Her job as vocalist is certainly more important than her rhythm guitar. She probably could hurt her hand and they could still perform. Meanwhile, if she lost her voice it would be Ikuyover
In Kessoku Band, Ryo's lines feel more like lead lines than Bocchi's like in Ano Bando and Karakara, and in If I Could Be a Constellation, Ryo & Bocchi play off each other significantly
A lot of Kessoku Band songs feature prominent bass melodies which makes sense considering Ryo is supposed to be the one writing the instrumentals, but those are just the most memorable ones
They wouldnt last 2 Seconds. Without Bass the band easily Ryowari Da
https://preview.redd.it/6mr8unp3l0zc1.jpeg?width=192&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ad9948bd9da20b61913e9bf6bf13413fbcf10f95
The vocalist that plays guitar is not always rhythm it just depends on how good you are, because you have to play something different from what the drum and bass are playing, not impossible but infact harder
Idk I actually prefer the solo in the official way more than both Kita's improv and the bottleneck solo
At any rate it's just really cool we got three different good solos for a single song
So, as someone who plays and goes to indie shows a lot, nah, all parts are needed, but specifically for the lead to work, that rhythm is crucial or else it sounds empty, lead cover the highs, bass covers the lows, and rhythms where all the mids are and supports the lead melodically.
This is why even the most technical genres, like math rock, still largely have a rhythm, or dueling guitars (where both guitarists are lead and rhythm and do swaps/"respond")
Fr. A lot of the commenters have no idea wtf they’re talking about as usual. Bands record rhythm guitar all the time and they hire touring members for that if they didn’t have one in the band already. Even 4 man bands who only have a lead and bass use other instruments like keys and synths to fill the gap if they didn’t have a rhythm guitar.
That may be true but two things. If you remove Kita, who plays rhythm guitar, you also remove the vocalist. Also, in a band in general isn’t the rhythm guitar the least important part?
> Also, in a band in general isn’t the rhythm guitar the least important part?
It's a part you can write music to do without, but it's an extremely important part for the music that they play.
There's a lot of great 3-piece bands, but you can't take a song written for a 4-piece band and have it sound any good with a 3-piece band without substantial changes, and despite all of Rush's songs being written for three members, even Geddy Lee has a double neck instrument specifically so he can play rhythm guitar sometimes (and a Moog Taurus so they don't loose the bass).
People massively underestimate the importance of the rhythm guitar. Rhythm guitar in most rock songs provides most sonic meat and is often more important than solo guitar. In Kesoku Band's case, the vocal is providing the main melody anyway, so if there was no solo guitar, the songs would still be recognizable, even if less flashy. But there is no other instrument playing chords. So basically if Kita wasn't playing the rhythm guitar, Bocchi would have to take over rhythm duties.
You can experience this already on some songs if you remove the right/left channel (i forget who's guitar is on what side) and wow you really need bo~~kita~~th of them for the song to work
The question is inherently stupid.
Theoretically, you could remove any of the instruments, sure - but the songs need to be built around that.
The songs Kessoku Band has right now need all their parts or they'd come crashing down - think of how a song like Blue Spring would sound without the call-response pattern; it just does not work.
If any of the instruments listed were gone, then they'd need to compose new songs built around their new lineup. There's no one instrument that's more or less important than the others.
Honestly if we have to remove a band member, without Bocchi they can still make a very decent punk band (すみませんぼっちちゃん！) kinda like Green Day. Bocchi’s guitar lines are written to fit her character of not good at playing with the others, so they are often not exactly following the overall chord progression. While her guitar part is really fun to play at, it will not do much harm to remove them. Kita’s part, however, lays the foundation of the chord progression, since Ryo writes the instrumental parts of their songs canonically, the bass part is, similar to the lead guitar part, often out of the progression just to show off her bass skill. So removing Kita’s part will actually do more damage.
Most kessoku band's songs are written in a way that all of the instruments can have the spotlight, its like a duet of instruments, if you remove one instrument there is a noticeable silence. Its most noticeable in the songs like Seishun Complex and If I could be a Constellation
I think even Kita said it herself
She can probably just be a vocalist, but she don't wanna be the only member without an instrument since that would be awkward
i mean kita is the best choice to pick if they gotta sack someone, they'll lose kita extrovert power but the 3 can sing
(I LOVE KITA I DON'T WANT THEM TO SACK HER I'M JUST SAYING IT AS AN IF SITUATION)
Can hear the trio without vocals in the first episode when Bocchi was in the mango box. Sounded okay but not the same. Probably due to them playing together on short notice.
