unsignedAct

Well, This Blog seems to have had its death !

ALL ! I have the Answers To Our Problems !
www.myspace.com/mystic_pickle

Thankyou and Goodnight. (Till Tomorrow)

Think its more to do with this stupid blogging system. You get a good blog going, orange add another one, and the popular one slips off the radar. Then everyone waits around to see which of the latest two blogs is the most popular. Dont think many people actually go on the blogs, unless they are the two on the home page.
As for who got through, only about four were leaked on here before the posts were removed.

I'm still here ... might liven up again after the next lot of auditions at the weekend, will be interesting to hear what people have to say about those!

Hey, where the hell did everyone go? This thing was Full of Life yesterday ! Is it cos other people have found out who got through as well? Pff.

Heyy surely we didnt scare everybody away, who else is playing Sunday at Leeds

page 44 says:

alreeeeeeeeeeet hey danny we are auditioning sat too, not sure whether we are in the afternoon or evening slot though! Should be a good laugh, i'm quite excited to be honest!

so yeah is anyone on here going to the leeds auditions?

Yes we are auditioning in Leeds but on the Sunday and don't know as yet wether early or late audition

pisces1/Danny - We're auditioning on Saturday so we'll see you there.

Good Luck to The sibling rivalry. Top band.
See you lads on sunday.

Hello Shoot da Duke. Well, i wish i was a postie, but am doing admin wk lol! Then again, being a postie sucks in the winter...too cold!
I need a job that allows me to drink on the job! Wine taster maybe???
Anyway,
Dirty Fuzz- doing British rock proud....go go go my favs

Whiskycats-Not bad, not bad....indie with a little jazz
Sudahans?- Good. i want to see live!

I do like hip hop as long as its edgy but unfortunately most hip hop acts here dont have their own English twist on things, so i would rather buy the US hip hop if you know what i mean. I think the music behind the artist is key in hip hop. It has to be badass.
Ooops, ok manager snapping her finger....what is it about female bosses? They can be such biaaaaaaatches!

Wots a job? lol.
Don't know what it is about the Post Office. Our drummers a postie, and every other band we meet has a member who works there.

Gotta agree with gunchild about the role of the producer. Weve been lucky, and are looked after by an ex Townhouse producer who has worked with the likes of Prince and McCartney, and produced for Placebo. Its cool for us to know that our mix is done by the guy who mixed Candle in the Wind. But his role goes further than production and mixing. He helps in arranging our songs to make them more acceptable to the industry, tells us where to place songs, and what will work, and more importantly, doesn't.
Perhaps his best advice has been to wait before we go making an album, and to work on more songs before we try for the next level. Although we have managed to 'place' one song already.
Certainly now understand why George Martin is considered to be the fifth Beatle.

Hey Mystic P. That makes me feel better that am not alone in this grinding machine called work!
Need a diff job for sure. Post office sucks! Admin work sucks and to think i had a degree in English.
I tell you what Mystic P, there is always one band that starts doing something different.....the music industry bags them and ignores them, then they rise up and suddenly everyone in the industry starts looking for something similar. Look at Amy winehouse, who started this retro soul thing, then Duffy copies it. Who is the real deal? Amy ofcourse and punters know that.
Look at Nirvana, came out anti fashion, raw, scruffy etc. You dont know how many letters Kurt Cobain wrote to record companies, he claimed nearly a thousand.
Ofcourse most of these acts on here have no producers etc, but if the raw product is good, can you imagine what a great producer could do.
Everyone including Nirvana needed a producer etc
FANGS- Mmmmmm i dont get it. Just listened cuz you mentioned. Maybe good for camden but cant see it appealing on a worldwide level.

Yeah I'm at work To. RRRIIIOT !!!! Nowerdays music has to be very special to blow my skirt up. Very special indeed. To much bog standard ordinary rubbash about. I havn't listened to chart music for years. Because its all Rubbash. FANGS. What are you Doing ???!!!!!!! What is that?! What are the vocals playing at? Sorry if it gets people moved to the edge of their seat But i just don't get it. Sounds like Noise to me. Dont want to just outright Diss people, but from what I've heard of Saturday's procedings, Music industry people seem to be on another planet !!!

Ok am at work at the moment and they have banned and blocked Myspace/Facebook/bebo. But they dont know about this Orange unsigned forum.....Rrrrrrrriot! This is my guilty pleasure lol.
Yeah Mystic Pickle, and thats what am talking about: timeless music.
ACDC- am deffo buying their new single( even their crap will be better than most band's best in the current music scene .
I also like Cage The Elephant-album pretty solid.
Check this out...i buy records and i go to gigs all the time. I was in a band once but lets just say i decided i need to keep my day job.
Did someone say music isnt selling? Give people good stuff and they will buy it. Kids dont have money, they are the ones illegally downloading. Am 27, and i buy more records than any kid around. I must own at least 2000cds. I also dont mind Amy winehouse as she has a raw voice. Knew of her before all the media paid attention to her. Now she is a joke but i hope she picks herself up.
So, for me its all about raw music and thats why i think Dirty Fuzz come close.

I know, I heard the Judges laughed off what i thought were the greater acts here, Ill not say the results as this'll just be taken down, but I think its a Joke. If those guys have their way, the music business is Doomed to more electro newwave crossover strange noise costume wearin' Muck. Sigh. I just hope the right ppl are watching the show and Reading what we, the music loving fans on here are thinking.

Morning Mystic_Pickle. Having had some reports back on this weekends activities from those that went, and having read the majority of the posts on the PASTAGATE blog (which has now mysteriously disappeared), I was wincing at some of your comments last night.
If this weekend follows the same trend we can expect a X Factor meets Big Brother programme come November.
and we thought it was all about the music!

Gunchild. Kids wear those tshirts because the music is timeless, it doesnt just appeal to the day/time it was written, it still kicks ass now, hence the Kids love it. Rock Is Not Dead. This is the Proof !
I have just received my report of Saturday's procedings and am shocked and appauled !!!

