I’ve played bass in the Sebastian Bach band for the past 17+ years and yes, we walk onstage to an intro audio almost every night. However that short 1 minute (or less) audio is where the intro ends and the live music begins. We have never, ever used backing “tracks” while we play, and never will. Actually I’ve never used tracks in ANY of my bands (UFO, Spread Eagle, Bach, etc,…). What we do showcases our honest playing abilities, along with any added performing that we can pull off.
After reading the war of tweets between Baz and Ronnie Radeke (who couldn’t perform due to laptops being stolen), I feel that both sides are arguing about different things.
Sebastian is a real deal, Live Rock musician, who’s refined his craft over thousands of gigs. He’s one of the best at what he does. Passionate, protective and proud because what we do (100% LIVE music) is getting rarer by the year. And it’s HARD to stay musically sharp with all the negative influences of traveling, bad mixes, bad backline, health, weather, little sleep, alcohol, aging,…
I also respect that Ronnie Radeke has been honest about trying to do something completely different than what we do. Ronnie quickly and publicly admitted that his band plays alongside pre-recorded tracks. His fans now know that and if they choose to buy tickets, they know what they’re getting.
My “issue” is when bands don’t admit that they’re playing to prerecorded tracks, or admit to the degree they’re using them. In that setting I feel they’re ripping off fans by selling them something that’s simply not real.
Perhaps fans should ask specific questions about how much real vs. recorded they’re paying for? I applaud Nikki Sixx for adding his pro “technology” stance to Eddie Trunk’s conversation about it. Maybe we should also hear from Motley Crue’s F.O.H. soundman on which backing tracks they use and how many? The fans would love to know!
Although I’ve never listened to Ronnie Radeke’s Falling In Reverse, I’d be more interested if they could get up on a stage without laptops absolutely crush it, but that’s just me… Peace and rock on people!
