well, hell, what is orchestral music except an attempt to recreate a
piece of music note-for-note?
I find it interesting, even exhilarating, to try to recreate old styles
of playing in a live situation. We just did a new Kimmie Rhodes/Joe
Sears play called "Hillbilly Heaven" in which we used a bunch of old
country songs, and I was the acoustic rhythm player in the band, and
doing old Hank Williams and Lefty and Bob Wills and Cline stuff is truly
a gas when you try to do it the real way. It can also be very
instructive to try to recreate a style of playing, like Western Swing or
Ray Price Shuffle, because it is usually a humbling experience. (There
is nothing more terrible than a badly played shuffle. Bands who play
them badly should be executed.)
However, if I were making a record and using old material I think I
would be forced to do something new with it for the simple reason that
it has already been done that way once, well, and I just don't
understand parroting old stuff.
--
Joe Gracey
President-For-Life, Jackalope Records
http://www.kimmierhodes.com
