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Cover Bandit Bio
My mission is to critique cover bands. If you have no interest in cover bands, please do not read any further to prevent yourself from having a stroke. I am not here to debate cover vs. original as I enjoy and appreciate both formats. I will evaluate bands based on how well they can pull off another artist’s music. Much like one can critique a reading of poet’s work, a performance of a writer’s play or musical, a rendition of an artist’s painting or an orchestral interpretation of an original composition. Don’t send me emails that coverbands suck; you will be wasting your time. My credentials include years of playing in and observing various coverbands around the country. If you would like to be reviewed by the Cover Bandit, tell BigJim:

Duckdown Boulevard- Grandpa’s Growler- 3-8-08
For my first coverband review, I headed to Grandpa’s Growler in Mechanicsburg to see Duck Down Boulevard. This venue has great beers and is a bit small for bands, but it is nice to see them perform in this element. I arrived during the first set, grabbed a microbrew and sat down to enjoy the show. One of the first things that I noticed was the energy of Shadow, the front man. Although the sober crowd was really not into it at this point, Shadow gave it his all by jumping up on the railing and screaming (good pitch by the way) his lines with rabid enthusiasm. Shadow has a great tone, not too whiny, not too growly, just right. He scares me a little bit, but that is OK.

Lead guitarist, Mikey K is seriously straight out of the 80’s. His speed and tone reflect this era as well. Mikey, like Shadow, also give 100(and 10?)% in terms of stage show. While sometimes over the top, this is much preferred to a guitarist who just stands there and stares at his left hand constantly. I was particularly impressed by his improvisation on the “American Idiot” solo.

Wes, the bassist, is not as prominent in this four piece, but plays a key role. His bass lines are effortless and melt right into the mix. I didn’t hear him miss a note all night. His harmonies and backing vocals are very good when you can here them (cough, cough, sound guy). He has a great “cover band image,” somewhere between Green Day and Fall Out Boy.

As I turned my attention to the other stealth piece of this band, the drummer, I realized that I was watching Ray-Ray, Former member of Juiced and Screaming Daisy’s if I remember correctly. You don’t notice Ray when he plays. You just notice the metronome-like consistency. When the band is falling apart as during, “I want you to want me,” Ray just keeps going. And going and going. Very reliable, predictable and not too flashy. He fits in well with this band and holds things together when they start to waiver.

Amy Jo Hurricaine, of “Crashing for Kisses” had a guest appearance and fronted 3 or 4 songs very nicely during the second set. She recently departed Stomp’d and has teamed up with Wes, Ray Ray and Norm (formerly of Juiced as well) to form a new band. A little bit of the “Stomp’d image” still peeks through and she should consider quitting smoking if she plans on singing for long. Stay tuned for more on this band; I was genuinely impressed with her performance. Speaking of second set, song selection was very hard and the band lost the “danceablility factor” during this set. This is a key set for keeping the party going as well as keeping the interest of the fans.

Some suggestions for improvement? Way too much time was wasted between songs at many times. You will lose the crowd attention if you jack around too much. I didn’t know the song, “Sin City” and from looking around I am pretty sure no one in the bar knew it either. Unless it was an original, I would ditch it. The “Hash pipe”solo needs a little work. “You spin me right round” by Dope was a bit too slow; speed it up!!! Feedback thorough the mains was distracting throughout; work with the sound guy in sound check to avoid this distraction. I also noticed that no one from this band interacted with fans between sets that I observed; they only talked to each other/other musicians. As a coverband, your fan base is your bread and butter. You have to cater to these people and talk to them between sets. The break between 2nd and 3rd sets was too long due to band social hour and you lost people because of this delay. But you made it up to us by opening the third set with “TNT” by ACDC. Very cool.

Summary:
Song selection: 15/20
Musical ability: 14/20
Website & name promotion: 10/20 (no non-myspace website nor mention of the Myspace page during the show)
Image & Stage presence: 15/20
X-factor (general likeability and marketability): 12/20
Total:66/100

Go see this band. They are fun and you will have a good time.

