Fronters I dig – Digger and the Pussycats

I will occasionally blog about different fronters who I dig. They might be big stars or small timers who I see in the Melbourne pub scene or might spot on the net somewhere.

My first ‘Fronters I dig’ post will be about a two piece band that feature two fronters. Called Digger and the Pussycats they are an explosive noisy outfit. Their music is great, guitars aplenty and a quirky vibe on the vocals. What makes these guys so good is that both the members Sam Agostino (Guitar, vox) and Andy Moore (Drums, Vox) are so damned inspired and fired up during gigs. Watching Digger and the Pussycats you get the feeling that anything can happen.

One of the great things about this band is that even tho there are only two people in it they have enough stage presence to match far larger bands. Sam and Andy rock the stage differently to one another but in a totally complimentary way.

Sam’s movements are tough and brutal. He plays the guitar in a way that looks like he is belting the poor object. And when he cuts into a solo his movements get even more exaggerated. One of his moves I really like might be called ’shocking guitar’. It’s like his left hand is stuck like glue onto the guitar neck whilst his right is trying to cut the strings apart like he’s desperately trying to free himself from the dangerous instrument in his hands (and the sounds are frightening). What makes this move so impressive is that his legs are planted on the ground effectively ‘earthing’ the ‘imaginary’ current whilst his face is contorted and his torso head shakes from side to side. I swear when he does this he howls a mighty “ARRGH” (away from the mic).

Sam has plenty of other standard rock moves – lots of pouts and guitar points. His persona during songs is a total “don’t f*** with me” arrogance (unlike his pleasant off stage demeanor) which suits the music down to the ground. He is a terrific guitar player too, for me quite unlike anyone else kicking around the Melbourne pub scene (tho I would suggest maybe Spencer P Jones and the guitar work by the Beasts of Bourbon might be an influence… then again I’m no guitar player).

Andy is an excitement machine, playing the drums standing up. This suits Andy as he his a big guy who radiates his need to be energetic whilst playing. In other bands he sits down playing drums which is kind of dangerous for him as he seems unable to sit still. I always liked to keep an eye on him during gigs to see how far off his stool he’d go and to see what weird angle he could play the drums. If I am not mistaken some fairly serious injuries have occurred due to his inability to sit (was he disciplined properly at school?)

Anyway his standup drumming is a terrific sight. A way to describe this playing is that he’s moshing – playing drums like he’s slam dancing getting dizzy and having a great time. His drumming is very powerful and provides a great platform for Sam to weave his (to use an painter’s name) Picassoesque guitar over the top. He gives of the impression that he is having an absolute ball playing and singing in a rock and roll band. Andy provides a nice vocal counterpoint to Sam with his higher pitched shouted yet at times quite melodic vocals.

Both of these guys are wonderful musos and as the music builds they tend to egg each other on. During Sam’s guitar solos one can find him amongst the punters and Andy jumps around so often you’d wonder if he was playing on hot coals. In a town where rock and roll bands don’t often get people dancing these guys do it cause they keep the crowd interested, entertained, and wondering what will happen next.

Both Sam and Andy are in other terrific bands. They are both in the Kamikaze Trio (with bass player Snoop Mitchell) and Sam plays in a party rock and roll band called the Russian Roulettes with some great musos the Melbourne scene: Tim Wold (Specimens) and Ago Soldati (Legends of Motorsport).

I could keep talking but I may as well link to something so that you can see what I am blubbering about. They are about to tour the United States so if you are out that way go check em out!

Oh and here is another link: live, sweaty and jerky (WARNING: contains coarse language).

Enjoy it

Not often in my life has a lightbulb appeared above my head. But 11 or so years ago, very early in my “career” (I use the term VERY loosely), during a houseparty gig the lightbulb was shining bright and it still is. Most of the good ideas I have come to me way after it is useful (and they are usually someone else’s idea). Not that this idea was mine…but the realisation of it’s importance came to me straight away!

