MovieChat Forums > Prey for Rock & Roll (2004) Discussion > Thoughts on the Band

Thoughts on the Band

posted 16 years ago by sjdridi
2 replies | jump to latest

I just saw this movie last night on TV and really enjoyed it.

Gena's voice reminded me of R&R Hall of Famer Patti Smith. You love her or you hate her, I happen to love her, but she was definitely punk and she makes some people sick. Well that's what the band in the movie was supposed to be, punk, so you'd expect that kind of singing. Later on, you get to hear her singing a softer song in a different style. I'd say the lady can sing. I'd say it's a matter of taste, but I heard nothing technically wrong with her singing.

One line early in the show made me laugh, the bit about each of them making $13.50 for the show they just played. Low pay is all too common, I hear. Also the scene where Faith is stuggling to push her amp out to the car. Some of those things weigh over 100 lbs. and you have to carry them yourself!

One thing made me kind of go "huh?" was Jacki's line about how Tracy was such a great bass player. Mind you, there aren't that many great punk bass players compared to say funk or jazz, but if they got Joan Jett to consult, maybe they should have spent a few extra bucks and got Mike Watt too. Probably Jacki didn't know the difference, just like with many other people! Oh well, I guess I feel good, as a bass guitar student, if that's all it takes to be great, sheez! I hear Drea already knew how to play, so I wonder if she was thinking the same thing!

Okay, another thing that struck me was that Gena looks terrific and the idea of giving it up at 40 is insane. Programmers and accountants and other people don't give it up at 40. Hmmm, I wish, I'd be retired then and able to do music all day long! All four of them seemed so alive when they were playing, the looks on their faces told it all, that this is what they loved doing more than anything. And that's great work if you can get it, no matter what you're doing or how old you are.

I sort of wish they explored Faith's teaching a little more. That part left me a little cold, as if she didn't care about her student. So many pro musicians teach, and naturally, some students pay attention better than others, but the stock answer, "oh, time's up" did not ring true. Of course, I have a great teacher, and know people who love their teachers to death. Considering how much Faith was supposed to love guitar, it would have been nice to have seen her with a student who was getting it, and with a little more patience for the "punk rock girl."

The bit about Faith going after those kids who stole her guitar made me cry, even before she got hit by the car.

As far as why the band didn't make it, I think that maybe a bass player with substance abuse problems was a big part of it. Foundation of the band and all. She couldn't even make it through the second set when the guy with the connections was there. I'm surprised he offered a contract at all. I'm suprised that she was even in the band after that incident, or even before it got to that point.

But there are a lot of really good bands that just don't make it big. I know a few locals bands that I like much better than the current bands on the radio. There are thousands of bands on MySpace and CDBaby and all the new outlets. There's a lot to making it, and not all of it is talent.

They were right to piss that contract off. Besides being an insult, there are so many stories about bands that signed bad contracts and got really stuck and regretted it.

I don't agree with the sentiment that band and family are all the same, but as any hiring manager knows, you need a team that will play together.

Finally, I thought it was cool that the actors were actually playing the notes and beats to the songs. It's kind of funny, now that I'm learning to play an instrument, watching TV shows or commercials and seeing that the actors haven't got a clue about the instruments they are pretending to play.

Anyway, I liked this movie. I thought it was a lot more interesting than a few other rock and roll movies I've seen, most of which have very little to do with rock and roll. I would love to see more movies about life as a musician. There have got to be a lot more great stories out there.

Cheers!

-Susan

[–] alicia_alyssa101 14 years ago

I loved this movie, Gina looked amazing. haha I love the line "We decided, we're a cover band now" and "I'm like Cher...Hey!" haha the whole "Hooked On A Feeling" part made me laugh. Amazing movie IMO :D

[–] magic8ball2112 14 years ago

Oh wow, you're correct that Gina had a very "Patti" singing voice!
Its always cracked me up how, by modern standards, the original punks wouldn't be considered punk nowadays b/c they didn't have 'the look' i.e. spikes o' plenty! Funny how Johnny Rotten, in The Filth & The Fury mocks punk fans by saying how they'd devolved into a regulation costume-wearing class that HAD to have spikes, safety pins, etc. instead of being themselves.

Anyway, as a gigging musician, yep low pay is to be expected (thus why I have a 'straight job', lol), and I should know about the weight of those amps b/c I used to haul around my ex-guitar player's tube amp to & from the equipment truck b/c it was heavier than she was!

I agree that Tracy wasn't all that as a bass player. As one myself, I know she was steady but, performance-wise, she always looked like she was just killing time playing a bargain-basement, basic root-note line. Not like I'm some jazzer or friggen Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers but she struck me as an uber-basic player.

Jacki contemplating quitting at 40 is not unreal. There's truth in what she says in the diner, about how if you don't look young & sexy your chances at 'success' are nil. Its a hard truth but image is a hell of a major factor in the music biz. You only need to see the current state of the biz to see that so many have an biz-accepted "look" but lack in the actual talent department!

As for the reason for the lack of success of the band, if there were a 1-2-3 process to guarantee success I think all bands would take it. "Success" is just so fickle. Thus why you've heard some good bands that aren't signed, on the radio, etc. In Clamdaddy's case (Jacki's band), I don't think its so much b/c of Tracy as its just hard to find widespread success as a 'punk' band, unless said band manages to write songs that manage to break commercially. Thus you've got former 'punk' bands like Green Day having an entire album of theirs now turned into a friggen Broadway musical!

I think Jacki's sentiment about how, if you're lucky, your band & your family are one in the same, is true. I think that's the key to keeping a band together in the long run. I've been in too many that flew apart b/c while we were in the same band we never really connected outside of gigs & rehearsals. So it ends up feeling like going to a job where you do it out of rote than b/c you want to be around those people.
Its a cool thing when your bandmates are close friends. After all, what can be more hellish than being out on the road, sick, and stuck in a room with some insensitive a$$ who decides to have fun at your ill expense; or in a group that could care less about you personally so long as your being there keeps them from having to find a replacement!

Bottom line: cool little movie. Sure the scrip could've used some reworking here & there but otherwise a solid "B" movie. Lord knows its prompted me to seek out the companion series "Rocked with Gina Gershon" about Gina going on tour w/ a backup rock band after Prey... came out.