Review provided by Cover Bandit

12/29 Mal H-vock's IN MY OPINION.

We are on the eve of the eve of New Years eve, and I decided (for the sake of my father) to check out an Underwater show (as he has been wanting to trail me on an around the town), I got to a nicely packed Gullifty's, which to me meant 1 thing. Promotion on this show was good. It reminded me of the Central Pa Music Awards. Kinda a who's who. I mean there were Gorgonites, some of the cats from Heirosonic, of course yours truely, and my co-hort from 7th Layer, Filth, Some of the red velvet girls, Freddy V and several others. This is always the good sign of a good night.

I got there halfway through the 1st set that was opened up by The Masquarade. I got up to the stage took 1 picture of Leo (formerly of the Midnight Drive.) and my camera went dead. That is ok. I stuck around to catch the set wich seemed very solid, less the vocals (I came to find out later that the vocalist was sick.) Music was tight, and re-united Dan Lucas (Ex-Midnight Drive, and BAAB) and Leo. It was good to see both of them, and overall the set was tight.

Next up was Utopian Skyline. In my sometimes not so humble opinion I think hands down these cats are the 2nd best band in the area. I think the depth, and technical quality of thier music is 2nd to none. Utopian put on a blazing set, and abruptly announced the death of Sadam. Kinda put a crush on my night really but I shall go on. After a couple of intenese solos, and 1 false ending Utopian wrapped up and made way for Collossal OZ.

Yes, Collossal OZ. Someone did this band a favor. Let me ask you, the reader, 1 quick question. What do Layne Staley, Kurt Kobain, and the Dude from Drowning Pool have in common? In case you didnt get it, they are all dead. And MR. Oz please leave them that way. Songs of suicide are so 1994. Leave it 13 years in the past as it should be. My only question is who the hell put them inbetween the 2nd best band in the area (utopian) and the most over-rated (underwater)? I think many more thanks should have been said by the collossal ones.

Lastly the Underwater, who used to be the pretty boys of the local scene. I guess all the pretty boys couldnt deal with it anymore, as all the members seem to have gone grungs, or in some cases aimed for the uncle fester look. Much better for a rock band in my opinion anyway. Honestly I am not the fondest of men in womens pants. The set was solid, and very well done. Homage was paid to a friend of thiers who had fallen. The attention of the crowd was demanded, which I understand your friend has fallen, and you want to acknoledge it, but at the same time, realize people paid money to see you, and they buy your merch, and buy the liquor from the bar to have a good time not be brought down by statements like "No I am being totally for real everyone be quiet" and telling the audience that if the person next to them is talking they deserve to be punched in the stomach. It was this point I left. I am not big on thier music, and that pushed it a lil far. I can respect thier grief, but as a professional, don't press your grief on others. Overall show was well plotted, and promoted properly. In the end you end up with a beautiful product, and a nice crowd to go with it!

05/09 Grandview and Herbie at Hardware Bar

Grandview oh Grandview. I am a fan now. First of all, I was really tired last night. The only reason I went out was A. to of course support local music and B. I had to walk to the Hilton anyways to try on my new uniforms. (By the way I'm going to be serving at the Outdoor Grille over the summer so if ya wanna stop by and say Hello. Go right ahead) I didnt get to the Hardware Bar until close to 10:30 which I didnt have a problem with cause at that point I couldve cared less whether I heard Grandview I just wanted to see what all the hype was with this Herbie band. So onto the lil snippets:

Grandview - A- This is a band where you can just close your eyes, listen to the music, nod your head, tap your feet, and enjoy. They have two guitarists who switch up rhythm and lead. I have to admit while listening to them I thought of Weezer. Not the Beverly Hills Weezer we know today but the good ol El Scorcho, Sweater Song, and Say It Ain't So Weezer of the past. Throw in a twist of Emo and there you have Grandview. The only negative comment I had was that they need to step up their stage show a notch. They were frankly boring to watch. Granted the music makes up for it, but I've always said that being a good artist is 50% music/50% stage presence. I strongly recommend you check these guys out.

