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Is live music still live? In this vlog, I explore the unsettling reality behind many modern live performances and why “Nothing is Real” anymore. Inspired by the comments on my recent video “Is Rock Dead?”, I checked out a highly-recommended young band—and what I saw versus what I heard didn’t add up.
Drawing parallels with Wings of Pegasus’ insights about AI videos and fake guitar players, I expose the tricks of the trade: backing tracks, computer-assisted vocals, and technology that masks the truth. Can you really compare these bands to legends like Led Zeppelin?
I share the dead giveaways I use to analyze a live performance and explain how to spot whether a band is truly playing live or just faking it with tech. Join me as I break down the illusions and discuss what makes a performance authentically incredible.
🔔 Subscribe for more gear talk, music insights, and candid opinions on today’s music scene!
#NothingIsReal #LiveMusic #BackingTracks #LedZeppelin #MusicTechnology
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I could not agree more with what you're saying here and thanks for putting it like you did. Just for me, I'd rather hear an unpretty truth than a beautiful lie. When you're using technology to take the place of what you're singing or playing, that's a sort of a lie. Doesn't matter if you're an unknown or a headliner. I have used the drum track off my keyboard to simulate drums on my videos. That's about it. Everything else I do on a video on here is 130 percent me, right or wrong.
Two 80’s solo singers had exceptionally brilliant musicians Ozzy with Randy Rhodes, Rudy Sarzo and Tommy Aldridge and David Lee Roth with Steve Vai, Billy Sheehan, and Gregg Bissonet…
Can't stand zeppelin but I love the warning
All you need is a pretty face, nice cleavage, a go pro, some intermediate licks and the guy's que up to tip them and validate them, it's the dark side of social media no talent needed, in some cases the boyfriend is the cameraman.
I seen the Eagles tour this year, and it sounded too perfect. Good show, but not live. Now I've seen Alice Cooper many times, and his band was one of the best.
Schools teaching very kid is a winner and theres no losers safe spaces blah blah blah blah unicorns 🦄and marshmallows .. instant gratification get something for nothing ect ect ect …rather then hard work discipline with the will to succeeded through adversity and the ability to get back up if you fail ..most have never done a hards day labor in their lives ..its truly pathetic .. theres no mental integrity…As a Gen X'er thats why I stay with Tube amps Hendrix steak potatoes real friends jamming real music straight out of the amp drums and bass ect ….. soon it will be lost ….. to AI .. Technology ..Bots ect ect
I'm 69. I stay in shape and play every day. I played live in almos every type of band imaginable as a bassist with lead vocal capabilities. For the life of me ,now I can't even find others to even have an occasional jam with. Especially since the covid lockdown,as many venues never reopened, losing their business because of it.I even signed up for " musicians wanted" sites to no avial. I quit these sites due to paying for little to no success. I was told many of these use bots to entice you. I'll continue to play every day, but man,I would love to find other like-minded musicians. I don't know how others are making out, but this is my story.
The Warning.
I play in an Elton John tribute called Still Standing. Unlike most tribute bands, we don't use ANY sequencers, tracks, or fake harmonies. We do it all live. Including singing the harmonies live. Just 5 guys. No extra devoted chick singers. the musicians do it all.
I'd seen/heard a bar band that sounded exactly like Journey, Boston, Styx…I still don't believe it lol
Some of these comments affirm a theory i've had for a long time , i've got a friend that plays guitar alot locally in bar bands , when i go see him i'll usually buy a few rounds for the band he asked me why one time told him if you really want to get the best out of a bar band get them a little drunk if the band is having fun everybody else will too 🙂 he agreed 🙂 one of the best bar bands i've ever heard was my friend and a group of friends that had a garage band that had been playing together since high school my buddy played with them that one time and they tore up some hendrix and clapton and alot of other classic rock people were driving by the place which had the door open and came there just on the sound alone talked to some of them they said we heard that and just stopped here cause it dont get any better than this , i think some of these bands forget why they started playing to begin with , because they love it , all the guys that played that night were middle age but still had that love playing live vibe so age isn't an excuse they still love playing in front of a crowd thats part of what made them so good .
