Hi,

I am transplanting this joke from the RIP Patty Paige thread. I think it's funny.

It's all in fun. In the interest of fair play, I am including a definition of "female vocalist and "chick singer" because I do differentiate between the two. No disrespect is intended.

We used to refer to "Female Vocalists" and "Chick Singers". Definitions below.

Female Vocalist:

1. Has some level of formal vocal training.
2. Can read music.
3. Can make her wishes known to the band by speaking the language of Music*.

Chick Singer:

1. Memorizes words
2. Can carry a tune and sing on-key.

* I once had a chick singer tell me to "make it go back and forth". She was asking for "movement in fourths", but did not speak the language at all.

Joke:

Q. How can you tell when there's a chick singer knocking on the door?

A. She can never find her key and no matter how many times you "turn around" and "open it up", she still doesn't know when to "come in".

I've been lucky enough to work with some fine female vocalists, although they didn't really have much formal training, and wouldn't have understood me if I started talking music theory.
But I never had any trouble with them, because they had really good ears, even including harmony parts.
The closest thing to a problem was this one tune where the verse had some 11th chords in it and one singer had trouble hearing what to do but my guitarist bandmate came up with some major chords for that part; I liked my way better, but this was the only way to actually perform the song, so I went along with it. The singer in question did a great job.

PS Yes, I've known a COUPLE clueless "chick singers" and "boy guitar players" over the years.... but it's been in church environments where they were more interested in getting the young people involved [i.e., out of trouble]than in any deep artistic endeavors.

It's a joke, man.

I tell that joke around to our singer she will kick my ass. She can out drink and probably out fight us all. She is a Hell of a musician also but she just wants to sing. She plays some guitar. I wished she would work up her fiddle chops. She was a concert violinist. She keeps us employed, she is the one everybody comes to see.

FWIW - This is a Facebook picture for the 12/15/12 gig.

Cool shot CEB, hope she gets that fiddle out someday...