Is it so hard for someone to be themselves musically?.i mean, inspiration is one thing thats beautiful, but actually living to be that person.wearing the trench coats and heels and trying to talk like prince and all that.if a musician can stop living in that realm

and be themselves if they arent lost by then. can actually do well without the whole impersonation jazz. like i said this isnt to bait flames, but merely an observation by one man who has seen alot of that stuff.

Hi Finess,

I respect impersonators for what they do but there is undoubtedly some 'fineline' that people often cross. There are many great artists out there that all come from the same ilk, names don't need to be mentioned when I say that influence and inspiration are the essence of musical progression...to go full-hog and impersonate an artist is exactly that, impersonation, rather than artistry. Without getting all wanky and spiritual about it, my definition of art is the use of internal emotional drives and often allegories extracted from memory in order to interpret an experience or event using actions that retain (from a subjective viewpoint at least).

Someone who digs stockings, high-heels, and onstage masturbation, might not necessarilly fit into this catergory. Especially if their stage name happens to be Prince, but their real name is John Smith. Personally, I don't think it's so hard to be yourself musically, it's just hard to be both yourself AND good. If you want your art to be appreciated, then it can be hard to carve from your own personality the ideas you want to express without relying on the methods used by those you admire. But that is probably the key to the whole thing - stick with the methods employed by your influences, and NOT their results. Every artist is influenced by another, but maybe the secret to becoming individual is not necessarily create new methods, but to never betray your own personality.

There are times when I would try and sing like Prince, or any of the guy's from P-Funk, and although on occassion I hold the notes, I always end up cringing and think "hey this aint me! there were PERSONAL reasons why Pricne sang like that!"

I think that for most it takes time before you're comfortable with how you express yourself musically (like life in general I'm such a philosopher...)...


That's what I think anyway.

It's like a flame to a moth man. You spend 10 years getting your shingding together, you record a few records, you be yourself, and few people get you.

But dress up like your hero, who you've been emulating already all this time, and the less-musical folks couldn't care less, they'll dig what you're doing, and be appreciative, but, the downside is that you'll lose what you were chasing.

Take for instance, our man Dreamfirstborn, Jew, HRH Gregory Is Alive, etc. HERE is a good example. This guy (guys?) is/are DEFINITELY heavily influenced by Prince, and, could, I would dare say, put on a pretty convincing Prince show if he/they wanted to. But instead, he sticks to what he's doing... so, without the Prince-tag on his shirt, folks don't exactly get what he's going for, but bless the guy, he's sticking to it and pushing it.

On the flipside is our guy Julian... again, equally talented and inventive, (and I'm GUESSING from here on) but at some point, pushing his own, Prince-inspired music didn't have the impact he was hoping for.

I mean, come on, Purple Rain is a HARD SELL on being who you want to be and stepping out on a stage in front of HUNDREDS of freaks who get you right away.

But so, sure, on a whim one day, you throw on the duds, play the songs and folks go from uninterested to throwing an old-school-dance party right in front of you.

Same crap happens to me - I play my shit, folks dig it sort of, I throw out a Stevie Ray Vaughan song and folks all get up and dance and scream and love that crap.

The difference is that once I have them up and jamming, I'll switch back over to my shit, and STAY on my shit. The SRV, or Prince, or whatever, is just bait.

But man, when you see how EASY it is to win over a crowd playing somebody else's stuff, it's HARD to go back to just pushing your own stuff. So I can understand WHY someone would get that far into the Tribute.

As always, it's all just my pinion.

MaggotBrain said:

Great points! I like what you said about the methods and not the results. That is right on. We all have our influences, of course, but the point is to not go overboard. That puts people off.

"Never betray your own personality", thats very true too MB! That's a really good way to think about it, not necessarily creating new methods. So it's just a change in focus. Instead of thinking "how am I going to stand out", just think "how am I going to be me". Which brings most of us to the life-long question "Who the funk am I?"

Ah, being comfortable with how you express yourself. That's what I'm going through right now. I think the best thing is when this all happens naturally. Your style just develops, and always should develop.

Right now I'm working on some new stuff that (I feel) is pretty different than what I've put out for you guys to listen to. I feel like I'm developing my personal style and my confidence, particularly with my singing.

I always noticed how much easier it was to sing Prince, Tori or Duran Duran songs. When I sang my own I didn't have as much feeling or depth to my voice. I always wondered why that was. I'm still not sure exactly, but I think it has to do with the confidence and the attitude and a tribal/collective consciousness kinda thing. The songs that are already established have a lot of energy attached to them. I think that's whay Otan is talking about too, that's why people get up and dance when you play covers.

Otan & MB, I agree.

If you look at some of the greats, most (not all) started off by doing covers. People want to hear music they know and not all songs they don't recognize. That's it at it's basic level.

A lot of the time covers turn into originals because of playing them over and over, one tends to find other songs in them or do their own take on it.

As a musician, the goal of being influenced by an artist is to take it to another level. Your own, individual level. People here (examples given above) in my opinion, have really done that.

yes yes yes i understand all that, but my whole thing is,people who stay in that realm and cant get out of the bubble they create,believing they are someone else dig?.. i dont think thats Julian's case but it can surely get there if it keeps going. just an observation as for Jew?... dont get me started LOL. we've been there before

I'm just saying, DFBJ is a one-of-a-kind. Like his stizzyle or not - he's DEFINITELY in his own realm.

otan said:

i dont doubt that for a second, trust me i know the cat

Finess said:

This is called dillusional, it takes therapy and/or medication to fix this condition.

Slave2daGroove said:

co-sign

it's great to have people that influences you but remember be yourself ..sometime it's best to be a leader and not a follower.

I am influenced by my mentors, but I do have my own style. I am waaay more political than others in my music, because music is where I express it the most. I have tried in the real world, and it only gets people pissed off at you an calling you anti-American, so I don't do that. Also, I was carved from the same mold as other P-Funk and MPLS artists, and as far as being funky, I was born that way. So, I decided to me a leader in a music revolution. Finess, to some, making music that sounds like their mentors comes natural. It's when a person actually TRIES to look and act like their mentors is when it gets scary. I don't look or act like my mentors, but musically, my style is alot like my mentors. And, because of my upbringing and life, the music is me naturally.


Peace,
JD

In short...

U 'wannabe' a bar band or do you want to cut your own sylistic path. Simple as that. I understand influences but when U emulate what U think is your own style to others as a cover band or tribute artist - that's where U gonna stay.

And it's the same with Artists of ALL kinds.
[This message was edited Wed Aug 13 19:13:55 PDT 2003 by Red]

I think I got a different spin, perception of this...Remember about 6 months ago I called out alot of you for just copying/emulating/butcherying the "Prince" sound. And not having a original sound. And, after getting more familiar with the music you guys play-I found that most of you guys are eclectic artful minded folks who love Prince because of his "artful-ness"...& when it comes down to it-u all can play. (here's my spin) I'm not the most talented musician, i favor mood, experimentation & emotion over technical talent...In a nutshell I WISH I WAS TALENTED ENOUGH TO PLAY PRINCE SONGS & COVERS BUT I'M NOT. So, if u can do it more power to u...shit is hard

Hear me at
http://artists.mp3s.com/a...teele.html

Nero