Jagger and Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones. They were really cute and adorable when they were first starting out. Hard to believe based on how they turned out in a way, although a lot of that is because I always think of them as being a lot older than me, which they are. They reminded me of how Mikey of Tres Bien looks now.
Speaking of which, Tres Bien is the first band announced safe this week. They are the 60's British rock style band. I am not surprised, because usually the band that goes last the week before goes near the beginning for the next week. We learn that Mikey also likes hip hop music, Cody has a partial titanium jaw, and Ryan can grow a really ugly beard and does not always bathe when he needs to. They state that the Rolling Stones had the perfect song for them, which is titled Get Off My Cloud.
Judge John said he loved it and that it was a great song for them. He says that Mikey does Mick Jagger really well. They lost him a little bit when they threw in a Satisfaction riff in the middle, along with the key change. Judge Sheila said that she was not sure she would see them again, but that she enjoyed it. She commented that the guitar was a little out of tune, and that changes in weather can affect instruments, so one has to stay on top of it. She gives that advice to all the bands. The audience starts to boo Sheila and she replies back to the audience that they are going to boo her as a question. Judge Dicko cuts in and tells Sheila that she will feel dirty at first, but after a while she will start to love the boos in more than one way. Judge Dicko says that Mikey was the most gifted front man there and this song should have fit them like a glove. So he asks if it did. The negatives was that they deserved a slap for throwing in the Satisfaction rift and the key change, but the positive was that it was fun, sassy, brilliant, and a great start to the show.
Fans of Tres Bien may think that Judge Sheila is nit picking on this band, but I understand where she is coming from. Actually, I am even more critical of this band. I do pick on this band almost every week, but if I did not think that this band could improve, I would not bother with the criticism. It is because I still care about this band and I believe that they could be so much better of a band if they would let themselves be a better band. They have such commercial potential because there is such nostalgia for their style right now. Despite how my criticism may come across, I would like to see them do well. I do think that they will be given more of a pass compared to other genres of bands because they remind people of really popular bands and many people will buy any music in the style they represent, but I think that is all the more reason for them to build a strong foundation for themselves now. In terms of being serious musicians, they present a little bit on the lazy side at times, but that could be fixed. I would love to see what this band is like while practicing, because I suspect that they need to be a little more serious about practicing their craft, but I am not sure since I am not there.
Throwing in the Satisfaction rift in the middle really threw off the nice build up of the song that they had going on, and flat out did not belong there. Perhaps they wanted to play that song instead? They come across as fans in a 60's cover band with a bag of their favorite rifts and tricks that they enjoy playing. Contrast them to The Clark Brothers who also have a heritage sound that they use as a base, but The Clark Brothers bring their sound forward and they can stretch their sound in all kind of directions, yet they don't lose their original basis of who they are. Tres Bien can stay true to the sound that they really love, but treat it more like a platform. Instead it is like Tres Bien tries to bring every other song toward their narrow niche of style in order to make it their own. The Clark Brothers stretch out while Tres Bien is stretching everything in toward them. Tres Bien needs to be able to move in different musical directions and they need stronger musical roots. They remind me of a tree with shallow roots. They can plant their sound where they already are, they are in a great starting place musically, but then they need to grow some deeper musical roots by listening to the music that inspired their musical heroes, and keeping with the tree analogy, don't be afraid to branch out from where they are planted. I am not asking for major changes, just to stretch and grow from where they are now.
Denver and the Mile High Orchestra are announced safe second. They are the big band style of band. We learn that Denver does a great job of impersonations with Donald Duck and Aaron Neville. Jeff likes to talk with his hands, and Jarod does not like to be fully clothed all the time. Denver announces themselves as DMHO. I wonder if he gets tired of saying it as much as I get tired of writing it out. It is a really long band name. They choose to perform I'm Free.
Judge John wanted to know why they did not perform the song titled Bitch, which immediately gets a scolding from anti-swearing Judge Sheila. So Judge John asks why they did not perform the song Female Dog then. Denver defends the song choice by saying that they were still there and they were free to perform what they wanted. Judge Sheila states that Denver just said that others could kiss their butts if they don't like it. Judge Sheila loved it again and loves big bands. Judge Dicko says that the variety was good, but good for B-sides. He thinks this is the third week in a row that DMHO has gone off track and they need to present their original style more often. He said that the Rolling Stones had a catalog full of blues based stuff that they could have teared up instead that would have better suited them.
The Mile High Orchestra has been stronger as a band than Denver has been as a front man, and at some level I think that will always be true. However, I see bits and pieces of Denver's personality in the filler moments and when he is not singing. So why is he so dull and lifeless when he sings? He is not bringing what personality that he does have into his singing. While watching Denver do a great Donald Duck impression, he was so loose and comical. My immediate sarcastic reaction was that I wish he would sing the song while doing the Donald Duck impression because at least it would have some personality to it. At first I felt bad for thinking it, but actually there is some truth to it. He needs to take the mindset that he has when doing impressions and bring that to his performance.
Also, while defending his song choice.....
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About Gayl Killough
Gayl considers herself a jack of all trades and has too many interests. Gayl writes government documents for a living and hopes people find this commentary to be more interesting. Gayl likes to believe that being born on B.B. King's birthday means she was born to love the blues. You can contact Gayl at gkilloug@yahoo.com.
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