I've got nothing against a drummer playing to a click with in ears, but so many artists use pre recorded vocals and not just to fill in background harmonies. Some groups even have the main guitar tracks in the mix, which is pretty sad. At that point, maybe it's a good idea to find a good enough guitarist to be in your band! lol
I am not a pro and I only know basic guitar and piano, so I've used Band-in-the-Box, keyboard presets, etc., to enhance my sound on recordings, but this AI thing has really made me sick, so now it's just real instruments for me from here on out…except maybe for fake drums. For some reason fake drums are okay in the music world. Bruce Springsteen used fake drums on the Nebraska album and people seem to love it.
Maybe Imposter Syndrome is more endemic than we would like to think. Beethoven once said: "To play a wrong note is insignificant; to play without passion is inexcusable", but it seems as if this logic has been inverted in recent times. I've seen a bunch of the younger content creators complain about "Boomer Nostalgia", but the fact of the matter is that much of the music from that era had an energy and an aliveness that I'm not hearing in a lot of performances today. I'm not sure what the expectations are these days but I don't think we have to drive the humanity out of everything to get there.
Agreed 10000% brother 🤘
I'm an old dude who had some success with my electronic music in the 90's-2000's. Now days, there are so many people doing music with electronics…some legit, some cheap and fake as hell.
So, I now release my music via live video recordings just to set myself apart from the wannabes. It's a bitch to get a great take, but worth the effort.
If you’re talking about The Warning. Daniela has a video explaining her rig. She used an intricate pedal board/ pre amp. She normally uses both pickups and uses a cabinet on stage plus her guitar also feeds directly into the main speakers. She uses a harmonizer that either plays what she is playing in one octave lower or higher than what she’s playing. Plus it is in stereo. She also uses a lot of reverb. This enables it to make it sound like more than one guitar. Paulina, the drummer does use a midi board to start and stop the click tracks, which is fed into their in-ears. They don’t use back tracks of vocals, because they all are singing. All three are capable of and do sing lead vocals on different songs. If you’re going to do a critical analysis, you should research the band first
You got to be talking about Baby Metal. Definitely a 100% manufactured band.
hey man, do you still play live? I play in a kickin' church (yeah, church!) band and we use all that stuff you're talking about – in ears, click count off, click track/song arrangement track (calling out each part of the song, including "1st verse – softly", "Chorus – build", etc.). plus we have instrumental tracks w/strings, synths, etc. that's pretty standard stuff these days on any stage. (and I'm a rocker from the 70's)🙂 – just sayin' …
There’s a video of the Eagles lip sync.. I was disappointed with them but there old guys so guess give them a pass 😣
As Far as The Warning Goes, yes they use some Technology, But don’t say nothing is Real!!! They are Playing Their Hearts out and Rocking out as Good as Any!!! Also They are not hiding anything they do. When you see a Beautiful Woman walk into a Party are you the one that says “She Doesn’t Roll Out of Bed Looking Like That”
back in the day the most we used were dod distortion analog delays flangers but most of it was strait up guitar and amp gain because its an art to master those pedals live what he said is the truth he knows the way it is great insight here
Band-Maid…
Talking About The Warning. They Use Ableton In Their Performances. You Should Definitely Check Out Band-Maid…
My reggae vibe with Steve Vai in Orlando was as real as it gets! Submitted for your listening pleasure….. Grateful Reggae Live! is also available on Spotify etc…
https://youtu.be/HSzYTkeoHkQ?si=XNSl0h544aoqQKbU
With what you were saying about power trios, so motorhead was NO fucking joke at all were they!?
