alewis41 wrote:Well said, Geoff.
The constant ridiculing of Shadows cover bands reflects poorly on this site and its members. Members of a site that aims to keep the Shadows name alive post complaints about bands that try to do exactly that? Shame on you.
Support for genuine 'Shadows cover bands' is one thing, however support for bands that butcher Shads music to get the punters in is another thing altogether - and even worse hide behind the Shadows name to lure the paying audience. Prime example of this was the recent 'tour' in Australia by local artist Marty Rhone, who's posters featured in giant letters 'Cliff and The Shadows -Together Again' with a doctored pic of him looking like Cliff as the main art component. To see who actually was appearing at those shows, you had to read the very, very small print at the bottom and I know quite a few 'elderly' people who were sucked in by that lot.
In my opinion once you advertise the name of a band or artist on your own band posters etc, you become a 'tribute' band, and 'Tribute' band should be just that, make it very clear that is what you are, pay 'tribute' to the artists you are depicting, play it the way the audience would expect, not present a 'rough copy'. If you want to play Shads music your own way, go ahead, artists like Tommy Emmanuel for instance do that all the time (his version of 'Flingel Bunt' for one), but they don't try to sell it as something it isn't.
