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Solo/duo definitions?

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CoyoteSlim

Solo/duo definitions?

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Deepest Blue

Posts: 1973

Oct 2 11 5:24 AM

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Well... Not at my most eloquentest right now but -- does an single acoustic performer (whether on guitar or pie-anny or whatever) have a chance against an electric guitar/drum duo or electric piano/harp duo or an electric guitar/saxophone duo? From what I've seen at recent local events, the answer is no. . . Should duos be separated from solo performers to make things more fair? A duo is more band-like to me, especially if drums are involved. What are your thoughts?

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Rabbit told the 'possum, shake them 'simmons down."

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kinghendrix

#1

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Deepest Blue

Posts: 6385

Oct 2 11 6:46 AM

No doubt for me that there is much difference between a duo and a solo than between a big band and a duo. But I think that it's less true when... drums are involved !

. You're right about quite an unfair help can be given by drums for filling space, increasing dynamic and, more basically, keeping the time when a guitarist lacks some of those qualities but I think that only audiences get used to listen to complete bands can be really influenced by that.

Jean-Claude
Lyon (France)

Gallery Blues Attic
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Slim Lively

#2

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Deepest Blue

Posts: 10499

Oct 3 11 2:38 AM

The solo/duo catagory has only been established since 2002. Would you rather still be going up against all the bands in Memphis, too?

Out of the ten years the solo/duo event has taken place, duos have won the competition three times (Lightnin' Lee & Upright Rooster in 2004, Nathan James & Ben Hernandez in 2007 and Georg Schroeter & Marc Breitfelder in 2011). Seems to me that the solo artists have done pretty well competing against the duos.

There was talk at one point about one-man bands. Are they really just to be considered a solo act if they are working multiple instruments? To me, this question was inane. Watching people like Ben Prestage, John-Alex Mason, Rollie Tussing and others was a thrill to behold.

Slim Lively

8-time Nominee Cascade Blues Association Muddy Awards
2000, 2008 & 2011 Back What You Believe Recipient
2008 Lifetime Achievement Recipient
2006 Friend of The Blues Foundation Outstanding Achievement Recipient
2-time Nominee Portland Music Awards Outstanding Achievement in Blues (2010 & 2011)
2012 Portland Music Award nominee as producer of Best Compilation Recording, Puddletown Blues, Vol. 1

Portland, OR

". . . And then in the end, it's family and friends, loving yourself, but not only yourself, it's about the good walk and the hard walk, and the young girls you made cry, it's about making a little music everyday 'til you die, it's a beautiful ride . . . " Dewey Cox

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gdudiv

#3

[-]

Deepest Blue

Posts: 724

Oct 3 11 12:09 PM

Right on, Slim. Solo/Duo is fine just like it is, and proven valid by the reason stated - 7 out of 10 years won by a solo artist. There is no disadvantage to being a solo act. I think if you have made it to IBC as a solo, you have proven yourself already as a performer and on the strength of your material. If you get to the Orpheum as a solo, you are among the best of the best anywhere/any day. When a person puts themselves out there as a solo, they have already decided they are capable of carrying the whole load - and if you make it to Memphis, competing along with the folks at this gathering, it's a proven fact to your peers. Embrace it.

Solo acts that doubt themselves should have a band to help carry the weight. It's all good either way.

I play mostly custom instruments, from my frankenstein tele to the handmade lap steels aka Sipsy River steels, Larrivee acoustics, Crate, and Mesa Boogie amps, Snake Oil Brand strings on my electrics, DR and Elixers on my acoustics.

http://www.2blumusic.com
http://www.dontfretinstruments.com

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gdudiv

#4

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Deepest Blue

Posts: 724

Oct 3 11 12:18 PM

I missed some of your point about your observations at your local events..... These things are so subjective even at the international level. (actually at the so called int'l level, judges are picked from "somebody's" local society so the rules still apply to subjectivity). The bottom line is it's as fair as it can be IMHO. "Fair" really shouldn't be a factor if you're confident enough in your abilities and your material to enter one of these things in the first place. It's all about getting yourself in front of an audience anyway, and for the "CHANCE" to put yourself on the chopping block of the IBCs - to be judged by a bigger piece of the industry and your peers.

peace

I play mostly custom instruments, from my frankenstein tele to the handmade lap steels aka Sipsy River steels, Larrivee acoustics, Crate, and Mesa Boogie amps, Snake Oil Brand strings on my electrics, DR and Elixers on my acoustics.

http://www.2blumusic.com
http://www.dontfretinstruments.com

user posted image

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Stackabones

#5

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Posts: 233

Oct 3 11 3:51 PM

What if a solo performer taps his foot loudly on a piece of mic'd-up wood? Or what if a duo (like Simon & Garfunkel) only has two voices and a single guitar?

This is a really strange topic!

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Madman Sam

#6

[-]

Deepest Blue

Posts: 1704

Oct 3 11 7:23 PM

Slim Lively made me provide a note from my doctor as part of my application, stating that my current medication kept at least 4 of my 6 personalities under control. Otherwise, he was going to make me enter as an orchestra instead of a solo/duo act.

...true story... seriously...you know I wouldn't make this shit up...

"I don't want the blues to tickle my fancy.
I want the blues to reach down my throat, grab me by the asshole, and pull me inside out." - Madman Sam

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CoyoteSlim

#7

[-]

Deepest Blue

Posts: 1973

Oct 3 11 7:41 PM

I think, from what I've seen, it basically comes down to what Jean-Claude said regarding dynamics: "I think that only audiences get used to listen to complete bands can be really influenced by that." That is exactly what happened at the two events I went to (only one of which I participated in).

Interesting statistics, Senor Lively.

