I read this bullet from Susan O' Shea, a MySpace friend, expressing her frustration on covers vs originals acts and artist... Here's my insight and opinion...
I feel you pain and frustration on cover bands vs original artist. But I really don't blame the bands on either side of this boxing ring. The local music scene's polices, standards and local radio and don't forget MTV 2-3 whatever the fuck, determine the out come of... "You are what you've been fed". All cities are different... I've listen to LA, Chicago, Nashville, Austin, Corpus Christe ect... And all have the same standard format but there's the alternative radio stations with that in between quality of choices to choose from. KSYM is college radio station here in San Antonio and I love'em. That all I hear when my CD player ain't playing in my truck period!!
Now me and my band don't claim we're a cover material free band either but at least we try and convey my own interpretation on cover tunes and treat'em like my own. This again falls with in reason and common sense of course... If I was to cover Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird" people will expect me to play the solos note-per-note... And I would oblige to the audience and understand that's a classic and will stand the test of time for many generations to come.
I feel the same way with Pink Floyd, and Zep to name a few... They have so many signatures riffs and solos that it would be almost sacrilegious to change to one's own interpret version. Now Hendrix, Cream ect where more of jam-improv band... So you can lead and be to more extravagant places in your head if done right and in the same vain of course. But there's really no rules or remedy other than play your heart and your ass out. But remember anyone can spot a fake, poseur, wanna-be... enough on that subject....
On a different note...
I don't feel music of today can stand and have that same posture of yesteryear music. Everything is so cookie cutter, polished, assembly line sounding, shrink wrap and box... It amazes me that the record companies complain bitch about sales. They cater to 15-21 year old and totally for get about the 25-60... Where's the bigger margin here... It's Not rocket science. FUCK!! Why can't they just cater to everyone.
Only you would know... And I have mention this before...
To present your own original creation let it be: songs/a painting/photographs ect... whatever in the arts and have people come and tell you how much they are touched by it IS THE ultimate feeling as an artist. I've played in front of five thousand people playing covers tunes and I've played in front six doing my own thing... Guess what... I LOVE doing my own thing... Good nights or bad I've taken chances that only the few would dare. I can look back and talk about it and laugh. What the use of creating those callouses if you don't take any chances... ~JCM
1 comment:
That's why the record companies are falling behind. They cater to 15-21 year olds. And 15-21 year olds don't buy albums. They download the songs they like. And they don't listen to what the radio stations tell them to listen to. They listen to a large variety of music online and usually have extensive libraries of music on there computers, ipods, whatever. Record companies are completely lost on what to do to sell actual records nowdays.
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