My initial impression was of a site that is well laid out. There are relatively short posts, clearly distinguished from each other, usually accompanied by a small picture. There is an option to click to find a longer version of the post.
Band-Related, not altogether surprisingly, is about ‘life from halfway inside the Band’, the Band being Strûb, a Rocktronica band on the rise. If I had found this site randomly, I would have moved on. However, it is worth lingering. The posts, telling stories of day-to-day life, are well constructed, with an introduction, followed by a narrative, and an ending, sometimes as reflection on or analysis ofthe narrative. The spelling, grammar etc are of a high standard, with the few errors being obvious only to pedants. The writer has the potential to be very good. He has strong observational skills. His metaphors and similes are well thought out – perhaps too well thought out – and he tells an entertaining tale of life on the road with a band. He writes as a disinterested observer rather than with the emotion of somebody involved.
This is a well designed weblog, pleasing to the eye. The first thing you see is a Band bus, sleek and gleaming, with ‘band’ written across the front, and ‘related’ across the side. The sidebars contain a wealth of logically organised extra material – links to polls, photographs, cast list, feedback, forum and so on. They were all working when I tried them. External links are mainly band-related.
If you are curious to know what happens to a rising band on tour and in practice, I would recommend this site. If that doesn’t interest you, you will still enjoy the well-written narrative and an insight to a different life. I suspect that it would generally appeal more to men than women. In his latest post he hints that he will be ending his involvement with the band, but does not say what will happen to the blog. I hope he continues blogging about his new life.
I rate this a 4, because, although it is an “About My Life” blog, the life described is radically different from most.Band-Related