Cover Shows and Creation
An alternative route to writing
If being a writer is waiting to receive messages I would like to spring forward not back. But the messages seem to need the past so, to me, it is worth discussing.
Last month Bucko went into a moment of post-tour hibernation while a couple of us moved and we generally settled into the big gray of Seattle fall. I intended to use this time to write, but have found myself in a block. Being generative feels just out of reach in this moment. I say generative to avoid saying “productive”- which feels like an enemy; antithetical to what I aim to create.
A block is an opportunity to find a detour, and playing covers and learning songs I love has been my route. If my chosen route can even approach the calm cool of Nancy Wilson playing the intro to Crazy on You, I will be happy.
Last weekend Bucko participated in the traditional Halloween rite of playing a cover show, we did The Go-Go’s. Watching bands embody musical heroes and jokes reminded me of the ultimate humility it takes to be a musician. That our egos have to handle the abasement of letting the world know how hard you try to do this thing you love. In a less dramatic way I’ll say it just reminded me that all musicians are nerds.
The Go-Go’s have a punk to power pop trajectory that mirrors my own aesthetic shift- though I’ve heard from some that Bucko is a punk band. Zeke told me that Belinda Carlisle was in The Germs which kind of broke my brain. He and Khyre recommend The Go-Go’s documentary . It was a fun challenge to distill The Go-Go’s 5-piece arrangements into our own style. Chelsea aced the assignment by playing the guitar leads on her new Microkorg; picking up the slack while I tried to tackle Belinda Carlisle’s rhythmically bizarre vocal parts. Playing Vacation and This Town gave insight into alternative song structures and guitar technique. And, while I have not had the spark of creation I’m waiting for, there are always more riffs to learn.
Overwintering describes the methods that organisms utilize to make it through times of lack and harsh conditions. Hibernation, food hoarding, playing others people’s songs—whatever gets you through.