thoughtmechanics

When I started playing guitar at 14, one of the first things I did was put chords together to try and make interesting sounds. As my skill developed, those sounds eventually turned into some of my first songs. At 15, I went into the recording studio with my first band and we recorded a three-song demo. To this day, the part of being a musician that brings me the most joy is writing my own music. In fact, this is the reason most people become musicians–to create. Unfortunately, at 32 I’m writing some of the best material I’ve ever written only to find a defunct local music scene that caters to the lowest common denominator—the cover band.

The supply/demand mentality that bar owners force on musicians is slowly destroying an important art form. I’m not sure what the appeal is of spending $10 of one’s hard earned money to listen to bands as they wreck other peoples’ music, but that is precisely what has become of the Hartford music scene. Being a musician myself, I am quite bothered by the growing number of talented musicians who resign themselves to the aggregate of musical mediocrity that’s so prevalent in today’s local scene.

Here in Connecticut, most of the cover bands have no apparent talent beyond being able to dance around like drunken idiots while they destroy music that was never any good to begin with–all the while celebrating public debauchery and inciting crapulence. Unfortunately, these are the bands that epitomize the local music scene.

One of the most popular cover bands in Connecticut is a band called The Zoo. This band is probably the best cover band Connecticut has to offer. I’ve seen them live, and I can promise you, the experience you get is no better than with any other cover band. The problem is that no matter how good a cover band plays a song, it will never sound as good as the original. In fact, what you usually get is the outright destruction of the original. I wouldn’t go see The Zoo again (or any other cover band for that matter) if they played a free show in my own back yard.

On the other hand, the singer of the The Zoo has an original band called Zero 260, which is great. I listened to one of their songs called “Letting Go,” that moved me. It is beautifully written, has today’s sound, and is better than most of what I hear currently being played on the radio. Here’s a band that I would drive 45 minutes to an hour to hear, and pay $20 to get in the door.

It’s almost like artistic talent has become frowned upon. If you ask any member of any cover band why they don’t play more originals, you’ll get the same answer: Because you can’t get into bars playing original music. So what ends up happening is talented musicians play covers to get gigs so they can afford to go into the studio and record their originals. I applaud this effort. It takes much perseverance for a band to go through this ugly process. But unfortunately, in this area it’s the most practical choice.

The major issue is that bar owners erroneously think that cover music is what their patrons want to hear. In actuality, people who go to bars just want to be entertained. What bar owners need to understand is that this can happen without bands playing cover music.

When bar owners hire bands to play cover music—especially the talented ones who use the cover scene to fund their original projects—it’s like a homeowner hiring an interior decorator to hang sheetrock. Unfortunately, this leads to fewer venues for original bands, more and more talented musicians joining cover bands, and a music scene with a serious lack of quality original music. In other words, what you get is a dying music scene. Bar owners certainly don’t care about this; they only care about the hearty consumption of alcohol by their patrons.

So what’s the solution? Musicians need to be more principled. They should refuse to take their talent for granted by reducing themselves to playing cover music for largely drunk crowds. Yes, it’s easier to learn cover songs and get gigs in Hartford than it is to write your own music, build a name for yourself and get paying gigs as an original band. But if you’re serious about your music, then you should do what it takes to get your band known. Drive to Holyoke, New Haven, Boston and even New York City if you have to. Playing your music should be worth it.