Eddie Trunk & Sebastian Bach vs. Ronnie Radke on Laptops for Live Performances

[ozzy554]

I'm fine with backing tracks as long as everybody is still playing live and it's just for extra sound or for things they just can't do live like orchestral tracks.

One of my favorite new bands The Warning is open about their use of backing tracks as a 3 piece. Like when Dany is playing a solo they sometimes have a rhythm guitar track in the background so it doesn't sound like something is missing or when a song has keys in it when someone isn't physically able to play them. However if the laptop goes down they still play even if it may not sound how they want it to sound. For me there is no lamer excuse for cancelling a show than "The laptop is broken sorry guys"

Also a lot of people don't know that it can take some extra skill to play to a track. It's why Mikkey Dee said that drumming for The Scorpions is more of a challenge for him than all the years of playing with Motorhead. They play to a click track because the videos that play on the screens are synced up to the songs.

[Samsara]

Yeah, back in the day, once Queensryche got to Empire, they all played to a click because of the screens. Prior to that, no click. If you have skillful musicians, you can pull it off well.

I love The Warning. And that makes sense and they are open about it. Frankly though, I wish they wouldn't do that. I get it - today, people expect the songs to sound exactly like the record. But for me, I'd just prefer them playing live and not worrying about it. Or bringing along a second guitarist to fill in those spots. Yes, it costs more money. And maybe these days, people (in general) don't care enough to justify the cost of another live musician.

But for my money, I'd prefer it.

I've softened a bit on my stance regarding Falling in Reverse. After hearing Sebastian Bach bitch about it on-air again recently, and getting tired of the rant, here's my bottom line. I get that laptops and running things through them is critical to some acts. Bottom line though, cancelling a show because of it is not okay. They should have budgeted for backups and replacements and had them ready to go. People can make any excuse they want on Falling in Reverse's behalf, but they got caught unprepared, and that's simply not okay.

I do go back on my much earlier comments about them just stripping it down and playing live with different arrangements. Some music you just can't do that, and they are one of them. So I get that. But in that case, the onus is on the performer to make sure they have technology redundancies (aka backups) in place to make sure they can play.