Face of the Band: Difference between revisions

=== Pop / Pop Rock ===

* Averted hard with [[The Beatles]], as almost everyone know all four members of the band.

* [[No Doubt]]. Starring Gwen Stefani on lead vocals, and...

** Their video for "[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LPzcgrkZyo Don't Speak]" [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshades]] this unfortunate truth. (And check the [[Completely Missing the Point|comments]].)

** Come now, Mark Owen never got remembered.

** All that changed after the success of Robbie Williams. Any memories of the others are now eclipsed by his rock star status.

*** TT are a convoluted example. In their original early-mid 90s heyday they were often roughly three-Faced: Gary "The Talented One" Barlow, who took most of the plaudits as main lead singer and the only significantly musically-talented one of the group who contributed songwriting and musicianship, but there was also Mark "The Cute One" Owen, Robbie "The Cheeky One" Williams (who both took occasional notable lead vocals too) – and The Two Dancers At The Back... notwithstanding the fact that they were so über-famous most people knew Jason Orange and Howard Donald as well then. After Williams left the band soldiered on as a four piece but subsequently split; Williams seemed destined (bailed out early, no known musical talent, weight gain, increasing drug and drink habits) to be the [[Garfunkel|Andrew Ridgeley]] to Barlow's George Michael, yet the reverse turned out to be true: after a false start or two, his hugely successful solo career so vastly outstripped the others they were largely consigned to history – especially Orange and Donald, but particularly unfortunate on Barlow, who was unable to parlay his established talent into a meaningful solo career. After the group eventually reformed minus Robbie, and initially merely [[For the Lulz]] after a near-decade away, there was a conscious decision to share the duties/credit that brought all four of Gary, Mark, Jason and Howard back to public consciousness, averting this trope more thoroughly than they'd ever managed first time around. Ironically, their unexpectedly enormous second wave of success coincided with a downturn in Robbie's solo career, and his eventual rejoining the group (for still greater success) has so far largely averted his taking over as Face in favour of them becoming five more-or-less equals.

* With the Goo Goo Dolls, you're lucky if people know John Rzeznik and know how to say his name right (for the record, that first z is silent). Only serious fans are likely to know Robby Takac or Mike Malinin's names. Robby, the bassist, started as the lead singer, but the band didn't get popular until John's singles started being released; because of John's image as the lead singer, Robby has been steadily dropping songs as each new album comes out.

* Ric Ocasek was lead singer and lead songwriter for The Cars, and usually the only one anyone remembers. Naturally, when a few of the remaining members started "The New Cars" and replaced Ocasek with ''Todd Rundgren'' (on Ocasek's reccomendation to his old friends, no less), the reaction was... mixed.

* [[Counting Crows]] features Adam Duritz on vocals and...um......

* Daughtry is Chris Daughtry.....and his backing band? But when you name your band after the lead singer's last name, you're pretty much asking to fall into this trope.

** Before he left the band in 1975, the face was [[Peter Gabriel]], whose eccentric stage costumes, performance style and lyrics gave the band their distinct British fairy tale-esque feel.

** Mike Rutherford may have gotten some recognition, though many would have trouble coming up with the names of ''any'' of the singers in Mike and the Mechanics.

* Louise Wener was so much the face of [[Sleeper]] that the rest of the band were often referred to in the music press as "The Sleeperblokes". The term came to be used to refer to the forgettable male backing musicians of other female-fronted [[Britpop]] bands too. Sleeper sold T-shirts with the word on.

* Berlin is Terri Nunn and ... a bunch of guys.

* Casual fans of The Crüxshadows are likely to only know Rogue. It doesn't help that band went through a good deal of restructuring in the last couple of years.

* Most will know that the lead singer of Cobra Starship is Gabe Saporta and a handful might be able to name Vicky T, the lone woman in the group. The other members? Not so much.

* Akuma Daikon is the best known member of grindcore band NHK,<ref>not to be confused with the one that got signed onto Important Records</ref> synth-pop/rock band Masorock, and improvisational [[Neoclassical Punk Zydeco Rockabilly|genre conglomerate]] Funeral Attendants. Justified: He is well-known for his career as a soloist, and Funeral Attendants in question is more of a hive mind than a band.

