presents one of our “related bands” —
The Kansas City Symphony
Their story, as recalled by Leo Eilts:
Marvin has been playing with the Kansas City Symphony ever since I've known
him, since the summer of 1986.
Additional notes by our webmaster:
The Mob does these covers just as if the songwriter's right there with them. But that's the problem. You see, the songwriter's almost always a dead guy, so the audience often acts like it's at a funeral home and, well, you get the picture …
On the other hand, when Spontane does a cover of the same tune, it's more like the guy's there …alive… and jamming with them.
Both bands tune up real well and know how to hit the right notes, but Marvin just seems to be having a whole lot more fun doing these tunes with Spontane than with The Mob. However, since The Mob books more gigs, they pay him better than Spontane ever thought of. Besides that, the checks don't bounce as often.
Leo didn't write as much about this “Spontane-related band” as he did about the others, giving me a chance to insert my 2¢.
Although others may call them The Kansas City Symphony, those of us who are Spontaneous Combustion fans know them better as “Marvin's Other Band”. We'll just call them M.O.B. or The Mob to save space.
In certain respects, The Mob is pretty good for a cover band. They practice a lot even if they don't jam much. As with any cover band, it's important to choose the right songwriters to cover. The Mob is really good at this. The songwriters they cover usually never got around to coming up with lyrics, but they make up for this by writing some of the catchiest fiddle tunes you've ever heard. In fact, the tunes are so catchy that Spontane has “borrowed” a few of them and found that they really get the crowd going. That's why you'll find three of them on the group's last two CD's.
Now that the webmaster has inserted his opinion, it's time to hear “The Other Side of the Story”
The other side of the story
(Click above to accept the invitation.)