Wow, this forum is getting very interesting. My friends and i love debating about the current state of music whilst smoking some doobies. Its all good.
I think the competition is gonna be far more interesting than last year and more real than X factor.
On the subject of rock, i think you all have a point. As far as i know, the money machine in music is currently through live music and merch. I do like a bit of pop but i wouldnt necessarily go and spend too much on a pop live show, unless it was Madonna.
I really think that people are now tired of the safe scene. They want music with edge, good voices...characters etc. Orange should deffo push some rock acts because one has to look at a band that can cut it world wide through live shows. Someone made a good point about Led Zepp, Motorhead Tshirts...why are kids into that????
Am loving Dirty Fuzz lol!
I really hope this band get the attention they need. It will be good for rock music.

alreeeeeeeeeeet hey danny we are auditioning sat too, not sure whether we are in the afternoon or evening slot though! Should be a good laugh, i'm quite excited to be honest!

so yeah is anyone on here going to the leeds auditions?

OK, I have a friend who attended the Auditions on Saturday, havn't been able to speak to her yet, will do this morning. I won't be able to say whatever it is she tells me re what happened im guessing, as Ill have my comments removed, But I can't wait to hear who went up and how they got on. Very excited.

getting back to the music on here from the first songs on their orange players i think these maybe will do well and i hope they get through....i don't know if they have auditiond yet.

i like a wide range of music so it was very difficult to choose as lots of the other finalist on here are very good. am looking forward to seeing them all play on tv!

jason Jermaine - this sounds really good and is also commercial

Luva Anna - love the lyrics, this song has stuck in my head!

Minnikin - THEY ROCK and I love rock :)

hey, this is Danny from The Detours here,
just letting every one know that we are auditioning this sat.
if you like our stuff please let us know as i will be giving hi-5's and hugs! haha
shout out to mystic_pickle : are you joining us at our audition? if not we would love to play in your town next time we tour (hopefully soon coz the last uk tour we done was awsome)
gives a shout on myspace if u can - www.myspace.com/thedetoursinfo

also i think the bands that have made it through in the final 50 are actually at a very high standerd! even the indie and dance pop bands. cant wait to play along side so many good bands!

ANY BANDS AUDITIONING ON SAT LET ME KNOW! LOVE TO GRAB A PINT OR HAVE A LAUGH!

cheers

Danny Detours

I so agree with shoot the duke. If Deftones or Rage against the machine got up infront of those judges, there is no way on earth they would be going through. The problem with the industry is that nobody has any balls to take a chance anymore and just go for the next ting tings or something lame like that!!!

love it or loathe it - tommy reilly's 'jackets' is a pop song - we think

I can see it being a young band or singer songwriter that obviously are talented but are relatively unknown nationally.
Some of the bands that have had a lot of comments about them are probably better in some ways and more professional but perhaps not as commercially viable as some people have commented previously, obviously fingers crossed I hope the act I favour goes further in the competition, but if not I'm sure they will have gained valuble experiance and made many more friends from being involved in this competition.

We're still sitting on the fence. Once the initial sift is over the judges will probably listen to other songs (not on this site) that the bands have recorded; and once the final 8 are decided on its probable that the bands whole back catalogue will be reviewed.
We dont believe they are looking for a particular genre, but will be looking for a song that has a chance of getting into the charts. (Remember at the next stage orange can dictate the song you will perform, or veto one.) If they can find that, they can make enough on the single to fund an album, plus it gives the programme some much needed credibility. They will also need a band that can do a credible live set.
So without taking the music into account, I think we are looking at a well established artist, who regularly gigs, and has a strong following.
But taking into account some of the artists already knocked out of the comp, what do we know. Probably end up with some novelty act!

Best guess at the moment-Kubla Khan or Dirty Fuzz.

Hmm... two of the main points from the comments so far that I'm not sure I agree with are -

Rock music allows more expression than other forms; and
the point about mostly heavy rock being the type of music that fills up venues etc.

I think with the first point, you can't really say that. Any song could have powerful enough lyrics to stir up emotion, including all various forms of soul, jazz, some pop stuff, possibly even hip hop. I think it tends to be that when you look at stereotypes of certain genres (such as hip hop, or modern R'n'B), you could probably generalise to the conclusion that it would be mostly rock music that allows expression of meaningful emotions or lyrics etc, but you have to consider that there's a heck of a lot of genres that can all purvey these messages equally as well.

As a side note for this, the bit that people have said about rock music being an incredibly versatile genre, I think that this rings true for many types of music. I hate to think exactly how many different sub-genres of electronic dance music could be named (and I know it's a LOT)!

And for the second point, I think the main reason you'll find more heavy rock bands filling out pubs, clubs and music venues, is that this is the main demographic of these types of venue. I think it's fair to say that a majority of the people that would be likely to go to a music venue for a gig or night of music (not talking about large live venues where you'd find incredibly famous acts etc, more small time) will be in the category of people who listen to rock. It's not so much a surprise that these are the bands that are then put on at the venues.

So does anyone wanna give some early guesses at serious contenders? Based on either your own preference or what you think the preference of the judges will be, I don't mind.

maria - hi - shoot the duke - hello - but what we are wondering is where are all the fans of the bands that are in......

*applauds all comments heartily*

*puffs on a fat cigar while doing a slow motion massai warrior dance to pink floyds 'comfortably numb'*

goodnite rock freaks...

;)

100% agree Mystic Pickle. If youre commercially mainstream you have a far better chance than any other act.
We got the call last year from princess and it was purely on the strength of one song. Although we are proud of it, it was our cheesest song, and it was arranged and produced for commercial output. We wouldnt dream of playing it now, but according to those in the know it pressed all the right buttons, and followed the 'correct' intro/verse/chorus/refrain.
Music by numbers. lol.

Mystic, I agree with that. Octavarium would probably be a led balloon on this show (although it would probably also take up an entire episode by itself :P).

Heres another one for you though. Dream Theater are technically the best out there, no question. I do admire that. But I don't think they're the best songwriters for the simple reason that their lyrics leave a lot to be desired for. I think that a 3 minute simple song can often provoke as much, if not more, emotion than a Dream Theater song.

