The Field Guide To 10 Common Frontman Styles
August 15th, 2008
Fronting a band is no easy feat, and once you’ve ‘hit the bigtime’ you have to decide which role (and essentially, game) you want to play. Do you want to use your powers of fame for good by spreading the gospel of philanthropy and fierce fashion? Or spiral out of control and make headlines by acting mouthy and unpredictable? Or maybe you want to forge a genuinely deep connection with your fans night after night? I mean, some singers defy classification or bleed from one category to another (Liam Gallagher’s both a Pseudo Diva AND a Stoic), but you can pretty much lump most leading men (and ladies!) into one of these categories. Allow me to present you with The Field Guide To The 10 Most Common Frontman Styles.
1. THE MESS
When “The Mess” is at the helm of a band you never know if you’ll get your money’s worth at a show (if anything at all). These volatile and unpredictable future Betty Ford Clinic patients seemingly spend their nights (and days!) partying hard, performing impromptu ‘Home Improvement’-esque renovations of their hotel rooms, and having their JD & coke-induced asses poured into limos by music label dinks. By the time their scheduled show rolls around, they’re either too tired or too hungover to perform properly, or they’re so cranky that it takes some major publicist coaxing and damage control to prevent a major meltdown. Guns ‘N Roses’ Axl Rose demanding a sitdown roast beef dinner before eventually coming out to perform hours behind schedule is just the kind of behaviour you’d expect from The Mess.
Other Messes: Amy Winehouse, Pete Doherty, Courtney Love
2. THE SPAZ
Thank goodness a drummer like Dave Grohl stepped out from behind the drum kit after his tenure in Nirvana, because the dude’s got an incredible amount of energy that was begging to be unleashed. We’re talking nuclear fusion energy on a cosmic spaz level that Foo Fighters fans get to enjoy at every single show and interview appearance. Like Dave, “The Spaz” is known for having boundless energy on stage, bouncing around like an ADD sufferer on a Ritalin withdrawal and thrashing about like the gender bender from ‘Silence of the Lambs’ (’it rubs the lotion on its skin’) with his genitals clamped between his thighs, which, by the way, is not an easy thing to do. It’s exhausting just watching them, and you wonder how the f**k they do it night after night without collapsing mid-set.
Other Spazzes: Gerard Way, Andrew WK
3. THE ECCENTRIC
“The Eccentric” is a fashion mogul of sorts, but, far from being a trendsetter, his or her regalia is so over-the-top outrageous that it appears to hail from a parallel earth where the history of the world progressed such that Elton John circa 1973 represented the pinnacle of cultural evolution. The Eccentric has oodles of confidence and panache and is in no way body conscious or introverted, which can be a boon or a hindrance depending how you look at it. Think skintight paisley bodysuits a la Lovefoxx (CSS), Bjork’s floral facial accessories or Patrick Wolf’s knee socks, body glitter and angel wings. Every public appearance is like a Kinder Surprise Egg, except with better chocolate and sometimes, the toy is kind of questionable.
Other Eccentrics: Sabina Sciubba (Brazilian Girls), Cher
4. THE PSEUDO DIVA
The Diva isn’t as as outrageous and demanding as, say, an actual diva (like Mary J. Blige with her gold toilet seat or Mariah Carey with her requests for Throat Coat tea and bendy straws or Jamie Foxx with his demands to be treated like a serious actor), but they’ve got enough idiosynchracies to irritate you. Take, for instance, The Killers’ request for ‘no questions about facial hair’ or Brand New’s Jesse Lacey, who notoriously prohibits the use of ANY camera at shows, complete with camera valet service and prominent signage. God forbid your performance be captured on film and posted on YouTube. Newsflash: You’re an entertainer in the 21st century. You get the feeling that even the tiniest infraction will result in a volcanic eruption not seen since the days of Pompeii or the last Britney public freakout.
Other Pseudo Divas: Rivers Cuomo, Kanye West
5. THE STOIC
When “The Stoic” takes the stage you almost feel like he’s somewhat annoyed to be there, uh, doing the job HE signed up for in the first place. Almost as if he’d rather just call in the performance. Next to no crowd interaction, no song introductions - basically the least talkative and emotive person ever. While Arctic Monkeys somehow manage to give a blistering performance time and again, they stick to the task at hand (rocking your socks off) with frontman Alex Turner supplying zero witty banter or emotion. You wonder if The Stoic’s got stage fright, is really in the ‘zone’, or just wishes they could get the performance over with so they can go back to chilling with their best mates back at the hotel.