* Smile.dk is basically Veronica Almqvist and Random Chick of the Week.

*** Others see them as "that band Mark Lanegan was in for a time."

* [[The Who]] averts this for the most part, as all the members are legendary, but ironically, the person who is forgotten the most is Roger Daltrey (The singer!)

* Jim Morrison ''was'' [[The Doors]], but deeply resented this implication; the one time his band was introduced as "Jim Morrison and The Doors", he refused to go on stage. Unfortunately, the rest of the band didn't know he was The Doors and tried to continue after he died...

* [[The Wallflowers]] is [[Bob Dylan]]'s son, Jakob Dylan, and a bunch of guys that played other instruments. Jakob got so much attention, that it eventually led to many of the band members dropping out due to wanting to get fame somewhere else. Jakob has also become a [[Reclusive Artist]] in hopes of dodging the comparisons to his father.

** Don't forget the Asian guy who often ''looked'' like a chick!

** The dudes-and-sometimes-a-chick claim that the drummer is the only other important member. Now, if only we could remember his name...

**** Even Chamberlin forfeited "permanent member" status from 1996-1999.

* Several bands in [[The Fifties]] and [[The Sixties]] were practically ''named'' based on this trope following a formulaic "Lead Singer and The Band" (or more the egotistical "Lead Singer and ''His'' Band") setup. One of the more famous examples would be Bill Haley and His Comets.

** They had no permanent lead singer. Considering how Carlos spent a couple of albums trying to get everyone he could to sing for him...

* Name one guy from [[Styx]] that isn't Dennis DeYoung. We'll wait.

* Good Charlotte is Joel and Benji Madden. Even the TRL finale referred to them as Good Charlotte. Never mind that their other guitarist/keyboardist and bassist have been with the band since the beginning, and they have been through no less than three drummers.

* Try and name a [[Velvet Underground]] member other than Lou Reed...just try. Also Andy Warhol was not a member despite what people will tell you.

* [[Dinosaur Jr.]] is J. Mascis and that guy he hit over the head with his bass once.

** And Sebadoh is Lou Barlow from [[Dinosaur Jr.]] (the aforementioned guy who was hit in the head with a bass) and some other people.

* [[Flyleaf]] has Lacey Mosley and... the Asian guitarist guy, that freaky dude with the long hair, and the other two.

* Can you list a member of [[Blur (band)|Blur]] that isn't Damon Albarn?

* The Sisters of Mercy consists of two generally remembered people: Andrew Eldritch and Doktor Avalanche. The amusing part is that Doktor Avalanche is a fictional character (it's a name associated with whatever drum machine is being used at the time). Other people have been in the band, and have been highly influential, but keep getting fired. Patricia Morrison, Wayne Hussey, etc have al disappeared. The ironic bit is that if it weren't for the running gag, most goths wouldn't know who Wayne Hussey is, either.

** Similarly, The Sisterhood also consists of only Andrew Eldritch and Doktor Avalanche. So there's TWO bands that only consist of the SAME two people, of which one is fictional. (The Sisterhood was formed and an EP recorded JUST to keep Wayne Hussey from using that band name).

* [[Captain Beefheart]] was the stage name of Don Van Vliet; and the only one of Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band that anyone remembers, unless they're either really hardcore psychadelic/experimental rock fans, or really hardcore Frank Zappa fans (the two traded several musicians back and forth).

* Name a member of Babyshambles other than Pete Doherty. Of course, it helps that Doherty both dated Kate Moss and has rarely been out of the press due to his numerous drug habits and chaotic personal life, both of which tend to stick in the memory.

*** There was a number of lineups in the 1970s. Many people refer to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers as "Tom Petty." The solo albums are different from the Heartbreakers albums.

* Silversun Pickups are Brian Aubert, Nikki Monniger and two other guys who don't sing.

** Coby Linder. The drummer is the only other founding member still in the band and fans should know him too. He even does a spoken-word part in a song about how he's been the band with Max forever. Besides these two, the line-up has changed so many times it's pretty forgivable to not know them.

