Send a Band Back in Time! (for profit)

Cafe Society
1

Paradoxes are out for the sake of fun. The time machine can send up to eight band members back to any date between 1960 and 1979.

They don’t get to take any equipment or technology with them, just some retro money for instruments and living expenses.

Your goal is to manufacture one of the top bands in the world. So, who do you send back? They need to be in their “prime” (loosely defined) right now or within the last five to seven years to be marketable age-wise.

Anyone whose music depended heavily on modern synthesizers and effects would seem to be a poor choice. Ideally you’d want someone with an excellent catalog of songs practiced and ready to go, but the real trick would be choosing a band whose sound wouldn’t be too cutting edge. I’m thinking of Marty McFly’s solo at the Enchantment Under the Sea dance…

2

Cool idea for a thread dq. So the rules are that the modern band must be in its heyday no earlier than 2002?

I’m not sure if The Dave Matthews Band was in its heyday still in 2002, but it was close. I think they could move back to the Woodstock era, folk-up their sound a bit, and do well. Their lyrics seem particularly well-suited to the era.

3

At first I was thinking Green Day or Weezer, but I have my doubts. I think the music might go over well, but both bands have a very modern sensibility that would probably be lost on audiences of the day. Any Grateful Dead/Phish inspired jam band would probably be a very good choice. Who’s big in that area now?

4

Funny, I was trying to place Weezer in 1979, but it doesn’t seem to work.

5

Weezer might have done OK in the new wave scene, though. 79’s a little too early for that heyday, though.

6

I know they miss the 2002+ criteria by a couple of years or so, but I think Blue’s Traveller would’ve been great around that time.

Super-Bonus points if you could cross promote them with The Blue’s Brothers that came out in 1978. :slight_smile:

7

I thought of an easy one, OK Go could move to 1979 easily; right beside Dream Police and My Sharona.

8

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Off to Cafe Society.

IMHO > CS

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9

I’d send the Sam Roberts Band back to the 70s. I can see “Chemical City” going over very well.

10

What about a hip hop/rap artist back to the late '60’s? Can anyone make a suggestion?

11

I think the White Stripes could have done well in the mid 70’s, say, 1972-1978.
I also think the Killers could have made it in the New Wave scene, between 1979-1984.

12

Son Volt to Woodstock

Keith Urban to go with all the Southern Rock in the mid to late 70s

Reverend Horton Heat to Acme Attractions in Chelsea about 1973

13

You’re thinking too small. Send The Band in its heyday to do mass shows for Union soldiers during the lulls in the Civil War. (McClellan was famous for his lulls. lulz.)

14

I would send the Jonas Brothers back to the time of the British Invasion of the '60s. They have many things in common with the Beatles back when they were starting out (young teenage girls go crazy for them but everyone else thinks they’re rather square, make a killing on merchandise, etc.), and it would be interesting to see if they would be able to thrive alongside other pop bands who came along after the Beatles (even though they aren’t British), and to see if much like the Beatles, they would be seen as talented by most in today’s atmosphere even though they weren’t at the time of their original fame.