Saturday, June 5, 2010

The Long Players: The Music Version of Fan Fiction

Fan fiction is a story written by a fan about favorite characters created by someone else. Some of the most popular fan fiction on the web expands on the worlds of Harry Potter and Star Trek. I have heard editors at writers’ conferences say they have found authors through fan fiction sites, loved their writing and signed them. But I think most fan fiction writers do it because they love the original characters and want to spend more time with them.

There is a band in Nashville that does something I consider to be a form of fan fiction for the classic rock album. But The Long Players are not newbies starting out. They are extremely talented, successful Nashville musicians who love classic rock. They perform one album (Long Play album) on a semi-monthly basis start to finish, with rotating vocalists stepping up to the mike. At a show, you can hear famous musicians and some you’ve never heard of, but they’re all fantastic.


Last night, I attended The Long Player’s 40th show where they played U2’s The Joshua Tree album, one of my favorites so far. For history and videos of past shows and info on upcoming dates, visit their site here.