Dan Lavery on GYOW and Covers

[michelej1]

This is an excerpt from an article about covers:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/eonline/2009..._top_eo/129553

Royalties are usually the responsibility of the venue hosting the event, but as for why singers do covers in the first place, I turn now to a member of the respected band Tonic...

...Which is currently back in full force, ending each show with a cover of "You Can Go Your Own Way" by Fleetwood Mac.

"The decision for us to cover that song was based on the feeling we get whenever we hear it," bassist Dan Lavery tells me. "Everybody has a feeling they get when they hear a certain song that really touches them in a way, and we hope it translates to the audience."

"When you cover a song, you are actually saying a lot about yourself or your band," Lavery continues. "Someone in my band suggested a cover that I laughed at because it would be saying that I liked that song, and I don't. I said he ought to do it solo acoustic without us."

So do artists tell each other when they're covering each others' tunes? Not really. Think about it.

"If everyone who is playing one of their songs called them, they would be on the phone all day for the rest of their lives," Lavery points out.

Speaking of being on the phone all day, I'm always working on answering another one of your reader questions! Got one for me? Twitter it to @answerbitch.