'My Roots Will Keep Me Honest'

The group awaits the results on BGT

 This lyric is a line from the song Honest by Britain’s Got Talent finalists The Loveable Rogues.  After going to a PA and live performance of theirs recently, I’m a little bit concerned that like many reality TV musicians, they are at risk of being ruined, or at least losing credibility, by their management's actions. But I'm hoping that their 'roots will keep them honest', true to their musical style, and to be a credible and successful act… Let me explain:

 

 Yesterday evening I was in Bournemouth for the Olympic Torch evening celebration and happened to spot The Loveable Rogues having their picture taken with a fan. Sadly I didn't seize the moment & say hi to them, but after the Olympic Torch event had finished, I did some investigating and managed to find out via Twitter that they had a gig in Swanage that night.  Swanage is about an hour away from Bournemouth by car, and by this time it was a mad rush to get down there in time (in the end we needn’t have rushed so much. The venue's website said last entry at 10 & starting at 10 – so, we arrived just before 10 - but ended up waiting round for about an hour before they came on!)

The Loveable Rogues performing at Bar One, Swanage

Now, having been really looking forward to seeing the guys play live, I was disappointed by the gig itself.  Not by the boys but by what I imagine to be decisions taken by their management.  Firstly, the venue (a tiny little club in Swanage) didn't lend itself to their style of music.  The sound quality was quite poor and an acoustic band really needs to perform in a venue with good acoustics – funnily enough! – not a room that is best used for pumping out loud, bassy club music (not to mention the fact there was a pillar right in front of their performance space!  Luckily, I got a spot where this didn't obscure my view...)

Also, the "gig" actually turned out to be only about 5 minutes or so long as the group only performed 2 songs (the same two that audiences saw them perform on Britain’s Got Talent).  After the performance, audience members were given the chance to queue up to have their picture taken with the guys by a professional photographer, and then presumably had to pay an extortionate sum to get their hands on some form of print.  This leads me to believe that their management, or whoever, are simply out to make a quick buck out of them off the back of the BGT hype without giving them hope for any sort of longevity.

Another snap from the Swanage gig

The trouble is, for someone who's gone to a venue and paid £10 especially to see a band perform their songs (I think I'm speaking for others and not just myself), this is a massive anti-climax.  It's likely to make some people think those are the only two songs they have (I personally didn't think this was the case and have looked the guys up on YouTube and been proved right!).  It’s also likely to make some people less inclined to go and see them again, wondering what the point is if that’s all they’re going to get. 

 I’m hoping that maybe I’m just being cynical about it all and that The Loveable Rogues’ management aren’t going to end up ruining their credibility.  If they are, I hope the band’s ‘roots will keep them honest’ enough with themselves that they don’t allow this to happen.  I think they’re very talented and would like to see them do well and to hear a lot more of their music over the coming years.  Sadly, it seems to be symptomatic of modern Western society that everything’s about the money and the music itself doesn’t seem to matter to a lot of people. 

Seth Lakeman with his violi

The Loveable Rogues aren’t the only victims of abuse from management/record labels in the music world (I acknowledge that I am assuming their management are doing wrong by them; but I am aware that they could have made all the decisions themselves!).  Another example is Seth Lakeman, a folk singer I’ve recently started listening to.  I was checking out his music on iTunes and one person commented on his most recent album that he was glad Seth had parted company with his previous record label, who had tarnished his sound in an attempt to make him more radio-friendly.  Clearly Seth recognised the problem and did something about it.  Similarly, Elliot Minor, one of my favourite bands, parted with the producers of their first album and went back to doing their own production for the second album, because they hadn’t been happy with what the other producers had done.  I like these examples because they show that it is possible to break free from situations like these, stay true to oneself and be successful regardless!

Elliot Minor

I’d be interested to hear about other examples of this sort of thing and to find out what other people think of my views on The Loveable Rogues Situation, so please do leave comments!  Thanks for reading.









Links:

The Loveable Rogues perform Honest:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snexs-1mfzk