Other Stoics: Thom Yorke, Liam Gallagher
6. THE COMMANDER
If someone like Dave Gahan tells you to raise your fists and pump them rhythmically throughout the bridge of a song, then goddammit you WILL listen and follow his lead for as long as he says so. The Commander has an impressive grasp of the audience’s attention and can compel them to play along with the evening’s performance - waving cell phones, singing along to certain verses of songs, helping out with drumbeats, clucking like chickens, whatever. The Commander is an awesome leader, and basks in the respect and adoration of every mesmerized fan.
Other Commanders: Josh Homme, Trent Reznor, Richard Ashcroft
7. THE POLITICO
Many band leaders take the politico route because it’s such an obvious way to reach an enormous audience, and no one’s perfected the ‘art’ of musical humanitarianism better than U2’s Bono. His political agenda goes beyond his band’s lyrics and music - he’s made it his personal mission to spread the gospel on everything from the AIDS epidemic to third world hunger to the plight of people who get itchy when wearing gym socks. The Politico encourages fans to support the underprivileged in their own neighbourhoods, which isn’t such a bad idea per se, but consider the fact that forking out the money needed to actually score a ticket to SEE Senor Politico perform (upwards of $300 last time we checked) is enough to dip your funds below the poverty line in the first place. Some people wish the politico would just STFU and play music, while others promise to join in the efforts that they stand behind.
Other Politicos: Chris Martin, Zack de la Rocha, Thom Yorke
8. THE TRENDSETTING FASHIONISTA
Unlike “The Eccentric”, who sports completely unwearable outfits, The Trendsetting Fashionista manages to be super well-dressed in all the latest (or as yet untapped) fashion trends at every show. Think of all the trends that Gwen Stefani’s succesfully “pioneered” - the bindi, dramatic winged eyeliner, the bare midriff and short shorts, and all this before her clothing line L.A.M.B. was even conceived. In doing so, The Trendsetting Fashionista can influence a legion of look-a-likes, from fans to other bands, and eventually, the mall (by which time the trend has most certainly passed).
Other Trendsetting Fashionistas: Alex Kapranos, The Kooks, Jarvis Cocker
9. THE STUNTMAN
Like The Spaz, The Stuntman is an enthusiastic performer who takes his passion and prowess to the next level with Olympic-worthy physical stunts like highkicks, double axels, running jumps and various other martial arts moves. They climb on equipment, storm into the audience at full force and pepper their performance with other unpredictable behaviour. Ricky Wilson of Kaiser Chiefs can often be seen hightailing it across the stage, crowdsurfing and otherwise endangering his physical well-being while performing. And everybody knows that physical endangerment is usually the most entertaining spectacle of all.
Other Stuntmen: Rou Reynolds, Pete Wentz
10. THE CHATTERBOX
The Chatterbox, polar opposite to The Stoic, reaches out to his fans and aims to perfectly set the groundwork and context for every song he performs. Expect a setlist littered with anecdotes and diatribes, fan interaction and the feeling that you’re getting a personalized show in the privacy of your living room. The Chatterbox will say things like “[your city] is my favourite town to perform in”, but actually means it and has the evidence to back it up. The Chatterbox is most likely to take audience requests or do an audience Q&A while he tunes his guitar or waits for someone to grab him another beer from the bar.
Other Chatterboxes: John Mayer, Gary Lightbody, Dallas Green
We’re only speaking from our own eyewitness accounts and experiences here - what sorts of erratic (or touching) behaviour have your favourite artists displayed? And where the hell does Michael Jackson fit in all of this?
Posted on Friday, August 15th, 2008 at 9:22 am by Kat and is filed under Celebrities & Pop Culture.
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85 Responses to “The Field Guide To 10 Common Frontman Styles”
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How about the “poser” angle? (Avenged Sevenfold, Trivium, Atreyu, B4MV). Come across as metal, but in reality you’re barely hard rock.
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Awww you suck Gerard Way is not a spazz. Except in music videos, his face looks like it’s on crack cocaine. xD But I love Gerard.
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Dallas is definatley a chatterbox but it’s an amazing quality. it makes the shows seem that much more intimate and interactive. hes such a great guy.
