2 main vocalists in a band - good or bad?

[DarkWolfXV]

Despised Icon, need I say more?

 

[GunpointMetal]

Tell the producer to sit on it...if you're paying him to record you his job is to make you sound good, not dictate the artistic direction of the band. Why do I keep hearing these stories of nobody producers/engineers wanting to tell clients how to make music.....

 

[Xaios]

Tell the producer to sit on it...if you're paying him to record you his job is to make you sound good, not dictate the artistic direction of the band. Why do I keep hearing these stories of nobody producers/engineers wanting to tell clients how to make music.....

Engineers, I wouldn't expect them to. Producers though, that's practically part of their job description, and it's incredibly short-sighted to discount advice that they give. Now obviously in some cases, including this one, the artistic vision of the band and the producer might be too divergent to be reconciled, but that doesn't mean that a good producer isn't a wellspring of knowledge and experience that can benefit a band greatly. My (quite short-lived) band worked a producer at one point, and even though he was a temperamental asshole, he definitely had some good musical ideas, some of which we incorporated when we recorded.

 

[gerbby_doge]

I actually really like it when bands have 2 vocalist, but only when their vocal styles are different. Sort of like how Mastodon approaches the several vocal parts in a song.

 

[GunpointMetal]

I get it if you're paying a well-respected, well-known producer to take care of your album, you at least give him the time of day when he has an idea, but, ultimately I never understood letting someone else dictate artistic direction, and 9 time out of 10 when I've heard a band that went from doing that they wanted to some top name, genre-specific producer the output quality immediately drops because it seems producers are intent on selling records instead of making music,,,makes sense cause that's how they get paid, but to me that shakes the integrity of the music.

 

[JohnIce]

The Beatles had four frontmen. So did KISS. You can do it. Just keep the lyrics in mind, if the lyrics are written specifically from the perspective of one person then having two people singing it is a little amateurish, I think. Like a school talent show, "I brought my friend to sing with me cause I'm too scared to sing it myself" kinda thing.

Anyway, on the subject of producers: They are invaluable if they're the right pick. You need to pick someone who's 100% clear on your musical vision and can enhance that. If this guy is just there to run the studio and hit record for you, he's an engineer and NOT a producer. Don't let him mess with your shit if he's not paid to do so. Tell him as politely as you can that he's not paid to have an opinion, so he should keep it to himself and just do his job

 

[tedtan]

An engineer's job is track the band, getting the best possible tone recorded cleanly. A producer's job is to get the best performance out of the band, including providing input into the songwriting and arrangements. If you want an engineer, hire an engineer. If you want a producer, hire a producer. Their roles are different.

Incidentally, most local and regional bands I've heard could benefit from a good producer. Not one that tries to make the band sound like some commercial scene band, but one that works with them to help them be their best and get the best out of them.

 

[Mike]

2 vocalists can definitely work well if they compliment each other. I do however find it annoying/distracting/awkward if you have two people that do nothing other than vocals in a live scenario. While one of the vocalists is doing their thing, the other is kind of just standing there doing nothing except being some weird backup dancer thing who's kind of into the music, but doesn't really know what to do with their hands.

 

[ncfiala]

Two vocalists is typically two too many.

 

[InfinityCollision]

That's your opinion.

Your analogy is only valid if the two vocalists are stylistically close enough to be equivalent. Otherwise a more apt analogy might be writing music that has parts for saxophone and piano, but deciding that the pianist should just play both parts. Completely different result.

 

[ZXIIIT]

My band does this, and it works quite well.

 

[DavidLopezJr]

The Beatles had four frontmen.

This.

 

[synrgy]

I've seen it work, and I've seen it not work. I think these things are wholly contextual.

On the good side of things, I can't imagine 311 without their 2-part harmonies, or Fugazi without Guy Picciotto's voice, or to take it to an extreme, could anyone imagine if only ONE of the Beach Boys had taken up vocal duties?

There's a dark side, though. I've seen a whole bunch of bands (whose names I didn't even know; local shows) who had 2 dudes both screaming bloody murder over a wall of white noise guitars, and those were experiences I'd cite as 'unpleasant', to put it nicely. Plus, sound/taste aside, there's also the issue that a lot of singers look awkward as hell on stage when they're not actively using their voice, unless they have something else to do - like playing an instrument.

Disclaimer: I used to play in a band with 2 vocalists. One was a screamer, the other a singer/rapper. (Hey, this was like, 2000, okay? )

 

[Triple-J]

While they may not count 100% to some people I feel both Alice in Chains and Sevendust are great examples of what a band can achieve with two vocalists who compliment each other very well but an even better example is Queen cause Roger Taylor has a better voice than most rock frontmen around and he's just the drummer.

Of course there are times when it doesn't work but when that happens I think it's more about the material not utilising the vocalists properly or both vocalists being so similar in terms of range that it's not really noticeable.

 

[Moo]

Two vocalists is typically two too many.

I disagree.
I'm in a band with a shouter and 2 main clean vocals and it neither comes to any arguments because of it nor does it make our music less listenable to.

 

[Xaios]

While they may not count 100% to some people I feel both Alice in Chains and Sevendust are great examples of what a band can achieve with two vocalists who compliment each other very well

Ironically, I prefer Jerry Cantrell's voice to Layne Stayley's.

 

[8last]

Worked for 311, mushroomhead, hacktivist, despised icon and Alice in chains to name a few.

 

[Sofos]

I'm deciding to be different, but how about Therion?


or MaYaN?

 

[Yimmj]

noones mentioned dying fetus! between the guitarist and the bassist, they both have very different growling styles, but it adds alot of flavor to the vocals, the dynamics can really help a band... if its done right

 

[CrownofWorms]

Dying Fetus

Agoraphobic nosebleed