From: klb52@gmx.us   
      
   On 2015-07-28 22:07:57 -0500, Jim D  said:   
      
   > On 2015-07-27 14:17:10 +0000, Louise said:   
   >   
   >> Jim D  wrote in   
   >> news:2015072700160954221-Not@ThisAddresscom:   
   >>   
   >>> I don't see how ethics enters into it at all. It's just music.   
   >>   
   >> Simple Right & Wrong, applies to Everything, including Music.   
   >   
   > I have a nice mental image of this puzzle.   
   >   
   > There are three ( at least ) levels of what's going on.   
   >   
   > level 1 ---- the real thing ( Climbing Mt Everest.  Or a big name live   
   > band )  ....   expensive, rare, possible dangerous.   
   >   
   > level 2 ---- DisneyLand. Plenty of excitement for the kids, not the   
   > real danger of an African Safari.   
   >   
   > Level 3 ---- dj's.   The musical equivalent of looking at someone's   
   > pictures of climbing Everest or going to Disneyland.   
   >   
   >   
   > We're the musical equivalant of Disneyland. Not completely real, but   
   > also without the extreme cost or risk of actual injury that actually   
   > doing the stuff amusement parks let you experienct in a safe   
   > environment.   
   >   
   > Just want the musical equivalant of looking at pictures of someones   
   > vacation ?   Hire a DJ. He'll play the mp3's and that's what you'll get.   
   >   
   > Want to spend a fortune, have to travel to get there, put up with the   
   > crowds .... go to a concert and watch a live band.   
   >   
   > Just want entertained ?  Don't really want eaten by a croc, but think   
   > the Indiana Jones ride might be fun ??????  .. then we're the band for   
   > you.  Just like an amusement park ride, we're partly real, partly   
   > carefully controlled illusion.  Affordable, reliable, and totally good   
   > enough for most consumers.  And that, in a nutshell is why we're still   
   > out there making money, while most of my purist friends aren't.  Bands,   
   > real bands, are difficult to operate and expensive. Unless you're a   
   > high roller, you can't sustain that in today's market.   
   >   
   > Real bands are rare and expensive.   
   >   
   > Djs' are cheesy.   
   >   
   > We're in the middle. And happy to be.   
   >   
   >   
   >   
   >>   
   >>> We went to a " jam session " today.  Not to play, rather to see the   
   >>> thing.  I really am at a loss for words to describe how suck it was.   
   >>> Really am.  I had no idea in the world anyone still played the lame   
   >>> old blues bullshit these guys were cranking out, and poorly at that.   
   >>   
   >> No Imagination, No Innovation, No Creativity...equals same old Worn Out   
   >> CRAP that SUCKS!   
   >   
   > They certainly did suck.   
   >   
   >>   
   >>> I could go on, but what's the point.  The band was pathetic AND the   
   >>> audience was eating it up.  The world really is upside down.   
   >>   
   >> Actually well matched, like impedance matching...band that SUCKS enjoyed   
   >> by an audience that SUCKS...and *That's* why I prefer to Pick and Choose   
   >> a Better audience for my Music, because I'm Not interested in performing   
   >> for Lame audiences, money notwithstanding!   
   >>   
   >>> No, really I totally get what was going on.  The place that was   
   >>> holding this event was catering to the local musicians, giving them a   
   >>> stage to perform on.  It was all musicians and their families ,,, the   
   >>> bands, the audience, the whole thing.  What wasn't there were any   
   >>> people who would actually qualify as some sort of legitimate audience.   
   >>   
   >> So much for that...so it was all a Joke then, nothing realistic about   
   >> it...well, almost, because Zombies don't care in the 'real' world either,   
   >> whether something sucks.   
   >>   
   >>> Why would there be ?  I can't imagine anyone not related to them   
   >>> wanting to see a bunch of old guys playing the Doors songs they   
   >>> learned in 50 years or so ago high school, and at about that same   
   >>> level of musicanship.   
   >>   
   >> I can...with any CopyCat band...what a Tragedy :(   
   >>   
   >>> I went to see a different band yesterday. They were playing a parking   
   >>> lot party at a sports bar near me. Since I could hear them from on my   
   >>> deck, and they were a mile and a half away, I thought, hell, hop on   
   >>> the bike and go check them out.  They looked like a band. They pranced   
   >>> and posed and had a smoke machine.   
   >>>   
   >>> Four piece and they absolutely used backing tracks.  Live bass, drums,   
   >>> guitar and non playing front man singer.  Computer for all the   
   >>> keyboard parts and horns and who knows what else.   
   >>   
   >> That SUCKS!!! That's even worse than for a band around here called the   
   >> "Neverly Brothers", who do CopyCat tunes by the early '50s rock &   
   >> rollers...and there's only 3 of them, very good musicians and singers,   
   >> and they don't use tracks. On the other hand, they did a tune by Jerry   
   >> Lee Lewis, WITHOUT KEYS...Sacrilege!!! But it would have been even worse   
   >> if there was a keyboard track and No Real Live keyboard player!   
   >   
   > I do Whole Lotta' Shakin, play the keys live and let the computer play   
   > the guitar parts. Your head would probably explode hearing us :-)   
   >   
   >   
   >>   
   >>> 4 hours of non-stop 80's dance music.  It was like MTV, but a lot   
   >>> louder.  Not very good players. Not bad, they weren't making mistakes,   
   >>> just not good either. Not taking any big solos. The singer was, on a   
   >>> scale of 1 to 10, about a 5 or 6.   Not off pitch, but then again, not   
   >>> really musical sounding either. More like just yelling out the lyrics.   
   >>   
   >> How excited can one get over old, worn out, CopyCat tunes? That's the   
   >> part that wasn't good.   
   >>   
   >>> According to their website, they charge between $1500 and $2500 per   
   >>> gig, depending on the particulars.   
   >>>   
   >>> 4 guys, plus a sound man.   $1500 minimum.   So $300 a guy at least,   
   >>> plus beer for the gig.   
   >>   
   >> Not bad pay for bad, old, used up material.   
   >   
   > " I play the music of my generation " was EXACTLY what one guy told me   
   > when I ask about the setlist.   
   >   
   >   
   >>   
   >>> Do you think they felt like they were doing something unethical ?   
   >>   
   >> For milking old worn out tunes to death at the expense of Killing off the   
   >> Music? Yeah, I'd sure say so...Shame on them!   
   >>   
   >>> They were playing the music the drunk chicks wanted to hear.   
   >>   
   >> I don't think I could ever get That drunk ;) But then I'm into Original   
   >> Music!   
   >>   
   >>> Since   
   >>> they do this all the time and have been around for years, it stands to   
   >>> reason the bar made money. The band is happy ( $$$ ), the drunk chicks   
   >>> are happy ;-) and the bar is happy ( $$$$$$$$$ ).   
   >>>   
   >>> How does ethics figure into that ?   
   >>>   
   >>> Jim   
   >>   
   >> Because it's Killing off the Music, that's how!   
   >> And it all sounds totally BORING...even if the audience is just as   
   >> Boring.   
   >>   
   >> Ouisie   
   >   
   >   
   > We make our own music.  It's fun.  Unfortunatly, it would apparently   
   > take more life than I have left to get you to grasp that.   
   >   
   >   
   > Jim   
      
   That is a brilliant analogy.  And just because we occupy the middle   
   ground does not make us invalid as performers.   A whole lot more   
   people experience DisneyLand than a safari...   
      
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
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