Whinersmusic

I saw Supertramp June 12 and loved them.  

I'm sad, of course, we didn't get Roger Hodgson together with the band (and of course Dougie Thompson as well on bass). Still, the band was great with John Helliwell and Bob Siebenberg from the classic line up still around.  Rick Davies plays amazing and they all looked great too. Well worth the ticket.

Roger Hodgson is quoted as being disappointed too he wasn't a part of this 40 year anniversary tour. He's also pissed that the band is playing his material. There was an agreement on the breakup apparently that Supertramp could carry on but not play Roger material.  That's a tough one since a lot of the great stuff was Hodgson penned and you can just see how much pressure there would be to do the material.

That's one way of looking at it.

Another way would be for the band to announce up front there is an agreement and they wouldn't be playing Hodgson material at all - they could even do it as a tribute of sorts to their former bandmate and just simply, out of respect, say that's the way it is.

Something like: "We love Roger and his material but in deference to his wishes, we won't be playing the songs he presented while with us. Long live Roger and God bless Supertramp."  Then kick into Cannoball or Rudy or Goodbye Stranger or a host of others.

I think that would work as the non-Roger material is very, very strong and Rick Davies is simply fantastic to watch on piano. I do wish he'd talk a bit but Mr. Helliwell is a great MC. 



By dong the Hodgson material, and they do it quite well, it brings up the question in general about band break ups and material.  

There are a few examples of this with Pink Floyd being a great example of the same kind of controversy as with Supertramp. Is it OK to tour without an integral member of the band?  

Many people would say "no".  But, as a fan of both Supertramp and Floyd, I would argue that there is merit on coming around and playing material without all the members - whether it be losing a member to death or other less dramatic "departures".

Here's another example: Even when it comes to Creedence Clearwater Revistied (minus John Fogarty) there is some merit in the other guys playing the material they toured with back in the day - they are a very strong rhythm section and show some chops - not their fault they didn't do the vocals is it? They did provide the bottom end. There were four of them, one dead and one who left. That leaves the two other guys.  Is it legit to tour the songs?

I guess you have to draw the line somewhere. And perhaps bands with only one original member (or someone who played at some point in the band) - who never wrote or sang the material - going out as the band, well, that could be a deal breaker right there!  The Guess Who has that happening right now - minus everyone but the original bass player.

I'm going to just leave the dude nameless here since it really is a bit deceptive and quasi-product being flogged in this case.  

Call it a cover band with the original bassist if you like but it's really stretching it to say it's the Guess Who.

Another thing of annoyance to Hodgson is the fact the Supertramp tour is using Hodgson's image and songs as part of promo for the tour - or at least they did in Europe last year when they returned to the arena.  Not sure what the case is with the Guess Who but if you hear Burton Cumming's voice on a promo for a Guess Who tour coming to town you would naturally expect him to be with the band right?

That seems like bad form but is it the venue that is to blame or the band? If people come expecting to get a Hodgson version of Supertramp, they could well be very disappointed too. It comes down to what you expect, care about and how good the gig is I guess. Or am I way off with this?

Back to Supertramp.  I watched the crowd simply get off on the music - dancing and just pure joy.  I think that's a key message right there.  Roger Waters once said of touring while the Gilmour lead Floyd was also touring: "I'm out there competing with myself every night and losing".  

Sometimes the brand is bigger than anything else! 

There's a lesson in there somewhere for all of us into making music.  

The Whiners has had a few incarnations before locking into the Jamie/Keith duo. It saddens me sometimes that all of the talent involved before, for one reason or another, just didn't make it as a unit.  

Of course, we haven't had any hits per se to have the same problem as Floyd or Supertramp. But, now that we are releasing material, it would be very hard to leave out a Keith penned or Jamie penned song on a set list if forced to change members.

I hope that doesn't happen and, since we are unlikely to get on the road with a full band, well, maybe it will never be a problem.

That leads me to Lord Stanley or, more specifically the Stanley Cup.  As I write this the Boston Bruins just won and Vancouver has a burning vehicle in the middle of the streets downtown - and lots of tear gas. Reminds me of the G20 last year and we know how well that worked out.

We've been following "whiner" references on twitter for the last couple of months doing retweets on the amusing ones.  We've seen lots of accusations made to both teams about being "whiners". I think it was a bad series in general with poor sportsmanship by both sides. But I really think it sucks that fans would begin to vandal just because their team loses.  

Not all Vancouverites for sure, but a stupid few who now make it a double loss for the city. Loss of Civic pride and the Stanley Cup.

Suck it up and start again tomorrow. And, for heaven's sake, don't whine about it!!!!!!  Bad form simply.

Which brings me to team.  

Working in a band is a team and, even though there are only two of us in our band, we do feel very much a team.  

You used to hear the saying: "it's not whether you win or lose but how you play the game."  And also: "Did you have fun and give it your best?"

That's true for bands as well as sport.  It may be hard for Vancouver's team and fans to think about it now but, tomorrow, it will be different - or should be!  

Perhaps our next album gets dedicated to the people who can't context this kind of stuff that well: Whiners and Losers - a good album and coming soon but a very bad combo in life.

Congrats to Boston for winning the Stanley Cup and to Supertramp on 40 years .. Bloddy well right!