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Topic: Do we limit our heros? |
Bill McCloskey
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Posted 1 Jan 2013 10:11 am |
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The sad death of Mike Auldridge got me thinking of a conversation we had once. We were talking about Reece's 12 string tuning and our mutual love of jazz and of course my love of 8 string swing.
I'm paraphrasing but basically Mike said that he would love to play more jazz but his audience didn't like it. That isn't why they came to hear him play. So he stayed with what his audience wanted to hear.
I remember that conversation thinking that in many ways amateurs can explore different, less commercial forms of music that a professional couldn't.
I wonder: do you think we limit what our heros are capable of because our love for what they've done in the past. |
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Charles Davidson
From:
Phenix City Alabama, USA
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Posted 1 Jan 2013 1:44 pm
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Bill,that's what jam sessions are for.Even half-assed players such as myself HAVE to play what we are getting paid to play.For instance [For the Good Times] I HATE that tune,but HAVE to play it.When some friends and I get together to jam THEN I play what I LIKE.Or when I'm in my music room I listen to and play whatever I like. No matter how big an artist you are you don't have the luxury of just playing ONLY what you like,especially if you have had a big hit on a tune,that becomes your signature tune.Years ago Ace Cannon told me he was sick and tired of playing TUFF,but he had to,He enjoyed bebop jazz and was good at it,but the people that paid him wanted no part of that.Can you imagine back in the day,Floyd Cramer playing a show and not playing Last Date,Boots Randolf not playing yakety sax,Duane Eddy not doing Rebel Rouser etc,etc,etc.Just my opinion. YOU BETCHA,DYK?BC.
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Hard headed, opinionated old geezer. BAMA CHARLIE. GOD BLESS AMERICA. ANIMAL RIGHTS ACTIVIST. SUPPORT LIVE MUSIC !
Last edited by Charles Davidson on 1 Jan 2013 2:47 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Jim Cohen
From:
Philadelphia, PA
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 1 Jan 2013 2:17 pm Re: Do we limit our heros?
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| Bill McCloskey wrote: |
I remember that conversation thinking that in many ways amateurs can explore different, less commercial forms of music that a professional couldn't.
I wonder: do you think we limit what our heros are capable of because our love for what they've done in the past. |
You sorta answered it, Bill. It's their choice to make, not ours. But in any form of entertainment, I think it's very hard to win over a new audience without losing the one you've already established. As the old saying goes..."When you're doing something for a living, you go where the money is." |
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Bill McCloskey
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Posted 1 Jan 2013 2:57 pm
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There have been artists though that went a different way. Certainly Dylan, Tom Waits, Miles Davis, Coltrane...all left their old audience behind.
I understand the nature of the music business though and agree. I just lament not hearing the music that could have been. |
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HowardR
From:
N.Y.C.-Fire Island-Asheville
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Posted 5 Jan 2013 6:50 am
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I would love to have an entire album with just these two......
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dNnDQUdwt0
Yes Bill.....it would have been interesting to see Mike stretch out into genres where he hadn't ventured before..... |
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HowardR
From:
N.Y.C.-Fire Island-Asheville
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Posted 5 Jan 2013 7:06 am
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Bill, to answer your question......yes, I think we do pigeon hole them into a narrower area even if we do it subconsciously.......while we can be open minded about our heros venturing into other areas, there's something in the back of our brain that says "home base" and that's we're comfortable with which kind of limits them......
Rob Ickes.....did a couple of jazz/jazz fusion/jazz like albums and they were well received (I think) but he pretty much stays within the bluegrass/country/pop genres......certainly anybody who plays at the festivals will be locked into a specific genre.....and look what happened with Ricky Nelson at Madison Square Garden when he wanted to break loose from his pigeon hole......
Also......would you want to see Miles Davis venture into bluegrass or dubstep?....... |
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Bill McCloskey
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Posted 5 Jan 2013 8:20 am
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Funny I was thinking about Rob Ickes in connection with this thread. I loved his jazz CD's, in fact they are my favorite of all of Rob's output.
And certainly Jerry Douglas stepped out of his bluegrass beginnings. |
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Mark van Allen
From:
Watkinsville, Ga. USA
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Posted 7 Jan 2013 8:11 am
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It's a very good question, Bill. But I think it's really more the player's choice. If you think about it from the "fan coercion" direction, just what is the leverage? Money? Fame and adulation? When we're talking about instrumentalists, most of them got started simply trying to copy or interpret sounds they loved, and only when they developed a following, were forced to make choices relating to what other people wanted from their playing.
The folks who stayed within a narrow genre provided some of the truly iconic stylistic beauty that other players admire and chase after for generations, while those who continue to stretch their own boundaries have opened new vistas to all of us, and attracted entirely new fans, while perhaps alienating some of their early admirers. Choices.
Fascinating subject.
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Stop by the Steel Store at: www.markvanallen.com
www.musicfarmstudio.com |
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