It’s original, but is it good?

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An Olympic future? A few locals are worth watching
August 1, 2012
Title bout headlines wrestling event
August 7, 2012

I’m here to propose a white flag between the conflicting views of cover bands and original bands.

I am the self-proclaimed ambassador for this truce since I’m on both sides of the divide. As co-founder of Houmapalooza, an originals only music festival, I’m playing the role of devil’s advocate. On the weekends, I’m making booties shake in bar rooms with 1950s rock ‘n’ roll with my cover band, and on weeknights, I’m writing and recording with my original band. In Houma, I can throw a rock and hit 10 other musicians who do the exact same thing.


It is part of our culture in southern Louisiana to go to bar rooms and small-town festivals and expect to hear swamp pop, blues, Cajun and classic rock. People of the Bayou Region are slow to embrace the avant-garde. That is how music evolves though; we learn from what came before us, and we make it our own, at least that is how it worked for me. Show me a musician who prides himself on never learning or playing cover songs, and I will show you a musician who isn’t that great at his or her instrument.


There is a clear divide between the artistry involved in creating music and just learning to play songs; I just don’t see a reason for a clash between the two schools of thought. There is a mild snobbery toward people playing other people’s material, and I feel that there is a bigger picture being overlooked. What is wrong with just dancing and having fun? The guy singing Journey covers in a local bar is not going to set the world on fire with his creative vision, but he is doing what he set out to do, entertain people.

I’ve heard a friend, whom I consider very knowledgeable about music, say that he “hates cover bands,” and I find that to be a narrow statement. Granted, he doesn’t play any musical instruments or know the joys and struggles of a musical lifestyle. I don’t even attempt to calculate the time and energy I’ve invested or the fun I’ve had; I don’t feel a need to justify enjoying performing.


When I hear classical music on the radio and the announcer says “that was Piano Concerto No. 21 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra,” I don’t call the London Philharmonic a “cover band” and turn my nose up at them. Why do symphonic bands not get the cold shoulder when they are playing other people’s music? That would be like booing someone for singing Amazing Grace at a funeral because he/she didn’t write it.

Elvis Presley never wrote a song in his life, but he had the voice and gyrating pelvic region that made him one of the biggest icons in American music. Nickleback is all original, but they wear a crown made of cheese. I would much prefer listening to a cover band with skilled musicians who actually practice their craft rather than an original band full of tone-deaf amateurs.

If I could rank the order of which bands I would see first, it would be: a good original band, a good cover band, a bad original band, and a bad cover band. Point being, good musicianship should not be automatically chastised just because it was not written by the person performing it. I suppose the same could be said about fine art in galleries versus things found at a craft fair.

The old man crafting cypress swings will never be on the cover of Art News, but his swings are still well made and serve their purpose.

The Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra performs. In the everlasting debate between cover bands and those that produce original music, orchestral cover bands often get the benefit of the doubt. So should everyone else, columnist Rusty Bouvier says.

COURTESY PHOTO