…2..3..4 – an Xperience Column

…2..3..4 – an Xperience Column – by Chris Busone.

I’d like to take a moment to say a few words in praise of the almighty Cover Band.

Yes, I can hear the sound of pearls clutching and the groans of the show promoters, club owners, and purist musicians who are appalled by the notion of bands who play other bands’ music.

“What’s this?!” they exclaim as they recoil in horror. “This abomination is in breach of our musical values, which state emphatically that bands must only play their own original compositions and adhere to our standard of what is worthy of being heard. I’m triggered!!”

To those of you who relate to that last statement, I submit, respectfully, that you go eat a bag of d***s.

Ok, maybe that’s a little harsh, but for chrissakes get over yourselves.

That said, let’s drill down on the long-storied history of bands covering other artists’ songs and continue to poke fun at those whose asses are clenched so air-tight that they simply don’t get it. Let’s start with the purest and most American of music: jazz.

John Coltrane’s cover of “My Favorite Things” tops my list, but there are so many more awe-inspiring examples of jazz artists covering modern pop music. Herbie Hancock’s cover of “Scarborough Fair,” Miles’ covers of Michael Jackson’s “Human Nature” and Cindy Lauper’s “Time After Time,” Pat Metheny’s “Don’t Know Why” by Norah Jones, and Oscar Peterson’s amazing take on the Gershwin brothers’ “Fascinating Rythm” are just a few. And Chet Baker, for his part, did so many amazing covers it’s hard to pick one, but I love his version of the Sinatra standard “I Fall in Love Too Easily” with Sammy Cahn’s heart-wrenching lyric. And if you don’t stop what you’re doing and listen when Chet’s “My Funny Valentine” comes on, I don’t know how to talk to you.

We could go genre by genre, but let’s just get to rock & roll cause that’s where we’re headed anyway.

The Beatles – four lads from Liverpool who counted among their ranks at least three of the best songwriters to ever scratch paper with pen – not only started life as a cover band, but even after their initial success, recorded and released covers by Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Barrett Strong, and the Marvelettes. Same is true for the Stones, Zeppelin, Hendrix, the Animals, Van Halen, and the Allman Brothers … s**t, even the Ramones did a Dave Clark 5 cover! And even Bob Dylan, the man most of the planet considers the best songwriter of them all, did a cover of “House of the Rising Sun” on his first album. The list goes on and on. So there is no shame in being the type of band that plays tunes someone else wrote.

On the subject of types of cover bands, in my estimation, there are several: from wedding bands and human jukeboxes, to tribute bands, to the type of bands I personally have been associated with – the half-and-halfs. We are the bands that do covers, but in our own style, and contort them to the point that they are just barely recognizable. I’ll play these types of covers and generously sprinkle in my own original songs. The formula is: hook the crowd’s ears with the covers, and before they know it, they’re listening to your tunes. It’s a variation on the “spoonful of sugar” theme. This has worked well over the years, and before long, people are requesting my songs rather than the covers.

But because we play the covers in between, these nitpicking knobs poo-poo us as a “cover band,” not an original band that does covers. No matter, we display the “cover band” crest proudly above our mantelpiece.

As for the other types of bands I referenced, certainly, wedding bands and human jukeboxes provide an indispensable service. Who would want the band at their wedding playing all originals? “And now, for the father-daughter dance, a song I wrote about the conflict in Northern Ireland. Freedom!!!” So much for “Daddy’s Little Girl.”

And while tribute bands aren’t necessarily my particular brand of vodka, that doesn’t mean they don’t deserve our respect. I may not agree with your choice to dress up like ZZ Top, but I’ll fight to the death for your right to wear a long fake beard (I’m pretty sure Patrick Henry said that to the guys on the Dutch Master’s box). I have friends who are in very successful tribute bands, and those guys put asses in the seats. Lots of them. So, somebody loves them.

And at the end of the day, I guess that’s where I’m going with this. Let’s not look down our noses at any artist just because what they do doesn’t line up with our own personal (and, in some cases, narrow-minded) preferences. Let’s support one another in our differences rather than turn up our noses at others for being different. (I know that’s a lot of nose metaphors, but stay with me, I’m going somewhere with this.)

So, if you’re still one of those hard cases who gets a rash on your ass at the mere thought of a “cover band” on the bill of one of your shows or in your “original band only” club, please refer to the instructions concerning the contents of the aforementioned bag, and continue getting the hell over yourself, while the rest of us enjoy the music.

And to all the cover bands out there, of every type, don’t you ever stop. Keep the music and the good times covered, and tell the naysayers to kiss your uncovered ass.

Now, who’s got the intro to “Mustang Sally?”

Count it off 2…3…4

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