bands/artists using just guitar and vocals?

Hfjslfj · Post by **Hfjslfj** » Sat Sep 24, 2011 1:18 am

im gonna be starting a band like that.

im gonna be playing guitar, prolly mostly in drop d with distortion.

and im either gonna do vocals myself. or find somone else to do them.

what would be some good bands to listen to?(not exactly like what i said, but bands using just guitar and vocals) so i can see what exactly im going to be working with.

im looking for bands with musical styles like punk and grunge.

the bands dont have to be popular or anything. local bands will do. as long as they have a myspace or a place i can see their music.

Snooz · Post by **Snooz** » Sat Sep 24, 2011 5:40 am

Acoustic punk or grunge, huh? When I think of acoustic, Clapton or Chris Isaak come to mind, maybe John Mayer but mostly classical guitar/flamenco style such as Ottmar Liebert which I'm sure wouldn't interest you. Hopefully someone with some musical knowledge shows up to help, I'm afraid I'm stymied. Good luck.

Post by **spot** » Sat Sep 24, 2011 6:31 am

Blimey. Who do I think of when I think artists using just guitar and vocals. Cliff Richard and Val Doonican straight off, but that's out of sheer horror.

Martin Carthy and his open tunings, there's a great name to try. Pete Atkin is another[1], Nick Drake, Chris Scott from Bristol, Brent Mason from Saint John NB. Do any of those fit a style you enjoy hearing?

eta [1]: I reckon I was a couple of yards from that camera when this was recorded. I can't recall a more astonishing set, it was in a class of its own. I can't find a Youtube example where he's guitaring.

Post by **spot** » Sat Sep 24, 2011 7:06 am

Or taking a slightly different approach there's Bob, Joan, Buffy and Leonard.

Post by **spot** » Sat Sep 24, 2011 7:14 am

Or a Scot, like Jimmy Shands. They have their own sort of guitar that needs squeezing but they do it very expressively.

I do hope you've heard of Richard Thompson.

Then there's the definitive singer guitarist of all time, Merle Haggard. How he did what he did I never understood but my word he knew what time it was.

Snooz · Post by **Snooz** » Sat Sep 24, 2011 7:15 am

I think she's talking about acoustic Sex Pistols or Nirvana.

Snooz · Post by **Snooz** » Sat Sep 24, 2011 7:18 am

Nirvana - All Apologies (Acoustic) (Kurt Cobain) - YouTube

Post by **spot** » Sat Sep 24, 2011 8:23 am

In that case I have, I confess, always been taken with Mr Grohl's abilities. And that clip's not one I attach jokingly, it's a top-notch performance. It's got wow all through.

Snooz · Post by **Snooz** » Sat Sep 24, 2011 8:36 am

Dave Grohl is AWESOME. Dave Grohl - pissed because of a "fan" fight. uncensored. iTunes Festival - YouTube

Snooz · Post by **Snooz** » Sat Sep 24, 2011 8:42 am

Then there's this one:

Foo Fighters - Keepin it Clean in KC - YouTube

Post by **spot** » Sat Sep 24, 2011 8:56 am

There's bits of punk I'd travel across continents to see performed live but I'm not sure I'd hold them up as examples of singer-guitarism. Screeching Weasel would bring me running. I remember the first time I heard their cover of "I can see clearly now" and saying yes, they've got it.

That's a great crowd, in the clip.

Snooz · Post by **Snooz** » Sat Sep 24, 2011 8:59 am

Gah! I hate that kind of music.

Post by **spot** » Sat Sep 24, 2011 9:03 am

SnoozeAgain;1370813 wrote: Gah! I hate that kind of music.

I was following up the "looking for bands with musical styles like punk" bit. But seriously, I played Screeching Weasel tracks to my children back when they were at school as educational.

Snooz · Post by **Snooz** » Sat Sep 24, 2011 9:10 am

spot;1370815 wrote: I was following up the "looking for bands with musical styles like punk" bit. But seriously, I played Screeching Weasel tracks to my children back when they were at school as educational.

Were you "following up the 'looking for bands with musical styles like punk' bit" when you recommended the guy that sang Scarborough Fair?

Post by **spot** » Sat Sep 24, 2011 9:18 am

SnoozeAgain;1370817 wrote: Were you "following up the 'looking for bands with musical styles like punk' bit" when you recommended the guy that sang Scarborough Fair?

What you in the US call Grunge we in the UK refer to as Folk, I thought. Perhaps I have a muddled idea of the US Grunge scene.

Martin Carthy rather famously (in English circles at least) introduced Scarborough Fair to Paul Simon who returned to the US and recorded the seminal 60s Grunge album "Parsley Sage Rosemary and Thyme" which incorporated an updated though unacknowledged cover of Mr Carthy's classic. So we say in our Folk Clubs once the draught bitter's started to flow, at least.

Snooz · Post by **Snooz** » Sat Sep 24, 2011 9:32 am

I'm sure you're correct since you usually are but this is the "common" understanding of Grunge:

Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal, and indie rock grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song dynamics, and apathetic or angst-filled lyrics. The grunge aesthetic is stripped-down compared to other forms of rock music, and many grunge musicians were noted for their unkempt appearances and rejection of theatrics. Source

Post by **spot** » Sat Sep 24, 2011 9:54 am

That fits exactly with the understanding among UK Folk players of what happens when Electrified Instruments are employed by a group, though the "unkempt appearances and rejection of theatrics" is common to both camps[1]. We're a conservative bunch, we English Folkers. Any folk music played on Electrified Instruments is obviously "inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal, and indie rock", it stands to reason.

I'm glad we both employ the same vocabulary despite the many miles between us.

[1] - the "rejection of theatrics" is what distinguishes English Folk from hard-core Morris Dancing.

