Marty Friedman doesn’t care if you use backing tracks – pass it on.
The former (or kinda current) Megadeth guitarist weighed in on the long-standing controversy of bands using pre-recorded backing tracks in the unlikeliest of places – Cameo.
Speaking in a recent Cameo greeting (as per Loudwire), Friedman responded to a question from KISS fan page Syncin’ Stanley, who had specifically asked for his thoughts on the matter.
“Who cares?” Friedman exclaimed. “I don’t really know anything about that side of it; I don’t know if [Stanley] does or if he doesn’t. But if you’re caring about lip-syncing and things that are going on, you can’t go to any gigs anymore because even… indie bands are doing all kinds of stuff with tracks and click tracks and adding vocals.”
He wasn’t done there. Friedman went on to argue that modern arena and stadium performances incorporate a vast range of techniques and technologies that were not available in the earlier days of rock music; as such, he suggested, concerns over lip-syncing or the use of backing tracks were becoming increasingly irrelevant.
“So when you talk about bands that are playing arenas and stadiums, they are doing so much stuff that wasn’t around in the original days of KISS,” he added. “So if you get pissed off about something like lip-syncing, then you can’t go to anything anymore.”
Friedman’s comments reflect a broader debate within the rock music community over the use of pre-recorded tracks in live performances. While some fans and critics have argued that such tracks represent a betrayal of the authenticity and spontaneity of rock music, others have suggested that they are simply a necessary tool for achieving the complex and polished sound that audiences expect from modern rock concerts.
Love Metal?
Get the latest Metal news, features, updates and giveaways straight to your inbox Learn more
For more on this topic, follow the Metal Observer.
The writer used AI tools to publish part of this article. The Brag Media relies on journalists to fact check & edit all articles regardless of any AI tools used.
