NGAB Week 7

This week was the music of Rod Stewart. Don’t even get me started. I am not a huge fan. Ok, I admit it. I am not even a little fan. I like some of Rod Stewart’s stuff but his best music is not his originals. He’s like the ultimate cover artist. His voice is unique, he’s backed by great musicians and when he uses good material it’s decent. But when he composes his own stuff….zzzzzzzz.

If we want the Next Great American band to be current and relevant why do the producers keep selecting music from 30-years ago? Are they all over the age of 50? Please let the bands play their own music!

First to come out of the green room tonight is:

Dot,dot,dot – Young Turks
Wow, what a mess that was. The song immediately started out with tempo problems and went downhill from there. John R. called it their best performance. Phhhttttttt. It was not good. The vocals were all over the place for both the lead singer Adam and Rose the guitar player. Plus the keyboard player was really not on tonight at all. Best performance John? Dicko asked why the keyboard player had his instruments back to back. I asked this same question three weeks ago when I suggested that he stack the keyboards instead. This performance may have put the nail in the coffin for the dots as I can’t imagine anyone left being worse other than LOD. But that hasn’t mattered before.

Denver and the Mile High Orchestra – Baby Jane
Finally the blues!!! Yea baby! I love this. This was possibly the best performance by DMHO in the competition. Denver correctly featured the fabulous guitar/bass and drums in this song and it grooved. They guys played loose enough to make it feel bluesy but tight enough to be very musical. Denver has been criticized for his vocals the past few weeks but tonight he sang great. This was a very solid performance by my favorite band.

Sixwire – Hot legs
Wow! The judges blew it this week when they complained about the bass solo. Not only was the bass solo in the original it wasn’t played nearly as good as Sixwire played it. The lead singer finally broke out of the pretty boy singing style and rocked it. No three part harmony tonight but some duel harmonies were used and the thinner vocal arrangement was clean and precise. This was a great performance and if I had to pick a winner based on just tonight it would be Sixwire.

The Clark Brothers – You are in my heart
I think, as I’ve mentioned before in these blogs of mine, that this group is better singing ballads and possibly are the only ones in the competition able to really pull them off. This was a spectacular performance. My only criticism was the over playing of the mandolin, and I found it distracting. I wonder if that was what lead the lead singer to lose pitch a bit. Other than that this was so tastefully done it should guarantee the Clarks go to the next round. Dicko suggested that they add players. This is a bad idea and I think could backfire on them. Their audience has come to like them for their sound. My advice, leave well enough alone.

LOD – Infatuation
In my opinion it’s time for the tykes to go home. John hides his criticism by saying I think you will be a good band someday. None of the judges really like this and neither did I. For the last two weeks the children have used gimmicks to cover their weaknesses in playing. It is cheesy for a “metal rocker” to walk through the fans giving high fives to people. You kids are getting really bad advice and it’s too bad. Again I felt sorry for these children, because they have no idea what’s ahead for them and it won’t be good. Please go home, study your instruments further, examine and learn music and then, when you have matured come back and please try again.


So now the competition is down to five. Things start to get serious and each week gets mathematically harder for the bands to stay in. I think two bands are totally safe. Sixwire and The Clarks. I want to believe DMHO is safe as well but as more bands drop off their votes are going to go somewhere. Will DMHO pick up any of them? I’m not sure. If I were to venture a guess today I would say the competition will come down to three bands. DMHO, Sixwire and The Clarks.

Next week we will see if the bands add any players. The producers have decided to let them. Will The Clarks add a drummer and bassist? Will LOD and the Dots find a lead singer? Who knows. But since it's now open, I recommend DMHO gets Melinda Doolittle and Mandisa, two former BGV singers for DMHO, to come and sing with the group in the finals.