Why would anyone start such a project, let alone start a full 2 page thread? Well The Smiths were not just an ordinary band, they were a very special one. The Smiths were really one of the most important bands of the 80's. They came out of the UK and really ushered in the indie pop movement, a departure from synth heavy pop, and had the best songwriting duo since Lennon and McCartney (or Plant and Page to be fair). They did things their own way and made songs that were incredibly relevent to their die hard fans. Songs about loneliness, depression, shyness, sexuality, and social issues. They did it with flair, passion, and a lot of wit. Even if the songs were sometimes sad they made you feel incredibly happy after hearing them, because someone else clearly knew how you felt. Their music spoke to and FOR people.
It just so happens that the song subjects and lyrics of The Smiths really crossover WELL to the brony community. When these songs are ponified as we have already done they give interesting spins on both our characters but also on the brony community ourselves. We've tried to capture what we love about these songs and make them equally relevent to our community.
This thread and this project started mostly by accident, and Morte sadly has bowed out, but it does continue on and will be collaborative event album. Even if you aren't a Smiths fan, we hope that you will be when you hear these songs as there's relevence, poetry, and a real revoultion from the norm and from traditional pony EDM. Much like how people cosplay because they want to be the characters, this is an effort to channel what we love about the Smiths into something that's relevent to us and we do it back as a tribute to them as well. Very much like what the Beatle Bronies did for the Beatles but we're going to be tackling songs that likley many people haven't even heard before. We'd like this music to create a real impact to those who hear it and have an independent flair from what's been done so far in the community. Even if you're not a Smiths fan yet we're hoping that you will be by the time we're done. .
I will be looking for many vocalists and additional musicians for this project, so if you are interested don't be afraid to reach out to me. Unlike most event albums this is more an act of forming a cohesive and unified album and approach vs having everyone working autonymously. Think of it as being in part of a virtual collaborative band. After a year and half of dreaming, this project has a go ahead and will be a real album this summer (of 2014).
I've worked with a Smiths cover artist named Johnny Mare, who despite his name is not a brony, but he has done the music on over 10 songs for this project. That includes the guitar parts he's personally done, bass, drums, and even some orchestral elements, so they are just needing vocals. There's even more songs from their vast catalog to tackle if you 'd be interested helping to complete this eventual free album. We have midi files, song books, and tabs for guitarists for those particular tracks. There's also plenty of literature on how to get certain guitar effects and sounds on these tracks.
So if you can
1) play guitar, bass, or drums
2) if you have good sound libraries and expertise to turn a midi file into a realistic sounding band or orchestral backing,
3) if you are a good male and female vocalist
....your help is very much needed IF you are interested.
We're not looking for name recognition, we're looking for overlooked talent who'd like to be involved on an ambitious rock based project and can help pull it off. This really will be a group effort but you'll likely only be needed for a particular song or two or however much involvement you want to give.
It's taken a lot of work and planning to get this far and we're still only halfway there, but we've crested over that hill now. I hope you take a look at this thread, listen to some music, get interested in this project, and decide to take part. :)
~Freewave~
For the most current status on this project see this updated post.