** Heh, it ''was'' definitely a trio, but they thought "Ben Folds Three" sounded stupid.

** Robert Sledge (the bass player) does get name-dropped in "Not The Same", however.

* Name a member of 30 Seconds to Mars that isn't Jared Leto. Bonus points if you can name a bassist.

** Erm, Shannon Leto and whatshisface. Hang on, it'll come to me in a second...Tommy? Tomo? I haven't got a hope in hell with the surname though...

* [[The Residents]] avoided this entirely by having no faces whatsoever. Every member was anonymous, and they all wore the same tuxedo and giant eyeball mask uniform. Those into music trivia will know that spokesman Homer Flynn and sound engineer Hardy Fox are believed to be the leaders of the group, but they have consistently refused to admit it for forty years.

** In an unusal subversion, the late Snakefinger (Phillip Charles Lithman) performed with the group so often that he's occasionally mistaken for a member.

* Most people probably recognize Sandy Denny as Fairport Convention's singer even though ''she's been dead for thirty years'' and about three hundred people have been in the group since. The only other member who gets remembered is virtuoso guitarist [[Richard Thompson]], mostly due for his solo work. He's been out of the band since 1971.

* Fictional example: The song "Ziggy Stardust" by [[David Bowie]] is about how lead guitarist Ziggy becomes this for his band (quoted above). It goes to his head, and the other members become so tired and envious of Ziggy's success and ego that they ultimately kill him.

* Bowling for Soup manages to do this without needing anyone to know the Face's name: they're "that one punk band ''with the fat guy on bass''." It's even more impressive when you consider that Chris van Malmsteen (for that is his name) is the guitarist.

** See also: New Found Glory.

* Scissor Shock is pretty much Adam Cooley. Justified, as there have been points in which such was the case.

* Partially averted by Canadian indie-rock collective Broken Social Scene. As the band has about 20 different members who rotate in and out, they are well known for spawning many different (and often more famous) musical groups. Even the most casual fans of indie rock will recognize Metric, Stars, The Weakerthans, Apostle of Hustle, and Feist as being related in some way to the band. Of course, this doesn't stop some people from referring to them only as "That band Feist was in before she became Feist."

* Godsmack with their lead song-writer Sully Erna, to the point that the other band members are convinced that [[I Am the Band|it's his band and they're just followers]]. On that note, Erna is responsible for the band's trademark spirituality in their sound (tribal beats, European-style twanging strings, chanting, etc.), all sprouting from his Wiccan beliefs.

* [[Kaizers Orchestra]] has frontman and [[Large Ham|ham extraordinare]] Janove '[[Stage Name|The Jackal]]' Ottesen, "That creepy dude with the gas mask" and some other guys.

* Okay, a slight subversion: who knows anybody from the Yardbirds other than [[Eric Clapton]], [[Jeff Beck]] and [[Led Zeppelin|Jimmy Page]]?

 

=== [[Film]] ===

* Lampshaded in Cameron Crowe's ''[[Almost Famous]]''. The band Stillwater is given a prototype promotional T-shirt to look at - which shows the charismatic and handsome guitarist in a nice portrait - and [[What Measure Is a Non-Cute?|the rest of the band in shadow]].

** If you read the credits at the time, American McGee wasn't an easily forgotten name. Even before ''[[American McGee's Alice|Alice]]''.

** After Romero left (and fell from grace), programmer [[John Carmack]], who creates all of id's engines, started to get his recognition.

* Apparently a lot of people believe that the entire Apple Corporation consists of Steve Jobs putting together laptops and iPods in his garage. When people began hearing that Jobs was in bad health, Apple's stock took a dive.

* [[Shigeru Miyamoto]] ''is'' [[Nintendo]] to most people, even when the company has enlisted other talented producers like [[The Legend of Zelda|Eiji Aonuma]] and [[Kirby|Masahiro]] [[Super Smash Bros.|Sakurai]].

[[Category:Music Video Tropes]]

[[Category:Characterization Tropes]]

[[Category:YMMV Trope]]

[[Category:Music Tropes]]