ShoottheDuke...... YOU SWINE !!!!!

Hey don't get me wrong, Im not saying i dont like softer stuff! I loved Belle Humble on here. Didn't mind Kubla khan either. Just not what I define as a rock band. As for your comments 'Shoottheduke', I'm a MASSIVE DreamTheater fan (incase you didn't already gather!) I would have to put them on the throne as the greatest group of musicinas in the music industry today, technically, and otherwise. As individuals they stand head and shoulders above others in their field, and as a band they gell like noone else in the world could playing that style of music. But put them playing 'Octavarium' (a 28 minute progressive epic of pure genius and musical mastery) in front of this panel and they would dismiss them as unimpressive. Thats the basis of my rantings. In this show, no matter how great a band is at what they do, if those 3/4 judges don't think they can make a quick buck, they won't send the act through, thus, a Heavy rock band like Detours or Minnikin havn't got a prayer. Like i said before, i hope against hope Im wrong.

I forgot Vindaloo was an Alex James project (and outsold any Blur single). And from the horses mouth, he said himself on Saturday that he joined a heavy rock band in 1999 and had the best time of his life.
Well this has been a most interesting conversation. Good to see that intelligent musical debate is still available in the UK, despite the fact that people will buy pap peddled by the labels...peace and love y'all.

Oh; and just to make a few of you just that little bit jealous, my old man took me to see Pink Floyd at the Docklands Arena for three nights in a row when I was 6. Seen them 4 time since.

Syd Barret. Richard Wright. R.I.P.

Think we are on the side of jeromemusic re definition of rock. Their seems to be a tendancy by some into heavy rock to claim the label 'rock' as all their own; and that just ain't so.

The only trouble is the more we read from Mystic_Pickle, the more we end up agreeing with them. We play a lot of the venues/club/pubs/toilets in the south west; and the only genre to pack them all out is heavy rock. From Download to smallest venue their is a vast following for this music; totally ignored by the main players in the industry.
Although nowhere near heavy we seem to have become the support band of choice for a number of heavy rock bands and heavy rock nights in the south west. Simply put, these nights stand head and shoulders above what we hear elsewhere for pure excitement.
and for those hankering after Yes, King Crimson and the other progressive rock bands, they are their to be found in the heavy rock genre. Just been turned onto Hanging Doll; metal/gothic/orchestral; absolutely brilliant. and if they appeared in front of Simon Gavin, he would probably dismiss them out of hand.
It does seem that this genre allows artists the freedom to express themselves to a greater degree than most others.

Yeah, they were together like 14 years before EMI decided to make a quick buck out of them. Rockstar is a P*ssTake of themselves and how they made it big. Its catchy, but TERRIBLE ! (i like it really).
Its just a terrible shame a band thats got the ability to go to one of these things in a venue that it could probably fill on its own and shake the paint off the walls and melt everyone's face with high output dirty guitar solo playing genius, can't get a break in the mainstream scene no matter how hard they practice their playing or work on their show or dedicate their time to being as technically able as they can, because Simon Gavin doesn't think he can sell them to kids, or because the bass Player from Blur who made a quick mint out of "Vindaloo" by fat less doesn't appreciate them, or Jo Whiley's hubby isn't carrying them.
PS. Maria + Charl, Pink Floyd are As Gods !!! AS GODS !!!!!!!

OOh Maria, I LOVE Pink Floyd. I didn't get the when I was younger - i got sick of people telling me, they are seminal, important, influential...it took me 10 years to understand them, and now I am hooked. Have A Cigar - PERFECT illustration of this entire discussion and this competition. "You're gonna fly high...we're so happy we can hardly count...you gotta get an album out...." Ha Ha HA!

Jerome, you have hit the nail EXACTLY on the head with your comment about Nickelback, probably unintentionally. Nickelback began life by being a heavy, unfashionable rock band, and are signed to RoadRunner, a label focussed on rock. Silver Side Up became a hit album because two of the tracks were catchy, and caught the wave of popularity at the time. If you go beyond the singles that have made the charts, their music on their albums is still very heavy rock, exactly the sort of style which someone like Mystic Pickle probably gets - guitar driven riffs, etc etc. The reason that their singles became popular is that their second label is EMI, a commercially popular label with a wide variety of acts. EMI pushed Nickelback's first single on the back of a resurgence in popularity of grunge/metal etc because of the NuWave revival, and saw there was money to be made. That backing has led them to a much wider audience, hence the popularity of a track like Rockstar, which parodies the very industry it thrives in.
Rock is a genre with many sub-categories, as I've stated. If we said Jazz or Classical or Pop or Rap were each just one genre, we'd ignore the very variety and variation that makes these genres great.
And, I LOVED Hijak Oscar last year, but their attitude spoiled it for me - they always seemed mardy and ungrateful for their support.

i think that rock is bendy ; )
a lot of the prog rock stuff i am a fan of especially pink floyd, but its prog rock for a reason....it bends...even motorhead have done acoustic tarcks on albums, check out 1916...even they can bend...i like kings of leon cos its an unsual bend of rock...i also think several foo fighters songs are based on classic rock songs...

as a rock fan i have ac/dc to zodiac mindwarp in my collection...but i am ecclectic so have other genres and their subs too...and lets not forget that rock owes a lot of its roots to blues and the black slave 'holler'...african tribal screaming...i am a wench who loves diversity...is a masai warrior the ultimate rocker i wonder...

Hi again.

Firstly, Charl - Very much agree with all you said there. I agree that talent is often overlooked because of genre alone and thats a shame. On the plus side, Hijak Oscar did well last year - so there may just be some good stuff to slip through the net this year too!

Mystic Pickle, I've made it clear that my definition of rock is as simple as playing music in a band through electric instruments and playing a genre which is influenced by the thousands of rock revolutionaries of the past. I don't want to get into a drawn out argument of what is rock and what is it not, but it is possible to be ROCK and POP. For instance, you note Nickelback in your list of bands outside this catagory - is Rockstar not one of the biggest pop hits of the last few months? The Beatles and the Rolling stones were pop bands, but they also produced some of the most revolutionary and brilliant rock music of all time.

