Hey There!
I think we’re a great band and it’s really fun to play with you guys. I know it’s frustrating that we don’t play more gigs but I think some of the ideas below might improve the situation.
Livia is a good photographer and she said she will take pictures of the band. After we get some pics, we can make some more videos, plus create a new website, and start marketing ourselves through social media in ways that are more focused and will appeal more to club owners and audiences.
I think the band has two main issues right now: we’re too diverse and not diverse enough. Allow me to explain: our set list is too diverse because we play original songs in a variety of styles that are hard to label. It’s tough to market the band to club owners because what are we – blues, folk, art, alt, jazz rock?
On the other hand, we’re not diverse enough. There are a ton of covers we could do that would flesh out our set and appeal to audience members, plus they would be fun to play.
And, even though it’s great that we have two lead vocalists, our singing styles are very different and I think we put out a different vibe when Uma sings lead versus when I do.
So the question is this: how do we become less diverse and more diverse at the same time? My answer is that we become two bands: Smallvox and Dragongliders. In Smallvox, Uma sings lead vocal on all the songs. They are blues/folk/rock originals and covers and they play to her strengths as a powerful singer. Think of songs like “Give Me a Second”, “Unchain My Heart” and “I Think There’s Something Going Around”
In Dragongliders, I sing all the lead vocals, and this band is more of an experimental rock band. We do straight ahead rockers like “Boomerang Girl” but also unusual songs like “Level Line.”
When it comes to songs where Uma and I share the lead vocal, we just put those in wherever they work best. For example, “What Do You Like” would probably fit better in a Dragongliders set, and Uma could take the lead vocal on “End of Days”, which is more of a blues/rock song, and we could perform it in a Smallvox set.
These are just ideas we can talk about. Nothing is set in stone. Below are some ideas of how we could assign the songs to different sets, plus some covers, which Uma and I have either played in the past or talked about doing.
Let me know what you think!
(Note: I didn’t include every song we know in the list below but there are enough songs there to put the ideas across).
Smallvox: Uma sings lead vocal on these songs:
Originals
- Give Me a Second
- I Think There’s Something Going Around
- It’s Just a Love Song
- Little Angel
- Prisoner of Love
Covers
- Unchain My Heart
- Shallow (Star Wars)
- Blue Bayou
- It’s So Easy to Fall in Love
- Poor, Poor Pitiful Me
- When Will I Be Loved
- You’re No Good
Dragongliders – Greg sings lead vocal on these songs:
- Boomerang Girl
- Batgirl
- Love Me
- Waking Up with You
- Level Line
- Angel
Either or both bands could do these duos – Uma and Greg share the lead vocal on these songs:
- Calm Down
- City of Gold
- You Are My Everywhere (the band still needs to learn this)
- Something About Your Everything
- The Way She Looks
- What Do You Like
- All About You
- End of Days
Covers We Can Consider Doing:
- Peggy Lee – Fever
- Van Morrison – Moondance, Brown-Eyed Girl
- Hello I Love You/Light My Fire Medley
- Monkees – I’m Not Your Stepping Stone
- Tom Petty – Running Down a Dream
- Doobie Brothers – Long Train Running
- Rolling Stones – Dead Flowers, The Last Time
- The Doors – Break On Through, Love Her Madly, Love Me Two Times, People Are Strange, Roadhouse Blues,
- Joe Cocker – Ain’t No Sunshine
- Hall & Oates – Your Kiss is On My List
- Nina Simone – Feeling Good
- Fleetwood Mac – Black Magic Woman
- Elvis Costello – Pump it Up
- Paul Simon – 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover
- Jefferson Airplane – Somebody to Love
- Cheap Trick – I Want You to Want Me
- Garbage – I’m Only Happy
- John Mellencamp – Wild Nights, Authority Song
- The Cars – Just What I Needed, Best Friend’s Girl
- Pretenders – Middle of the Road
- Sheryl Crow – My Favorite Mistake
- Sunshine of Your Love – Cream