Your Dream Band

[Bentallica]

The idea for this thread is simple-if you could use any (living or dead) musicians to form a band, who would they be? Reasons why you like each band member should be included, and maybe even a name you wish for them to be called.

So, go nuts! Let's see what kind of bands we can get.

 

[Checkmate]

Ok, so I'll take a crack at it.

Lead Vocals - Freddy Mercury. Perhaps one of the best voices from previous generations. Led Queen into stardome, and I'd listen to him sing just about anything.

Lead Guitar - Jimi Hendrix. Again, one of the best, if not THE best, ever. He could also do back up vocals, and could make anything sound good.

Backup Guitar - Slash. I don't know how he'd work with Hendrix, but some combination of the two is a dream of mine. I'd want to see what the two of them could come up with. Unfortunately, Slash takes backseat to Hendrix, but that is something my imagination allows to happen.

Drummer - John Bonham. This was a tough one, as drummers don't steal the show, and are often underappreciated. So, I went with one that I knew, and perhaps one of the best. I could see him carrying something that Mercury would put together, and would make it sound good.

Keyboard/DJ - Joe Hahn, from Linkin Park. I don't even know if there would be the need for either of these spots, but he would be my guy to fill them. Any mixing or extra sound to be added in could be filled by him.

So I guess that would be my dream mix-up. I don't know how well they would do, or the resulting sound, but it would be fun to see. As for a name... I'll have to get back to you on that one.

 

[ROHDude]

Singer - Shannon Hoon. The guy just brought emotion and energy to his music & lyrics. He's one of it not my favorite, so easy choice to lead the band.

Lead Guitar - Jimi Hendrix. Checkmate916 pretty much covered it. Plus him with Hoon would be hippie awesomeness to its fullest.

Backup Guitar - Jack White. I was gonna go with him or Neil Young, but I think White & Hendrix would tear sh*t up with their unique styles of play. Both men just love to jam and mess around with the different sounds of a guitar.

Bass - Les Claypool. With his funky creative style of play he'd fit perfect with Jack & Jimi. The mans a genius. Go listen to Primus.

Drums - Travis Barker. The man can play hip hop, country, pop, punk, alternative, ska, etc. He's very versatile and very good.

 

[Tim]

Lead Vocals - Hard choice. It really depends what kind of band my band is. Buuuuuut i'm going to go with Chris Martin. I'm a sucker for the mans voice, he can sing high or low, he can sing in different pitches. He can get a haunting sound to his voice or make it sound joyous. He can sing a lot of things, except he can't get the husky voice some singers have. But for this band, it would be fine just to have a singer with a "clean" voice.

Lead Guitar - John Petrucci. To start off with, Jimi Hendrix is waayyyy overrated. John Petrucci is a god. He can play almost anything, as fast as you want him to play it, and he has excellent coordination between both hands.

Rhythm Guitar - Slash. I don't know how this guy would work with anybody else, but he just seems to make it work. He's got a really unique sound that makes you say "That's Slash," straight away. This would be like the new version of Guns 'N Roses, except with Slash taking the back seat this time.

Bass - Mark Hoppus. He's not the best bass player ever, but he's a pretty good one. It would be interesting to see how he would play with Slash and John, and they'd find something that would work. He would also be perfect for backup vocals.

Drums - Travis Barker. This is starting to sound like +44. But Travis Barker is an awesome drummer. He can play insanely fast, and play it perfectly and keep the rhythm. And like ROHDude said, he's very versatile and he can play almost any genre.

This would be an interesting band to listen to, to say the least. There are so many different styles in there that it could be a massive success, or an epic failure. but I would love to see these guys perform a song to gether, just to ee if they could work well together and what it would sound like.

 

[RVDgurl]

Vocals - Sebastian Bach - Singing, screaming, growling- Bach leads the way. Forgive me Phil Anselmo and Corey Taylor, but Bach is my pick. He can sing the most melodic power ballad and switch gears in a heartbeat for a bone crushing metal track. And he is still one of the best entertainers in the business.

Lead Guitar - Dimebag Darrell - He has the most unique sound in metal. He was such a talented player. Whenever I hear a Dimebag riff, I think of Pantera and it takes me to a happy place.

Rhythm Guitar - Slash - What can I say that hasn't already been said by the others who have also chosen him thus far. He is amazing.

Bass - Cliff Burton - The only guy I'm bringing back from the dead. He had to be the most phenomenal bass player ever. Even Les Claypool should be jealous. How many other bassists in metal bands got to have a solo on a debut album? He played the bass like a lead guitar and it sounded completely wicked.

Drums - Tommy Lee - Tremendous. And he will drum upside down during my deam band concert.

 

[Richard]

Vocals: This is a hard choice. After looking through my playlist, I've decided on Ronnie Radke, former lead singer of Escape The Fate. I chose him because, well, because I think he sounds great and Escape The Fate lost out big time when he had to leave although the new ETF singer, Craig, is pretty good. I would like to have Ronnie Radke as the frontman of this band.