Cheers,

WOW - a real Prog act in this competition would have been awesome! I didn't hear one on the entries, which is a shame. It is really good to see such a wide range of musical taste represented here though. Mystic Pickle, kudos to you for standing by your beliefs and defending your tastes. And it's good to see such a healthy debate. It's one good thing to come out of this competition. If the producers are screening, please can we have a blog just for debate about music in general so we don't have to hijack your topics? Thanks muchly :)

PS - i love Muse's older stuff, being a secret prog fan. Prog. The definition of unpopular music. Emerson Lake and Palmer, YES, RUSH, King Crimson, Early genesis. Best Music ever written.
I wonder how YES would do in this ?

How are Coldplay Rock? They're a Pop group. So are the Verve, so are Kings Of Leon. Jesus, I love heavy rock music, but even the foo-fighters are a pop group, with their 3 and a half minute radio1, jo whiley-friendly songs designed with one thing in mind - to make a mint! Kings Of Leon - So you get some old pics of what your parents used to wear in the 70's, where the same things, you go save up and buy an expensive 1970's Gibson 335, and you wear it up high and hammer some simple chords through a vintage amp on a rough clean setting. That is not the style of rock Im talking about here. That is using image to sell to a public who have a softspot for vintage looks and sound, and Im sure from what I've heard, the judges have dissed some groups for "Being Dated?"
Bands like Nickelback, RUSH, Blackstone cherry, Whitesnake, Machinehead, DreamTheater, Opeth etc etc release albums so they can take them round the world and play them live to people because thats their strength. These mock-rock bands let single after single to the radio stations for a couple of years, have their songs on a couple of adverts then fade away. One or two of them change their style and haircuts so they can fit in with today's trends and make another quick mint, then fade away again. (KoL) A group like the arctic monkeys could probably p*ss this show, but they're not a Rock group! Besides, the really great heavy groups don't write albums to make money, they write them because they love to do it. The future for bands like Detours and Minnikin really is in album sales and tours, but its still a crying shame this country can't see that Rock, and I Mean Propa, Loud, Brash, Hard riffing ball crunching, solo having, long hair waving, pointy guitar wielding heavy rock, was invented here, and we have more of a right to be producing it than just about anyone else !
It will come back.

Like i said, it's good to be able to have this debate. Radiohead claim that that they were heavily influenced by Miles Davis in making OK Computer - which I love :) I agree, Muse and Radiohead cannot be accused of imitation. Plenty of inferior chart acts at the moment imitate them. Matt Bellamy is simply a guitar god of the higghest order, and Muse are a massive live act, but if you look at album and singles sales, they wouldn't make a commercially viable signing in a competition like this one - hence the frustration that this is supposed to be about the best unsigned talent..I really don't see that it is! Don't get me wrong, there are some SERIOUSLY talented people here who slog their guts out to get good at what they do, but I think they'll lose out here. I only hope that some other lucky label signs them up.

Also, I just had a quick look at the Top 40 album charts and yeah, theres a lot of pop in there (thats to be expected huh?), but to see the likes of KoL, Elbow, MGMT, Glasvegas, Coldplay, Verve.. even Travis. Fair play to them I think, you can credit them all for writing some good and fresh rock music.

Ps. Charl, the likes of Radiohead and Muse are breaking a lot of barriers, and I think if their latest works was presented to the judges, it could be accused of many things - but being done before is not one of them.

Hi guys.

Just so we're clear - My comment was not so much posted in relation to this particular orange unsigned show, but rather in relation to Mystic Pickle's comment earlier to myself that:

"Defining Rock... Jeromesmusic, how in the name of all things Holy is rock dominating the charts? The Kings of Leon? The Kooks? The Arctic Monkeys? Rock? Absolutely not. JangleJangle Plinky Plonkey MockRock? Yes."

Now don't get me wrong - some of those bands I don't like, some of them I do. Arctic Monkeys get stick, but they're down to earth people, and they know how to write a good tune. And yes, it is rock music. Mystic, If you re-read my original post which said ''rock music is dominating the charts'', I didn't actually say anything about Heavy Rock, which is what you've started insinuating.

In relation to the show - I agree, it is a shame that bands that play heavy rock may not stand a chance. I think there needs to be some balance really, because being fresh is as important as being talented. I think if a band can revitalise heavy rock music and bring it back in a fresh and exciting way, I'd love to see it + I wish them the best of luck. Sadly, I think this show might not be the best place for them!

Yikes, I meant to say "there's nothing wrong with it" - I guess my jazz and wine evening are affecting my typing skills ha ha...

Yes, Of course Thats what Im talking about !! Heavy Rock !! its been done, so has Rap, so has electro, so has prog, that doesn't mean it hasn't got a place on the mainstream! Like i said, 180,000 People wanted to hear heavy rock at download this year !
The Simple fact is that a real heavy rock band doesn't have a prayer in this thing. That said, i hope I'm wrong, and that the likes of minnikin or the detours get some serious love from the right people.
I don't care what Simon Gavin thinks, I know that the public listen to what people like him tell them to, and good for him - what a nice place to be in, but there is no way Heavy Rock is dead. Ask those same 180,000 people, or the people at kerrang, which I do believe is one of the biggest TV stations in Britain now? Ask nickelback or blackstone cherry, Dream Theater or Metallica, who's new albums are going from strength to strength, selling by the godzillion ! Even if one of those kind of bands don't get past the first round in this pop show, they can still take some serious coverage from it, and hopefully the guys who run roadrunner or warner or organise Reading or Download will notice them, and they can start selling albums instead of singles, touring the world, where bands like that belong, and still be here in 30 years time, unlike the tight jeans/stupid hair style culture, emo, electonic new-wave, and all the other flash-in-the-pan acts on show here.

