[nickcarraway]

One of the reasons I moved to Santa Cruz from San Jose was the music scene. There seemed to be only boring cover bands in San Jose and I craved hearing original music, not the same old tired 1970s disco hits. We’ve got far more culture in our small town than in the giant city of almost a million people to the north. On almost any night you can find at least five shows, some by cover bands and many by those writing their own music. But I’ve been surprised to see cover bands even here selling out theaters. Bands covering the likes of Journey, ABBA, the Dead and Tom Petty are packing houses. As you’ll see in Richard Stockton’s cover story, the answer is in following the money. Bands playing tunes by other bands get paid big bucks; original bands earn pennies to the dollar (even though promoters have to pay fees for using other people’s music). People want to dance to songs they already know, both here and in San Jose. To make matters worse for those living over the hill, Santa Clara County has passed an ordinance charging wineries as much as $14,000 a year for live music permits. Talk about killing the golden goose. But it means more music over here, which is a good thing. My own prediction for the years ahead is that downtown will have even more music venues because all the new apartment residents will want more nightly entertainment. Until I read Richard’s article, I had forgotten about how so many of the biggest original bands started by playing cover songs, even on record (like the Beatles). I generally have no interest in going to a cover band concert. I’d rather see the original artists, or if they aren’t around, I’d rather listen to their recordings. But I’m in the minority there, as the crowds at our venues show. People love the hits, no matter who is playing them. That said, I have seen some big bands with only a couple of original members (Yes; Dead and Co). but my rule is I won’t go if there are no originals. What are your thoughts on it? Are you happy with cover bands, and if so why? Do you have patience for up-and-coming bands that only play original music? (Write us at editor@weeklys.com.) (This is the editor's letter about this article. I remember Brad Kava used to write for the Mercury.)

[Dr. Sivana]

I am pro-cover.

I remember in high school some snobs claiming that Elton John wasn’t a true “artist” because he didn’t write lyrics, so he was singing Bernie Taupin’s ideas. The fact is Elton John is horrible at writing lyrics (samples: “I’ve Been Loving You”, the treacly last verse to “Border Song”, “Flintstone Boy”). So he should just do instrumentals?! He wrote the music after Taupin’s lyrics and sometimes made the lyrics more than they would have been as poetry.

Elvis, Frank Sinatra, and Barbra Streisand did not write their own work, but they were certainly true artists.

The Doors did “Light My Fire”, Jose Feliciano’s cover is truly artistic (I like neither, so that is an unbiased statement).

So what about the “tribute” bands? The ones that don’t try to bring something new to the table but treat Elvis, ABBA, and David Bowie like Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony?

I admire them.

Growing up, I followed the Top 40 and some of the acts that didn’t have many Top 40 hits but had an album/genre following or that friends recommended (Kraftwerk, DEVO, Bill Bruford, Robert Fripp). I was not a huge fan of “Chicago”, with only the Greatest Hits Chicago X in my collection, but then someone here recommended “Leonid and Friends”, and when I heard them, it wasn’t just a cover band, it was a replication band, with an occasional hint of a Russian accent. The passion they put into the project, usually recreating the exact sound made me revisit Chicago, and appreciate them more. So, seeing Leonid and Friends’ show live last November wasn’t really a nostalgic experience, as Chicago’s music (except for one song that was a hit and constantly played during my orientation week at University of Chicago, “Hard to Say I’m Sorry”) was NOT part of my growing up. But their musicianship and commitment to the music was just as artistic as a great minstrel retelling the Iliad 100 years after Homer passed on (allow a little hyperbole, but you get the point). Leonid picks songs he wants to do, so a little Steely Dan and EW&F gets thrown into the mix. They are not just cover artists. They are true artists who re-present what they see as great music.

The last live rock performance I had seen before Leonid and Friends was Del Shannon in 1990 at the Oakdale Theater in Wallingford, CT. He was the opening act for Dion, and was working on his last album. Besides his hits, he did a couple of covers he liked (Crying, Black Is Black). That’s despite the fact that he had a Top 40 hit only a few years earlier (cover of “Sea of Love”) and probably would have liked to expose the audience to his new material. He decided to give the crowd (outside of me) what they came for instead.

I sometimes wonder if playing the same music forever, not even covers in Del’s case, to shrinking and aging audiences over time is a depressing fate, leading the more sensitive souls like Del (and Danny of Danny and the Juniors) to suicide?

But all these performers reach people, touch them even if it is an early ‘80s ditty that is purposefully shallow. It is not necessarily just nostalgia. Everyone who writes and performs original music for people to hear wants his creative voice to last past his own generation. Just because we have high quality recordings of the last 100 years of music doesn’t mean that it has to be tied to that original recording. Most music, over most history, has been cover music. In a healthy society, the high quality material will last more than a generation.