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How about butchered covers - do they count?  Or the ones that I may have even broken over the years? LOL Later,
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Great stuff here Donald!
Later,
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Danny, There is an interesting story about Bob Rivers driving to Canada to pick up a Yamaha keyboard to get an authentic sound on a backing track so he borrowed a Mini Van from a weed-smoking friend. Upon crossing the border and heading to Vancouver, BC, the K-9 unit was alerted by residual odors in the van so Bob was detained for several hours while a thorough inspection ensued, including removal of the headliner, door panels, spare tire, etc. Moral: Know the habits of your friends before borrowing their vehicle to cross into Canada. The dogs had a frustrated look on their faces, determined that they had been had. Btw, the RCMP is not required to return a suspect vehicle to it's original condition.
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Btw, the RCMP is not required to return a suspect vehicle to it's original condition.
I can vouch for that .. we had to put our stuff back together once. A few of us were very upset as we had the discussion beforehand. Nobody was suppose to take anything with them. Going to London Ont. for a Maynard Ferguson concert back when I was still in high school. We got pulled over (from dogs), got sent to 'Inspection', and had everything in the driver's glove compartment, trunk, back seat, etc all thrown out for examination. Then they said we could go now. I remember looking at all the crap strewn about the general area and thinking 'well this was kinda rude'. Five miles down the 402 I realized just how lucky we were to have been let go.
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome
Make your sound your own!
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I had a similar experience in Florida around 1972. Some musician buddies and I were traveling from Pa to Fla to meet some friends, and our old Dodge van broke down. In those pre-Southern rock days you didn't see a lot of long hair in florida, so we definitely looked like we weren't "from around heah"
Tow truck took us to a garage in a little town named Monticello, which was closed for the weekend (the garage, not the town). My two buddies hitch hiked back to Tallahassee to see the sights, but I stayed behind to sleep in the van.
Local sheriff woke me up and ordered me out of the van, after which he threw everything out into the parking lot expecting to find drugs. He didn't. The other thing he didn't was put my stuff back in the van.
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I had a similar experience in Florida around 1972. Some musician buddies and I were traveling from Pa to Fla to meet some friends, and our old Dodge van broke down. In those pre-Southern rock days you didn't see a lot of long hair in florida, so we definitely looked like we weren't "from around heah"
Tow truck took us to a garage in a little town named Monticello, which was closed for the weekend (the garage, not the town). My two buddies hitch hiked back to Tallahassee to see the sights, but I stayed behind to sleep in the van.
Local sheriff woke me up and ordered me out of the van, after which he threw everything out into the parking lot expecting to find drugs. He didn't. The other thing he didn't was put my stuff back in the van. Pat, this is getting far afield from music but you reminded me of my Army time in Fort Hood, Texas. The State put Vehicle Safety Inspections in the hands of selected, local Service Stations (aka Gas Stations). Since annual renewal of one's license tags required passing said inspection, it became a license to steal on the part of less scrumptious gas stations. One would dare not send the wife in to have the Safety Inspection because they would condemn the tires; wipers; exhaust system; master cylinder; front end alignment; and anything else they could get away with. It was every fraud depicted in the movies tenfold. Hopefully, they've changed that since.
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For me I can enjoy a cover band or someones cover of someone else s song or an original band. If the music is sonically good; that's good enough for me. Cover bands capture time in a bottle. I just love music. I know songwriting is like everything else; everyone could do it if they wanted to; but some folks prefer singing and performing to writing, and vice verso, just as some have instrument preferences. I do not know what the number of artists is; but I would think that most professional artists do a cover tune at some point in their career. 2 of the greats of all time that come to mind are Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra; they both made careers out of covers. In both of their cases they were able to make the cover their own, now folks can cover their version or the original performers version. I.E Elvis' Blue Suede Shoes some like his version others like Perkins version. Even the Beatles who were amazing songwriters on their own did cover songs. I say if you can make a living as a cover band or doing covers and you enjoy it; and the people that pay to see you leave happy; keep on plugin'! I love Elvis' Without a song speech, notice he did not say without an original song a man ain't got a friend.
My TunesPsalm 57:7 My heart, O God, is steadfast, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and make music.
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@Don Gaynor
That was one of the original premises of the Andy Griffith show.. I'm sure that sort of thing still exists. Hopefully , regulations from higher than local levels make it a "little bit" harder to happen. But everybody you talk to has a similar story, it seems.
@PGFantastic
Well stated, and very open-minded!
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For me I can enjoy a cover band or someones cover of someone else s song or an original band. If the music is sonically good; that's good enough for me. Cover bands capture time in a bottle. Just so. If anyone in UK has seen/heard "Talon", an Eagles tribute band, they would agree with that. Physically none of them look like ANY of The Eagles, but MUSICALLY - Awesome!! And I remember a YouTube vid of Some Californian musicians who set out to record/video the whole of Side 2 of The Beatles Abbey Road" in one Take. Totally superb piece and a true "Tribute". Ian
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I'm 62 and have made my living playing cover music and originals my entire adult life. I have nothing against cover music or tribute bands. If you have the talent and ability to entertain people great.
I'm doing well as a solo artist but have actually talked to friends about a possible tribute band. I think it would be fun but there is a downside. If your tribute is not dead on you won't make much money. Even if it is you will need to travel if it's to be lucrative.
As for as original songs yes they can be stories about your life but remember it's what the listener takes from it that matters. Nobody really cares about your personal life so if you are writing for therapy try to remember first and foremost you need to connect with an audience if you hope to be successful. If that doesn't matter to you that's your choice but if we are hoping for success?
