Play for Yourself First

Im a late bloomer. Many lessons that come early for some, come way late for me. At 45, after playing in bands for years, I am finally finding some of the keys to happiness in a cover band world. 

In early projects, to be honest, I was still searching for that rock star status. I suppose I was wishing that some of the fame that was being experienced by the band I was covering would somehow be projected onto me. Silly, but it is a mistake that many young cover bands make. The mistake that fame can be hijacked or celebrity can be imitated. Fame and celebrity are not created by the musicians. These are things that are created by the public and projected onto the artist. So to think that a measure of them comes with learning to cover an artists material is a terrible miscalculation. When the truth comes home to roost and the cover artist is not awarded rock star status, it can frustrate the musician.

It was certainly frustrating for me. To work on material in the hopes that I was going to play the songs all the dancing, young girls wanted to hear and have them making goggly eyes at me all night, only to have them leave with the bartender is a let down. Thats the typical BS rock star mentality. The silly thought that the fans, or bar patrons or whatever are there for me. Totally shallow. I only recently figured that out and it has been a blessing to me to unload that poison.

To realize that the music is thing that matters seems so basic but in reality it is a hard thing to keep hold of. We pay lip service to that truth but all too often we fall into the trap of playing rock god. Once I began to regularly remind myself that I needed to only focus on the music, my job satisfaction went through the roof. Now my band picks the material we like and we focus on making it a high quality interpretation of the original. Not a dead rip off and no time spent on mimicking the original artist. We just play it well and play it for fun. Honestly, the crowds respond so much better. Even if we don't cover every line of the original, our crowds seem to get into it more. I think it is mainly because we are having a better time playing. No false bravado, no "look at me, I rock" kind of crap.

For the first time, I am playing for myself first and loving it. That satisfaction, I believe, has a super positive energy that carries right into the gig and makes it a success. Raw love of the music, and a raw love of performing it. 

I have always loved the picture below. For me, it captures the intensity and real emotion of playing music. Just open up and let it fly. Thats where I am today. Thanks for being patient.