Now't Wrong With Tribute Bands

[BigRedX]

I think it all comes down to where your musical priorities lie. I learnt to play because I wanted to create rather than just replicate, and being able to play instruments made it easier for me to produce music that I had written.

For me composition/songwriting is the more important skill. Technical ability on my instruments is simply a means to an end. This is probably why I can't get enthusiastic about a lot of the very technical bassists that get discussed here, because the music they are playing does nothing for me that therefore I consider the technical ability wasted. IMO they are using their powers for evil rather than good.

I play in both an originals and a covers band. The covers band is fun, but isn't not as "artistically satisfying" as writing new songs for the originals band. When learning new songs for the covers band I make a point of buying the CD and learning the bassline by ear, because otherwise there would be very little challenge for me there. Unlike a lot of musicians here it seems when I started learning to play, I never really spent a lot of time learning other people's songs. The moment my guitar playing was competent enough for me to string some chords together without hesitation I joined a band and started writing and playing my own songs.

[Bilbo]

I struggle to get past the idea that playing other people's stuff the way they played it is just pretending - one step up from a tennis racquet in front of the mirror. Tribute bands are just like taking the tennis racquet out in public -

[chris_b]

[quote name='Bilbo' post='1152283' date='Mar 7 2011, 10:28 AM']....I struggle to get past the idea that playing other people's stuff the way they played it is just pretending - one step up from a tennis racquet in front of the mirror. Tribute bands are just like taking the tennis racquet out in public....[/quote]
Now look what you've all done!!

[flyfisher]

[quote name='Markus Wilson' post='1152222' date='Mar 7 2011, 09:39 AM']Music is music is music, if there is enjoyment playing it and enjoyment listening to it, get on with it.[/quote]
Seems a pretty fair summary to me.

Music, like all art (?) is about the experience. It's entirely subjective. There is no fundamentally good or bad music, only music you like and dislike.

[JTUK]

[quote name='Bilbo' post='1152283' date='Mar 7 2011, 10:28 AM']I struggle to get past the idea that playing other people's stuff the way they played it is just pretending - one step up from a tennis racquet in front of the mirror. Tribute bands are just like taking the tennis racquet out in public - [/quote]


LMAO....... but the jazz snobbery thing ain't cutting it in this case, IMO.

FWIW..as far as tributes acts go, I like Will Lee
A good band is a good band, but I draw the line at Queen... I now think with Paul Rogers they are way better than the original, but then Rogers is a real vocal talent anyway.....

[Bilbo]

[quote name='chris_b' post='1152301' date='Mar 7 2011, 10:39 AM']Now look what you've all done!![/quote]

[Paul S]

[quote name='Bilbo' post='1152283' date='Mar 7 2011, 10:28 AM']I struggle to get past the idea that playing other people's stuff the way they played it is just pretending - one step up from a tennis racquet in front of the mirror. Tribute bands are just like taking the tennis racquet out in public - [/quote]

Am I mistaken here Bilbo - I thought you played some kind of Latin American music covers?

[Bilbo]

Don't make the mistake of assuming I have a shred of integrity. My point is that it always feels like 'nearly but not quite'. I know that beacuse I [i]do[/i] it. My criticism of the 'covers/tributes' culture is a manifestation of my frustration at what opportunities are available to me both as a player and listener. I lack the courage and fortitude to say 'that's it, I'm never going to play another cover again as long as I live'. I do few enough gigs as it is. That would just be shooting myself in the foot. Maybe one day. I try to do stuff that is a little bit eclectic and stay away from the usual sh*te but, at the core, its just covers, same as everyone else. The only differnce is that I admit its shallow and superficial and want it to change. Others seem happy with the status quo (see what I did there? ).