Lead Guitarist: John 5. He used to be lead guitarist for Marilyn Manson and he is very good. I think he would be a great asset for any band and the stuff he would be used to playing would mix very well with Ronnie Radke's style of vocals.

Rhythm Guitarist: After much thought, Frank Iero. He's not the best guitarist, but he is a good one. Don't know what else to say really, I just like him.

Bass: I don't really know, I don't want to repeat people. So I will say Jia O'Connor, the bassist for Parkway Drive, a hardcore band from NSW. If you want to hear a song with him, check out 'Boneyards'.

Drums: Dave Mackintosh, drummer of DragonForce. This man would be a great drummer in any band and would be able to create an awesome sound.

Keyboards/Synthesiser: James Dewees. He would be great for back up vocals aswell. He is the brains behind the band Reggie and the Full Effect and has provided live keyboards for many bands on their tours and back up vocals aswell. Check out the song Congratulations Smack and Katy to hear him if you want.

A very weird mix when I think about it. Just didn't want to repeat choices from other people.

 

[Uncle Phatso]

Lead singer- Dez fafra, simple enough. Coal chamber and devildriver. One of the best new age metal singers. None of that emo pussy shit.

Lead guitar- Bucket head, God damn have none of you people seen this dude play? He's fucking nuts, your dragonforce's and whatever else can't touch the bucket man. Not the best of all time by far. But damn he's still good.

Backup guitar- Robb flynn, could be lead on some and he's deffinatly my clean vocals and backup vocals man.

Bass guitar- prolly flea from the rhcp, great man, good bass player. Plain and simple a nut job and would be alot of fun to have.

Drums- A fucking tie here- Prolly frost, from the 1200 bands he plays in. Or hell hammer from dimmu borgir. Both awsome double bassers. Fuck there prolly my favorites outta all the bands I lisiten to

 

[Dragonslayer]

Well my picks, as a fan of European-style melodic Metal:

Lead Vocals - Russell Allen (Symphony X). This guy is THE man, hands down. From power metal vocals, to (still harmonic) growls, to musical-style singing with a soul touch in his voice; this guy delivers everything any band could ever need. Whatever you want - you bet this guy can do it. And he just blows everything away live too, and just in the studio where you can do a lot of tweaking and what not. This man is as good, if not better, in the live situation and delivers everytime. Bow down to the master (On a side not, a close second would also have been Freddy Mercury for me; one of the most charismatic front men of all time, plus a very good singer. And another option the prototype Power Metal singer - Mr Ronnie James Dio.)

Guitar 1 - Michael Romeo (Symphony X). Again, have to pick an Symphony X guy, but this dude is too amazing to be left out. With a smile on his face, this guy makes every supposed guitar hero feel ashamed of himself and wanting to go back to his room for another couple of years, just to practice. Well maybe with the exception of John Petrucci But again, what makes Romeo win is that he can play both interesting rhythm parts, and killer speed solos, and always work FOR the song, and not only for his guitar playing, something that I feel happens all too often with Prog Rock/Metal guitar players (and Mr Petrucci is no exception there). So my vote goes to him.

Guitar #2: Victor Smolski (Rage). Probably the best all-around guitar player I know. Has a tremendous sound, plus can play really groovy rhythm parts as well as killer solos, and also always plays very song-serving. While Michael Romeo may be a bit better in the pure technical department, Smolski definitely outdoes pretty much everyone on the "feeling" side of things, especially for a metal guitarist. I guess he could be the metal equivalent of Slash

Bass: Hm there are a couple of guys who are really good bass players, however few true standouts... Which of course has also to do with the fact that the bass just isn't such a prima facie high profile part of a band (although a tremendously important one). Currently, I would pick Lauri Porra from Stratovarius. Young guy, insane on the Bass. Other picks would be Joey DeMaio (Manowar), simply for his extravagant persona and unique basses and playing style, or probably Felipe Andreoli (Angra). Also, I feel that John Deacon (Queen) deserves a mention here; even if the Queen songs weren't that technically challenging for the bass player most of the time, he came up with some great bass lines nonetheless.

Drums: Hm I kind of like Mike Terrana (currently Masterplan), as a pure power metal drummer. On an overall scale, I also could live with Aquiles Priester (Angra), since he has a good groove, or Ian Paice from Deep Purple, if we delve into history a bit.

But well, there are many constellations of "dream bands", I guess I more or less made a dream-"metal"-band... if I were to vote strictly for (Hard) Rock musicians, it would look a bit differently.

 

[The Bearded One]

I'm mainly just going to combine members of my favorite bands.

Frontman: Jesse Lacey (Brand New) He would sing and play guitar like he currently does in Brand New. He has great vocals and can fit many different styles. He can sing acoustic stuff really good and can sing what I would have to call post-hardcore as well. He writes some incredibly deep lyrics and is just awesome.