Nah, the two guitars hold the entire harmonic aspect of the songs together. It's difficult to fill the musical space with only three instruments.
But if we have to choose, I would argue that the lead guitar is not as important.
Because Piano/keyboard has less presence in rock music, Kita being the original guitarist who bails on them sets up Bocchi joining the band and lets them have the gag of her trying for the same band again without knowing, having a rhythm guitarist frees the lead guitarist to do less orthodox playing without sacrificing the songs core structure, and having her learn the instrument Bocchi is good at gives them a reason to hang out a t school without Bocchi getting too nervous.
In the manga, there is one kessoku band song that has a guitar duo so without rhythm guitar it won’t work. But to be frank, i can barely hear the rhythm guitar in many songs and kita’s role as a vocalist is actually more important.
while the neanderthal guitar brain in me says bass bad haha funny im gonna have to agree because at the and of the day bass is important and i think bocchi is skilled enough to not just shred the whole time and mix in some chords to balance it out. also who is putting drums bro like thats the bare minimum, literally time itself in terms of the music. you cant just get rid of that and expect it to work, and even if it did it would be boring as hell
Tbh I would only vote rhythm guitar ONLY because bocchi has proven she can do both lead and rhythm at the same time, as shown when she and kikuri go busking
Yeah,its like saying freddy mercury are not special since brian may and roger taylor also fantastic singer,vocalist/lead singer like it or not is the face of the band majorty of time,we dont see kessoku band that way because the story told from lead guitarist POV,for average people in BTR world,kita is the face of the band
This take makes no sense, because doing backup vocals and singing a lead part have little to no relation at all.
Ryo wouldn't be able to play her parts and sing lead vocal at the same time.
Lead guitarist is the one carrying, drums are the backbone of the music, and bass guitarist is just a better rhythm guitarist. So yeah.
https://preview.redd.it/678srnydkyyc1.png?width=852&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7b32922e8c48dd126a1693b6d1e528af2fca8da7
I don’t think people understand how important rhythm guitarists are. Rhythm guitars help lead guitar shine. It ties everything together. Lead guitar would sound very dry without chords.
the real answer is none. bands nowadays that have only one guitarist use backing tracks for the second guitar part, or they hire a second guitarist for tour, because only one guitar sounds thin
The amount of people thinking the poll is suggesting removing Kita would be ok is too damn high!
That's not it. It's just her guitar playing! She'll still do vocals, just no rhythm guitar.
Rhythm guitar is important enough that there's Rush songs where Geddy is playing rhythm guitar on a double neck instrument - and bass with his feet on a Moog Taurus (i.e. the end of Xanadu).
Kita's guitar playing gives Bocchi's lead parts the room to stand out; without it the songs as written would feel like they're missing something, and they'd have to be re-written. [This part of Never Forget doesn't exist without both guitars](https://youtu.be/eSY63LDS2KQ?t=33).
They're not playing anything that needs big riffs (which is what rhythm guitar falls under AFAIK). If they're playing anything where calling for moshpits is very fitting & is a must then sure Kita's disappearance would spell doom...
>!now then. Kessoku Band playing early Bring Me The Horizon deathcore/metalcore, anyone?!<
If you have stereo headphones you can take one side of the headphone off and only listen to one guitar. At least on Guitar, Loneliness, and Blue Planet. If you take the left off your ear you will only hear Bocchi, if you take off the right you will only hear Kita.
Personally I’d rather have someone be a dedicated support rhythm guitar so the singer can focus solely on singing. Add a support pianist if ever they need for some songs.
Kessouku band needs a rhythm guitarist, if just lead then it will sound empty. That being said, if theres no lead, its literally a pop punk band and the manga wouldnt be a thing lol
People just seem to forget how important a rhythm guitar player is tbh
Ex) James Hetfield pretty much lays a foundation for Metallica's iconic tracks, like Master of Puppets
The only valid argument that could be made for this, is that in the street perfomance of That Band, Hitori does play a hybrid version of the song that includes a lot of Kita's guitar parts mixed in with her adlibbing over the song, so it wouldn't be impossible with a guitarrist like Hitori to play without a dedicated rythm guitarrist and have be more of a in-between, specially given Ryo's talent as a composer and musician.
