Does My Band Look Good in This?

Posted on 11th Feb 07 by Contributor | 0

Artist: The Role of Image
Author: Nicola Marie O Riordan

How important is image for bands/artists" In this article I will try and get my beautifully blow"dried head around image in relation to fashion" looks" and actions.

EMO" "Whatcha call me"""

It"s true that image can play a massive role in selling music. Take the emo movement for example. Recently emo seems to be a fusion of fashion" emotional music" unisex eyeliner and extreme side partings. Not many kids actually know that emo was a sub"genre of hardcore punk that originated in Washington DC in the mid 80s. This was derived from emocore meaning emotional hardcore" where punk bands became overly emotional during performance. Today emo is mostly an expression of "mass individuality" and listening to bands like My Chemical Romance" Fall Out Boy and Funeral for a Friend. If Gerard Way stepped out on stage one day wearing jeans and a flannel shirt after dousing himself in makeup remover would it change the experience for the skinny jeans" converse wearing" hair dyed audience"..I"ll let you decide. Genres that would rely heavily on image for expression are black/thrash metal" glam rock" punk" indie" nu"metal" pop" hip"hop and trance.

Imagine an imageless band" Would they not be naked" Or would that be considered a certain image""

Whereas these days rock bands on the local scene don"t stick to a particular image" nor do singer songwriters/djs and the like. Today image seems to become less and less important".or so it may seem. No longer do we have to rely on Bowie style theatrics " not that they weren"t aren"t great"and I"m NOT dissing the man "see prgh 5" to catch the crowds attention. Along came technology. We now boast about quadraphonic sound systems" sound engineers" and the latest visual technology"..I"ve never heard any of our local Cork rock bands discussing what to wear before a gig. They seem to be laid back about their image"..wear what they want"".which creates a certain relaxed image".God there"s no escaping it.

FCUK fashion" Can ugly people get record deals"

For years ugly people have scampered through holes in the industry"s big evil nets and gotten themselves record deals. "This has got to stop"" yelled all the industry fat cats".Along came independent labels"For a while ugly people with good tunes went away worked with these labels".Then became hot".Indie boys were born" So basically in my opinion ANYONE can become hot if their label believes they"re hot. Sadly in our Emerald Isle this is not the case anymore. Certain bands "I don"t want to offend anyone" struggle to get deals because they don"t have pretty faces".enormous talent".but looking kinda"let"s just say a bit on the interesting side. Another certain equally fantastic band who"s front man is really" really ridiculously good looking was snapped up by a huge label and given a huge deal to give back some radio hits"..when they don"t play radio friendly music".it"s fantastic headbangin" stuff that should be kept away from its target audience"it"s just well I couldn"t see it on the OC"s soundtrack anytime soon.

Taking image to a whole new level""by the master of reinvention

F""K off Madonna there is no Queen of reinvention" The never was"there was only the master" Mr David Bowie himself. He sought attention".he didn"t try and hide it".he became a few different alter egos".he didn"t try and hide it".he changed his mind"he didn"t care. He had fun with his image through exploration yet still managed to bring THE best music ever written to our ears. He began his years simply as David Robert Jones and introduced us to his first alter ego Ziggy Stardust in the 70"s"" even doing interviews as Ziggy who was a bisexual extraterrestrial rock singer. There was also THAT album cover" i.e. the red hair" white skin and infamous Aladdin Sane Lightening bolt. He controversially "killed off" Ziggy that fateful evening in London's Hammersmith Odeon in 1973 by announcing "Not only is this the last show of the tour" but it's the last show that we'll ever do" Following the release of Diamond Dogs he caught our attention as Halloween Jack. In 1976 we were introduced to the cocaine" red peppers and milk guzzling Thin White Duke"this was Bowie"s new alter ego"his darkest yet. Obsessed with the occult" fascism and Hitler the Thin White Duke alarmed fans by referring to Hitler as "one of the first rock stars." He eventually calmed down in the 80"s and settled into the dodgy fashion that graced most of our readers at some point. He has since put the elaborate suits back in the closet "no pun intended" and leads a "normally" fashioned existence. Through all this exploration Bowie still managed to effortlessly lash out the hits. I realise some may argue that image set him on the right path. But if he wrote and performed all those songs in so called "regular" clothes would he still be the legendary superstar he is today".my answer is yes.

The shhkirt: The Rise and Fall of Britney Spears

There was a pandemic" Countless amounts of young fellas feared they"d make themselves go blind in the Spring of 1998. Our Britters shimmied onto our screens in the shortest of shkirts with "Hit Me Baby One More Time." She danced around in the skimpiest/leatheriest and sexiest outfits".had a wonderful career. Then met yer man Federline got up the duff" got fat" trashy and since got her figure back"But how many young fellas have Britney posters on their walls after seeing those fat pics" Zilch.

So to conclude yes I believe image is important it"s an expression of a band/artists personality. But I think it"s also important not to be fake but to express yourself to the best of your ability"..like don"t be going around like nobodies child" If you feel like exaggerating the "norm" then do so. However image is nothing if you"ve got no talent" So if you"re a singer songwriter with a penchant for eyeliner"..try it out".who knows""