(Re)production

“Its a pretty good crowd for a Saturday, And the manager gives me a smile cause he knows that it’s me they’ve been comin’ to see, To forget about life for a while.” —Billy Joel

While philosophers, psychologists, and sociologists may differ in their approach, most can agree on a common characteristic of humanity: we are mimicking animals. The only reason we are alive is because of our ability to copy the actions of those around us. It is only after we are conditioned and learn a system of behavior and language that we begin to create. Art is born in the void between (re)production and creation.

Our fascination with mimicking is most evident in our desire to (re)produce other peoples music. It is that same desire that possesses you to belt well seasoned lyrics when a favorite song comes on the radio in your car. It’s also the same reason my roommate sings in the shower. When talent, catchy melodies, and great lyrics combine their forces, there really is little we can do to resist them. So for all the Rockband-wannabe-rockstars, the Wednesday night karaoke crew at Betty’s, and the starstruck-American Idol-auditioners, I think it’s time Rise Over Run covers the cover artist.

It’s Tuesday, half past ten, on the dusty corner of 13th and College. Beyond the bar, through the cloud of cigarette smoke, and pass the girls waiting in line for the bathroom, a carnivalesque keyboard comes to life as a minstrel (re)produces Billy Joel’s classic Piano Man into Froggy’s beer stained microphone.

I had a chance to meet local cover artist, Chris Howe, before he took the limelight. Chris stumbled upon Bowling Green in the Fall of 2005 as a student at Western Kentucky University. Pianist, guitarist, and vocalist, Chris has been playing music for as long as he can remember. Howe has come quite a long way since his first cover ever, Elton John’s The Circle of Life from Disney’s The Lion King.

Becoming a ‘cover artist’ was never in his long term plan, “it just kinda happened” said Howe. He started off as the opening act for Travis Dukes and Jay Smith on Bongos at State Street. At that point, he was just playing his keyboard. He eventually added lyrics and his guitar to the mix.

He began singing what Howe described as “crowd-pleasers.”

“Tiny Dancer, Piano Man, Wagon Wheel, and a whole lot of Ben Folds Five,” composed his initial line up.

Considering the local success he had, we thought our readers might be interested in what goes into preparing for a show. We asked Chris to discuss his particular process of learning new music,

“Sometimes I cheat,” admits Howe. “Every now and then I go online and find the chords, that’s definitely the easiest way.”

However, most songs are not so readily available online. Howe had to (re)produce a majority of the songs he plays on his own.

“I listen to a song. Hear a chord. Hit pause. Find it on my keyboard. Then do the same thing for the next note. Then I repeat the process over and over again until I have it down.”

“Some songs are easier than others. Wagon Wheel was really easy to learn.”

“There’s A Good Reason These Tables Are Numbered Honey, You Just Haven’t Thought Of It Yet, by Panic at the Disco is a great song, but it has taken me over a month and I still don’t have it down.”

“Some songs are just more difficult and take a little bit more time than others,” said Howe.

When it comes to choosing the right line up, Howe is obviously limited by the songs in his repertoire. But reshuffling the line up every week is hardly all that goes into his decision of what and when to play on any given Tuesday.

Howe believes, “The audience is everything.”

“It totally depends on the audience. You really have to get a feel for what they getting in to and just go with it,” Howe declares. “You have to have a healthy balance. I have to mix in songs that people know and like to sing a long to, with songs that I want to play.”

Howe has an internal dialectic going on between what he wants to play and what he describes as “lame ass radio songs” that he needs to play to keep the crowd going.

For Howe, “one of my favorite things is getting a chance to introduce people to new music, it’s a chance for them to get beyond the songs they are familiar with.”

Howe is confident he has something for everyone.

“There is always that guy sitting at a table in the corner who is too cool to engage the show, even if everyone in his group is having a good time. Sometime it takes a little bit, but I can always find a song that at least gets him to nod his head to the beat.” Howe exclaims with a smile.

When asked about his ideal audience, Howe was quick to respond with: “I live for the audiences that start singing along, dancing, and going crazy, it definitely influences my performance.”

You can catch Howe’s weekly spectacle every Tuesday night around 10:30pm at Froggy’s, at least for now. His local cover gig is far from the light at the end of the tunnel.

“I plan to take this as far as I can go with it. This is my life and I love it,” Howe muses. “I can’t wait until the day that someone is doing covers of my music, singing my lyrics, and playing my progressions.”

That day shouldn’t be far off. When you think about it, a cover artist is not much different from most national headliners. Most big money acts do not write their own lyrics. They rarely play an instrument and a majority of them do not compose their own music. Most songs come from independent songwriters who funnel them through a bureaucracy of mangers, agents, and executives. Only much later somewhere down the line do you get a top billboard hit.

When it comes down to it, we are attracted to talent. And talent, Chris Howe has.

So, I guess I’ve just got one question to ask you Chris…

Man, what are you doin here?

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