[Blademan_98]

[quote name='Bilbo' post='1152283' date='Mar 7 2011, 10:28 AM']I struggle to get past the idea that playing other people's stuff the way they played it is just pretending - one step up from a tennis racquet in front of the mirror. Tribute bands are just like taking the tennis racquet out in public - [/quote]
Yep i will be taking my tennis racquet out next week :-)
Look out for the violin shaped sunburst racquet :-)

[cetera]

[quote name='Bilbo' post='1152283' date='Mar 7 2011, 10:28 AM']I struggle to get past the idea that playing other people's stuff the way they played it is just pretending - one step up from a tennis racquet in front of the mirror. Tribute bands are just like taking the tennis racquet out in [b]public[/b] - [/quote]

As opposed to jazz gigs where you just take the tennis raquet 'out' in 'person'....

[cetera]

[quote name='Bilbo' post='1152345' date='Mar 7 2011, 11:29 AM']Don't make the mistake of assuming I have a shred of integrity.[/quote]

Did I miss something?!

[cd_david]

[quote name='Bilbo' post='1152283' date='Mar 7 2011, 10:28 AM']I struggle to get past the idea that playing other people's stuff the way they played it is just pretending - one step up from a tennis racquet in front of the mirror. Tribute bands are just like taking the tennis racquet out in public - [/quote]

Surely its all about what the audience are expecting/wanting/willing to pay for? after all I play bass in a band to entertain an audience if i wanted to self pleasure i would lock the bathroom door

But as you mentioned earlier its all about entertainment. If the audiences for Jazz and classical gigs were not so heavily subsidised by arts funding in general (in comparison to rock and pop) then Im sure the "more entertaining" music would be self sustaining?

I would also love the MU to fund my annual salary (as per local sinphonias) so I could play a handful of gigs a year and rehearse but unfortunately they dont so as a working musician I have to make the choice of playing music to earn a living or not.

[skankdelvar]

In the best spirit of tributes, I shall simply rehash someone else's comment from a previous, virtually identical thread.

[i]Most bands 'Original' songs would be more accurately described as self-penned. There is rarely anything original about them.[/i]

Edited March 7, 2011 by skankdelvar

[thunderbird13]

[quote name='Bilbo' post='1152283' date='Mar 7 2011, 10:28 AM']I struggle to get past the idea that playing other people's stuff the way they played it is just pretending - one step up from a tennis racquet in front of the mirror. Tribute bands are just like taking the tennis racquet out in public - [/quote]

I went to see a play last night and all the actors did was walk around the stage speaking words that they did nt write and pretending that there were things on the stage that I couldnt see. I wish that these people would keep their childish playacting to themselves - unless actors only speak words which they wrote themselves then their not real artists

[Low End Bee]

[quote name='skankdelvar' post='1152413' date='Mar 7 2011, 12:54 PM']In the best spirit of tributes, I shall simply rehash someone else's comment from a previous, virtually identical thread.

[i]Most bands 'Original' songs would be more accurately described as self-penned. There is rarely anything original about them.[/i][/quote]

"A good composer does not imitate;
he steals"
~ Igor Stravinsky

[Earbrass]

[quote name='thunderbird13' post='1152419' date='Mar 7 2011, 12:56 PM']I went to see a play last night and all the actors did was walk around the stage speaking words that they did nt write and pretending that there were things on the stage that I couldnt see. I wish that these people would keep their childish playacting to themselves - unless actors only speak words which they wrote themselves then their not real artists [/quote]

This is just silly.

If the actors you saw were trying to reproduce, say, a well-known TV show, and slavishly copying the voices, mannerisms and actions of the more famous set of actors known for that show, then [b]that[/b] would be the theatrical equivalent to a tribute band.

[skankdelvar]

[quote name='Low End Bee' post='1152423' date='Mar 7 2011, 01:00 PM']"A good composer does not imitate;
he steals"
~ Igor Stravinsky[/quote]
He should know. His Tommy Cooper was awful.

[chris_b]

This subject has been flogged to death.

I wish there was as much originality in these posts as some people like to think there is in their music.

[Bilbo]

[quote name='cd_david' post='1152405' date='Mar 7 2011, 12:49 PM']If the audiences for Jazz and classical gigs were not so heavily subsidised by arts funding in general (in comparison to rock and pop) then Im sure the "more entertaining" music would be self sustaining?[/quote]

The amount of arts funding for jazz is derisory, despite it having the same size audience as Opera, which gets millions in funding. Jazz has to compete on the same turf as pop and rock which is why the numbers of musicians in the UK who play jazz for a living is pretty much nil. Most of them supplement their incomes in other ways but rarely through arts funding.

