Is it uncommon for bands to be "friends"?

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There used to be some famousers that posted here back in the day, that could have answered the question.

Now, all we can do is guess...

Mark G, Monday, 23 May 2022 16:27 (two years ago) link

Um...

Apollo and the Aqueducts (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 23 May 2022 16:28 (two years ago) link

.. (there may still be some, in heavy disguise, I don't know)

Mark G, Monday, 23 May 2022 16:28 (two years ago) link

xpost lol

mookie wilson shaggin balls (Neanderthal), Monday, 23 May 2022 16:30 (two years ago) link

three months pass...

So here’s an example of “same scene, shared a bill, not really friends”:

AVC: I recall Jennifer Herrema of Royal Trux saying a few years back on social media that she wasn’t a Pavement fan, and Bob (Nastanovich) responded that he was fine with that. I get the impression all of you guys were. You loved them even if they weren’t into your music.

MI: Yeah, we were Royal Trux fans, and they played some great shows. But I’ve got a funny story about them touring with us. There was one time they’d had a tough show in a small town, maybe Norman, Oklahoma, and they were playing to a young audience who probably barely knew Pavement, and there were some dumb dumbs yelling at them, and they were bothered by it. So Bob was doing whatever pre-show stuff he does during their set, pacing and drinking. I’d been watching and it was tough. I was kind of grimacing. So shortly after their set ended, Jennifer came into the dressing room not feeling so great, and Bob walked right up to her and said “Great set, Jennifer,” and gave her a big bear hug, and walked away before she could say anything. (Laughs) The next day our tour manager wanted to talk to us, and Neil from Royal Trux had said to him that they didn’t want to hear any comments about their shows from anyone in Pavement again. Everybody looked at one another and said, “What?” Except for me. I’d seen what had happened and explained what had gone down. (Laughs)

west coast heat dome blues (morrisp), Sunday, 11 September 2022 16:52 (one year ago) link

Jennifer probably thought he was being sarcastic, and he may very well have been given the description of the objectively terrible set they just played, which could have been perceived as an asshole move

Paul Ponzi, Sunday, 11 September 2022 17:05 (one year ago) link

It’s interesting cuz I’ve never thought of Trux as being particularly thin-skinned (if anything, the opposite), but I guess they could be.

west coast heat dome blues (morrisp), Sunday, 11 September 2022 17:11 (one year ago) link

I begin the awkward "well this was a very pleasant conversation but probably we never see each other again" goodbye common to these kinds of encounters, and he responds with something I still use to this day: "Ah, yeah -- I'll see you out there." To date, we haven't, but it was a resonant way of acknowledging that touring musicians live half their lives in an outside-of-time "out there," on which concourse they occasionally intersect and renew bonds.

This is so great. I love that: "see you out there."

A friend of a friend shared a car with Robert Plant once and had a similar rapport with him as you describe with Roger Miller. No psychic vampire fanboy stuff, just a nice, cordial encounter. At the end, Plant said, very sincerely, "Have a good life, man." Which for some reason just makes me feel very warm and fuzzy every time I think about it. As in, "the chances of us meeting again are very, very slim, so why beat around the bush with insincere pleasantries?"

For what it's worth, I've heard a number of second-and-third hand stories from people who've dealt with Plant (apparently the guy still really likes going to record stores), and in every one, the guy comes off like a real mensch. The exception that proves the rockstar rule, maybe.

Paul Ponzi, Sunday, 11 September 2022 17:15 (one year ago) link

I seem to remember someone from Pavement talking about how when they showed up in NYC they felt very much like outsiders/squares in a scene dominated by groups like SY and Pussy Galore.

You can't spell Fearless without Earle (President Keyes), Sunday, 11 September 2022 19:57 (one year ago) link

i decided to ask geoff from age of chance re this as i thought it was an interesting question,
and they were very well connected to the leeds scene at the time of their adventures.
and his reponse : no
apparently - too much competitiveness between bands made such long lasting connections difficult.

mark e, Sunday, 11 September 2022 20:03 (one year ago) link

ooops, possibly need to clarify : "no" = no friends.

mark e, Sunday, 11 September 2022 20:06 (one year ago) link

even keeping a sense of camaraderie within a band is often impossible

Karl Malone, Sunday, 11 September 2022 20:23 (one year ago) link

I think many of those 90s bands especially the ones that were a bit 'edgy' kind of reveled in being pretty dickish off stage in the clubs.

earlnash, Sunday, 11 September 2022 22:17 (one year ago) link

KM otm.

Jean Arthur Rank (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 11 September 2022 22:24 (one year ago) link

But then there are of course the exceptions I latched onto when I was coming up, when I was a nipper, such as The Monkees, The Beatles and The Band. Oh wait.

Jean Arthur Rank (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 11 September 2022 22:31 (one year ago) link

And what about the Ramones? They liked each other so much they all took the same last name!

but also fuck you (unperson), Sunday, 11 September 2022 22:43 (one year ago) link

Lol!!!

Jean Arthur Rank (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 11 September 2022 23:37 (one year ago) link

Each one of the exclamation points represents a baseball bat. Guess I should have added at least one more.

Jean Arthur Rank (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 11 September 2022 23:38 (one year ago) link

Lorde and Taylor Swift seem to have a genuine friendship, which goes beyond seeing each other on the red carpet.

The Ghost Club, Sunday, 11 September 2022 23:39 (one year ago) link

Then there are the family and brother acts: The Kinks, The Everly and Louvin Brothers, The Beach Boys, The Cowsills, The Kendalls etc.

Jean Arthur Rank (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 11 September 2022 23:46 (one year ago) link

Which set of brothers hate each other more: The Davies, The Everlys, or The Gallaghers?

Elvis Telecom, Thursday, 15 September 2022 11:03 (one year ago) link

The Windsor's.

Buckfast At Tiffany's (Tom D.), Thursday, 15 September 2022 11:09 (one year ago) link


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