Hi JeromesMusic. I certainly would pay good cash to see John Frusciante, Matt Bellamy and the like, and I do agree with your point about the forefathers being ground-breaking, but I'd echo my point that many of the acts listed here have "been done" before, even the judges commented on it at the weekend. My point is that quality is not counting for as much as commercial appeal, and that is what is bugging (seemingly) many people on this site. Yes, people like Mystic Pickle are passionate about the genre that they love, and there's wrong with it (especially when they are openly supporting and complimenting acts on this competition from genres that they don't typically listen to) but what's really important should be that quality shines through, no matter what the genre. I am writing this whilst listening to "Kind of Blue", a seminal jazz album, but it rubs shoulder with all sorts of stuff in my collection (first shelf alone is Phil Collins, Nina Simone, Alice In Chains, Eric Clapton, Kylie, Jimmi Hendrix, Fleetwood Mac, The Sex Pistols, Elgar, Air and The Foo Fighters). Rock is a genre (like pop) with many sub-categories, but if you look at the top 40 albums in the UK at the moment, Rock in it's broadest sense is NOT the dominant force. General point - isn't it nice to be able to have a good debate about this? Music lovers of the world unite :)

Mystic Pickle, you seem to have a very narrow view of what ''Rock'' music is, so I consulted the dictionary.

1. Rock music is a form of popular music with a prominent vocal melody accompanied by guitar, drums, and bass.

2. Any of various genres of popular music employing electrical amplification.

Of course, Rock Music was about long before your favourite bands (Led Zep, etc) were playing, and so I still stand by my comment that rock music is dominant in todays charts - Kings of Leon are currently showing that, but there are plenty of examples.

I think you were a bit confused between rock and heavy rock/metal, which is actually what you're endorsing. As Maria said, bands like Guns N Roses and Led Zep were at the time ground breaking. Guitar solos were the in-thing. But its been done. People want to move on. These days people are pointing to the likes of John Frusciante, Matt Bellamy, Johnny Greenwood as being the new 'guitar heroes' - and I firmly believe that years from now people would pay £100 to see them play.

Cheers,

Ahh I see ,, so the bands or acts that do go through,,,, are not good then,,,, now I understand!

Surely to get this far out of over 7000 acts all the finalists must be pretty good, but you are not going to like everyone

Sorry Stemos, but Kubla Khan are not a rock band ! MachineHead are a RockBand, Minnikin are a rock band, they might be good at what they do, but theyre not a rock band. If theyre good, they won't get through. Seems to be the way.

Yeah panda steaks, available from the same store as the remote-control jakuzzi phone, what ever the hell one of those is !

Don't worry all you rock lovers, Kubla Khan are auditioning I think next weekend. Heard them live before at The Clapham Grand in London and they are seriously good, great songs and amazing musicians. Check there live videos out on the myspace. If they don't go through it will be a travesty!

we meant _the chairs - on lc21 mixtape

panda steaks???? how does that line go .... everybody's got a dealer on speed dial

As for great new Rock bands best Iv seen are Red Snowman from Scotland, absolutely amazing

And dine on the finest Panda Steaks in their Pearl Plated Hot-tubs talking on their remote control jakuzzi phones !

interesting debate.... mystic hit it on the head -its about what can marketed to a certain demographic... sad maybe but true - the music industry doesnt know where the market is going at the minute... so best make safe choices

we listened to about 2000 of the bands who entered - didnt find too much to rock our boat - and we have brood tastes - like many others we thought there were bands that should have made the top 54 who didnt - think the best rock we heard on here was probably the_chair

What is so encouraging on this blog is that people still seem to be genuinely passionate about good music, whatever their tastes. Perhaps there is hope for us all outside of this competition that there'll be a return to the days where people's tastes controlled the charts, rather than having the industry controlling the flow of music to our ears just so they can fly around in their golden helicopters and drive their fancy diamond cars and talk to each other on mobiles made of unicorn bone. I live in hope. Sigh.

Thats right, I thought Belle Humble was great, even though i like MachineHead and KillSwitchEngage and DreamTheater and Metallica and Iron Maiden !
The fact is, these "Music Industry Experts" who make up the judging panel, WILL NOT put a heavy rock band through, as they don't think they can sell them to the British public, despite the fact that theyre clearly great musicians who are dedicated to their craft, and were they to get on RoadRunner records or one of the heavy rock lebels, would sell millions and take DownLoad by storm every year, be on kerrang round the clock and In Metal Hammer, Kerrang and NME every issue. Its a shame because bands like Minnikin and Detours would love the chance to get into the Radio1 / T4 enviroment and play their music to some people who's tastes don't necessarily revolve around heavy rock, because those people always end up enjoying that style of music and there are some great career chances in that scene. Sure music is objective, but the fact is, most genres come and go, Heavy Rock came and stayed, and will always remain, but it should be embraced by those who have the ability to put it back on the radar to the masses.

I completely agree with your comments, and I think that as you say, all the music SHOULD be treated equally. A really talented rock group is obviously far better than a bad crossover band, or vice versa.

Unfortunately, the competition isn't so much about that, from what I can gather. They're looking for a marketable product. Last year, they ended up with a band that they, it would seem, didn't see as greatly marketable, so they stopped pushing them promotion-wise. I imagine that this year they're going more for a band that will sell by the bucketload. Fair on all the entrants? Not really. In the best interests of the competition's makers and the record label? Most likely.

Again Bloodstaind, agree with your comments, but in the context of THIS competition, the problem is that acts which are acknowleged as excellent at their genre are not getting through - I think the point here is that rock deserves the same treatment as the more "commercial" stuff. All good music is good music. I am right in thinking that Mystic Pickle was feeling love for one of the singer songwriters, even though he's obviously an rock enthusiast. That's the key - recognising and championing talent, whatever the style. Peace out :)

structures *

Should probably proof read my comments!

Hmm... to say that rock music is the future is a little narrow minded. Yes, rock music has the ability to move people, and all those other things people have mentioned. However, so do many other forms of music. Some pop records, despite their commercial appeal, have the ability to stir emotions in people just as effectively.

