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Sounds like you has a bad experience with some narrow minded musicians who prided themselves on "recreating" instead of "creating" and I KNOW they are the most touchy regarding their egos about their "talent" But how good of a musician can you be if you never attempt to be BETTER than the original.
Leslie West is Brutal to work with, a few other equally big names are similarly impossible but not to be challenged, it's their gig, their names.. Doing some session work with MFSB (and the Philly musicians) and some work up in the Toronto area with Liverpool and The Blushing Brides was ALL "Tribute" stuff (about 25-30 years back).. I was quite good at what I did, but floated from band to band, I was pretty much a gypsy, and I got bored, didn't know what I wanted, was stubborn, frequently got replaced, and I started really liking "The Sauce" and other happy substances too
etc... Problem is MANY were as good and many of course are better. You know how much talent just oozes out've the weirdest places, in any city... There's amazing talent and competition but unlike yourself Paula, I didn't like competition becuase it went from feast to famine and the ride home when replaced suddenly was a LONG one, I took it VERY personally because I was young and full of myself.. Ended up devastated and VERY ill (physicially and mentally) -although the later should be of no suprise to those here that know me..HAHAHA..
I did some session work with a few of the biggest names, and I was content as a member of THEIR band OFTEN just for one or two gigs as stand in, there was NO room for "me" ANYWHERE I played, I am just a follower in music, a backing musician, with that mindset and as an instrumentalist who was playing 10 instruments decently I was also a "stand-in" and backup for bands if a musician became ill heading ALL over the east coast and northern areas within a few days notice.. Plus the local smaller bar gigs and local bands I was a regular with, but I did session work too, and THAT is brutal.. If a cover musician got ill, I learned full sets in a VERY short a time in my genres because my brain just reproduced what I heard quicky, and that's where money was, it's what I did.. Even improv for me fit WITHIN circumscribed boundaries of standard progressions but even when playing jazz I had a TOUGH time being 'lead' in terms of mindset.. I loved sitting in last minute, I LOVED that more than anything, the challenge and being under the gun to learn a shows worth of stuff in a few days on one of several instruments I was sitting in on was the thrill for me..Naturally I belonged to unions in several states at the time, and was freelance too... But given the level of musicianship, I was happy being a backing musician, there was no place for me to go from there.. I wasn't going to strive to be an innovator who toured because I stood lesser of a chance doing ANYTHING like that than just about ANYBODY that plays an instrument, my niche was a reproducing... What I'm finding interesting is as "the lead" or SINGER, I'm TOTALLY LOST, like a fish out've water..My type musicianship is VERY different than Singers who have the "frontman" mentality, or have developed "frontman" mentality, EVERYTHING I trained for taught me "You BETTER not try to upstage the frontman, layback, hang, it's HIS/HER gig. That was my place in music.. A band member, NOTHING more ! except for a few solo lounge piano gigs but naturally I never sang (obviously) and my timbre was the instrument..
In fact BIlly and I were discussing this awhile back... Some instrumentalists ARE in fact satisfied being accompanying artists, it's just their niche, some of us are not comfortable being "in front of" the band... I am, always have been, and always will be the guy that backs you singers... However to round myself off, I DO want to put 100% into trying to learn to become a singer... But as stated repetitiously by me... It's SO different both psychological and all else-wise and the reason I suppose I can't "hear myself" is because when singing I'm letting some of my insides out as opposed to hiding behind the instrument... also, I can't hear myself emulating someone else so "different" sounding to me WOULD entail creativity, and I never planned on being "creative", for some idiotic reason I had two choices... Sing and nail my idols, or forget singing PERIOD...
I'm learning A LOT of new stuff this year... New ways, a different door in music (and it's embarassing for me to call myself a musician when I try to sing, but it's OK to start something new and learn from scratch I suppose, AS LONG as I respect my place among those of you that sing as a brand-spankin new beginner and stay in my place.. Out respect for the art and musicians who are better... and to keep myself sane, and that's what I'm doing
Anyway, as a result of KNOWING I don't like competition, as well as KNOWING how I can get fat and hot-headed and brutally self competitive... I wish for folks like all of you to keep me in my place... As an instrumentalist I do fine... HOWEVER as a learning singer, I feel as though I'm a TOTAL beginner and I have NO CLUE...
Problem with being VERY competitive at a certain level is you get beat up. I don't like getting beat up... There's SO much amazing talent ALL over the place that I decided not being a politician, HATING the game, HATING the business aspects, I better lay low before I end up hating music too.. It's where I was headed QUICKLY..
Yet I respect music.. and have finally given myself permission to be a beginner, not good and a "2" on a scale of 1-10 at something, and I'll tell you, it's pretty relaxing being down here.. when I fall I only get very minor abrasions
But I haven't fallen once because I've kept things in their proper perspective... meaning, I am striving to learn to sing, I am NOT YET a singer.. The more honest people are with me, all I can do is improve over time.. REgarding creativity in singing, Yep, I CAN do that.. because the harder I try to nail a cover the more "special" or "creative" the result becomes
HAHAHA, AND gender bender works ! Aretha Franklin "Killing me softly" not the Fugee's BLECH, but the 1973 Flack version isn't totally bad... Carpenters works too... So the tip on "gender bender" is a good one... However, I didn't get too many comments on the "Macy Grey" song..
..
Regarding being competitive well there's a funny story I can post in the "musicians experiences" thread but in short (or did I miss the boat for that) at 4 and 5 years of age (and somebody who had just started playing the piano) at three my folks started me off on something like a Doc Seuss rendition of Music for babies called "Pencil Play" where I'd color notes and often couches and furniture learning to make clef signs etc... I had to give recitals in front of judges semi-annually in Newark NJ for the NJ music federation as a kid member starting around 4 years of age (i think) and I was SO VERY sensitive to criticism by time I was 6, and got so spoiled by "Superior" rating certificates that I'd often throw myself on the floor screaming when I just got a "Very good" as I got older.. I'd throw tantrums in the room, start kicking the piano and my mom had to drag me out've the room (at around 6 years of age when they started becoming more critical of musical aspects and stopped treating us as babies). I HATED not hanging onto my "10" rank too...
, I'd like to think I've grown a LITTLE since those preschool days.. Praise and fluff isn't good for some of us that wish to keep it real... But in keeping it real fluff of course is entirely useless in a performing art however HONEST praise is always a perk !.. But ALL should be deserved IMHO.. Dang, did I hate those judges when they started getting tough on me...The nerve on them not constantly giving me
Superior rating certificates... What I didn't understand at the time, is that the compositions and performance material was getting increasingly more demanding too, and I sucked at Bach and counterpoint stuff...
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