[x] Louisiana Gator Boys

Does this one-off superdupergroup count as a band? They're credited with two tracks on the "Blues Brothers 2000" soundtrack.

[en.wikipedia.org] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Louisiana_Gator_Boys
[blues.discogs.com] http://blues.discogs.com/artist/Louisiana+Gator+Boys,+The

It's not a charity supergroup, but it's almost as artificial.

We rejected them about a year ago because they didn't exist outside of the movie, but I'd be willing to hear arguments for or against again.

This is finally in the db. Not sure if it's even controversial anymore.

Now... any takers for running Band Aid II past our rules?

Not sure we're any closer to agreeing on whether or not Band Aid II get in (personally I don't see them as any different to Stop The Violence Movement, who we've let in).

Just thought I'd throw another charity supergroup into the mix - anyone remember Winjama? No, didn't think so...:
[bandtoband.com] http://bandtoband.com/index.php?PageField=Wiki&ActionField=var&AlbumIdFi...

I'd vf it is a second but don't want to start setting rules by the back door - seriously guys - why the hair shirt approach specifically aimed at these releases? When Nat King Cole contractually can't be part of a band and goes by an alias to avoid his record comapany finding out - we still let that in? What have we got against these groups?

MP, please elaborate on the points you raised. How do you think we should handle these groups? And is Nat King Cole lurking somewhere in the database?

Nat Coles got in (originally : there's since been a more legit entry) in a trio in which he couldn't appear because he was contracted to another record company. So a pseudonym was created and we looked past that to allow him in. It's not pertinent to this discussion other than showing a bending of our rules (Lou Gramm Band / Savatage) - contrast to Winjama where a band of sorts has been created but seems incapable of overcoming a hurdle and definition which (I accept) is clear to other people but not me.

These are examples of bands as ephemeral as (say) Winjama. I'm not lobbying against them - just looking for Winjama and their ilk to be treated the same:

J.C. Higginbotham Quintet : the same line-up bar Higginbotham hang around for another session the same day, are joined by Frank Newton and are all of a sudden the Frank Newton Quintet. I think there are other jazz 'pick up' bands in there too - maybe one of the jazz buffs could agree / put me right.

Santa Barbara Machine Head : four guys jam (just the once possibly), recordings are salvaged later - not even clear there was a 'band' formed at all at the time or named.

Metronome All Stars : by definition no-one in that band had any say-so over the other members. They might have chosen to not be a member despite qualifying, but they could not exclude another participant.

Smokin' Mojo Filters. Lasts one day. We find a 'core' in that based on the styling of a CD single where the highest-profile members are listed but not others.

Green Bullfrog. 'Nuff said.

Shirley Collins And The Albion Country Band. Sprawling 'collective' credited as a single entity but with many players on very few songs.

These are just examples and not meant to pick holes in any of them (some of them are mine!). There are no doubt many others.

I think we have a tendency to look askance at some bands (which I accept are very loose aggregates) while others pass through - this can be genre-based; I think we accept in early jazz in particular that these are not bands in any real sense and that the precise crediting of any release from some of these sessions seems to be done at a whim, probably much later and probably without the involvement of the lead artist. I think Winjama is the same as some of those - the artists who were 'members' had no say who else played on it, may not even have played in the same studio on the same day as some of their 'bandmates' but nonetheless agreed to become part of a larger grouping for the purpose of recording. To me - that's prima facie a band.

I'm still upset about Stop The Violence Movement, frankly. We have a rule to handle this and it's been ignored. It should have consisted simply of its core, KRS-One.

Green Bullfrog's not supposed to be in the db. Why is it still there? The rules specifically mention it as something that doesn't have any members.

The rules have not changed, but my view on supergroups, jam bands, one-off get-togethers, recordings by collective efforts, and similar things has. I don't see Rule 7 as necessary anymore. As far as I'm concerned, our only concern should be actual membership, which is already covered by the other rules. I know membership is somewhat of a nebulous concept, but the guiding principles (to me) include a shared intent of equal treatment among participants, a shared intent to create a band, and/or a shared intent not to create a solo recording artist. We do this analysis all the time--there's no need for us to apply a more rigid approach to certain types of recordings.

If a collective intended to treat all participants equally and did so in the credits, I feel a little out-of-place second-guessing that.

See also
[bandtoband.com] http://bandtoband.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=6454
[bandtoband.com] http://bandtoband.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=6662
[bandtoband.com] http://bandtoband.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=6664

All that said, I don't mean to suggest that I'm interpreting the current rules any differently, although I agree with misterpomp that interpretations (by all of us) seem to change based on circumstance. I would like for us to be able to have a consistent approach that feels right.

Here's another one to think about:
[www.discogs.com] http://www.discogs.com/viewimages?release=402743

For me, trying to be consistent I hope, it's as simple as it looks - it's a band called The West Coast Rap All-Stars. That's what it says so that's what it is. The fact that all links will eventually be only 3 or 4 steps apart and will, very boringly, go through this or other similar supergroup / charity group entries is not their fault. What difference is their between the West Coast Rap All-Stars and [bandtoband.com] http://bandtoband.com/index.php?Page=Search&BandId=6200 ? None that I can see.