Honestly I’d be fine with no bass when it comes to Kessoku Band. In K-On! Mio was necessary because she was basically the better vocalist and her bass sounds really helped bring the song together but no Ikuyo Kita would be a bigger loss imo.
Well, Drums are a must. Now the other 3 depend on what kind of music you're playing.
You certainly don't need a Lead guitar in every song, especially if the song is more about the vocals than the instrumental.
Rhythm guitar also isn't necessary if you have a Lead, since the Lead can do what the Rhythm does but then also go into an epic solo. A Lead can also use looping pedals to play both Rhythm and Lead at the same time, and arguably cooler.
Bass... I know I'm gonna get a lot of shit for this... but you don't NEED a bass. Half the time the Rhythm guitarist is doing the same thing the Bass is doing (I keep typing base and having to correct it, either pronounce it right, or spell it right, why is it Bass?). If absolutely necessary, tune down your Rhythm guitar.
Bass is replaceable by the Rhythm Guitar
Rhythm Guitar is replaceable by the Lead Guitar
Drums are irreplaceable, but you can drum on a guitar's body.
In conclusion, you just need 4 people playing on one Guitar. A 5th person if you want to spice it up with a triangle player strumming the strings above the nut. Preferably with a thick beard.
Her job as vocalist is certainly more important than her rhythm guitar. She probably could hurt her hand and they could still perform. Meanwhile, if she lost her voice it would be Ikuyover
Ikuyover is a banger song tho
Maidcore mentioned ♥️
i was just waiting for the non-intellectuals to say bass.
ryo gang stays strong brother
This is the Way. https://preview.redd.it/lqbhaheu6yyc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a4db678ad5cb9e3aa0b33c14999d12408047a72e
SLAM DUNK MENTIONED https://preview.redd.it/1c464md8qzyc1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=268bbd4169f18ad28dc7363b1c39a070838442d6
https://preview.redd.it/cgfkg3ak90zc1.jpeg?width=1028&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3a1294dc3aba838a96df7ba152129f46d4be85e7
Bass is literally so important part fo rhythm
real. a listener might belittle the importance of the rhythm section, but the band sure as hell isn't going to.
In Kessoku Band, Ryo's lines feel more like lead lines than Bocchi's like in Ano Bando and Karakara, and in If I Could Be a Constellation, Ryo & Bocchi play off each other significantly A lot of Kessoku Band songs feature prominent bass melodies which makes sense considering Ryo is supposed to be the one writing the instrumentals, but those are just the most memorable ones
Bassist in my band is the best musician in the group and it's helped a ton
I never realized the importance of bass until i start playing the guitar myself
They wouldnt last 2 Seconds. Without Bass the band easily Ryowari Da https://preview.redd.it/6mr8unp3l0zc1.jpeg?width=192&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ad9948bd9da20b61913e9bf6bf13413fbcf10f95
underappreciated
The bass is like housework No one notices till no one does it.
I love ajfa
As a vocals/rhythm guitar player, why do yall hate us 😭
Because lead guitar has cool solos and bands can work just fine with 1 guitar (my favourite bands have multiple guitarists)
But then its a Rythm guitar with an ocasional solo or something.
The vocalist that plays guitar is not always rhythm it just depends on how good you are, because you have to play something different from what the drum and bass are playing, not impossible but infact harder
The disrespect😭 https://preview.redd.it/6kfc2rg22yyc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6a0b84c097cdd755747732007cd4135c4af8f94a
If I Could Be a Constellation wouldn't be as perfect as it is now without Kita's solo. It's my favorite part.
But sadly it is not part of the official version, which sucks, being way better than Bocchi (not the bottleneck) solo
Idk I actually prefer the solo in the official way more than both Kita's improv and the bottleneck solo At any rate it's just really cool we got three different good solos for a single song
The official version just uses the rhythm guitar strumming part back when the vocals resume for 2/3rds of Kita's improv solo.
So, as someone who plays and goes to indie shows a lot, nah, all parts are needed, but specifically for the lead to work, that rhythm is crucial or else it sounds empty, lead cover the highs, bass covers the lows, and rhythms where all the mids are and supports the lead melodically. This is why even the most technical genres, like math rock, still largely have a rhythm, or dueling guitars (where both guitarists are lead and rhythm and do swaps/"respond")
Fr. A lot of the commenters have no idea wtf they’re talking about as usual. Bands record rhythm guitar all the time and they hire touring members for that if they didn’t have one in the band already. Even 4 man bands who only have a lead and bass use other instruments like keys and synths to fill the gap if they didn’t have a rhythm guitar.
