For Anyone who thinks Boyd is amazing...

gcom007 · Unread post by **gcom007** » Thu Dec 05, 2002 4:28 pm

madtadder wrote:
gcom007 wrote:does everything have to be looked at through rosy colored glasses???
haha, i like the jm reference there. seriously guys, boyd is not this amazing musician you all think he his. sure he's good, and adds a good dynamic to songs, but there are times when he is just flat out off key. after all, he is ONLY HUMAN. there are more times when he has good solos and sounds right on then when he is off, but it DOES HAPPEN. take him off the pedastal.

case in point: on the last stop in LiC, boyd was so off key they had to redo his violin part in the studio.

if you don't agree with this, i suggest you go to http://dmb.nntp69.us/ and check out a couple shows. on 12.13.00, boyd just ruins grey street. it's hard to hear on the audience copy, but if you can find the sbd copy, he makes it unbarable to listen to. also, on 4.8.02, he completely messes up the timing on warehouse (around 3 minutes in). just to name a few. i mean, dont get me wrong, i love boyd, but he isn't always the best.

I've honestly heard less good solos than bad solos in my concert and downloading experience, I like boyd enough, but he's by far the worst aspect of dmb, yet he gets the most glory it seems...it's pathetic in my mind.

firedancer86 · Unread post by **firedancer86** » Thu Dec 05, 2002 4:30 pm

madtadder wrote:
gcom007 wrote:does everything have to be looked at through rosy colored glasses???
haha, i like the jm reference there. seriously guys, boyd is not this amazing musician you all think he his. sure he's good, and adds a good dynamic to songs, but there are times when he is just flat out off key. after all, he is ONLY HUMAN. there are more times when he has good solos and sounds right on then when he is off, but it DOES HAPPEN. take him off the pedastal.

case in point: on the last stop in LiC, boyd was so off key they had to redo his violin part in the studio.

if you don't agree with this, i suggest you go to http://dmb.nntp69.us/ and check out a couple shows. on 12.13.00, boyd just ruins grey street. it's hard to hear on the audience copy, but if you can find the sbd copy, he makes it unbarable to listen to. also, on 4.8.02, he completely messes up the timing on warehouse (around 3 minutes in). just to name a few. i mean, dont get me wrong, i love boyd, but he isn't always the best.

Nobody said he is the best...hes just not THAT bad...

I agree his is off some times, but it wouldn't be the same w/o him...

madtadder · Unread post by **madtadder** » Thu Dec 05, 2002 4:38 pm

firedancer86 wrote: Nobody said he is the best...hes just not THAT bad...

I agree his is off some times, but it wouldn't be the same w/o him...

i agree with you, the band wouldn't be complete without the violin there, but according to dmbfanjason....

DmbFanJason wrote: I bet if Boyd saw what yall were posting, he wouldnt even blink an eye because he knows and his fans know he is fuckin amazing...

i would definitely not call boyd amazing, i would call him good/pretty good, depending on the performance.

ticohans · Unread post by **ticohans** » Thu Dec 05, 2002 5:18 pm

smeagol, i'm not the violin player, my brother is and one of my best friends is the one that i wrote about eariler. sorry for the confusion. i play the guitar and piano and sing among other things

MattyTrane · Unread post by **MattyTrane** » Thu Dec 05, 2002 6:21 pm

i would definitely not call boyd amazing, i would call him good/pretty good, depending on the performance.

pretty good....my ass

Xtreme783 · Unread post by **Xtreme783** » Sun Dec 08, 2002 4:24 am

the thing with boyd is that in some shows i have he's more in tune than others. i agree, it can be rather hit or miss with him, and i dont consider it an offense to him or to his fans to say so. a bit of his detuned-ness comes from the nature of his instrument. i have the remarks of a good authority (the 2nd concertmaster of the dallas symphony orchestra also has a private institute for young strings students that he runs that is one of the nation's more well-renowned... it's called TIFS - texas institute for strings - just incase anyone wants to check me on it... well anyways, he's my best friend's father) on this matter. according to him, violin is a very difficult instrument to play with instruments such as saxes and guitars and such because their tune depends a lot less on the ear of the musician. basically, if boyd's mix in his IEM is shitty on a particular night, it's harder for him to stay in tune. something that that guy told me once: "playing violin well is more about reacting quickest than anything else"... ie, you react to what you're hearing around you and adjust your note accordingly. since there's no definite spot to play a Bb or whatever like there is on a sax or guitar or bass, a violinist has to adjust to what he hears and put the note into tune. so obviously, it's pretty difficult to do if you can't hear the others around you. i mean, take a really good symphony and have them play a song, and then immediately afterwards, play the song perfectly in tune synthesized and it will sound horridly out of tune on the symphonic rendition because the tuning for those instruments is entirely relative.
sorry to have blabbed for such a long time abuot that, but i really dont see the point in arguing over how good boyd is. if you like what he adds to the band, great. if you hate his soloing, great. either way, i dont really see much purpose to arguing about it.

ticohans · Unread post by **ticohans** » Sun Dec 08, 2002 4:42 am

do you really think that dave's sound crew is going to consistantly give their players bad monitor levels, and not have Boyd ask that it be changed, let alone lose their job?? And yes there IS an exact place to play a Bb and the like on a violin. That's what you do when you play it in tune, which Boyd often does not. And it's not even that he's not in tune with the band sometimes. He's not in tune with himself either.