The comment about "silly bleepy noises" on gameboys (sorry to home in mainly on points made by Mystic_Pickle, the post just had a lot in it that I felt could be addressed) is also pretty narrow minded. Maybe, people listen to the music because they just enjoy listening to it. Maybe they enjoy the different sounds, the composition, the differences between that and other styles of music. I know for a fact that MANY people enjoy listening to various styles of dance music for the different layers, for the build ups, the interchanging elements of melody coming in and out, entrancing beats (such as in trance) or the interesting complex beat sturctures of breakbeat/jungle/breakcore etc. Yes, rock music is brilliant, but then so are many other forms of music, all in their own ways.

Different music has different purposes, and that's the great thing about music - it's incredibly varied. What we're beginning to see nowadays is the emergence of incorporating various styles and influences into new songs, and I for one am all for it.

Hey FriedKimmel, totally see your point here, but this is worth thinking about. There were acts at the weekend where the judges commented on how similar they were to current and past acts - similarities were drawn for various acts with Duffy, Flying Lizards, The Police, The Ting Tings etc. Also, to Savoury Donut, your point is right on about if bands can't create good rock, then they shouldn't be in the comp, but the travesty is when bands DO create good rock and are excellent at what they do (as agreed by ALL of the judges in the case of one of the acts on Saturday) but still don't get a chance to get through - that is what is wrong here. Also agree that any act, regardless of genre, which is musically talented, original and interesting should get a fair shot. This competition is about finding the best unsigned talent, period. Or at least that's the idea, right?

SavouryDonut, There are 2 Great English rock bands right here in this show, Minnikin and detours ! Minnikin have a slightly more commercial appeal to their sound, Detours are a bit heavier, a bit more metal methinks. Loving minnikin's website/online community, The minnkin Republic - LOl !
See, great sounding, young bands like this deserve a real go, as they clearly work very hard, i know other bands do as well, but the fact is, heavy rock is particularly hard to play well without it sounding like tripe, heavier guitarists and drummers have to work extremely hard at what they play because the music is much less forgiving to weaker players. Some of the greatest musicians in the world live in the heavy music genre, John Petrucci, Mike Portnoy, Kirk Hammet, Neil Peart, Steve Vai, Paul Gilbert etc etc etc. Commercial mainstream media hates guitar solos and technical drum parts.
I for one would love to see bands like Minnikin take the music industry by storm, and be in the charts next to Nickelback.

The point is as someone said earlier, these bands who might venture into europe and asia aren't breaking any new ground. It's a very niche market wants to listen to music thats re-treading bands that were good 30 years ago. We've all moved forward with or without you :D C'mon, we've had the reinvention of rock come and go, so it's not even retro anymore. I understand that rock is a great British establishment but, for now there are more important things to do than re hash old ground.
Lets move forward! All of these band's you've mentioned led zep, black sabbath etc etc were good, but haven't released anything noteworthy for decades. Rock may not be dead but it's certainly redundant for the mo. People should really push thier tastes and not limit themselves to albums from years ago. I really would'nt under-estimate the current trend for crossover music. I put my life on it that the band that wins this comp will be a crossover/electronic band! Also I think that the recent climate of using electronics in such away will change guitar music forever.
IMO rock has become pretentious, dated, boring and un marketable.
Bring on something different!

Maria, dancer for the Stones, eh?? Nice!!!

The point is there is alot of great new british rock bands but they never get a chance to play on national radio in the UK. thats why UK rock bands come and go. The odd few venture into Europe the Far East and the US and do very well on the large rock festival scene. How can the youngsters get to know who these UK rock bands are if the don't get aired.

Harry123 - I dont get the point you're trying to make. All these kids are wearing motorhead/led zep t shirts, but hardly any are wearing t shirts with new british rock bands on - because there aren't any good ones. Almost everyone agrees that the rock bands back in the day were brilliant - but if no british band can create any decent rock now (which they can't at the moment) then rock really doesn't deserve to be in the competition.

interesting debate guys, i like. i reckon that rock has always been out of the box regarding publicity, i mentioned kings of leon earlier as i see them as an variant of rock who are commercial. it would be gr8 to see bands like minikin/detours etc get a crown for what they do, but rock for me has always been about being an outsider. i am a rock stalwart and have attended all kinds of rock, thrash, glam, metal. i have even been a dancer for the rolling stones parties (modern day ;) who i deem to be rock master seeds along with the likes of led zep and sabbath, albeit varying in alc percentage, lol. today, there is a big rock scene and the ones who are succesfully promoted have sell out tours...do the maths...but it is true i dont see a 'guns n roses' or 'led zep' but thats cos i think at the time they were breaking new ground...

now, that the ground is broken..we need the spirit to see the fresh fruits of it...

the prob is that a lot of up and coming bands aren't backed or promoted enough cos they just wanna make a quick cash for a flash in the pan pop act...

Exactly ! Because the music moves them, they love it and it speaks to them and they wear their band t-shirts to let everyone know! Thats a Great Thing ! Not many genres of music can do that, that why Rock sells so much and has stood the test of time, and will keep going and going. It baffles me that major record industry people like Simon Gavin, people with big hitting power, can say that Rock isn't the future. It defies all the Genres of music, in that it keeps going and going! How is that not the future? 180,000 people went to download this year !!!! Not the Future??!! 180,000 people turning out to see MotorHead, Kiss, Judas Priest, DT, BlackstoneCherry, etc etc etc? They would all listen to it if it was on radio1 ! They would all watch T4 is some of those bands shook the studio down on a saturday morning in front of Stephen jones and Alex Zane ! So why don't these tv people and radio people get them on?

Here is a one for you. Why do you see alot of young kids, 14/15 year olds wearing t-shirts emblazoned with AC/DC, Dream Theater, Metallica, Motorhead , Disturbed, Led Zeppelin etc . I don't think they are hand me downs from their parents its because they love ROCK.