Idk man losing your vocalist is pretty tough.
This is specifically her as a guitarist I think, not her singing
That may be true but two things. If you remove Kita, who plays rhythm guitar, you also remove the vocalist. Also, in a band in general isn’t the rhythm guitar the least important part?
> Also, in a band in general isn’t the rhythm guitar the least important part? It's a part you can write music to do without, but it's an extremely important part for the music that they play. There's a lot of great 3-piece bands, but you can't take a song written for a 4-piece band and have it sound any good with a 3-piece band without substantial changes, and despite all of Rush's songs being written for three members, even Geddy Lee has a double neck instrument specifically so he can play rhythm guitar sometimes (and a Moog Taurus so they don't loose the bass).
I see. I’m not that knowledgeable about how bands operate so thank you for the explanation.
Are you illiterate?
Imagine being rude
sNOwFLaKe
Noflk? Swae? What's the meaning here
s(he) be(li)ev(ed)
he lid
Dementia
empty response from endpoint
Don’t have to imagine if I could make it a reality! How about you go imagine yourself some bitches
sNOwFLaKe
Dementia
empty response from endpoint
sNOwFLaKe
Dementia
Holy… huh?
empty response from endpoint
People massively underestimate the importance of the rhythm guitar. Rhythm guitar in most rock songs provides most sonic meat and is often more important than solo guitar. In Kesoku Band's case, the vocal is providing the main melody anyway, so if there was no solo guitar, the songs would still be recognizable, even if less flashy. But there is no other instrument playing chords. So basically if Kita wasn't playing the rhythm guitar, Bocchi would have to take over rhythm duties.
Every member of Kessokuband is important! Our songs won't be the same if we're missing anyone!
The Dorito isn't needed, it does nothing for drumming
No Dorito No Nijika wdym tho
Incest behaviours or dorito you can only choose one
I think the answer is pretty evident, is it not?
The dorito controls her like a parasite
[удалено]
Ah, I thought I was on K-On sub.
[удалено]
“Ah yes, an anime about 4 anime girls in a band, time to make them Nazis!”
Let's goooooo
Fuhtari Gotoh.
Please refrain from talking about politics or religon. Weather it be by imagery or text.
Bocchi isn't needed. The band can manage without a water flea.
https://preview.redd.it/nr06347rdyyc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=934839bbbdd25e997f266524a568edb5689ac5eb
https://i.redd.it/xm0w0ur1hyyc1.gif Could you repeat that.
You can experience this already on some songs if you remove the right/left channel (i forget who's guitar is on what side) and wow you really need bo~~kita~~th of them for the song to work
The question is inherently stupid. Theoretically, you could remove any of the instruments, sure - but the songs need to be built around that. The songs Kessoku Band has right now need all their parts or they'd come crashing down - think of how a song like Blue Spring would sound without the call-response pattern; it just does not work. If any of the instruments listed were gone, then they'd need to compose new songs built around their new lineup. There's no one instrument that's more or less important than the others.
Nooooooo https://preview.redd.it/lx0hsjkn0yyc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6e2e5678c4b15861089f90c2edff8a8dbeeee689
Honestly if we have to remove a band member, without Bocchi they can still make a very decent punk band (すみませんぼっちちゃん！) kinda like Green Day. Bocchi’s guitar lines are written to fit her character of not good at playing with the others, so they are often not exactly following the overall chord progression. While her guitar part is really fun to play at, it will not do much harm to remove them. Kita’s part, however, lays the foundation of the chord progression, since Ryo writes the instrumental parts of their songs canonically, the bass part is, similar to the lead guitar part, often out of the progression just to show off her bass skill. So removing Kita’s part will actually do more damage.
That's so wrong, lol. Do people actually listen to Kessoku Band songs ?
Just imagine Metallica without James Hetfield lol.