[flyfisher]

[quote name='skankdelvar' post='1152413' date='Mar 7 2011, 12:54 PM']In the best spirit of tributes, I shall simply rehash someone else's comment from a previous, virtually identical thread.

[i]Most bands 'Original' songs would be more accurately described as self-penned. There is rarely anything original about them.[/i][/quote]

In that case, most of the covers we play could be regarded 'self-penned' 'cos they're rarely as accurate as the originals. My basslines are certainly all my own invention,

Having said that, we've got an up-coming gig where, for the first time, we're only playing 'self-penned' songs - 11 of them in all and judging by the weekend, all rather under-rehearsed.

[cd_david]

[quote name='Bilbo' post='1152444' date='Mar 7 2011, 01:16 PM']The amount of arts funding for jazz is derisory, despite it having the same size audience as Opera, which gets millions in funding.[/quote]

I agree Opera gets a disproportionate amount of funding, but it still doesn't make the funding of Jazz over rock and pop acceptable. Music is made for audience appreciation and as the public ultimately pay the funding through taxes then should the most popular not get the biggest share of the pot, ie rock and pop? I cant tell you the amount of gigs Ive played where we have re arranged a cover, extended solos sections or played something obscure by an artist only to be treated to silence at the end followed by "Play one we know."

You have to play what the audience or bar manager wants otherwise you dont work.

Edited March 7, 2011 by cd_david

[Krysbass]

As with everything, it all comes down to personal preference.

I’m totally opposite to an earlier post in this thread in that I took up playing bass a long time ago to be able to play some of the wide range of music I enjoy. Creating my own music has never ranked high on my list of priorities – for me constantly improving my bass-playing is an end in itself.

Even though I’m currently in an originals band where I create my own bass-lines, most of my home practice time is spent playing other people’s music – because I enjoy it and it improves my overall playing.

There’s nothing intrinsically wrong with tribute or covers bands – no more so than any other type of band. I recently saw Brit Floyd at Liverpool’s Echo Arena and they were so good that it was a “shivers down the spine” experience. I came away from that gig having been thoroughly entertained and that’s what it should be about.

[thunderbird13]

[quote name='Earbrass' post='1152429' date='Mar 7 2011, 01:04 PM']This is just silly.

If the actors you saw were trying to reproduce, say, a well-known TV show, and slavishly copying the voices, mannerisms and actions of the more famous set of actors known for that show, then [b]that[/b] would be the theatrical equivalent to a tribute band.[/quote]

Yeah it is silly but then again so is this whole argument.

I think what your saying ( and I agree with ) is that as long as the artist puts something of themselves into it then it could be considered creative so creativity comes as much through the performance as it does through the creation of the work. Which I suppose is what classical musicans would use to argue that they are not just playing covers

[Bilbo]

I've never got that 'interpretation' argument in classical music. If you play a piece and someone else plays through the same score, its going to be different and one will be better than the other but its still the same piece so the 'creativity' element is limited to your stab at the dots. I guess its a case of accepting the ethos of the genre. If you like classical, you accept its parameters. If you like covers bands, you make your decision re: whether you prefer 'like the original' or 'a creative re-arrangement'. If you like Tribute bands, you will know whether you prefer the one s who dress the part or the soundalikes. And so on...

[Earbrass]

[quote name='thunderbird13' post='1152523' date='Mar 7 2011, 02:28 PM']I think what your saying ( and I agree with ) is that as long as the artist puts something of themselves into it then it could be considered creative so creativity comes as much through the performance as it does through the creation of the work. Which I suppose is what classical musicans would use to argue that they are not just playing covers[/quote]

Yup, I think that's pretty much spot on. The idea of a band trying to copy a famous recording as closely as possible seems to be pretty much restricted to the pop/rock world. It's not what (decent) classical, folk or jazz players do, even when they are playing other people's music (and of course there are many pop/rock performers who do "creative" covers too!).