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Post by Deleted on Dec 3, 2013 21:47:44 GMT -5
I'm not a "professional" but I've been playing for about 8 years. Maybe not quite as confident as Voldemont with the playing or as creative with the arrangements (though that's not his job) but IMO I felt like Adam used to have to compete with the guitar at times, while he doesn't anymore. Short answer I think he's good and can definitely play any guitar part on Adam's albums  Also does a great job on stuff like Is This Love? and Are You Gonna Go My Way Good to hear because my completely untrained eye and ear tells me that Tommy is a 'softer' guitarist. I don't know the technical term for what i am trying to say, but not as "hard" and over powering as Monte was. I like it way better than Monte's playing! ![]() Y'all are voicing my feelings so I shall not add more -  |
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Post by melliemom on Dec 3, 2013 21:51:37 GMT -5
I read somewhere that Adam laughingly said that his friends called him Oprah.He apparently has a shoulder to cry on, an ear for listening and a multitude of questions on why folks feel like they do. Talk about an empathetic ,evolved and gentle spirit.. No wonder everybody who meets Adam says how nice he is. To me, Adam's kindness towards the young woman from Italy,just shines the light on all that is Adam.
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Post by melliemom on Dec 3, 2013 21:57:33 GMT -5
I'm talking about China and special appearances like for benefit concerts.. cyndi lauper comes to mind..wherever other bands were used for special guest appearances and certainly re-visits to American idol.. there is Queen, Nile,Shady group,Glee,Idol,they all show Adam at his best. The people Adam employed after Idol were really good. I put a video out from AOL Sessions. IMHO, Adam has had quite a few really fine musicians play with him.. they come and go because of different gigs. I find the current musicians to not measure up to some that Adam has had in the past.Maybe the better ones always have gigs ,so Adam has to depend on the players who have more available time. If that's the case that says something right off the bat. : I don't believe that one has to be a musician to critique them,after all I'm a consumer and Adam is selling his music.I'm entitled to like or love what I listen to and to say oh no that doesn't work ,when in my opinion ,someone lacks passion,clarity or professionalism. I am a fan who goes to concerts,who buys music and who has opinions.. IMHO Adam is now in the big leagues with lots of competition...He needs musicians who help to embellish his incredible talent .He shouldn't have to carry his musicians,they should be enhancing his concerts. In some of these special appearances you are citing, e.g. the China ones, the other bands were "air bands", i.e., they were doing the equivalent of lip-syncing to the backing tape. Ok then I'm wrong there,poor examples.. I'm just trying to get across some of my frustration..I love Adam and I love when he is shining with the best of them .I think he deserves the best musicians,the best vocal backup and the best dancers.. ::)I have said little about the band,backup singers,etc in the past.. IMHO The times are changing and Adam is gaining the recognition he so deserves.. so now is the time to move it up a notch if he wants to be in the league with Pink,Bruno Mars,Katy . Adam will need the best people working the stage with him. |
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Post by Q3 on Dec 3, 2013 21:59:25 GMT -5
As usual, late to the discussion but I voiced my discontent yesterday about the band and reading your comments, I agree wholeheartedly and I'll disgress Nica575....a band being tight make a hugh difference. SHAME on them - practice - they are paid to perform. When I see a show in NY, I expect top notch instrumentation backing the singers. Even Jersey Boys, how long has it been on Broadway, I expect the best every show even though they must be extremely tired of the same old, same old. The band let Adam down, period. Most of the time, I focus on Adam but there are times when the members have a 'solo' and one takes note, their skills shld add to the number just not be a filler. QUEEN - when Adam sang WWtLF, as he ends his verse, Brain engages his guitar, I am blown away, It sends this song to heaven, and I believe Adam kicks it up a notch if that is possible. Yellowcard, and Brian (?) having a brain freeze and now Rick, We've seen different pianist, Zac , isa, the blond, the black haired girl, Again Having a brain freeze on names, and now Brian. I would love to see Roger Taylor's son, Rufus, on guitar. How rad would that be. He is a skilled drummer and has young cool vibe which would add to Adam's look. Ashley replaced Tommy. So there has been changes and even a changes w/ the dancers. Q3 I wholeheartedly agree "T" is not strong enough on lead guitar and it really was apparent in Miami. I adore "T" but this is a business and a change is needed. Yes Adam values loyalty but as GLitter stated above, a voice like Adam's deserves a band that plays on his level. OK off that I ADORE his funky hard hitting dance at the beginning of Kick In. gets me everytime. It is not enough for each individual band member to practice on their own. The entire band, including Adam, must practice together often enough to be a tight band. But Rick lives in Atlanta, GA while everyone else lives in Los Angeles, CA. That means that Adam must fly Rick out to Atlanta, rent a studio space, hire and pay all the band members, instrument techs, and sound engineers for one or more days. Before the IHR concert, Adam & Queen practiced together, all of them, for 4 or 5 days for a 1/2 hour concert. I don't think Adam's band even had any full band + Adam practices within a reasonable time before the Miami concert. Adam seems to be using long sound checks before these one off concerts as additional, or maybe even primary, practices for fine tuning the tightness of the band + Adam. But for reasons beyond Adam's or the band's control, the sound check in Miami either didn't happen at all or was very short. So not enough full band + Adam practice and they are basically winging it. This is not the