Lead Guitar: Chad Gilbert (New Found Glory) He isn't the best guitarist, but he is a darn good pop/punk guitarist. He is in another favorite band of mine and is just a solid all around member. He can contribute backing vocals and some screams if necessary.

Bass: Mike Dirnt (Green Day) He is the only bass player I can think of off the top of my head that would fit in this band. He is pretty good, too.

Drummer: Travis Barker (Blink 182, +44) Is there any reason to explain? This dude can tear the drums up. Probably one of the best drummers of all time.

So I just created the perfect pop/punk band. I would change around the entire line-up if I was putting together a hardcore band, things would be much different.

 

[Stickstar 16]

I also will go with a combination of my fav bands to make a metalcore/punk band

Lead vocals: Howard Jones. he has a really good voice, and it allows for screaming, which can add a different element to a song

Lead Guitar: Synester Gates. Syn pretty much tears it up and i feel the awesomeness by which he thrashes out in A7X is at the top of metalcore guitarist

Rhythm guitar/back up vocals: Patrick Stump. i think he is a lil under-rated and what he does for his band with the vocal, although not the perfect singer, matches their music and the new material coming out seems to suit him more than before.

Bass: toss up between flea and Pete Wentz, not necessarily for their skills as a bass player, but more for their skills as attention grabbers or "prima donnas" without using that term in a negative way.

Drummer: another toss up, this time between A7X's The Rev, and Travis Barker. Travis's drumming has transcended genres and he really can let loose. The Rev's drumming is amazing and listening to "the beast and the harlot" can really display that

there it is my metalcore/punk band

 

[Shadowmancer]

my dream band would follow elements of what Iron Maiden and Slipknot do and have a number of members above the standard 5 piece. And I will also be attempting to not use anyone that has been mentioned before just to make it that slightest bit more challenging, combine in the restriction to one guy from each band, there will be no two members of the same band. Also keeping this to living people because it would be kick ass to see them all on stage together.

Vocals: Roy Kahn from Kamelot, the man's vocals are among the most elite within the music industry today. Operatically trained. Just listen to the mans voice on "Momento Mori" and other great songs like "Ghost Opera", "This Pain", "The Black Halo", "Centre of the Universe" and "Lost and Damned". This guy is as good as Freddy Mercury in the vocal department.

Lead Guitar: Eddie Van Halen from Van Halen, well someone had to mention this god of the Axe. "Eruption" is not music nor is it a song, it is just sheer awesome and epic win. revolutionised how the guitar was played in the early 80s. He is the one that they said that they needed in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, not anyone else just Eddie Van Halen.

2nd Lead Guitar: Tony Iommi from Black Sabbath, do I need to explain why, the man is a god, he created the Heavy Metal Riff. actually I don't need to say anymore than that.

Rhythm Guitar: Izzy Stradlin from Guns 'N' Roses, this guy is good he plays his role within the Gunners well being the rhythm to both Slash, Buckethead and whoever else Axl Rose has in there.

Bass Guitar: Troy Sanders from Mastodon, this was a tough one for me, but I went with someone that gives a great backup vocals, and is great on the Bass, it complements the style of music that this band would produce as well.

Keyboard: Steven Wilson from numerous places, but mostly known now for his work with Porcupine Tree, he is a genius within the art of song writing and he has produced numerous bands, including the incredibly talented Opeth, it probably wouldn't be a stretch to get Steven Wilson to go along with this sort of line up in terms of creating something brilliant to listen to. He is also able to do vocals as well.

Drummer: Nicko McBrain from Iron Maiden the reason that I would pick him is that he is just a great character and combine in the fact that he is so talented that he can pull off numerous different time signatures as has been shown in numerous cases with his work within Iron Maiden. He also doesn't use a double bass pedal and can play "Where Eagles Dare" and numerous other Iron Maiden Gallops without needing it is a testament to his skill.


There are numerous other combinations that I could come up with this is the first one that fit all of my guidelines that came to mind.

 

[Gutter Phenomenon]

My list doesn't consist of the greatest at each of their respective roles, but I tried to pick a group that would compliment each other well. And at the end of each members info I wrote, I put a song to listen to, as an example of why I chose them.

Vocals: Kurt Cobain (Nirvana)
The man was the storyteller of a generation. Plus his voice will fit in well with my other choices.
Song: Polly

Lead Guitar: Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine, Audioslave)
The man can do just about anything with a guitar. And I would LOVE to hear some of the affects he could add to go along with Cobains lyrics.
Song: Renegades Of Funk

Rythym Guitar: Chad Ginsburg (CKY)
Not only would he fit in perfect with Cobain, the man has some serious skills. Plus he has an amazing stage presence.
Song: Rio Bravo

Bass: Jason Newsted (Metallica, Voivod)
His skills never truy shown while he was with Metallica. When it comes to metal music and bass, you have to have him on the short list.
Song: The Unforgiven

Drums: Jorma Vik (The Bronx)
Although he works mainly in the punk genre, Vik can play almost any style of music, and he can put together some amazing beats.
Song: White Guilt