| For many bands, the road to musical success is paved with hardship, heartache and broken dreams. But for others, it can prove to be the best ride of their lives.
Welcome to the not-so-underground sound of Calgary’s cover bands.
From Van Halen and The Rolling Stones to Matchbox 20 and Linkin Park, some of the city’s hardest working bands take the stage every night and breathe life into the songs most people only hear on the radio.
Seven days a week these sultans of sound entertain audiences across the city, reminding people why they fell in love with rock ’n’ roll in the first place.
"I’m sure there are a lot of people in the city who don’t know about this scene," says Scott Lamb, part-time drummer for Curious George and full-time drummer for Mr. Sparkle, two local cover bands heating up Calgary. "But as far as a night out goes, it’s worth doing."
Lamb has seen a rise in both bands popularity over the years and in fact, 85 per cent of the live music Morgan’s Pub promotes is of the cover band variety, says general manager Kevin Doree.
Up to six nights a week the 17th Avenue bar plays host to bands like Mr. Sparkle and hard rockers Broken Toyz, because audiences keep coming back to hear more.
"It seems to be the thing people are looking for," says Doree.
And while some people may think playing covers is a cop-out, Greg Grescha disagrees.
A member of Curious George for the past 11 years, Grescha has played originals in indie rock bands like Relish and 3D Electric Jesus. While each indie band was successful in its own right, Grescha said playing covers has allowed each of the band’s four members a chance to have fun, play music they love and explore different areas of the industry.
"I used to feel second-rate because we were doing covers as well as originals. But I’d like to think that our mentality has changed. Just because you only play covers doesn’t mean you’re less talented or not creatively original," he says.
In fact, outside of Curious George, Grescha writes and records at home and does acoustic-solo gigs at Molly Malone’s. Other members do studio session work and play originals in One Nine Hundred.
For Lamb, getting up on stage with Curious George and Mr. Sparkle gives him a chance to do the thing he loves the most: play music.
Thirteen years ago, Lamb co-founded his first cover band, Domino Theory, in Vancouver. When he and his partner moved to Calgary and started Mr. Sparkle more than four years ago, he found audiences seemed to like what he was playing.
"We’ve had all the work we could want since we moved here. We were lucky enough that when we got here, we made a name for ourselves," he says.
"There are people that don’t want to see cover bands. They think it’s a cop-out or a sell out and want to see original music. And then there are those people that like to see a band and like to hear songs they know at the same time."
And the best part is that everyone gets to have fun.
"We love to play music and see people having a good time. If you’re getting a few bucks thrown in for what you love to do, then all the better," said Grescha. "I believe there is a scene for cover bands.
"I’ll just quote Dirk Diggler and say we just wanna keep on rockin’ and rollin’. That’s all – just to keep on doing what we’re doing and have fun. It won’t be forever and it may only be for a while longer. Who knows? To be able to have done this and to continue, I am grateful." |
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