band's fault. Scheduling full band + Adam practices would be Adam's responsibility! And with no sufficient sound check, Adam was probably not the only one who could not hear himself relative to the others. The band members also need to hear each other and Adam sufficiently to all stay together in a tight performance. Bottom line, IMHO it is totally unfair to blame the problems in Miami primarily on the band!!! Also, all of the Queen songs were written by band members for a band + singer. Instrumentals are almost always as important or even more important than the vocals in rock music. Instrumentals are given lots of opportunities to shine just as much as the vocals. Adam's pop music was written for a vocal + electronic imitations of instruments. Showcasing instrumental skills are barely considered in pop music. This makes a big difference in how the band shines. I keep reading this "no time for a sound check" but that is not true. They moved the equipment from 3:00PM-3:30PM. The M&G was at 8:00PM. So there was time to set up and do a soundcheck. They rehearsed for 2 hours early Saturday afternoon in a second floor ballroom. I heard them. Adam was there. With Adam's schedule they probably have not had much/any other rehearsal. I do think there were issues from a lack of rehearsals. Just my take...for starters, this concert was one of my favorite of many Adam concerts. But it was different. 1. The concert was very loose -- which emanated from Adam -- and that was mostly good and a bit not so good. 2. The band is not used to improvising and Adam was improvising which threw them for a loop. Tommy clearly could not "play" with Adam on the fly. IMO Tommy is a workmanlike lead guitarist who appears to practice and work hard. But I have never seen him be improvisational but I could be underestimating him. 3. Some people (including me) have seen Adam with Chic and Queen, and realize how great it is to see him with a top-tier band. Adam cannot have a band like Queen as a touring band. But it would be great if he could. 4. The backing tapes in Miami were loud and interfered with the vocals -- and drowned out the band -- particularly if you were up front. Toward the end of the concert in a few places Adam just stopped singing lead, turned the mike to the audience to sing and all we had were backing tapes. It was short bits, but it was something I never saw him do. That was not the band, that was Adam's choices. 5. I am not a fan of Tommy on lead guitar -- but I respect Adam's decision to keep him in the band. I would be happier if Tommy was moved to rhythm guitar and Adam added another guitarist. It would give the band a richer sound and made the rock numbers stronger/more fun. 6. I am less of a fan of Rick London and do not understand why he is in the band. There are many drummers available -- and Adam has had two excellent guitarists in the past. |
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Post by DancyGeorgia on Dec 3, 2013 22:10:55 GMT -5
I'm not a "professional" but I've been playing for about 8 years. Maybe not quite as confident as Voldemont with the playing or as creative with the arrangements (though that's not his job) but IMO I felt like Adam used to have to compete with the guitar at times, while he doesn't anymore. Short answer I think he's good and can definitely play any guitar part on Adam's albums Also does a great job on stuff like Is This Love? and Are You Gonna Go My Way Good to hear because my completely untrained eye and ear tells me that Tommy is a 'softer' guitarist. I don't know the technical term for what i am trying to say, but not as "hard" and over powering as Monte was. I like it way better than Monte's playing! ![]() ![]() And more importantly, from the way Adam introduced Tommy as his new lead guitarist, I think it is a fairly safe conclusion that Adam also likes the way Tommy plays better than the way Monte plays even though many people would say (and they are probably correct) that Monte is overall a better guitar player than Tommy. Monte seemed to be trying to turn every song into a Rock song even if that was not what Adam wanted. IMO, Monte is a better Rock guitarist but Tommy is a better Blues guitarist. I think that pretty much defines the differences between their styles. There are 2 statements that Tommy made in interviews that I think shed some light on this discussion. Recently Tommy stated that Adam chose him in the auditions because Tommy played with an "Old Blues Soul" and that Adam sings with and "Old Blues Soul". This is why they instantly connected and why Adam would find working with Tommy more to his liking. The second statement from Tommy was during the GNT. He said that he knew that he could play the rock guitar solos that Monte played, but that he could not come up with them off the top of his head in a concert. Tommy can play all the notes and play them in rhythm, and do it very well, but has not yet gotten to the point where he can adlib with confidence under the pressure of a concert or just really "let loose". Although I suspect that he could do all of these things while playing around in practice. I think he will likely develop this skill with more touring experience. My ballroom dance instructors were constantly asking me why I could do so well in practice and just really play with the dance, but then when I got to a competition I would tighten up, be mechanical, and not really dance the dance. Well, part of it is not enough money to do enough competitions and get really comfortable competing and part was my very technical personality that has to learn to let loose. But I have had great moments where it was starting to happen. So I think it is very possible to learn this type of skill! |
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Post by melliemom on Dec 3, 2013 22:17:20 GMT -5
