Under the Covers by Josh Lehman
W
e have a metaphysical relationship with music. It marks and influences moments in our lives; helping to form them now and recall them later. One of my favorite quotes on the topic comes from former Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony and was featured prominently on the back of the CD longbox my copy of 1984 came in when I was 13 years old. He said, “It’s about what everyone feels on a Friday or Saturday night. You come home from work or school, you have your bath, you shave, you jump in your car, you pick up your girlfriend and you’re gonna have a good time. Well, with Van Halen, every night’s a Saturday night.” To this day, whenever I hear a David Lee Roth-era Van Halen tune it brings back all those Friday and Saturday nights and the memories those songs helped to form. We all love having that same feeling and a good time, but this town also loves its comfort and familiarity. This is why when you go out to a bar that features live entertainment, most of the time you will see a cover band on stage instead of an original band. Cover bands are the aural equivalent of comfort food. The songs they play are often ones the crowd knows and loves. It may be a song they haven’t heard for awhile or an interesting interpretation of a classic, but covers engage an audience and allow them to sing and dance and just enjoy themselves because they already know the words or rhythm and can lose themselves in that. Those songs are just comfortable and familiar. The Topeka area boasts a number of great musicians, a fair number of which write and perform their own songs. The catch-22 of original songs is that unless the audience has already seen or heard the original artists before they have to actively listen to the music and determine whether they like it or not and will continue to listen and support it, whereas with a cover band they can actively or passively listen and participate knowing full well that this song or the next one may be one they already love or know by heart. It’s all up to the listener and what mood he or she is in at the moment. Whether you’re looking for something comfortable and familiar or something original and thought provoking, it’s all readily available to you. So next time you go out, please support local and regional musicians and Topeka bars and clubs by taking in a show.
some of the cover bands playing in and around Topeka include:
Faces 4 Radio rock (heavy)
Villains Dance 1970s-1980s rock + metal
Blind Date 1960s-1980s rock + roll
The Groove Pilots rock, funk + blues
The Buzz 1960s-1990s top 40 + classic rock
Chance Encounter rock, pop, country, funk, Motown + more
Jangalang 1970s-current rock, indie rock
Cyrus K rock, pop, country
NuckleHead Jones 1980s pop and rock
Hellbent rock and metal
Platinum Express Funk, soul, Motown, R&B
Simply Driven Rock, hard rock, southern rock + metal
The Trants 80s, 90s + 00s that you love to dance to
Revolver 1970s-current guitar rock
Swift Kick Rock + blues
Top City Ramblers Country
* This is not a comprehensive list of cover bands playing in Topeka. Bands come and go like the Kansas weather. This is, however, a list of some of our favorite cover bands or those who have some longevity.