Tony take the blinders off close your eyes and believe me you'll see it's there

I played Radio Nowhere to my Wife just now, and I innocently asked what she thought of "Bruce's" latest(ish) single (she'd heard it before - the real one) and she instantly said "That's not him".

She has great - GREAT ears though.

On the subject of Covers and Tributes, I think this is the problem with some people's *ahem* problem with tribute acts:


Many people (particularly those who have little or no background in Theatre/Arts/Acting) don't realise that Tribute artists are doing two things - Acting AND being a Musician. It is a skill, (and, if done with style flair and commitment) is something that takes as much passion as writing and performing your OWN material.

I'm not hating on the people that don't understand this - horses for courses, strokes for folks etc....

I have a serious Acting background (formal training and experience) and I currently make the bulk of my living being a Musician. So I really feel I know what I'm talking about on this subject. I rarely make definitive statements anymore - the more I live, the more I see how much I have to learn - but I'm convinced what I've just outlined above is the case here re animosity towards Tribute Acts. Basically it's a misunderstanding (or non-appreciation maybe) of the skill sets needed to be a top Performer in this field.

The other thing is, there's a LOT of crappy Tribute acts out there - just like there's a lot of crappy Original Artists....



[This message has been edited by hellboy44 (edited 08-01-2009).]

And I'll start working on a Brooks & Dunn Tribute band and play Achy Breaky Heart!



-mike

.... and I'll REALLY make Russ sick with a Bluegrass version of "All The Things You Are" ..
t.

PS ... hey Russ... seriously, how are you feeling? ..
t.

To me, the difference between a tribute band and a cover band is this: A tribute band plays the original note-for-note and dresseing as and performing every nuance as per the original act. A cover band plays the original as a very recognizable rendition, but not spot-on. Probably like most of us on here.

Naaw,i'm sorry i cannot bite that baited hook..ashley simpson for starters,there's just nothing in there going on.

Thing is, it's easy to knock some of these music types you don't like very much... It's an altogether different thing to actually try to play it!

For those of you that think there's nothing much in an Ashlee Simpson track, I suggest trying to make one JUST like it. For a start off, if you succeed, you will make a boatload of money And if you don't, you might have a little more respect for those who can

I'm not saying you have to LIKE the stuff, but even stuff you don't, at the chart level, has a LOT more in it than most here are willing to admit...

Brian, I gotta admit, the good natured kidding you send my way, is creative and VERY enjoyable! I appreciate it!

Tony, thanks for asking. Things aren't going as well as I had hoped. I started doing 3-4 hours on guitar daily to try to compensate and ended up hurting the tendons and nerves a lot worse. Lot's of pain, but that is supposed to be part of the healing process.

Diki, for you to get into the "tribute band" area, you'd have to wear Miles glasses and scarf, be rude to your audiences and only play Miles tunes. I appreciate someone taking a great tune and putting his or her stamp on it (like the great Beatles tune Randy posted here) I just don't like the groups that have the look, the exact, note-for-note performance and concentration on the "show and presentation" more than the music. Even here, the differences in the approaches to recordings of Masquerade are far from "tribute" performances of work done by George Benson, Leon Russell, The Carpenters, etc. If you lost a lot of weight, wore a dress, stuffed a bra and tried to sound like Karen Carpenter all the time, then I'd be worried you were doing "tribute band" work.

And, as far as the tribute band goes, put a big "for me" in front of my comments.

I understand the "theater" aspect. I don't enjoy that kind of theater, and much prefer the work of players who do almost any other kind of music, where the music is the primary focus, not presentation and "fluff".

I don't particularly like "common denominator music", and that's what most very popular music is. I like Kenny Rankin, Michael Franks, Joe Williams, Al Jureau, and similar people and respect the sacrifices they willingly made to stay true to their calling. All would have been good enough to do music with a more mass appeal, but chose to do it a more personal way. They paid a price, and I appreciate the integrity shown. Again, I'm talking about the difference between musicians and entertainers. I'm not saying either is the superior type of approach, I'm just stating my preference. Winton Marsellis is an irritating little guy, but believes his mission is to educate people about jazz and music in particular, and I believe he's right.

Interpretation of a piece of music...putting your own stamp on it...that's the ultimate for me. Please read FOR ME!

I've worked too hard learning my craft to be very impressed by a group of ego driven performers doing a copy of a group doing songs about people driving muscle cars around.

Not intending to get into a pissing contest...just stating my opinion.

I guess I'm not "born to run".

Russ

[This message has been edited by captain Russ (edited 08-03-2009).]

eek,nopers,would not ever do that to my dogs ears with such stadium like screechings..perhaps if i were a bat i could appreciate such black boarded frequencies..perhaps i could make a boatload of money at the cost of my senselessnes..hmm..please hold for my soon coming album i shall go immediatly start in the shower..



[This message has been edited by mr9000 (edited 08-03-2009).]

Are we all just getting old? Has the testosterone level dropped so far that you can't even enjoy a nice bubblegum pop tune without hearing 'screeching stadium' remarks about something like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGxqpm26-Gk that, in all fairness, is a pretty decent rock pop piece?

I'm sorry, but I think I simply feel that keeping your ears, mind and heart open to ALL kinds of music, and trying to remember (if you ever forgot! ) what it was like to be young and out of control and just wanting to have FUN keeps you fresh, keeps you from fossilizing... Don't get me wrong, I still have a deep appreciation for a great jazz tune, or a symphonic masterpiece, or the great crooners of the fifties standards songbooks, and the rock classics of the seventies, even the synth stylings of the eighties, etc., but I try not to lose my sense of FUN and joy in music. And, let's not kid ourselves... there was music just as mindless and commercial when WE were kids, too. For every jazz or rock masterpiece, there's a 'Yummy yummy yummy, I've got love in my Tummy'

Stay young, my friends... at least from the neck up!