Go Charl25 ! Who in their right minds would pay £100 to see them now? Just checked out OceanSize on youtube, i can appreciate it, but its not my cup o'tea, bit pop / trendyboy rock for my liking. The acts that are selling the most records in the world Right Now, are the ones noone knows about, RUSH, DreamTheater, Opeth, Porcupine Tree etc. Dream Theater have just sold many, many Millions of copies of Systematic Chaos, where's "Constant Motion" in the charts? Nowhere, because its 8 minutes long! Yet there's no doubting Portnoy, Rudess and Petrucci are the best in the universe at what they do ! Same goes for RUSH, 40 something million album sales, 1 single in the UK ! People love this music, they have loved it for the last 30 years, they will still love it in 30 years ! Will they still love Pigeon Detectives? Hmmm.
Heavy Rock is by no means dead, its Alive and Viberant and Going like a train ! Just not on Radio1 and T4, maybe it should be ! Lets see people in BlackStoneCherry shirts, Ozzy Shirts, LedZep Shirts, DreamTheater Shirts, and hopefully more people will start to appear in MiNNiKiN tee's and Detours Shirts as a result? This new thing people are doing with gameboys, making silly bleepy noises, wearing stupid makeup and costumes to catch the eye and draw attention away from the fact their music isn't really 'doing anything for ya', why are people in love with it? Whats moving about it? Does it stir up emotion like a great rock ballard, or make you want to Stand up and Sing like "Lonely Train?" I know music is objective, but its a crying shame, we invented Heavy Music, we gave it life and sent it round the world, to America, to Japan, to Europe, now they embrace it while we listen to kids in stupid clothes shouting and pressing buttons. Grrrrrr !!!!!!
(GO MiNNiKiN !!!)

vikki - cheers - ditto -

I have to echo Savoury Donut and Mystic Pickle here - there are no decent real rock acts around. However, the really interesting thing is this: Look at how many bands cite their influences as The Who, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Pearl Jam etc, even those in this competition; my point being that even if Rock is not being played on Radio 1, it's underpinning a hell of a lot of what is selling. Maybe rock isn't commercial in that it'll make a Radio 1 playlist (like the bands managed by Jo Whiley's hubby...) but it has longevity because of the quality of the musicianship. Look at the Led Zep reunion....I doubt people will pay over £100 a ticket to see the Kooks/Pigeon Detectives/Kings of Leon in 30 years time!

mystic - what about oceansize?? - 'high gain drop tuned guitar' sounds like a good song title.....

If you ever do decide to play in the area, drop Volcs a line and we will come down and support you Meg and Mark-would really enjoy seeing you live

vikki - thanks for listening - we play south wales and bristol mainly - last time mark was in sheffie was for a mates birthday back in april

Defining Rock... Jeromesmusic, how in the name of all things Holy is rock dominating the charts? The Kings of Leon? The Kooks? The Arctic Monkeys? Rock? Absolutely not. JangleJangle Plinky Plonkey MockRock? Yes.
There hasn't ben a great Heavy Rock band like the British ones who started it all for along time. Led Zep, Thin Lizzy, the Who, Sabbeth, Uriah Heep, its all gone to the dogs. We havn't heard a high gain drop tuned guitar in the limelight or on radio one since the Darkness came and went, and they, well, were the Darkness!
Nowerdays, the real rock scene isn't on Radio1, its at DownLoad Festival, and in Europe, and in America, all of the heavy rock we here in the mainstream media here is from America, Nickelback, BlackStone Cherry etc. (ok i know nickelback are Canadian before anyone starts!) "Rock" is not dead, it will never be dead, despite what Simon Gavin has said in the past, its just sleeping. There are two great heavy rock bands amoung these finalists, MiNNiKiN, and Detours. Lets see how well either of them do up against the judges, I'll bet not to well, as this isn't a show for them, its a show for what the public are told to listen to by those that make the money from record sales and downloads. Thats said, who knows, I and the real ROCK fans out there just hope against hope that these guys get some Love.
Also, Props to Belle Humble, not really my kind of music at all, but really enjoyed listening to it, very cool stuff.

I will let them know!surprised you didn't get thru, i like your stuff.Do you still play in Sheffield at all?Volcs play there, Leeds and London mainly

yeah we're sure - mark can cook - mark used to live in sheffie a couple of years back - used to drink in the tap room of the lascar when it was proper - made some great friends there - sheffield rocks - i see the volcano's got played by tom robinson then? - us too

Which rock music is dominating the charts? I can't hear any decent UK rock music in the charts. Please enlighten me

I love it!are you sure Meg and Mark-they eat loads!-especially Boa (Bass)lol!

very amusing everyone - volcano's - if we ever meet - dinners on us - honest

What is everyone defining rock as?
As far as I can see, rock music is dominating the charts + festival scenes at the moment.

GO VOLCANOES!WOOP WOOP!! XXX

i'm already in their bad books, maybe they gotta contract with heat mag cos it'll defo be in there next week ;)
anyhoo gotta dash, i will come back later to check out the ruins...

Maria-If I go down, your coming with me!lol

lol-I see.I'm sure they will get there one way or another. Lets hope some guys that matter watch the tv show!lol

Yeah I was there Vikki you could say I'm the 5th member / organiser but not bottle washer for the Volcs. Kev's just enlightened me. Len

ha! told u! luckily i quite like it ; )

argh, i keep getting told off! I'm only saying what other people are thinking!

yeah i heard, dont agree with food throwing but dont know the ins an out so cant fairly comment, caused lots of controv here last nite...i feel the delete button being pressed now tho,,, god im psychic!

jo whiley for queen...

jo whiley for queen!

did you go along indecanman? who were you supporting? Think this show has lost a lot of respect this year. Think this comp shouldn't happen next year and Jo should take off on her own to do a similar version of this show with other people on the panel!-and they should listen to all bands that want to apply, forget the voting! and pick all finalists to give everyone a fair chance.

well i have to say, there are always 2 sides to evry story but word of mouth spreads like wildfire...edit or no edit...