As a side note, only one of the events I went to (the one I played in) had judges. There were 10 acts scheduled, only 9 played. There were several guitarist/vocal soloists, a guitarist-vocalist with a loop machine that played bass lines, a young lady that played pie-anny and sang on a few tunes and then guitar and sang on another, a duo consisting of electrified guitar and harmonica and "vocals", a lady who played keyboards and a sang and played saxophone, and a duo of acoustic bass and guitar with both players on vocals for different tunes.

In the other one event I went to, there were only four acts, and there were no judges. Instead, the audience voted at the end. There was a duo of acoustic guitar, vocals, and harmonica, a young lady who sang and played guitar, a boogie-woogie woman pie-anny player accompanied by drums, and a solo guitarist/vocalist.

Sam: I know you wouldn't make that shit up, but I ain't certain about your other personalities!

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Rabbit told the 'possum, shake them 'simmons down."

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Madman Sam

#8

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Deepest Blue

Posts: 1704

Oct 3 11 7:52 PM

What? I didn't post that...and either did I.

"I don't want the blues to tickle my fancy.
I want the blues to reach down my throat, grab me by the asshole, and pull me inside out." - Madman Sam

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CoyoteSlim

#9

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Deepest Blue

Posts: 1973

Oct 3 11 8:08 PM

QUOTE (Madman Sam @ October 03, 2011 12:52 pm)

What? I didn't post that...and either did I.

Maybe it was Madame Sam!

Coyote Slim's website

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Rabbit told the 'possum, shake them 'simmons down."

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Madman Sam

#10

[-]

Deepest Blue

Posts: 1704

Oct 3 11 11:09 PM

You wouldn't be the first to guess that:
user posted image

"I don't want the blues to tickle my fancy.
I want the blues to reach down my throat, grab me by the asshole, and pull me inside out." - Madman Sam

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Buzzincuzzin

#11

[-]

Posts: 71

Oct 4 11 11:49 AM

Our approach to this event is solo/duo would be an advantage because our goal is to have some material exposed. And no, we ain't scared of making racket in a wad amongst the elite. All bands are not acts.
The impact of an act's performance is not affected by anything outside that time-slot. All you can ever do is deliver the message to whomever is in front of you.
Somebody is going to have a "just had a great day" type show(we've all had both kinds) in a weekend where sub-par is non-existent.

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lionmojo

#12

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Posts: 3059

Oct 4 11 2:31 PM

What if I bring a laptop with session musicians, and professional video to play along to the performance, on the TV monitors around the venues', and a group of paid fans. Oh and I almost forgot, a monkey with a washboard.

G(I wish)W

All's Well That Ends Well - W. Shakespeare
Well, Well, Well - R.L. Burnsides
Hill Country Memphisssippi

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Slim Lively

#13

[-]

Deepest Blue

Posts: 10499

Oct 4 11 3:35 PM

A monkey with a washboard. Now I'd pay to see that!!

Slim Lively

8-time Nominee Cascade Blues Association Muddy Awards
2000, 2008 & 2011 Back What You Believe Recipient
2008 Lifetime Achievement Recipient
2006 Friend of The Blues Foundation Outstanding Achievement Recipient
2-time Nominee Portland Music Awards Outstanding Achievement in Blues (2010 & 2011)
2012 Portland Music Award nominee as producer of Best Compilation Recording, Puddletown Blues, Vol. 1

Portland, OR

". . . And then in the end, it's family and friends, loving yourself, but not only yourself, it's about the good walk and the hard walk, and the young girls you made cry, it's about making a little music everyday 'til you die, it's a beautiful ride . . . " Dewey Cox

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rivercityslim

#14

[-]

Deepest Blue

Posts: 4858

Oct 4 11 3:55 PM

QUOTE (Slim Lively @ October 04, 2011 10:35 am)

A monkey with a washboard. Now I'd pay to see that!!

Here you go, and you don't even have to pay! A monkey with a washboard sitting in with Otis & The Hurricanes at the 4th Annual Blues Views & BBQ Festival in Westport CT Saturday 9/24:

user posted image

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backalleyblues

#15

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Deepest Blue

Posts: 590

Oct 4 11 5:01 PM

QUOTE (Madman Sam @ October 03, 2011 02:52 pm)

What? I didn't post that...and either did I.

Well, Sam, you still have at least 4 more characters that need to answer for that post... /hilarious

Franc Robert

Just living the blues
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Franc Robert & The Boxcar Tourists
Franc's own MySpace page
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gdudiv

#16

[-]

Deepest Blue

Posts: 724

Oct 5 11 12:56 AM

QUOTE (lionmojo @ October 04, 2011 08:31 am)

What if I bring a laptop with session musicians, and professional video to play along to the performance, on the TV monitors around the venues', and a group of paid fans. Oh and I almost forgot, a monkey with a washboard.

G(I wish)W

You'd be a rapper

I play mostly custom instruments, from my frankenstein tele to the handmade lap steels aka Sipsy River steels, Larrivee acoustics, Crate, and Mesa Boogie amps, Snake Oil Brand strings on my electrics, DR and Elixers on my acoustics.

http://www.2blumusic.com
http://www.dontfretinstruments.com

user posted image

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CoyoteSlim

#17

[-]

Deepest Blue

Posts: 1973

Oct 5 11 1:19 AM

It wouldn't surprise me if there was an act that used computers to play old blues effects while they did something else on stage. I think this is the next thing we'll see. Playing actual instruments will only come back into vogue when the global energy crisis happens, our society collapses, and we no longer have electricity.

Coyote Slim's website

Coyote Slim's Youtube Channel

Coyote Slim's Facebook Page

Coyote Slim on CD Baby

Rabbit told the 'possum, shake them 'simmons down."

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Solo/duo definitions?

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