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| gypsymofo60 |
The Savage Youngun got me wundrin' How many of yas actually played in bands, I mean got out there and did it? Do ya miss it, and do you feel your life is less without it? I always got oh! You're a freak! all you want to do is Stones, what the fuck is wrong with that I said, before I learnt to write a song. I've still not given up on doing it semi regularly, but I'd love to do it full time, old as I am........And I am still rippin' The Joint. |
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| sasca |
I have. Didn�t work out. I wanted to conquer the world; they wanted to play cover-versions. I still write, though. |
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| gypsymofo60 |
quote:
sasca wrote:
I have. Didn�t work out. I wanted to conquer the world; they wanted to play cover-versions. I still write, though.
Always the way isn't it? Every bitch with a guitar and half an attitude wants to waste their whole fucking youth playing cover versions, sounds like you needed what I needed at 18 Andrew fucking Oldham. |
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| MannishBoy |
I did, in England through most of the 80's. Not the best time to be playing rock'n'roll. One reviewer described my band as "four guys surgically altered to look like Keith Richards." Still miss it and still play every day but I'm glad I got away from it. Probably wouldn't be here otherwise. |
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| FPM C10 |
I played off and on from the time I was about 14 until last year - that's, hmm, roughly 180 years - and won't give up on the idea of playing again - if for instance Cardinal Fang needed a bass player I would be there with bells on - so with the august voice of crotchety old age I say: do NOT sell playing cover songs short. That's how the Stones became the Stones, and it's still thrilling to hear them play a cover or two - from "Little Red Rooster" to "Love Train". The key is to let your own personality come through someone else's song.
Jumping directly into writing your own material too soon can be VERY bad unless you have some innate genius for it. Doing covers is how you see how songs are put together. One of the real problems with the awful tripe that passes for music nowadays is that those musicians have no roots, never played covers in a bar, couldn't play a Chuck Berry song or a Hank Williams song if their lives depended on it. Ever read the quotes from Bono about recording "Silver and Gold" with Keith for the Sun City album? He said that Keith was a walking encyclopedia of roots music, whereas Bono HAD no roots and realized he needed to go get some.
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| sasca |
That�s true, if you play other�s songs well. Not so true when it�s an excuse for pissing about. But then I suppose you can say the same for playing your own songs.
Do any of you have recordings? |
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| gypsymofo60 |
Yeah! I have some of my old recordings. I went into a studio with four other guys intent on producing the 80s equivalent of 'Can't You Hear Me Knocking', and 'Winter', and came out three weeks later with a bad rendition of U2s BOY album. It remains well and trully hidden. Covers are an inevitable kick off for any real rock group, but most bands I played in were still content to dick around with Johnny B. Goode after 3 years. I also agree that any rock band worth it's salt should serve an apprenticeship of down, and dirty clubs, and pubs with an arsenal of not too obscure covers, but this is the perfect time to sneak in those originals to gague the crowds response. |
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| TheSavageYoungXyzzy |
I was talking to someone last night and they told me "It's every guy's dream to play in a band." Maybe that's true.
I dunno about you, but I just want to bring down the house with "Stay With Me" one of these nights.
Only, unlike Rod Stewart, I will not yell, "Unh! Guitar!"
I much prefer Bernard's comment as Ronnie's band goes into the solo section on Live and Eclectic.
Which goes along the lines of "Awwwwww, shit!"
That's a great number to bring the house down.
So, by the way, is "That's How Strong My Love Is", according to the Roseland goers.
I don't know about going into it professionally, but I can't agree more with FPM. Cover versions can help a band find a groove it can really get into - and from there songs come out. I mean, can you deny that "Don't Lie To Me" came out of "Route 66" or "Connection" at least is a distant cousin to "You Never Can Tell"?
Maybe those aren't the best examples... but finding your strengths helps you write to them.
-tSYX --- Wass yo' name again? |
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| MannishBoy |
I'd have to say my band spent most of our time trying to record the 80's equivalent of Beggars Banquet. Made 3 albums, all a bit hard to find now. We even had a track on a terrible Sones tribute album called "Stoned Again." We did "Child of the Moon," for some reason it seemed like a good idea to do a song that most casual fans would not recognise. Did a lot of covers in my first band but later it was restricted to the occasional JJF encore when we ran out of songs and didn't want to go home yet! |
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| Sir Stonesalot |
Yeah I did the band thing. Several times. I'd probably do it again with the right people. Something done more for fun than anything else.
Mostly I was in punk bands. I sang back up in one of FPM's bands.
One of my punk bands actually released a 3 track 45. All original "songs" written by me, and recorded in some crappy cheap "studio". A side "Very Tasty", B sides "Mormon Pictures Of Death", and "R. Budd D.".
"Very Tasty" was about how great convience store food is late at night when you are fucked up. "Mormon Pictures Of Death" was written about the illustrations in The Book Of Morman that some missionaries gave us. Everyone in the pictures were being killed in some horrible fashion. "R. Budd D." was written about Budd Dwyer blowing his brain out on TV.
Our drummer drew cover art....a pile of empty candy and microwave burrito wrappers, beer cans and soda cans.
We only had 100 made, and we sold them all. I stupidly forgot to hold a copy back for myself. I don't remember what "lable" it was on, if any. The studio doesn't exist anymore(SUPRISE!), so I don't know what happened to the master tape....I imagine some other low budget band recorded over it. |
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| FPM C10 |
quote:
Sir Stonesalot wrote:
One of my punk bands actually released a 3 track 45. All original "songs" written by me, and recorded in some crappy cheap "studio". A side "Very Tasty", B sides "Mormon Pictures Of Death", and "R. Budd D.".
