Listen to some Stranglers.
 
Generally speaking, the keyboard and the bass both play a far more up front part of the sound than the guitar. And over the course of 17 albums, I'd imagine Dave Greenfield's keys solos are more numerous than the guitar solos.
 
Check out the stunning solo passage in the middle of this cover of Walk On By (incidentally the best cover song of all time). First part is the keyboard solo (1:24), played over an ever increasingly busy bass part. Then the release into the guitar solo is perfect (3.27). Toward the end of the solo, the keys come back to share the lead work.
 

Well, I for one enjoyed that!  Thanks Steve. 

Karyn

Serenarules
In other words, why do we have to do the horns, strings, and sound effects all the time.

Simple answer..  Because you CAN.


Up until the late '70s if you wanted a convincing horn section on your track you had to hire a horn section.  Guitars always sounded like guitars, pianos like pianos, but suddenly in the '80s with half decent samplers it was possible to get half decent emulations of all sorts of sounds from a keyboard (but ironically, not piano...)

... or drums. Still looking for those 2.

The kazoo emulation is a bit lacking as well.

I was going to chime in with my 2 cents but it's all been said and more.

But... that won't stop me.....
 
Embrace your obscurity on the stage.  Be the "Swiss army knife" (as Beagle put it) of the band. You play the strings and horns because quite matter of factly, no one else can do it. Drums, guitars, and bass certainly can't.  So you play it.  It's not the glamorous life, but there's a lot to be said for being able to walk around the venue or down the street without being mobbed by adoring fans or chased by paparazzi. (not that I would know how that is)
 
If you want to be famous..... get the chops and skills to be among the Rick Wakemans, and the Elton Johns, and the Liberace's of the world.  Really if you look at it realistically, even with guitarists and drummers and bassists, the same thing holds true. Only a relative few really are recognizable from their playing styles considering how many there are. Eddy, Steve, Jimi, etc.... and it's only because they have earned that esteemed place through their skills and chops.

Yep, there can be only one Nigel Tufnel!

craigb
Well, I for one enjoyed that!  Thanks Steve. 

I'll email you a few Stranglers suggestions when I get home later mate.

Double post

I DO have a lot from them (and they're alter-ego, the Purple Helmets), but that was a particularly good choice to post! 

Ah good, the man knows his music, and it saves me an email