Mel StirlingAfter many years of fronting bands the decision to become a solo artist was not easy. I may appear confident but when it comes to my music, I’m actually quite shy. That’s why I always felt most comfortable with the force of a full band supporting me (the real musicians in the band hide all my fat finger mistakes too).
I love the team spirit and collaborative nature of creating music as a band. Band members come up with riffs, chord progressions, drum fills and bass lines that I alone could never imagine. As a singer/songwriter, I have always been more focused on a song’s structure as a whole…the bones – not the sinew of finer details like an epic guitar solo or haunting piano hook.
But for all its benefits, being in a band also presents a lot of challenges. As the leader of a band you spend a lot of your time herding stray cats. Just getting a group of musicians to turn up to rehearsal on time can be problematic let alone agreeing on the direction of the music, what songs to play live, where to play live, where to tour, what songs to record, where to record, who will produce, who will get songwriting royalties, what to wear for a promo photoshoot, who will do media interviews, who should manage the band…OMG it goes on.
In a democratic “we’re all in this together” band situation, it only takes one band member to disagree to bring progress to a standstill. Over the years, I have worked with many ridiculously talented musicians but many of them just wanted to play – they weren’t interested in the commitment or business acumen required to progress in a career band.
Of course, that’s totally fine – each to their own and I understand their perspective…it’s a lot of work…but for me the result was a lot of stalled starts with band line-ups. Just as it all started to come together, band members got cold feet because things were getting “too serious”.
After a few unsuccessful attempts, I decided to try a different approach. From now on the only constant will be me – Mel Stirling. I will still have an awesome band but these musicians will come and go as they please. This means my recordings and live shows will evolve, depending on the line-up, but my hope is that this spontaneity will create an authentic and exciting experience for both the audience and musicians.