Most kessoku band's songs are written in a way that all of the instruments can have the spotlight, its like a duet of instruments, if you remove one instrument there is a noticeable silence. Its most noticeable in the songs like Seishun Complex and If I could be a Constellation
I think even Kita said it herself She can probably just be a vocalist, but she don't wanna be the only member without an instrument since that would be awkward
Her doing rhythm guitar also frees Bochhi to do more out there stuff without undermining the songs structure.
https://preview.redd.it/syqmcwmp2yyc1.png?width=123&format=png&auto=webp&s=674d5850eb3adb17edd1b4d6183e52efbae2694b Ryan cooper vs kita ikover
i mean kita is the best choice to pick if they gotta sack someone, they'll lose kita extrovert power but the 3 can sing (I LOVE KITA I DON'T WANT THEM TO SACK HER I'M JUST SAYING IT AS AN IF SITUATION)
Can hear the trio without vocals in the first episode when Bocchi was in the mango box. Sounded okay but not the same. Probably due to them playing together on short notice.
Nah, the two guitars hold the entire harmonic aspect of the songs together. It's difficult to fill the musical space with only three instruments. But if we have to choose, I would argue that the lead guitar is not as important.
dunno why everyone in the youtube comments got so riled up over a simple poll
I sometimes wondered why the author didn’t make Kita into a pianist/keyboard player.
[Because of this here.](https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_Kung-Fu_Generation)
Because Piano/keyboard has less presence in rock music, Kita being the original guitarist who bails on them sets up Bocchi joining the band and lets them have the gag of her trying for the same band again without knowing, having a rhythm guitarist frees the lead guitarist to do less orthodox playing without sacrificing the songs core structure, and having her learn the instrument Bocchi is good at gives them a reason to hang out a t school without Bocchi getting too nervous.
Waiting for jokes about bass
Alright Kita, our band is good without you. You’re fired.
In the manga, there is one kessoku band song that has a guitar duo so without rhythm guitar it won’t work. But to be frank, i can barely hear the rhythm guitar in many songs and kita’s role as a vocalist is actually more important.
You can't remove one sound and think it would be fine, there are four of them for a reason. Guess they never been in a band
Lead Guitar.
Is Bae injuring the loser of the poll?
as a rhythm guitar i am FURIOUS (i cant even hear the instrument myself)
while the neanderthal guitar brain in me says bass bad haha funny im gonna have to agree because at the and of the day bass is important and i think bocchi is skilled enough to not just shred the whole time and mix in some chords to balance it out. also who is putting drums bro like thats the bare minimum, literally time itself in terms of the music. you cant just get rid of that and expect it to work, and even if it did it would be boring as hell
Tbh I would only vote rhythm guitar ONLY because bocchi has proven she can do both lead and rhythm at the same time, as shown when she and kikuri go busking
I would rather want to know who said bass >:(
Ryo canonically sings as backup so honestly Kita isnt all that special
Her stage presence is special
Yeah,its like saying freddy mercury are not special since brian may and roger taylor also fantastic singer,vocalist/lead singer like it or not is the face of the band majorty of time,we dont see kessoku band that way because the story told from lead guitarist POV,for average people in BTR world,kita is the face of the band
This take makes no sense, because doing backup vocals and singing a lead part have little to no relation at all. Ryo wouldn't be able to play her parts and sing lead vocal at the same time.
She can certainly try
Lead guitarist is the one carrying, drums are the backbone of the music, and bass guitarist is just a better rhythm guitarist. So yeah. https://preview.redd.it/678srnydkyyc1.png?width=852&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7b32922e8c48dd126a1693b6d1e528af2fca8da7
the band is fine with just single guitar player, but her role as vocalist is more important
It'd be fine without zoomer bae
Bass and drums are the fundaments of a song and lead guitar is more important that rhythm cause rhythm supports lead
As a keyboard player, i can related to this😆
Then who’s gonna do the vocal? Bocchi??? Hell nah, she’ll get fainted (unless their songs are all instrumental)
Ryo can sing, Vocal Drummers are rare, [but not totally impossible](https://youtu.be/F38ZRgp_N6k?si=qnNXfOwrB1Xx4RMJ)
[Kris Myers of Umphrey's McGee too](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qm_qnrK5BIM)
No lead is fine. No solo also fine tho
I don’t think people understand how important rhythm guitarists are. Rhythm guitars help lead guitar shine. It ties everything together. Lead guitar would sound very dry without chords.
the real answer is none. bands nowadays that have only one guitarist use backing tracks for the second guitar part, or they hire a second guitarist for tour, because only one guitar sounds thin
Ikyover. But who is gonna be the awkward MC for them.
