House of Drumming.com

...for anyone interested, here's their new single...

To me it's a downright but highly expected disappointment. Not that the music is bad, because obviously it's not. But it's the same thing all over again. I understand that bands have styles but there is experimentation, with styles, genres, sounds, and I haven't really seen any of that since at least Train of Thoughts, if not 6 Degrees... Sorry guys, you've lost a fan a long time ago.

well that was pretty fast. im sure dt fans will get a kick outta it.

i find it hard to get over the ultra cheesy keyboard samples that abound.

electrizer wrote:To me it's a downright but highly expected disappointment. Not that the music is bad, because obviously it's not. But it's the same thing all over again. I understand that bands have styles but there is experimentation, with styles, genres, sounds, and I haven't really seen any of that since at least Train of Thoughts, if not 6 Degrees... Sorry guys, you've lost a fan a long time ago.

I am in the same boat (lost in high school). I would go so far as to say it is pretty bad. I wouldn't even necessarily need experimentation as you suggest- just good, memorable song-writing. I think they had it in far the past. Of course I have outgrown it, but if they wrote stuff of pre-6 degrees quality, I would enjoy it.

I get the impression DT knows they've found their tiny little commercial niche/formula and they have no intentions of ruining the thing that's made them moderately wealthy. They all have solo projects to do stuff that maybe is personally important to them, but DT is the commercial vehicle that pays for those solo projects.

*shrug*

Otherwise, it's really hard to explain the band's lack of experimentation considering the genre in which they play -- which should be very forgiving if the miss on a few things in the name of trying something new.

Gaddabout wrote:I get the impression DT knows they've found their tiny little commercial niche/formula and they have no intentions of ruining the thing that's made them moderately wealthy. They all have solo projects to do stuff that maybe is personally important to them, but DT is the commercial vehicle that pays for those solo projects.

*shrug*

Otherwise, it's really hard to explain the band's lack of experimentation considering the genre in which they play -- which should be very forgiving if the miss on a few things in the name of trying something new.

I don't think that's the case, but it is a good hypothesis. You say commercial, but this is a prog fan's band. Yes they are the most popular prog band, but still. DT fans would welcome writing of yesteryear's. They get a lot of slack for their recent spate for lower quality albums. I would say the formula that built their success was the writing on the first half of their catalog. They built their fame and critical mass of a fanbase with those initial cds that has been largely sustained. My feeling is these guys have just written too much music and have run out of ideas. It's understandable. They're in late-stage RUSH mode.

Gaddabout wrote:I get the impression DT knows they've found their tiny little commercial niche/formula and they have no intentions of ruining the thing that's made them moderately wealthy.

i would say they are rich as shit. all of them are millionaires, if not multi, depending on how you look at it.

which, frankly, i would keep doing what ever it was that afforded me warehouses full of gear, a collection of exotic cars and a house the size of a small country.

as musicians i think we run into the conflict of a love for music, and demand for creativity and progress that is balanced against monetary income. in other words, i really hate justin beiber - but i would most definitely play that gig.

Josiah wrote:in other words, i really hate justin beiber - but i would most definitely play that gig.

You kidding? You'd have to beat me to get that gig. LOL I'd do it in a heartbeat. I'm definitely in favor of capitalism here. Just saying, when you're in total control of a creative project built on doing whatever you want, it's curious when the people involved become a slave to their own success, which is exactly the opposite of why they were inspired to start the project to begin with. I'm certain none of them said, "Hey, if we start a crazy, odd-meter-loving prog-rock back we'll be millionaires before we're 40!"

Well, at least Portnoy can sleep well tonight...
"Swing and a miss"

Gaddabout wrote:I get the impression DT knows they've found their tiny little commercial niche/formula and they have no intentions of ruining the thing that's made them moderately wealthy. They all have solo projects to do stuff that maybe is personally important to them, but DT is the commercial vehicle that pays for those solo projects.

That may as well be true, hell knows. But it's a short-term plan as they will start losing fans quickly if they intend to put out records withh all the same music. There have been 6 editions of VW Golf now but they don't release exactly the same cars, they improve them, redesign, rethink, and people buy them. To me listening to that is like driving a brand new generation 3 or 4 Golf all over again...