Good to hear because my completely untrained eye and ear tells me that Tommy is a 'softer' guitarist. I don't know the technical term for what i am trying to say, but not as "hard" and over powering as Monte was. I like it way better than Monte's playing! ![]() ![]() And more importantly, from the way Adam introduced Tommy as his new lead guitarist, I think it is a fairly safe conclusion that Adam also likes the way Tommy plays better than the way Monte plays even though many people would say (and they are probably correct) that Monte is overall a better guitar player than Tommy. Monte seemed to be trying to turn every song into a Rock song even if that was not what Adam wanted. IMO, Monte is a better Rock guitarist but Tommy is a better Blues guitarist. I think that pretty much defines the differences between their styles. There are 2 statements that Tommy made in interviews that I think shed some light on this discussion. Recently Tommy stated that Adam chose him in the auditions because Tommy played with an "Old Blues Soul" and that Adam sings with and "Old Blues Soul". This is why they instantly connected and why Adam would find working with Tommy more to his liking. The second statement from Tommy was during the GNT. He said that he knew that he could play the rock guitar solos that Monte played, but that he could not come up with them off the top of his head in a concert. Tommy can play all the notes and play them in rhythm, and do it very well, but has not yet gotten to the point where he can adlib with confidence under the pressure of a concert or just really "let loose". Although I suspect that he could do allh of these things while playing around in practice. I think he will likely develop this skill with more touring experience. My ballroom dance instructors were constantly asking me why I could do so well in practice and just really play with the dance, but then when I got to a competition I would tighten up, be mechanical, and not really dance the dance. Well, part of it is not enough money to do enough competitions and get really comfortable competing and part was my very technical personality that has to learn to let loose. But I have had great moments where it was starting to happen. So I think it is very possible to learn this type of skill! This is Adam's open window....He is not an instructor ,he is a paid performer.. Does Adam really have the time to let Tommy develop? |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 3, 2013 22:21:28 GMT -5
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Post by coo.coo.ca.choo on Dec 3, 2013 22:24:13 GMT -5
As usual, late to the discussion but I voiced my discontent yesterday about the band and reading your comments, I agree wholeheartedly and I'll disgress Nica575....a band being tight make a hugh difference. SHAME on them - practice - they are paid to perform. When I see a show in NY, I expect top notch instrumentation backing the singers. Even Jersey Boys, how long has it been on Broadway, I expect the best every show even though they must be extremely tired of the same old, same old. The band let Adam down, period. Most of the time, I focus on Adam but there are times when the members have a 'solo' and one takes note, their skills shld add to the number just not be a filler. QUEEN - when Adam sang WWtLF, as he ends his verse, Brain engages his guitar, I am blown away, It sends this song to heaven, and I believe Adam kicks it up a notch if that is possible. Yellowcard, and Brian (?) having a brain freeze and now Rick, We've seen different pianist, Zac , isa, the blond, the black haired girl, Again Having a brain freeze on names, and now Brian. I would love to see Roger Taylor's son, Rufus, on guitar. How rad would that be. He is a skilled drummer and has young cool vibe which would add to Adam's look. Ashley replaced Tommy. So there has been changes and even a changes w/ the dancers. Q3 I wholeheartedly agree "T" is not strong enough on lead guitar and it really was apparent in Miami. I adore "T" but this is a business and a change is needed. Yes Adam values loyalty but as GLitter stated above, a voice like Adam's deserves a band that plays on his level. OK off that I ADORE his funky hard hitting dance at the beginning of Kick In. gets me everytime. It is not enough for each individual band member to practice on their own. The entire band, including Adam, must practice together often enough to be a tight band. But Rick lives in Atlanta, GA while everyone else lives in Los Angeles, CA. That means that Adam must fly Rick out to Atlanta, rent a studio space, hire and pay all the band members, instrument techs, and sound engineers for one or more days. Before the IHR concert, Adam & Queen practiced together, all of them, for 4 or 5 days for a 1/2 hour concert. I don't think Adam's band even had any full band + Adam practices within a reasonable time before the Miami concert. Adam seems to be using long sound checks before these one off concerts as additional, or maybe even primary, practices for fine tuning the tightness of the band + Adam. But for reasons beyond Adam's or the band's control, the sound check in Miami either didn't happen at all or was very short. So not enough full band + Adam practice and they are basically winging it. This is not the band's fault. Scheduling full band + Adam practices would be Adam's responsibility! And with no sufficient sound check, Adam was probably not the only one who could not hear himself relative to the others. The band members also need to hear each other and Adam sufficiently to all stay together in a tight performance. Bottom line, IMHO it is totally unfair to blame the problems in Miami primarily on the band!!! Also, all of the Queen songs were written by band members for a band + singer. Instrumentals are almost always as important or even more important than the vocals in rock music. Instrumentals are given lots of opportunities to shine just as much as the vocals. Adam's pop music was written for a vocal + electronic imitations of instruments. Showcasing instrumental skills are barely considered in pop music. This makes a big difference in how the band shines. I guess I'm thinking that the band has performed these songs many times before and that "like riding a bike" after awhile you can pick up where you left off. I thought I heard that they had a long practice session before they played for the fundraiser a few weeks ago. I'm also thinking that Adam's musical director must have some responsibility for getting the band ready to play. After living with these songs for a year or more, I just can't see why Adam needs to keep investing in pre-concert prep. I'm sure he is paying all of them pretty well to show up and be prepared.