MattyTrane · Unread post by **MattyTrane** » Sun Dec 08, 2002 11:19 am

no offense tico, but i think the dude from the symphony knows a tad more than you do on the subject.

Xoosh · Unread post by **Xoosh** » Sun Dec 08, 2002 1:55 pm

yeah. im not on tico's side this time. However boyd's line in like... Pig, ruins the song for me live (dear god... listen to anything from this past tour). However, this doesnt ruin the band or anything for me. I think without boyd the band would be less 3 dimensional, AND bashing boyd does nothing but put a sour taste in your mouth for a live show... which millions apon millions of people would die to attend. Also, i'd not be as happy with dave if there were 2 guitarists... simply becuase the thrill of dmb is the eclectic nature of it... add the violin and it's sexy:)

regards,
x

ticohans · Unread post by **ticohans** » Sun Dec 08, 2002 2:47 pm

What I said in no way refuted what xtreme's friend had to say. I didn't contradict his statement about playing in tune and levels. I posted a question in response to that, so I don't see how you guys think I'm disagreeing with that source. I agree completely that if Boyd has a bad mix, he's going to have a hard time playing in tune, just like when a singer can't hear himself, he stands a good chance of going out of tune. I'll restate my question: do you really believe that the sound crew is going to do a consistantly poor job of setting Boyd's monitor levels?? I personally find this assumption a little absurd. There are always long sound checks when all levels are set, and Boyd is given every opportunity to set his monitor levels. Given that they've been touring for years on end, I would like to assume that Boyd knows what he needs to stay in tune. I really just think the assumption that he has bad monitor levels is absurd. If you've ever done any sort of live gig that's been done properly, you know that you have plenty of time to make sure everything is right. Given that this is my experience as an amateur, I would think that DMB takes even more care making sure everything is just right. And even if it's not, things can still be adjusted, later in the concert.

So, either Boyd just plays out of tune, or he can't tell if he's having a hard time hearing things?? A guess being hard of hearing would explain his playing... neither option says anything good about him as a musician.

MattyTrane · Unread post by **MattyTrane** » Sun Dec 08, 2002 2:57 pm

Xoosh wrote:... add the violin and it's sexy:)

regards,
x

So true

gcom007 · Unread post by **gcom007** » Sun Dec 08, 2002 5:37 pm

ticohans wrote:What I said in no way refuted what xtreme's friend had to say. I didn't contradict his statement about playing in tune and levels. I posted a question in response to that, so I don't see how you guys think I'm disagreeing with that source. I agree completely that if Boyd has a bad mix, he's going to have a hard time playing in tune, just like when a singer can't hear himself, he stands a good chance of going out of tune. I'll restate my question: do you really believe that the sound crew is going to do a consistantly poor job of setting Boyd's monitor levels?? I personally find this assumption a little absurd. There are always long sound checks when all levels are set, and Boyd is given every opportunity to set his monitor levels. Given that they've been touring for years on end, I would like to assume that Boyd knows what he needs to stay in tune. I really just think the assumption that he has bad monitor levels is absurd. If you've ever done any sort of live gig that's been done properly, you know that you have plenty of time to make sure everything is right. Given that this is my experience as an amateur, I would think that DMB takes even more care making sure everything is just right. And even if it's not, things can still be adjusted, later in the concert.

So, either Boyd just plays out of tune, or he can't tell if he's having a hard time hearing things?? A guess being hard of hearing would explain his playing... neither option says anything good about him as a musician.

that's the thing, everyone just wants to make excuses for him so they feel better, but let's say boyd always played in tune even...his solo's just suck...he plays the same old scale runs over and over and it's just boring...listen to Sara Watkins from Nickel Creek to hear some really good violin work in a setting that has taken more of a pop route that relates more to DMB. She could rip Boyd a new one, and something else to take note of, when she is playing live, one might notice that she'll adjust her strings on the go if they're even a bit out of tune, resulting in her always being in tune!!! So in any event, Boyd just sucks. I'm sorry. I still enjoy DMB and love the shows, but he sucks and I for one would certainly enjoy them more if they were to get a better violinist. I don't care about dynamic within the band that everyone speaks of...if they guy can play, the band will fly.

ticohans · Unread post by **ticohans** » Sun Dec 08, 2002 5:41 pm

while i'm not saying that Boyd SHOULD go, I'll echo gcom's statement that if the band got a violinist that were up to par with the level of musicianship of the rest of the band, it would be a huge plus, in my opinion. well, i think i've said my fill about boyd.

and yes, nickel creek has some sweet violins.

MattyTrane · Unread post by **MattyTrane** » Sun Dec 08, 2002 5:50 pm

gcom007 wrote: ...his solo's just suck...he plays the same old scale runs over and over and it's just boring....

I watch the video of the chicago concert a lot the way the crowd reacts at 37:41 is just crazy (start of his liog solo). They way they freak as he walks up closer to the fans is insane also 39:08, so id say there a lot of people including myself, that disagree with you, to a certain extent. I doubt they were bored.

MattyTrane · Unread post by **MattyTrane** » Sun Dec 08, 2002 5:51 pm

ticohans wrote:, I'll echo gcom's statement that if the band got a violinist that were up to par with the level of musicianship of the rest of the band, it would be a huge plus, in my opinion.
.

Do you honestly think this will happeN?

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