Its all about not paying people
Bandmaid is genuine
Deep Purple Black Sabbath Santana etc etc
Beginning in the 90's Lou Reed would make it a point to state while playing that every musician on stage was actually playing their instrument. He railed against enhanced performances. I saw a band called Vixen a few months ago and it was Ritchie Kotzen's wife on bass and whoever the singer was had only been with the group a few weeks. This was an 'all girls' band with a guy on keyboards and laptop. It was so incredibly fake, I don't think but 10% was real and that was the period between songs.
Boomer discovers that The Warning (and all bands) run tracks.
Happy holidays,Brad.I hope your enjoying that beautiful Florida winter ✌️&💓
Are we in the music matrix??? 🙃
I eemember reading years ago about the 'hidden' musicians while a band supposedly was tearing it up onstage. Guess this bs started around then. Using tech like The Who did, & Rush – perfectly acceptable w so few members.
With less n less pay to play and what listeners and audiences are conditioned to computer wise and the diversity audiences expect now I guess enhancement doesn’t matter them because they don’t know and they don’t care … a power trio at a local club is a very different thing but that’s real and not young gen AI conditioned radio audiences … consistency is valued over the variances of live led zeppelin because that audience in the 70s wasn’t quantised nor binary locked … and what’s more they wanted improv n a live version of say Kashmir … they didn’t want note for note but the machine messiah put an end to that era … other than ur local rock band or blues etc
Twch & Social Media have pretty much killed genuine creativity. A 12 yr old can record a full album in their bedroom. Glad I saw Zep in 72, The Who, Janis Joplin & many other 'authentic' artists.w no bs going on. Anyhow, xcellent post Sir!
Where does one draw the line? Acts can have technology, a 6 piece backing band, wigs and makeup, lasers/ lights/ pyro, and costumes, among other things. It's all trickery in one way or another. Even great playing technique can be used to cover up poor songwriting. Rock and roll is like pro wrestling: it's as real as you want it to be. Being concerned with whether or not it fits a standard of "reality," is only something other musicians care about.
Yup. Fil already told us. 😊Ha! Seconds in? You credited him. 👏😊
Yea so much is fake and gimmicky
Say the name of the band you’re talking about.
Phil has a great channel. He knows what is up. You don't.
I know the band you are talking about. They do have talent. Most bands use a lot of fills, dubs and overlays in studio. That came in with foot pedals. This has been the case since the early 1980's.
I don't give a crap if someone uses backing tracks as long as what they play on their instruments is live and not miming. They can still have talent.
An all female trio with a drummer that sings. The Warning 😂
I remember when Milli Vanilli was drummed out of the business for lip-syncing. Now we're to the point where bands cancel their tours because their laptops were stolen, and their audience is fine with it. I would say real live music is definitely on the ropes.
I opened for Geoff Tate a few years back on the OMC anniversary tour. It was about half and half backing tracks but they let the laptop be seen and owned up to it right up front. The operator was there with it as he was part of the band. Geoff definitely sang all the leads and if he couldn’t quite hit it he held the mic to the crowd and they happily handled the parts!! But my point is that it wasn’t hidden and the respect stands.
Janes Addiction live is a great album BUT i read the concert noise wasnt even from a concert of theirs, it was noise from some other bands.
Oh man, you are spot on, period! You are calling it for waht it is. Thanks brother!!
I’m glad I saw most major rock bands back in the 70s when they played real music. Two years ago in Ohio I saw Alice Cooper, Mötley Crüe, and Def Leppard. I thought Def Leppard was great. Every note was perfect, but that leads me to believe there was a reason it sounded like that, and it was not because they were playing live. I’ve been listening to triumph’s “fight the good fight” video from the US concert 72, I believe, and that’s a great live performance!
I am 42 and I have seen KoRn 67 times in 8 states since 1998. It would break my heart to know they aren’t playing because their sound and John’s live vocals are so amazing. I do remember when they released KoRn III Remember who you are and they bragged about recording it with know clicks or any tracks. It does sound pretty raw.