craigb
Danny Danzi
Why on earth would I need to show someone I'm mad when in fact, I'm bursting with happiness?
I keep getting reminded of THIS commercial. LOL! 
(Man Danny, I'd love to see you play sometime. If you ever get a gig out in the Pacific Northwest let me know!)
Hahaha! I must have watched that vid like 5 times in a row Craig!! Thanks for sharing. :)
We may just end up in your neck of the woods...some good things in the works for our little cover band and traveling. I'll keep you posted. In the meantime, I'll see if I can dig up some good vids for you. :)
Starise: yeah I believe it's all a ploy with most of these guys. You know...they really play into the "entertainment business" part. Speaking of that...and I've been beat up and impaled for saying this.....but...*gulp* I love that Pat Boone CD. LOL! Here's why.....(like you really want to know why eh? lol)
I tried to listen to the stuff as a first timer. Like, if we had never heard the real versions of those songs, it's pretty easy to see/hear how they may have been appreciated for the folks that are into that Pat Boone style of music. The other things that totally blew me away.....the arrangements. Seriously listen to the changes with the whole jazz thing going on. Someone had to put some serious time into coming up with those arrangements based on the original versions. Those horn sections are madness in a good way....some of the walking bass lines are off the hook. There's just so much incredible musicianship going on in those songs, I can't NOT like them.
I really think there are moments of brilliance. Enter Sandman for example.....if you never heard the original....or could forget about it and think about what was going on in the years of Pat...this is pretty awesome. The same with Crazy Train. Or how about the riff in Holy Diver? This stuff would be considered ground-breaking if those were the original versions of the songs during Pat's time.
Sort of like when David Lee Roth put that fiddle band together doing all the old VH songs......"Strumming with the Devil". Here's a song you'll know...and probably hate. LOL!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Olk8rZmlhY4 Ok, it's different...but if you're a musician that can forget the original stuff that tries to appreciate new directions....you come to appreciate the other elements that are quite crafty from a "producer/arranger" perspective. Listen to that banjo and the fiddle work. Impressive no matter what. The worst thing I hate about a cover of a cover is when it sounds nearly identical to the original. You gotta give Pat and Dave a little credit for totally giving us sometrhing different...well, ok, you don't, but I felt the need to. LOL!
Now that said....from the other side of the coin...after hearing the original versions of these tunes.....if I listen like most of us would, I throw up repeatedly, want to smack them for doing such horrendous versions and am in the same boat with the majority of people. BUT....being in the business I'm in, personal bias is what can ruin a listening experience and in turn, you can miss out on some really cool things. For example...when my VH tribute band does "Jump" I now do the "noo oh oh" harmony with my singer in the verse which was stolen from the fiddle version. :) So I'm glad I didn't totally poo poo the idea....even though at first, I did vomit 3 times in a row. :)
-Danny