![RECOMMENDED These are tough times for bands. It’s increasingly difficult to get people to come out to hear original music; and yet there’s something kind of déclassé—even camp—about tribute bands that keeps them from serious consideration. While audiences seem wary about risking an evening on the unproven new material of even the most established ensemble, they seem even more averse to paying a hefty cover to hear a ragtag collection of R.E.M. and Prince’s greatest hits. With that in mind, the strategy adopted by the band Great Moments in Vinyl is ingenious: it doesn’t cover songs—it covers albums. If there’s a point on which otherwise contentious music critics agree, it’s that the classic LPs of the past six decades aren’t just happenstance collections of successful songs, they’re cohesive statements that provide both singular artistic vision and attendant catharsis. It’s the reason you can’t just jumble up the song order on “Sgt. Pepper” or “Exile On Main Street;” they’re strategically programmed to lead you through a singular experience and deposit you on the other side, at least marginally altered. . . . . I recently dropped in on a Great Moments in Vinyl gig at Martyrs’, when the band was slamming its way through Led Zeppelin’s “Physical Graffiti.” Martyrs’ is a fairly large club, and not only was the floor packed, the mood was jubilant. [An excerpt from Robert Rodi's review in New City of our Led Zeppelin/ Physical Graffiti tribute.]](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/568862b040667a386916f74b/t/5b11840e352f53d34b4063a8/1527874583425/Screen+Shot+2018-06-01+at+12.34.25+PM.jpeg)
RECOMMENDED
These are tough times for bands. It’s increasingly difficult to get people to come out to hear original music; and yet there’s something kind of déclassé—even camp—about tribute bands that keeps them from serious consideration. While audiences seem wary about risking an evening on the unproven new material of even the most established ensemble, they seem even more averse to paying a hefty cover to hear a ragtag collection of R.E.M. and Prince’s greatest hits.
With that in mind, the strategy adopted by the band Great Moments in Vinyl is ingenious: it doesn’t cover songs—it covers albums. If there’s a point on which otherwise contentious music critics agree, it’s that the classic LPs of the past six decades aren’t just happenstance collections of successful songs, they’re cohesive statements that provide both singular artistic vision and attendant catharsis. It’s the reason you can’t just jumble up the song order on “Sgt. Pepper” or “Exile On Main Street;” they’re strategically programmed to lead you through a singular experience and deposit you on the other side, at least marginally altered.
. . . .
I recently dropped in on a Great Moments in Vinyl gig at Martyrs’, when the band was slamming its way through Led Zeppelin’s “Physical Graffiti.” Martyrs’ is a fairly large club, and not only was the floor packed, the mood was jubilant.
[An excerpt from Robert Rodi's review in New City of our Led Zeppelin/Physical Graffiti tribute.]
Broadcast August 25, 2016
WGN Radio's Nick Digilio talks with aerin tedesco, Debbie Kaczynski, and William Lindsey Cochran
June 29, 2016
XRT's Ryan Arnold gets what Great Moments in Vinyl is all about!
Broadcast June 28, 2016
Nick Digilio talks with Steve Dawson, Alton Smith, and William Lindsey Cochran
June 2, 2016
Thanks to XRT's Ryan Arnold for giving our Van Morrison show a mention on the air!
Broadcast May 10, 2016
Nick Digilio talks with Judith Weirauch, Richard Pettengill, and William Lindsey Cochran
Broadcast March 18, 2016
Nick Digilio talks with aerin tedesco, Andrea Bunch, and William Lindsey Cochran
February 23, 2016
XRT Morning Show host Lin Brehmer mentioned our show this evening! Woo-hoo!
February 4, 2016
Publisher, author, and media critic for The Illinois Entertainer Rick Kaempfer put a few questions to Great Moments in Vinyl founder William Lindsey Cochran (aka Bill Cochran). Make the jump here for the full interview.
January 29, 2016
While backselling a Tom Petty track, XRT's Frank E. Lee gives a shout out to Great Moments in Vinyl.
Broadcast December 8, 2015
Nick Digilio talks with John Mead, James Tomasello, and William Lindsey Cochran
Broadcast October 22, 2015
Nick Digilio talks with William Lindsey Cochran
Broadcast September 10, 2015
Nick Digilio talks with Judith Weirauch, Richard Pettengill, and William Lindsey Cochran
Broadcast May 8, 2015
Nick Digilio talks with aerin tedesco, Richard Pettengill, and William Lindsey Cochran.
Header photo by Bob Kessler