The Underappreciated Life of the Sideman

Being a sideman (or sidewoman as it were) is a tough gig.

A lot of times it's the sidemen who are the founders of the band. They are the originators of the band's sound and the secret life blood behind its success. But they are often overshadowed by the front man and/or lead guitarist. They watch as their band becomes associated with someone else. And that someone else gets all the glory and sometimes all of the money too. I read something from the always entertaining Lefsetz Letter blog that is often typical of what happens to a band. An unnamed band's sideman wrote in saying how his front man was getting all of the publishing royalties and not spreading the wealth around to the other members. While the front man was living a life of luxery, the sidemen continued to live the life more common to rock and roll bands--the life of near poverty and struggle. From the sounds of the letter, whatever band that this may have been is probably no longer a band anymore. Rock and roll lesson number one (or any genre for that matter): respect your sidemen.

I'm writing this particular blog today because of the passing of Dave Matthews Band saxophonist LeRoi Moore. I've never been a huge fan of Dave Matthews Band. I bought "Under the Table and Dreaming" when it came out and have liked a single here and a single there. But when I have enjoyed this band's music it's more of a credit to the sidemen than Dave himself. Frankly, Dave Matthews by himself is pretty dull. I thought his solo album was pretty lifeless. Why is it that this band is always a hit on the summer tour circuit? The band. I'm pretty sure Dave Matthews knows this as well. LeRoi Moore was the band's founder and one of the integral parts to its sound, which love it or hate it, is pretty original. When your audience is packed with both frat guy types and hippies you know you've accomplished something.

A sideman's passing is not as big of news as the passing of a front man, but from a musical standpoint is definitely no less important. The Who, to many, stopped being The Who after Keith Moon died in the early '80s. But to me it became official after John Entwistle died. Sure Pete and Roger were always more visible, but The Ox propelled this band forward with his outwardly calm demeanor, yet frantic, lead-style bass playing. The whole is only as good as the sum of its parts. That's how the saying goes, right? A band is only as good as each of the members that comprise it. Pete Townshend and Roger Daltry can tour around as The Who as much as they want, but they are no longer The Who without their most important sideman (and perhaps only sideman as the other three always found a way into the spotlight).

But that's the old story. That's the biopic script at least. Band starts as a tight unit struggling to the top then gains fame. Fame leads to the press honing in on the visible member or members of the band, while the rest get forgotten. This often leads to jealousy and/or resentment and often to the breakup of the band. There's the general outline of "The Doors" and "The Buddy Holly Story" and if I'm not mistaken, "That Thing You Do". What would rock and roll be without a Ray Manzarek for every Jim Morrison or a Big Brother and the Holding Company for every Janis Joplin.

It's not always so dramatic. Some frontmen truly know what they have. I think Dave Matthews does. I also think of the passing earlier this year of Danny Federici of The E Street Band. Bruce Springsteen has certainly had his fair share of success solo, but with the E Street band, he is electric! Maybe it's his working class roots, but The Boss understands the importance of the sidemen he employs. The sound of the E Street band is like no other. And yes it helps that Bruce Springsteen is one amazing songwriter, it also helps that he has a band that can fully realize the potential of the songs. Danny Federici played a huge part in that and Springsteen made that known after Danny's passing.

It's not always a bad thing being a sideman. The well-respected Nashville sidemen are talented musicians who make a good living off of playing on other people's albums. They get to do what it is that they are good at without the constant glare of the spotlight. The Buddy Miller's of the world are doing quite all right.

In fact one of my favorite bands of all time is a band comprised solely of sidemen. It is fitting that their name was The Band. They started as a backing band for Canadian rock and roll pioneer, Ronnie Hawkins. After gaining some notoriety as a talented group of musicians, Bob Dylan decided to hire them as his backing band as he transitioned from acoustic to electric. Fans booed their shows as they felt the poet/activist Dylan had betrayed them with this new sound. It's too bad they did. The music that was made between Dylan and The Band on these shows is absolutely amazing. It is a precurser of the outstanding work that they would do in their post-Dylan days. They were hard-working musicians, whose grasp and love of various styles of music, melded into some of the most influential music to come out of the late '60s and early '70s.

There was no frontman with The Band. You'd have Rick Danko taking vocals on one song, Levon Helm on another, and Richard Manuel on yet another. Robbie Robertson, who is generally credited with writing most of The Band's material (which is contested by some), added brilliant guitar work, while Garth Hudson jumped around from organs to saxophone to accordian to anything else imaginable, but with great skill just the same. The Band epitomize the importance of the sideman. That's what they were--amazing sidemen, who were the right combination of talent at the right time. The road took its toll on them, though. Maybe sidemen just aren't meant for the spotlight.

So here's hoping that people will take note of these overlooked elements of rock and roll. Would DMB be what it is today without the contributions of LeRoi Moore? I would venture to say, probably not. Would Bob Dylan still be touring successfully today without the help of the amazing band he has surrounded himself with? It sure wouldn't be as entertaining as it is.