At my older brother’s houseparty the band was cranking out a mix of covers and originals. For a few reasons I was really nervous. I was feeling funny about my singing and that I just wasn’t up to the task of being in a band. I spent most of the 1st set looking down at my feet closing my eyes the whole time. The band sounded OK but there was certainly something lacking…me. The crowd wasn’t digging it so much either, being polite but not really getting into it.
Halfway through the first set my brother Phil took over the vocal duties for a song. The song he got to sing was the early ‘f*** you’ classic “My Generation“.
Phil’s approach to the mic was completely different to mine in the songs before. He swaggered up to the mic and played up to My generation menace and malcontent with a wink and a smile. Immediately the energy level picked up and the band started firing. People cheered and dance and Phil had a big old grin plastered on his face. he was loving every minute of it and was willing to screech the lyrics out and didn’t give a stuff when his voice gave away in the key change. He just laughed and kept going.
“The scene stealing little prick!” I thought as I tried to hide my jealousy on stage. He was making my previous efforts look very poor indeed. He’s having so much fun. Then KABOOM! Lightbulb moment.
Having fun!! That was it. Phil had said that he loved singing My generation as it was a chance for him to put his guitar down and muck around. He loved being the centre of attention and this was his chance to be the MAN. Or the frontman.
Why couldn’t I do that….
Well couldn’t I do that…
I could do that
And for the rest of the show and from then on I have tried my arse off at doing that.

Since that day the more I have enjoyed the experience of fronting a band the more I have felt comfortable on stage. Which then led to being able to release more and more of my inhibitions and being more expressive than just singing the words. Singing dancing yelling posing etc.

And when you come to think of it, when does one get to do all of these things? Try a high form of self expression at work, on the train or at school (yeah yeah outside of music/drama class) and you are quickly told to shut up!

On a stage in a bar or pub or conert hall people WANT to see something interesting. They don’t just want to hear the music but they NEED to see how the performers interact with each other and the audience. And the fronter* can combine a whole bunch of elements (not just performing with their instrument but also ideas from theatre and dance) to get the point of the music across. And to me this is where the challenge and enjoyment of being a fronter lies.

In my case enjoying the shows have been showing a happy side of me to the audience but depending on what kind of music you play having a big grin plastered on your face mightn’t be the best thing. But you can still get your enjoyment across by moving with the music or trying out some good poses or playing your instrument in a way that is a lot more that just the ‘right way’.

I have always felt that ’sounding good’ was also a very big part of being a performer as well as enjoying it. A poor sounding fronter having fun can be embarrassing, but a great sounding fronter without enjoyment is as interesting as watching paint dry.

Mix the good sound good fronter then you get the magical a great performer: someone with stage presence who can help get the the band over.

Fronting a band – definition?

I am starting this blog to create discussion around the practice of fronting a band and hoping to learn more about this skill.

I have searched here and there to find out if anyone else is writing about fronting a band but (in blog terms) have come up short.

Before we go into too much detail it might be useful to provide a definition of what fronting a band is.

So what does Fronting a Band mean?

• it is in relation to a live music performance by more than one person to an audience (though solo performers will share many traits/facets with the person fronting the band)
• it is the person within the musical group who, amongst his/her bandmates, interacts with the audience the most during the performance.

The goal of the person fronting a band is to enhance for the audience (and sometimes bandmates) the live musical performance. To do this the frontperson can do a number of things that are musically related (sing, play an instrument), or things that have nothing to do with music (dance, talk with the audience, (call and response), use gimmicks).

Fronting a band is a weird and wonderful thing. For me I think getting really good at is a fine art balancing lots of the aspects mentioned above. Plus being able to do your job musically in the band is just as important as fronting the band.

There are a few general definitions out there that are pretty good too. See here and here. I am always open to change what my definition is (and being in rock and roll rules are made to be broken!)

Rock on peeps