I didn't know about that. The only "song" I knew that you "wrote" was "Molly Ringwald Trapped in Fly Paper", whose title I always admired. Why wasn't that on there?
As for "singing backup in one of FPM's bands", I'm not completely certain that counts as "being in a band". We had TWO "backup singers", neither of which were beautiful black women, as they should be. One was the guy who owned the garage we practiced in, and the other was SS, who was my "chauffer" at the time (the Monkey having lost his driving privileges for a truly Stonesian incident involving accidently running over a deranged ex-girlfriend (who WAS a beautiful black woman) who was trying to smash my windshield out with a claw hammer).
By the time I was in that band, ('88?) I'd already been in the one band that had a shot at anything resembling being a REAL band - we'd played for 8 years, released some vanity recordings on our own "label", played a few real clubs, developed drug habits and personality disorders far beyond our actual place in the food chain, realized nothing was ever going to happen, and given up on Rock Stardom. The band SS refers to played about 3 gigs, 2 of which were in a garage. "Singing backup" amounted to yelling "SIX PACK!" in the Black Flag song of the same name.
That's sort of like saying you WERE a cowboy because you used to ride a hobby horse. |
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| Sir Stonesalot |
Damn, I thought maybe you even HAD one of my 45s.
You sure you didn't know about Satan's Bake Sale? Or Blastula? Or G.O.B.(Gallons Of Bile). This was when I was in York, if that helps.
Hell, I was damn prolific back then. All the songs sounded the same because I only know a couple of chords.
You musta forgot about "King Of The Vomitorium" too.
LOL.
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| FPM C10 |
quote:
Sir Stonesalot wrote:
You sure you didn't know about Satan's Bake Sale? Or Blastula? Or G.O.B.(Gallons Of Bile). This was when I was in York, if that helps.
I know about them from hearing you tell me about them after the fact. (Did I even know you when you were in college?)I thought each band played like one gig in your own basement and then broke up. Didn't know anything was immortalized on vinyl.
I used to be an astronaut. Oh, wait, I pretended to be an astronaut. That was after I was a cowboy. |
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| Sir Stonesalot |
Hell yes you knew me while I was in college. We worked for Uncle John setting rock when I was still in high school.
We just changed band names whenever we got a different band member(usually the drummer). Actually played a bunch of gigs...only one was in my basement(and that was the night I wrote R Budd D). Remember Rage's Democratic Club? We played there a bunch of times. Played a lot of frat parties over at York College.
Hell, the band that became Live opened for us at some of those frat parties.
Our biggest gig was opening for Ludichrist and The Circle Jerks. I never told you about playing golf with Keith Morris?
Cost us $250.00 total to record and get 100 45s pressed. |
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| FPM C10 |
quote:
Sir Stonesalot wrote:
Hell yes you knew me while I was in college. We worked for Uncle John setting rock when I was still in high school.
Whaaaaat? I am really confused about chronology. I thought I met you after the army. Well, we MET in the sandbox, then I ran into you on the train with all those Chess records under your arm...oh, wait, that wasn't US.
What year did the record come out?
Doesn't your Uncle John have one? He musta been torn over that one - hated it because YOU made a record and HE didn't, loved it because it was so obscure that no one ever heard it, and that USUALLY means John loves it. Although that didn't work for my stuff - he HATED all of it, no matter how obscure it was.
Some great moments in that Boston video. Wish I could get my hands on the raw footage and edit it better. |
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| gypsymofo60 |
SS, that song you wrote, the guy who topped 'isself on tele, was he that poli', or city admin' guy? I think I remember that, wicked! Speaking of songs that come out of tragedy one of my first songs circa '78/79 was called 'Jungle Juice', it was about Jonestown, I have very bad taste. Then I had one called 'Batteries not Included'about Bhopal, I needed therapy, prolly still do. |
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| Sir Stonesalot |
FPM...You know, Uncle John just may have one...I don't know. I never made it home much back then, they may have all been gone before I saw him. I really would like to have one of those 45s. Do you remember Miss Beat Records in York? That's who bought up a bunch of the records.
I seem to recall that Rod Bryner saw us. We were playing at a club on Market St. opening for a crappy metal band named Hanon Tramp. Anyhow, the lead singer from the metal band knew Rod, and I think Rod and another guy from his metal band were there to get a booking. At least I think I remember that happening. It was so long ago, and I was always so wasted that I can't really be sure anymore. This would have been around 1988.
GypsyMF...Yeah it was a state treasurer. Caught with his hand in the till. Blew his brain out just before sentencing. We called an immediate house party to celebrate. I wrote the song in about 10 minutes, ran through it once, and played it 10 minutes after that. His name was R. Budd Dwyer. Hence "R Budd D", which when sung at a blistering punk tempo sounds like...our buddy. Stupid song, but outrageous and topical at the time. |
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| gypsymofo60 |
Here in OZ, at the time it was deemed too sensative to show in it's entirety, DAMN! I know it's sick, but I fairly wet myself when I first saw it, I was accused of being insensative, he wanted to top himself LIVE, why not have a giggle? The most politicaly incorrect songs are usually the best anyway, 'One In A Million', 'I Used To Love Her', great stuff! Remember 'Bodies', by the Pistols? |
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