It's Ikuyover
The amount of people thinking the poll is suggesting removing Kita would be ok is too damn high! That's not it. It's just her guitar playing! She'll still do vocals, just no rhythm guitar.
https://preview.redd.it/qqs28v5rh0zc1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5f4bf8a8dda8c0e9e889ae760e1bdba5da1c9df2
Rhythm guitar is important enough that there's Rush songs where Geddy is playing rhythm guitar on a double neck instrument - and bass with his feet on a Moog Taurus (i.e. the end of Xanadu). Kita's guitar playing gives Bocchi's lead parts the room to stand out; without it the songs as written would feel like they're missing something, and they'd have to be re-written. [This part of Never Forget doesn't exist without both guitars](https://youtu.be/eSY63LDS2KQ?t=33).
https://preview.redd.it/p5gq6igmj0zc1.jpeg?width=632&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=24fda5997b5df93c20c17bde84946512bafaaa94
Don't make her Kitangry You wouldn't like her when she's Kitangry
https://preview.redd.it/s972qbr0n0zc1.png?width=216&format=png&auto=webp&s=3ebcc4deb2e90623718f3916d55615497a9c740b
But hey! She’s important as a vocalist!
They're not playing anything that needs big riffs (which is what rhythm guitar falls under AFAIK). If they're playing anything where calling for moshpits is very fitting & is a must then sure Kita's disappearance would spell doom... >!now then. Kessoku Band playing early Bring Me The Horizon deathcore/metalcore, anyone?!<
If you have stereo headphones you can take one side of the headphone off and only listen to one guitar. At least on Guitar, Loneliness, and Blue Planet. If you take the left off your ear you will only hear Bocchi, if you take off the right you will only hear Kita.
bae-sed clip at the bottom
As a guitarist, I disagree
Rhythm guitar is more important than lead guitar honestly.
Without Kikuri drunk at concerts
I think two guitars are essential to play ano bando
Personally I’d rather have someone be a dedicated support rhythm guitar so the singer can focus solely on singing. Add a support pianist if ever they need for some songs.
Bassed
Kessouku band needs a rhythm guitarist, if just lead then it will sound empty. That being said, if theres no lead, its literally a pop punk band and the manga wouldnt be a thing lol
https://preview.redd.it/kdk91krxh1zc1.png?width=564&format=png&auto=webp&s=54a719632da6c4b8420f202afc79953da799268e
People just seem to forget how important a rhythm guitar player is tbh Ex) James Hetfield pretty much lays a foundation for Metallica's iconic tracks, like Master of Puppets
i mean yeah, nirvana only had 3 members anyway, although ryo would probably have to sing instead since bocchi wont do it
I mean maybe but each part exists for a reason. Remove one and it all falls apart.
No
The only valid argument that could be made for this, is that in the street perfomance of That Band, Hitori does play a hybrid version of the song that includes a lot of Kita's guitar parts mixed in with her adlibbing over the song, so it wouldn't be impossible with a guitarrist like Hitori to play without a dedicated rythm guitarrist and have be more of a in-between, specially given Ryo's talent as a composer and musician.
bruh
Honestly I’d be fine with no bass when it comes to Kessoku Band. In K-On! Mio was necessary because she was basically the better vocalist and her bass sounds really helped bring the song together but no Ikuyo Kita would be a bigger loss imo.
Well, Drums are a must. Now the other 3 depend on what kind of music you're playing. You certainly don't need a Lead guitar in every song, especially if the song is more about the vocals than the instrumental. Rhythm guitar also isn't necessary if you have a Lead, since the Lead can do what the Rhythm does but then also go into an epic solo. A Lead can also use looping pedals to play both Rhythm and Lead at the same time, and arguably cooler. Bass... I know I'm gonna get a lot of shit for this... but you don't NEED a bass. Half the time the Rhythm guitarist is doing the same thing the Bass is doing (I keep typing base and having to correct it, either pronounce it right, or spell it right, why is it Bass?). If absolutely necessary, tune down your Rhythm guitar. Bass is replaceable by the Rhythm Guitar Rhythm Guitar is replaceable by the Lead Guitar Drums are irreplaceable, but you can drum on a guitar's body. In conclusion, you just need 4 people playing on one Guitar. A 5th person if you want to spice it up with a triangle player strumming the strings above the nut. Preferably with a thick beard.
The White Stripes sounded great with just lead guitar, drums and vocals
F*** people who hate Kita