| Beobrand 11.10.2006 18:06 |
Virtual Queen was born last year, when a few of us started working on a musical project to see whether we could record cover versions of Queen songs completely via the Internet. As the project moved on and was obviously working, we decided that we should try to do some good with the fruits of our labours. We came up with the idea of making the songs available for download and donating all the money raised to the Mercury Phoenix Trust. We are now almost ready to launch the project. We have contacted Queen asking for permission, but while we wait for a response, we thought people might like a taster of what we will have on offer. To this end we have set up a MySpace site containing short edits of the first two songs. We have also set up a message board which we hope will grow as the project does. Please visit them both, let us know what you think, sign up to the message board and, hopefully soon, download the full versions of the songs. Cheers, Matthew Harffy (Beobrand), Simon Mann & Paul McCluskey. link link |
| kagezan1313 12.10.2006 13:03 |
So you're a tribute band that doesn't want to play live - so what's the difference between you and the guys at home who make the fan cover recordings featured on this site? Without live performances to build a fanbase, how do you expect anyone would want to purchase your versions as opposed to the real ones, and why would QPL licence you to do so, when they themselves donate millions to the MPT for the real thing? I guess I just don't get the point of a "virtual tribute band". To me it just sounds like any other amateur fan project. |
| Beobrand 12.10.2006 14:24 |
kagezan1313 wrote: So you're a tribute band that doesn't want to play live - so what's the difference between you and the guys at home who make the fan cover recordings featured on this site? Without live performances to build a fanbase, how do you expect anyone would want to purchase your versions as opposed to the real ones, and why would QPL licence you to do so, when they themselves donate millions to the MPT for the real thing? I guess I just don't get the point of a "virtual tribute band". To me it just sounds like any other amateur fan project.Hi there. It isn't that we don't want to play live - we would love to! The thing that makes us different is that we record in complete isolation, only communicating over the Internet. We have recorded the first two songs with no face to face communication at all and have attained a pretty high standard in the process (I think you would agree - have you given the preview edits a listen?). Playing live would be quite difficult given that the members of the band and guest musicians we have worked with so far, live in the UK, Spain and the US. We hope to work with people in other countries as the project progresses, making it a virtual global tribute band! That is the beauty of it! Why would people want to buy them? Well, there is a market for covers, that are different from the original songs, as ours are (remember the album of covers called Killer Queen last year?). You ask why QPL would give us permission. I think a better question would be why wouldn't they? We are going to donate ALL of the proceeds to the charity they set up, so whether we make £10 or £100 or £10,000, it is all profit for their charity and no loss to them. I understand that some people will not want to buy the songs, that is their choice. But if you wanted to donate a small amount of money to the Mercury Phoenix Trust, you could do worse than end up with a new version of a classic Queen tune into the bargain. |
| WeeMann 12.10.2006 14:30 |
And who knows, one day we may get to meet up and play live. I'd certainly love to do just that. Once the website is open, you'll be able to see how we got together and why we decided to do it. The fact is it started as a bit of fun, a kind of "Can we actually pull this off?" type attitude and when we realised that it could be done, we figured we might as well try to do some good with the fruits of our labours. |
| drwinston 12.10.2006 17:42 |
How did you record with each other over the internet? Was everything done as an overdub, or did you actually find a way to work with each other online? Just curious... |
| Beobrand 12.10.2006 17:57 |
When the website (link is open to public view, you will be able to read all about it, but the short answer is that we each recorded our parts as separate tracks and then one member of the band mixed them together. |
| Beobrand 22.10.2006 15:17 |
Just a quick note to let you all know that the preview tracks play fine on the MySpace profile now (link. We will very shortly be launching the full website (link and hopefully the songs will be available for download soon. Come and pay us a visit and add to the comments others have already left, as we want to know your thoughts. Thanks! |
| theCro 22.10.2006 15:58 |
sounds maybe stupid to ask, but if i want to sing Queen song[i have good voice, belive me :)] can i join the virtual band? |
| Beobrand 22.10.2006 18:32 |
Well, the core band is made up of three of us, and we hope to have many guest musicians taking up all manner of roles for different songs in the future. So far, we have a guest drummer (on the two completed songs) and a guest pianist (on a song in progress). There is no reason why we can't have a guest singer at some point. To become a guest musican, your best bet is to sign up to our forum (link and post in the relevant section. Then, when a song is available, you will be asked to provide a demo to effectively audition for the band. HTH. |
| Beobrand 24.10.2006 11:18 |
Just a quick thank you to all those who have come and listened and left comments on the MySpace page. If you haven't visited yet, come along and let us know what you think. With any luck, soon we will be able to sell the songs in aid of the Mercury Phoenix Trust. |
| Togg 24.10.2006 11:24 |
Had a listen the other day, sounds fun I like it, I too sometimes work this way with a friend over the internet, we get some interesting results sometimes coming back with something the other had no idea was going to arrive. Good luck I enjoyed it. |
| Beobrand 24.10.2006 11:27 |
Thanks for the nice words, Togg. Yes, it is great getting new takes back from the other band members. You never know what you are going to hear, but so far, I have always been impressed (I'm not sure they can say the same of my contributions!). ;-) Like you sig too, BTW! |
| Beobrand 25.10.2006 17:21 |
The Virtual Queen Project website link is now live! There you can find out all about the project, the members of the band, how we record and the equipment we use. You can also sign up to our Email updates(link to keep up-to-date with all major developments, like when we release the full versions of songs for download. Come and have a look around the site and let us know what you think. Thanks. |
| Beobrand 01.11.2006 06:21 |
Hi guys! The full version of We Will Rock You is now available to be heard at link. If you like it, please preorder the song from our indiestore shop. All proceeds will go to the Mercury Phoenix trust. Tie Your Mother Down will be available for preorder very soon. Thanks. |
| john bodega 01.11.2006 11:46 |
I totally came up with this idea about a year ago! Minus the charity thing, nice touch. |
| Beobrand 01.11.2006 11:56 |
Hi there, So are you doing any virtual music then? Have you got a link to any stuff? What do you think of what we have done so far? We started the whole thing over a year ago, having met on the Queenonline forums. Interestingly enough, when we started discussing it, there seemed to be no virtual tribute bands on the web, but now the idea of virtual bands seems to be disseminating through the ether... |
| Beobrand 06.11.2006 04:48 |
Hey guys! Only 37 listens to our full version of We Will Rock You (and substantially less pre-orders!). If you haven't heard it yet, get over to link and give it a listen all the way to the end. You may be surprised by what we have done with the song and it changes considerably from beginning to end. If you like it, pre-order it! I think it is worth 77p! :-D Thanks to those who have already listened/pre-ordered/commented. |
| john bodega 06.11.2006 10:43 |
Beobrand wrote: Hi there, So are you doing any virtual music then? Have you got a link to any stuff? What do you think of what we have done so far? We started the whole thing over a year ago, having met on the Queenonline forums. Interestingly enough, when we started discussing it, there seemed to be no virtual tribute bands on the web, but now the idea of virtual bands seems to be disseminating through the ether...Hahah I was half joking. What I meant when I said I'd come up with this was, in a guitarist thread I'd thrown up the idea of 4 or 5 musicians each contributing different instruments to a simple tune like Tie Your Mother Down or something. I'd actually wanted to make it a video - but again, Youtube beat me to it..... Heh. |
| Beobrand 14.11.2006 19:21 |
Tie Your Mother Down is now on the site and available for preorder. Check it out and let us know what you think. Both songs will be released on 30th November for download. |