One of the side-tracks of the "Billy Sherwood" discussion is quite deserving of its own thread, I think. Viz:
I can totally see this happening, and even more, I don't think it's even in the not-so-distant future. There are already plenty of ensembles at the college level doing this. I did it myself with a group I directed at a community college some years ago. I think it's great, and has a lot to offer young musicians in a completely different way than groups oriented around a jazz composer. There, the focus is on developing improvisational skills, whereas the repertoire of progressive rock develops skills closer to the classical mindset, of playing more complex, lengthy, compositions and trying to recreate them faithfully. Some might not think that's a great idea:
Now, I realize I'm taking Facelift's quote out-of-context, but I think the thought applies here (please forgive me and let me know if I'm wrong, Facelift). My opinion is that it is a good thing for young musicians to be doing, at least in part. After all, what band doesn't start out playing covers to some extent? It's all about the quality of the music you're covering, and how convincingly you put it across. Why not start by covering something of quality and doing it well?
At any rate, I thought it might make for an interesting discussion. Other opinions?
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