After winning accolades for best local rock band, Led Zeppelin tribute group Custard Pie may just be calling it quits.
The band formed three years ago and last played Asheville’s Downtown After Five in August. They cancelled a recent Stella Blue gig, but due to a mixup with Club owners, some fans showed up expecting a concert. In a bulletin posted on their MySpace page, bassist David Connor Jones apologized for the mishap and offered this information on the group’s current situation:
“On November 5th … our guitarist [Woody Wood] decided to leave the band to focus on his own musical career with his original band, Hollywood Red. We all understand and respect Woody’s decision to pursue his dream full time. … Our bass player will be playing with Scott Sharpe’s rockabilly project, Crackerjack. … As for Custard Pie, no one really knows. We may reunite once in a blue moon to do a show here in Asheville — or some of us may form an alternate project — or it may very well be that our last show was Downtown After 5 in August. Can’t really say at this point in time.”
Should Custard Pie reform and serve up some more Zeppelin, or is it time for Asheville to part ways with one of its favorite cover acts?
—Alli Marshall, A&E reporter
thanks for the update! ashvegas hinted that Woody would be moving on in this August post.
Ashvegas: You know, Woody left us once before. He moved to New Orleans a few years back for like five minutes. Guess that old Asheville curse keeps him coming back.
The band won’t admit it, but I’m sure that they’ve got to be tired doing Zep songs over and over. And considering that they have great original material themselves, it might be a little frustrating.
marc
Figures a great tribute band would break up shortly before Led Zeppelin reunites.
I still really can’t figure out why people bother with tribute bands. I can see why one would play in a tribute band. The classics are fun songs to play, creative workload is light, and you would have no shortage of gigs at the Wild Wing Cafe (maybe that’s not such a great perk). But why the heck do people shell out money to see their record collections acted out before them?
And yes, I am really asking why. Someone please tell me.
Green
I think it is important to see this band before you label it as just a “tribute band”. To my knowledge they have never played the Wild Wing Cafe (probably have not even been there as a patron). This group is comprised of 4 great musicians that truly rock your socks off, people love to rock out to music that they are familiar with and Led Zeppelin truly fits that bill. I agree that people dressing up like KISS and spitting blood on the audience can be cheesy, but if you have an opportunity to see this band you will realize the beauty of a band that plays songs that you recognize with such verve and there own special “twist”
Green is the new Green asks:
“I still really can’t figure out why people bother with tribute bands. I can see why one would play in a tribute band. The classics are fun songs to play, creative workload is light, ….But why the heck do people shell out money to see their record collections acted out before them?”
I like fresh original music but I also enjoy familiar classics by cover bands when done well.
Why?
a)the same reason I like to hear Bach/Beethoven/Mozart symphonies redone…a good song stands the test of time…and if you pay attention, you can hear something new each time you listen to it.
b)nostalgia…old classics (from bands like LZ) remind me of my carefree youth
c)Custard Pie puts on a great show…fun to listen to, fun to watch, fun to feel the vibrations….but I do normally have to wear earplugs for CP.
I really have a hard time dealng with cover songs, unless they are rearrangements of some sort. I’m into music for the creative aspect of it. I like to see and hear people displaying their own art.
Granted, in times gone by, playing other people’s material was a common and untainted part of live music. Jazz musicians used to play each other’s songs on stage and record. And where would roots music be without it’s wide and far reaching collective songbook?
And yeah, maybe Custard Pie are a bad example of this, since they are obviously not trying to look and act like Zep. But still. I can’t help but think that the tribute band trend is a bad one for music, musicians and fans. Most music that makes it to the radio seems to be rehash styles from decades past. And little of that music can be heard, because “classics” dominate the airwaves. So bands that spend an evening re-enacting famous music from a single band are, to me, just one more roadblock to new music being heard.
But whatever. Play some Skynard!
Good Points Green….
You’re absolutely right about the creative artistic merits of original music.
Most of my own musical enjoyment comes from going out to live shows by local Asheville bands playing their own original music….and other than Custard Pie, I rarely listen to cover bands (at least not in the Rock genre).
But on occaision it’s nice to hear something familiar and nostalgic…..something I can sing along to.
Regarding the airwaves, I agree that you’re not likely to hear much originality there …..although I enjoy WNCW’s mix.
Yeah, and it’s a shame, because sometimes, I forget to bring my iPod with me. And I like WNCW for the most part as well, but their over-eager singer-songwriter and newgrass-centric playlists usually drive me away before too long.
Someday, I hope to be able to listen to internet radio on the go. When that happens, I’ll permanently tune in to KEXP in Seattle, and listen in bliss until I grow old, or the Martians take over and kill us all. If you’ve never checked that radio station out, you really should. Especially their morning show. I’ve learned about so many great bands from that station.
Green, you should check out Asheville’s own WPVM at 103.5 FM. Tons of cool music shows, along with some decent news/talk programs. There’s a schedule on their website at http://www.wpvm.org
I have, but someone is usually yapping whenever I’ve happened to tune in. I guess that is the “decent” talk portion that you’re referring to.
Talk radio, both the left and the right varieties, are routinely boring and self-absorbed. Blowhards having arguments with themselves, and trying to pass it off as an open public forum? Thanks, but no. And I won’t wait through it for snippets of music, either.
So, because you’ve tuned into the station and didn’t care for the talk you’re going to dismiss the music shows without even giving them a chance?
Try tuning in when it’s all music and no talk, each night at 9pm. It’s not the singer/songwriter, jam band crap you’ll hear on WNCW and it’s nothing like any other station in the area. Not in the least. I’d given up on radio until I heard WPVM.
A cover band won “best local rock band”? Oh, the humanity!
I’ll give it a shot.
Hey Flux,
I checked your station out yesterday. Only a little because I was busy, but nonetheless.
You were right. A very wide selection of music. Still had a lot of singer-songwriter stuff, particularly in the morning. But there are a lot of people here that like that style, so there you go.
I’ll definitely check it out again. KEXP is still my favorite, though.
Disappointed I never got to see this great band!!! It brings to mind how crucial every member of the original LZ was…
I saw Led Zeppelin in concert at the Charlotte Coliseum in 1970. It was one of most amazing musical experiences of my life. During their performance I’ll never forget once I had to make a quick trip down to the restroom and could still hear/feel the vibrations of their music resonating through the concrete walls. I wouldn’t want to hear any other band try to play their music.
Maybe it’s time to move to New Jersey. Custard Pie is just getting started up here and fans who experienced Zep in the 70s are coming out to every show due to the group’s surreal live experience that is reminiscent of Zeppelin’s earlier years.
http://custard-pie.com/
http://myspace.com/njcustardpieband