Snooz · Post by **Snooz** » Sat Sep 24, 2011 10:08 am

spot;1370832 wrote: That fits exactly with the understanding among UK Folk players of what happens when Electrified Instruments are employed by a group, though the "unkempt appearances and rejection of theatrics" is common to both camps[1]. We're a conservative bunch, we English Folkers. Any folk music played on Electrified Instruments is obviously "inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal, and indie rock", it stands to reason.

I'm glad we both employ the same vocabulary despite the many miles between us.

[1] - the "rejection of theatrics" is what distinguishes English Folk from hard-core Morris Dancing.

Do you hear any similarities between these two?

Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit (Live at Reading 1992) - YouTube

Martin Carthy - Scarborough Fair 1965 - YouTube

:yh_rotfl

Post by **spot** » Sat Sep 24, 2011 10:13 am

You're scarcely comparing like with like, Scarborough Fair was composed before America fought its war of independence. If you put the Nirvana original with Martin Carthy's 1998 cover of Smells Like Teen Spirit - the one with the amazing solo improvisation by Dave Swarbrick after he loses his G string - you'll see the essential identity of both styles.

fuzzywuzzy · Post by **fuzzywuzzy** » Sat Sep 24, 2011 5:40 pm

ever heard of angus and julia stone?......international ...huge fan base .

Snooz · Post by **Snooz** » Sat Sep 24, 2011 5:44 pm

spot;1370840 wrote: You're scarcely comparing like with like, Scarborough Fair was composed before America fought its war of independence. If you put the Nirvana original with Martin Carthy's 1998 cover of Smells Like Teen Spirit - the one with the amazing solo improvisation by Dave Swarbrick after he loses his G string - you'll see the essential identity of both styles.

You're being disingenuous, Carthy covering "It Smells Like Teen Spirit" doesn't make it English folk music. Johnny Cash covering "Personal Jesus" doesn't make it country.

Post by **spot** » Sat Sep 24, 2011 5:50 pm

SnoozeAgain;1370913 wrote: You're being disingenuous, Carthy covering "It Smells Like Teen Spirit" doesn't make it English folk music. We need the Owner's adjudication at this point, he'll be back tomorrow evening. Quite what he'll make of your observation I'm not sure but I'm keen to find out. I suspect you're mistaken though.

Post by **spot** » Sat Sep 24, 2011 6:04 pm

Would you consider Richard Thompson - Oops I Did It Again folk, for example?

-kg- · Post by **-kg-** » Sat Sep 24, 2011 6:39 pm

Ever hear of a band out of SF called Mother Love Bone? While a lot of their stuff is electric, they do have a song or two that is acoustic based. Try this:

Mother Love Bone - Stargazer - YouTube

-kg- · Post by **-kg-** » Sat Sep 24, 2011 6:45 pm

You know, I've just got to change my Avatar to my usual. Think I will...

Post by **spot** » Sat Sep 24, 2011 6:51 pm

-kg-;1370927 wrote: Ever hear of a band out of SF called Mother Love Bone? While a lot of their stuff is electric, they do have a song or two that is acoustic based. Indeed, yes, they're evidently talented and no doubt fun to experience live on stage. We're trying hard to stay on topic though, and I can distinctly hear both violin and drumkit in among the mix there.

Smells like Teen Spirit - The Ukulele Orchestra - YouTube on the other hand still qualifies as solely guitar and voice. For anyone who ever wondered what the words were it's a revelation.

-kg- · Post by **-kg-** » Sat Sep 24, 2011 6:57 pm

spot;1370929 wrote: Indeed, yes, they're evidently talented and no doubt fun to experience live on stage. We're trying hard to stay on topic though, and I can distinctly hear both violin and drumkit in among the mix there.

Can that song not be played on acoustic guitar alone? Ah well, just a suggestion.

Post by **spot** » Sat Sep 24, 2011 7:06 pm

-kg-;1370930 wrote: Can that song not be played on acoustic guitar alone? Ah well, just a suggestion.

I'm sure it could but, after 26 posts rigorously[1] adhering to the thread's original requirements, we do seem in danger of broadening our remit.

eta: [1] - for an unspecified though limited degree of rigour, on reflection. My clips so far have included two drummers.

Snooz · Post by **Snooz** » Sun Sep 25, 2011 1:24 pm

bands/artists using just guitar and vocals? - Music Banter

Richard Bell · Post by **Richard Bell** » Mon Oct 03, 2011 10:13 pm

I was going to suggest to the OP that he/she listen to Neil Young's "Le Noise", but I see he/she went and got banned (or should that be "band"?)

Anyway, here's "Angry World" from that album. I think this is what the OP had in mind:

Neil Young - Angry World - YouTube

fuzzywuzzy · Post by **fuzzywuzzy** » Tue Oct 04, 2011 1:37 pm

oh thanks ...I'm obviously not famous yet . Nobody mentioned me . I sing with just guitars, banjo sometimes and harmonica

Post by **spot** » Tue Oct 04, 2011 2:00 pm

fuzzywuzzy;1371671 wrote: oh thanks ...I'm obviously not famous yet .
Let's put it this way - if you played the same house on the same night as Neil Young, you'd be the warm-up.

fuzzywuzzy · Post by **fuzzywuzzy** » Tue Oct 04, 2011 2:07 pm

to Neil young??????? great I just spat out my cornflakes reading that .:yh_rotfl:yh_rotfl

-kg- · Post by **-kg-** » Tue Oct 11, 2011 2:19 am

I just discovered a group I hadn't heard of before (they're in Leeds) called "Jack and Gil's Daughter" and upon hearing them, I immediately thought of this thread:

'Circles' by Jack, and Gill's Daughter - YouTube

They have quite a few songs posted, and they're all guitar and vocal.