Personally I love the raspberries but I don't really care if Eric Carmen and his girlfriend ever went all the way.
WSS
Last edited by Westside Steve; 12/17/14 04:15 AM.
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Personally I love the raspberries but I don't really care if Eric Carmen and his girlfriend ever went all the way.
Hah hahahaha! Good point Steve! and thanks for weighing in on the discussion. There are many different points of view, and all of them are valid, but they don't all yield the same end result. Each person needs to understand where he wants to end up before he charts his course. Your perspective did a good job of making that point, I think. You are clearly a guy who has sufficient understanding of the topic to have made your whole living by playing music. To me, that says it all.
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eddie1261
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Nobody really cares about your personal life so if you are writing for therapy try to remember first and foremost you need to connect with an audience if you hope to be successful.
That's the key, Steve. Connecting. Writing about something in your life that has happened to everybody. Everybody has someone in their life that was "the one that got away". That is track 3 on my upcoming CD, "The One That Got Away". Everybody has had someone in their life that they wanted so badly but the feeling wasn't mutual. You know who that person is in MY life, and it ended up that I was wasting my time pursuing her. That is "Wasting My Time", track 10 on my upcoming CD.Many people have been through something life changing, making them understand that the old chestnut about not being guaranteed a tomorrow is really true. That is "Second Chance", track 4 on my upcoming CD. Many people, having lost that special person, wonder what they might do different if they had the chance to do it all again. That is "Do It All Again", track 8 on my upcoming CD. By now you know that rambling was making a point that if you write songs about things that are common to almost everybody, they will connect. You are a good songwriter, and I LOVED playing your songs! Your lyrics on those songs DO connect with the crowd. And that's why I loved playing them. I used to get teary eyed as I sang the lyrics to "All The Fools" in my head while we played it. That is a beautiful, relatable story in that lyric. That is what "connecting" is about. Everybody in that room lost somebody at some point in their life. And IMHO, that is what songwriting is about, just like you said, connecting to the listeners. I do NOT put down cover players, though a lot of people think I do. It just isn't what I want to do, so I don't do it. Maybe I would if I had to perform for a living as my sole source of income, but I would really hate that, and I don't want to hate my job. I am also uncomfortable being around people who can't control their alcohol intake, given my past, (That would be "Many Years Ago", a song about when I quit drinking. Track 9 on my upcoming CD.) so I avoid bars, and the drunken people in them, and don't want to play in bars. Also why I rarely even GO to bars. I got tired of explaining why I drink cranberry and soda a long time ago. People look at me like I am from another planet when I don't order the $9 martini or the $6 craft beer. I just don't drink. Period. Just like I prefer to not play copy music. As a wise Irish guy told me not long ago over on The Book Of Face, the show must go on.
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Personally I love the raspberries but I don't really care if Eric Carmen and his girlfriend ever went all the way. I was more shocked, back in those early 70s when that song came out, that he was even interested in girls....
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speaking of tribute bands...
I'm auditioning for the John Lennon role in a Raleigh NC based Beatles tribute band. I'm recording my practice singing in order to zero in on John's pronunciation and accent... plus the tricks they did in those days to avoid hard consonant pops into the mic.
I can sing in John's range, but my voice is not a dead ringer for his. In tribute bands, that is considered a good thing if the vocals really sound like the original.
Is anybody aware of a hardware vocal modeler? Something that changes the characteristics of a voice to sound like specific singers? The sound of a voice is determined by all sorts of physical attributes... nasal cavity, length of vocal chords, shape of the mouth, size of the tongue, etc etc etc. You can imitate inflections and change EQ all day long, but if your physical characteristics aren't pretty close to the person being emulated, you won't sound the same.
The only device I'm aware of is the TC Helicon voiceworks PLUS... but it doesn't claim to be a true voice modeling engine. Is anybody aware of one?
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Pat, What you are trying to do is actually an impersonation. Best way I know is to sing along with a ton of Lennon vocals, and mimic his voice. I'm not aware of any machine that can do that for you. Lennon was a very nasal singer, most of his sound coming out of that great hooter.  Also, you could pick up one of these: http://www.rickenbacker.com/model.asp?model=325C64 Good luck on the audition. Regards, Bob
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Bob... thanks for your astute observations. I guess there is no quick way to get what I need. Practice practice. And I've never "had to" go buy a cool guitar before... so if I get the gig, it will be fun finding a Rickenbacker... but I won't be able to afford the model John played... on eBay the go for $4,000 to $6,000... and that ain't gonna happen! I've found look-alike 300s (except 2 pups instead of 3) for a fraction of the price But, for a cheap imitation of the man, a cheap imitation of the guitar is in order... 
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@Pat, if you can do a reasonable faximile of Lennon, I my be able to get you airplay in the affluent (not effluent) Seattle market. Bob Rivers just retired but I still hear from him and Joe Bryant has inherited the microphone. I hear from Joe several times per week.
Obviously, no guarantees but Joe will very likely listen.
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@Pat, if you can do a reasonable faximile of Lennon, I my be able to get you airplay in the affluent (not effluent) Seattle market. Bob Rivers just retired but I still hear from him and Joe Bryant has inherited the microphone. I hear from Joe several times per week.
Obviously, no guarantees but Joe will very likely listen. Thanks Don... I've got a ways to go before I can pass as John Lennon
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Thanks Rob! That's good to know. Hey, I might need BOTH! Wouldn't that be a shame??
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