Herbie - B Gotta love those Jam Bands! This was my first time seeing Herbie and I gotta admit they had a lot to live up to in my mind. Not only were they following a band who just knocked my socks off musically but also I've heard Herbie this! Herbie that! Over the last couple years. Basically I was expecting Jesus in the form of a band. Did I like Herbie? Yes. Did they live up to my expectations? No. They are a fun jam band. They have facial expressions that make them fun to watch. You can tell they really feel their music and they have fun with it at that. I did enjoy watching them, and had I not been seriously sleep deprived, I would've enjoyed them even more. Again, only got one negative comment, which is, that I honestly didnt feel the vocals matched the music. Every song, I thought the same thing "I seriously dig this music but the vocals don't match." If ya get a chance, I'd check em out. They are well worth the experience just dont walk in expecting perfection (like I do). Oh and p.s. if anything check out their website I've over the past year (even though I've never seen them live) spent plenty of time (my wasteful hours working for the commonwealth) going Grand Theft Auto in Herbieville. It's a blast!

http://www.herbierock.com
Hope ya enjoyed the read. PEACE OUT! Review provided by J-Skillz

04/12 Something Fluid at Harware Bar

I remember the first time I saw Something Fluid. It was at some little restaurant out in I cant even remember where. I just remember Summer, HBGOnline's Single Girl, inviting me to come check them out. I believe the line-up at that point was Chris on guitar, Jerry on bass, Mitch on drums and of course Gretchen on vocals. Sorry CJ, but I cant remember if you were with them back then or not. Anyways, I do remember having a good time with those guys. Ive seen them numerous times over the years as they grow, and each time I am additionally impressed. Wednesday night was no different. Something Fluid are not only musicians, but they are a stage show. Personally, that's what makes a band to me. Someone who can blend the two as close to perfection as possible. If you show up to a Something Fluid show, you will be somewhat involved. Its a give me. You'll have a good time. Again, it's a give me. Review provided by J-Skillz

04/11 Elysion Fields and Spinebelt at Hardware Bar

Twisted Tuesday's at the Hardware Bar are a great event. For people like me who have been out of the local music scene for years, it is a very convenient two hour event in which you can refamiliarize (word?) yourself with this area's bands. Tuesday night I was able to check out Elysion Fields and Spinebelt. Both bands were true metal, and to be honest, I couldnt understand what the hell either of the bands were singing (screaming). However, both bands had a great sound. The thrashing guitar riffs and the pounding bass lines gave me ample opportunity to make up my own lyrics which I was doing, hopefully not to the dismay of the other attendees. The show was sparsely attended though, but I am sure that if more people had attended, a lovely lil moshpit would have definitely formed. I hope to be able to see both these bands in the future. Kudos to Liz and Sara for hanging out! Review provided by J-Skillz

04/04 The Gorgonites and Bo Bim at Hardware Bar

Remember Fishbone in the Colonial Park Mall. I used to love that store. It's pretty much where I bought all my band t-shirts and posters (that and Hot Topic) back in my grunge days. Anyways, thats where I met John. My cousin and I would stop in on various occasions and kill half an hour with this fun-loving employe (state's way of spelling employee). At that point he was a mascot for a band called The Jawn. I saw them a couple times they were good. However, John bashing around, inciting the crowd to love and fine works, and zaniness (a word?) is what made it a show. Several years later, he carries that energy over to The Gorgonites, with fellow former The Jawn member Ty (sp?). The two of them form a band reminiscent of Tenacious D (don't kill me for saying this) with lyrics that will make your grandmother cringe. However, for our generation, the lyrics seem to have made an impression. Everyone in attendance at last night's show seemed to be chanting along to the repetitive lyrics. I encourage you to check these guys out.

Also, don't forget Twisted Tuesdays at the Hardware Bar in downtown Harrisburg. Bands start at 10 and everything is finished around 12, so you can get home, get some rest, and get to work (or sleep in if you're lucky enough to be unemployed).Review provided by J-Skillz