I guess where I see the need for the biggest adjustment is in the band's ability to improv when Adam starts leaving "the grid". My uncle was an accompanist for 7 decades. He could sit down with most vocalists and follow along with them as they were switching keys and tempo's and whatever else the vocalist felt like doing. He had an ear for that sort of thing.
Adam and his band are not out there week after week grinding out performances and learning from their mistakes. I know those of us here can identify which version of a song was sung where and that we are, perhaps, hyper sensitive when we pick up on performance differences.
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Post by DancyGeorgia on Dec 3, 2013 22:28:26 GMT -5
![]() And more importantly, from the way Adam introduced Tommy as his new lead guitarist, I think it is a fairly safe conclusion that Adam also likes the way Tommy plays better than the way Monte plays even though many people would say (and they are probably correct) that Monte is overall a better guitar player than Tommy. Monte seemed to be trying to turn every song into a Rock song even if that was not what Adam wanted. IMO, Monte is a better Rock guitarist but Tommy is a better Blues guitarist. I think that pretty much defines the differences between their styles. There are 2 statements that Tommy made in interviews that I think shed some light on this discussion. Recently Tommy stated that Adam chose him in the auditions because Tommy played with an "Old Blues Soul" and that Adam sings with and "Old Blues Soul". This is why they instantly connected and why Adam would find working with Tommy more to his liking. The second statement from Tommy was during the GNT. He said that he knew that he could play the rock guitar solos that Monte played, but that he could not come up with them off the top of his head in a concert. Tommy can play all the notes and play them in rhythm, and do it very well, but has not yet gotten to the point where he can adlib with confidence under the pressure of a concert or just really "let loose". Although I suspect that he could do allh of these things while playing around in practice. I think he will likely develop this skill with more touring experience. My ballroom dance instructors were constantly asking me why I could do so well in practice and just really play with the dance, but then when I got to a competition I would tighten up, be mechanical, and not really dance the dance. Well, part of it is not enough money to do enough competitions and get really comfortable competing and part was my very technical personality that has to learn to let loose. But I have had great moments where it was starting to happen. So I think it is very possible to learn this type of skill! This is Adam's open window....He is not an instructor ,he is a paid performer.. Does Adam really have the time to let Tommy develop? That is up to Adam. He may prefer to work with someone who really gets his style and is willing to do things his way than working with someone with better skills that he is constantly butting heads with. He may believe in Tommy's raw still needs development talent enough to give him that chance. Adam is not yet at the point where he can pay top dollar for a band, especially when he cannot promise when he will be touring again and for how long. By the time he can, Tommy may be greatly improved. He is already a 1000 times better than that first concert where he had to sub for Monte on little notice and 20 times better than he was at the first Trespassing concert. I think Tommy will do everything he can to develop his skills. And as I remember, Brian May told Adam that it was extremely important to work with people that you can get along with. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 3, 2013 22:29:59 GMT -5
Oh, those pictures of Adam with the lovely woman from Italy. Here he gives 2 hours of his day to be with her
and looks totally engaged. Adam must be a magnificent person to meet because he seems so genuine. Wondrous that
Make-A-Wish and Adam helped to make this happen.
(I've never been anywhere near Adam, so I am using words like 'seems' because I don't know him.)
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Also does a great job on stuff like Is This Love? and Are You Gonna Go My Way
