Originally Posted By: Notes Norton
Leilani and I are a semi-cover duo.


Semi-cover? What is that? A song is either cover or original, and I know you don't write because you have said so. Even "your own twist" doesn't change that a song is a cover.

I played in copy bands for decades too. I loved playing in a band, the travel with people I liked. On stage was boring as hell unless we played originals. The first really good band I was in had a solid 6-7 originals that we could play with the people on the stage (some required another guitar, some required more horns, etc) and when we did those originals that the leader had written THAT made me feel like I was doing what I wanted to do. Then came the Bryan Adams and it was back to the doldrums. After that was the Motown band and we did 4 original songs that I wrote. A lot of people validate and rationalize the fact that they can't write by saying "The crowd only wants to hear songs they know." And I throw down the BS card as I yell TRUMP and win the trick, because not one time did anybody sit down off the dance floor when that band broke into an original. 3 were uptempo and nobody knew the weren't obscure Temptations or Isley Brothers songs. The 4th was a ballad and the guys who would only dance slow would immediately hit the dance floor, so again I call BS that originals won't go over. Every band I was ever in worked toward the goal of putting out a CD, and I am NOT going to put out a CD of Temps covers.

I simply dislike covers and cover bands, and I don't support them. I WILL buy a CD from every band (especially the locals) I see that has one for sale, but only if there are no covers on it. I don't want to read YOUR copy of War and Peace. I can read Tolstoy's original.

But that's me, the songwriter wannabe, to whom money means absolutely nothing. I have no desire to be the richest corpse in the graveyard. I am much happier playing an hour of original music to 20 people who understand what songwriting means than a night of copy for people who are just there to drink and act stupid because they drank too much.

Last edited by eddie1261; 05/22/21 04:30 AM.