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Thom Yorke is a prime example of the stoic? really? Every time I have seen him play he is out of control jumping around flailing his limbs around in a fashion that made me question if they kept him in a cage before the show started. Sure he isn’t overly chatty and can be somber during some songs, but overall his boundless energy is one of the reasons Radiohead shows are amazing
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Cool article go stumble!
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Ingrid Michaelson is a chatterbox. I saw her at the Recher in MD and she stopped between each song and explained the story behind it or interacted with the audience in some way. At one point she started a round. :]
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Thom Yorke does seem like a Stoic, he may come across as one, but he does include crowd interaction. For example, at one of the Radiohead concerts I went to:
Thom: “Okay, everybody say ‘Yeah’.”
Crowd: “YEEEAAAAHHHHH!”
Thom: “Whoa, holy shit, that worked.”
Also, just a suggestion in the Commander class: Corey Taylor from Slipknot. The second he says ANYTHING, the crowd goes ballistic.
All in all, good list. I can see where you got most of it from.
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Thom Yorke does seem like a Stoic, he may come across as one, but he does include crowd interaction. For example, at one of the Radiohead concerts I went to:
Thom: “Okay, everybody say ‘Yeah’.”
Crowd: “YEEEAAAAHHHHH!”
Thom: “Whoa, holy shit, that worked.”
Also, just a suggestion in the Commander class: Corey Taylor from Slipknot. The second he says ANYTHING, the crowd goes ballistic.
All in all, good list. I can see where you got most of it from.
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Another great commander is David Draiman, his control over the audience is awe inspiring.
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Thom Yorke is probably THE most intense and involved singer I can think of live… and in my opinion the most emotive. Just a terrible example of a stoic, good article otherwise.
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Uhm, what U2 concert have you been to? It was $99 to go to their last show… I know, I went. Robbie Williams in the same venue, Sting and The Police, same venue chared almost $200 a ticket to go…
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the arctic monkeys will never rock my socks
hes stoic because he knows he sucks
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Placing Thom Yorke as a STOIC is ridiculous. Have you not seen Radiohead live??!?! They always show they love playing live!
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Liam gallagher’s new song, I’M OUTTA TIME, which is on the new album DIG OUT YOUR SOUL is going to be bigger than Wonderwall. it’s amazing.
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I can actually think of one front man that is every category on that list…
Eddie Vedder
The Mess - Always has a bottle of wine on stage
The Spaz - Watch him whenever they play porch
The Eccentric - Fuck Chris Martin, Eddie Vedder was the original sharpie skin art artist…
Psuedo Diva - I’m sure there are stories
The Stoic - Yes
The Commander - A bit of a cheat because every fan already know all of the words. Too bad he can’t command fans not to trample each other at rock concerts.
The Politico - When someone champions more causes than they can keep track of, they call it the “Vedder Syndrome”. Eddie Vedder now wants to hold a benefit concert for Vedder Syndrome Patients…
Trendsetting Fashionista - Who didn’t have a flannel shirt in the early 90’s
The Stuntman - Just watch the video for alive. He once climbed to the lighting scaffolds using only a mic cable. That almost sounds like a setup for a Chuck Norris joke.
The Chatterbox - Only Eddie Vedder could spin a yarn that touches on surfing, President Bush, weeding your garden, driving a car, sign language, NAFTA, and deer repelants… Too bad nobody understands a single fucking word he says…
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Dave Matthews is all of them rolled into one that is why he is gods voice. Yep Yep. Why do they always leave you out Mr. Matthews you are only the biggest artist in the world right? Or maybe I’m just Crazy? maybe we are all a little crazy……
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“When I hear “Commander”, only Ian McKaye comes to mind.”
first thing that came into my mind as well
‘two steps back’
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Bruce Dickinson is definitely a Commander. A great great frontman.
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In the Slipknot concert DVD when he gets everyone to sit down and then “jump” is example of the Commander. The whole time the singer is handling the crowd like he is a Marine Corp Seargent mind controlling them. It is very strange. Good work on the article.
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Cool list. Although have you ever seen Arctic Monkeys live? Alex Turner is no stoic. He gave some of the best banter between and during songs probably out of any band I’ve ever seen last time I went.
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Nice examples!
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Thom Yorke is a stoic? Search Fake Plastic Trees Glastonbury 2003 on youtube. If that’s not interaction i dont know what is.