Maria - I dont think the put us up until after we played the audition - and thanks for the words on Myspace. L

Glad to see u here Vikki and thanks for the comments posted on Saturday night, sadly all the good stuff was taken down - the boys did rock the place.

Agree wit you Maria. Don't know what the judges are looking for but it seems to me that their letting some good bands slip through their fingers and making a few unfair comments.Hopefully everyone will see when the competition is aired-if they don't edit it too much!!

no vicki but i checked their myspace and they sound wicked. there were some comments up but the audtions aren't allowed to be discussed here cos its gonna be televised...which i think is partially daft...cos in my books any publicity is good publicity! ; )

Maria-did you see the Volcanoes audition live on Saturday?

meg and mark..ha! yes the shameless promo can continue ;)all i can say is u missed one helluva party last nite...
eek...mama told me not to come... : (

p.s i finally got to listen to the volcanos, they ROCK!

fried, rock is dead yes, it always has been, like zombies, thats why its SO good!
there are whole rock scenes with young and old in the pubs and clubs...listening and dancing to oldtimers like motorhead to modern rockers kings of leon, queens of the stone age...

Fued...just realised your a band! It all makes sense now :)

Fued! Are you nuts? Are you telling me from the finalists listed you can only pick out emo, indie or hip hop/r&b as genres????
Mate, a quick heads up people dont really use ROCK as a genre anymore cos time has passed and now there are so many sub divisions. Emo??? Who's emo??? You haven't even mentioned the dance/crossover element in this years comp! Dreamer, Casio Kid, Axe Kid, FANGS and Myth Of Unity. "Rock" in the sense of what you seemed to wanna bring back.....IS DEAD! It has no place in this competition because it can't really be marketed to a T4 Audience.
People should stop looking at this comp as some sort of BOTB cos it's more a question which band they can make the most money out of! Which isn't gonna be a "Rock" band!

hi maria - looks like fun and games on here - keep on plugging we say

just wanna thanx the peeps who msg'd me last nite on myspace (lovely and insightful) and big up to the genuine virtual and real world mates i've made here and at the auditiom...i will be interested to see the TV show...there is SO much talent on this site overall and at the end of the day, whatever happens, the TRUTH will always prevail....

on rock subject: maybe i'm in a time warp, but i didn't kno ROCK left for it come back! ; )
*wearing motorhead T shirt*

check kubla khan out then SavouryDonut. Seen them live a couple of times and they are awesome. I just hope they get through and the judges don't drop them for the reasons that some of the other bands were dropped. It's crazy to think they have an oppertunity to showcase some really good talent and it sounds like they are just throwing it away.

I don't think kublakhan have auditioned yet so I wish them the very best of luck. You guys are wicked!

i mean haven't heard *

Feud I'd prefer not to bring rock back into the uk just yet, as i have heard a decent uk rock band for a long time - signed or unsigned

i was just looking through the finalists and was wondering... what is the point of having an open genre competition, if the only bands/artists that stood a chance were either emo, indie or hip hop/r&b?

the last time i checked, it was the recent surge of indie and emo bands with has smothered and destroyed the local music scenes around the uk.
i suppose this is just another great example on a national scale.

this isnt sour grapes, just an observation

lets bring ROCK back shall we?

been reading the blogs here and elsewhere about sat night....
in a comp like this there are always far more losers than winners

not making the final 54 - or not progressing doesnt mean the bands no good - just as winning doesnt mean they are the best...

some good bands were disqualified earlier for being in other comps etc - and we think that some of finalists are not terribly special

however - we have found some great bands in this comp - 50ft woman, xcorvettes, emily breeze, purple bubble - and we have found new friends and fans alike.... result

Hi Lucas, I know one band who was told at the auditions by a judge that they got through by public vote and were too good for the show, but still didn't get through, what the f*** was that all about. So how are you supposed to get through beg like some of the acts that did get through.

found out something interesting? below!

july x

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TheyWantAHero says:

yokofact - you are correct - all 3 of them are related!

About 4 hours ago

theyokofact says:

is there a relation between the members in hipparade?
rob and sal shah?
but does that mean that danny shah from the detours is als in relation?

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Well i have nothin left to lose here but participate in some shameless promo...

So! i have just posted a new blog about moi (NOT a finalist act on orange ; ), check it out and visit www.myspace.com/rosamojo in a coupla days when new song 'sex it rocks' should be up...oh and gig details too...

Hugs from the D'evil Wench

Lucas - Thanks a lot for your respose. A very reasonable answer you have given and your answer shows to me that you are very considerate as well. WELL DONE AND KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK.

Nice one Lucas/Sam, thanks for revealing those who got through via the open audition. But don't you think it will even be better for you to also let us know the 25 acts that got through via votes and the 25 acts that got through via the panel of judges? WE LOVE DETAILED INFORMATION. Thanks.

I meant that in a positive way......

All the best!

Well done to all those who got through. If you haven't auditioned infront of the judges yet, good luck. Lets hope they judge you fairly and put through those with talent. I was at the Saturday auditions with some friends and we were seriously shocked at some of those they didn't put through!Lets hope YOU have what it takes to obviously make the PROGRAMME what THEY are looking for......

GERONIMO SAYS ;so glad to see SleeperCell, Toby Bo,and Tommy back good luck to everybody. absolutely love SleeperCell

I'm glad SleeperCell are back, they are well good!

i'm back in black like AC/DC only more versatile!

ok, so! i cant make head nor tail of anything on here and its gonna take eons to listen to all the recent finalists...whats happening? i don't understand, aren't all the 54 going thru to the main judge panel? i thought that was what the live shows were about...

*confused of eerie*

how to go to heaven and back to hell in one morning- all four "new" finalists were on the list last week. THIS MORNING mysteriously they were overlooked by the web team who obviouusly hadn't been told that there were 54 not 50 finalists and now i guess they are all alot thinner sicker freaked out than yesterday.(in out in out shake it all about) xxx pressure,what pressure ?

go toby! go sleepercell! go thru all 4 acts just to make up for these 12 hours of hell
what a rollercoaster!

well that solves that little mystery then - go tommy!!!