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Paul Stanley is the embodiment of the Chatterbox. Anyone who’s got an entire mp3 (floating around somewhere out there on the Internets) of his collected banter definitely deserves enshrinement.
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“The Wanker,” as in Stephen Merritt. The man can write an awesome song, but he is such a DICK in concert.
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Trent and Josh are definitely commanders. Great list, nice one
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I saw radiohead a few days ago (2nd time). Thom Yorke is definitely not stoic. He’s talkative, he interacts with the crowd, and he dances like a maniac. He’s definitely having a good time. I’d say he’s probably a spaz.
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Well, you missed the obvious one: Alpha Male sex fiend. Robert Plant, Bon Scott, Jim Morrison, etc, etc, etc.
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why not “the pandering shithead”?
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MJ seems to have a comanding presence on stage from bits iv seen of him…but who knows.
and what about Prince - surely his own category of stage god is required…christ can that little man tear up an arena, no matter what size; intimate or hugely epic.
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Yey , Awesome list
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on radiohead’s recent tour i’d actually call Thom a Spaz more than anything. during the slow songs he’s got a grin on his face and during the faster ones he flailing about like an epileptic. at all points i saw people walking away trying to mimic his unique dancing style. he’s also def a politico. tibetan flags were displayed on stage but never addressed.
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Ummmm, I just went and saw jesse lacey solo about approx. two weeks ago and there were no restrictions with cameras. I think it prolly has something to do with Brand New’s management because I was in the front row of his solo show and I took videos galore thank jesu.
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I love Dallas. Such a wonderful man. <3
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and thus Freddie Mercury is unique. He is legend and there is no one that can touch him!
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If you ever go to ‘pop’ band concert, you’ll recognize the Techie front man. I mean, with the high def tvs, fireworks, rising stages, ect, you can barely focus on the music!
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Then there are the hybrids. David Lee Roth is half chatterbox, half psuedo diva.
Interesting take.
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I don’t know if Thom Yorke is pinned right. He’s the Stoic when he first gets on stage, yeah, but after a while when he really gets into it he’s a complete Spaz. And I don’t think he’s anywhere close to being as preachy as any of the other Politicos. Other than that, pretty good stuff.
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Hey, the Stoic frontman is the best type of frontman. The Arctic Monkeys is one of the best bands around today and Alex Turner definitely brings an energy.
Then there is the legendary Liam Gallagher. All he does is stand there, in his own unique stance, and your eyes are immediately drawn to him.
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You forgot pretty much every extreme metal frontman (and most thrashers as well) as Commanders and Stuntmen- Anders Friden from In Flames and Randy Blythe from Lamb of God respectively.
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gerard way is lame as hell
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After seeing Radiohead live, I have to say that Thom Yorke is definitely not a stoic band leader. He spoke to us and made some jokes and had a great time. He danced around and did some fun stuff.
So yeah.
You were wrong.
On the internet.
Oh dear lord.
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About John Mayer:
1] He rocks that guitar like it “ain’t no thang.” Truly a great musician!
2] It was so great having the concert almost personalized by his commentary!
He just puts on an enjoyable show all around. The appreciation he shows for his band-mates, fans, and musical career is nothing short of awesome.
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Kevin Barnes, lead singer of Of Montreal is definitely an “Eccentric”.
Aaron Weiss, lead singer of mewithoutYou is a total “Spaz”
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You could expand nicely on this!
“The Rebel”, who knows his audience is 12 and 13, but curses and talks about sex just to piss off their parents. See also: Peter Wentz, Gabe Saporta, all of All Time Low. “The Babysitter”, same audience age but the guy who keeps it G rated and makes his set fun for kids. See also: Luis Dubuc. “The FauxRocker”. The guy that tries to be hardcore, or a real rockstar, but really just falls short and amused everyone. See also: that guy from A7X, I don’t even know his name.
I. Love. This. List.
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i think that thom yorke would be more of a spaz than a stoic. have you seen him dance?
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Stephen Jenkins of Third Eye Blind is a chatterbox. I saw him at UMD last year and he really put on a good show. A Commander too. He had the whole crowd singing the guitar solo in Jumper. Really blew my mind. I’ll let you know how The Fratelli’s are later. I got tickets to them for October down at the 9:30 club in DC.
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Author has obviously never seen The Mars Volta live.
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LOL great post. Entertaining pictures too!
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When I hear “Commander”, only Ian McKaye comes to mind.