If you’ve been following LG 104.3FM's vanCOVER then you know that they’ve called on local artists to record covers of songs from the 70’s or 80’s which have influenced them as musicians, and the winners so far have been amazing.
Each month a jury selects a 1st place winner who receives $5,000 and a 2nd place who receives $1,000, and throughout the year a number of live showcases featuring the winners will be held that you can (and should) attend.
Here’s Fake Shark’s version of Prince’s Kiss, April's $5,000 winner!
We asked the band’s lead singer, Kevvy “Mental” Maher to answer a few questions about this track and their influences...
How did you choose your cover song?
Well, we wanted to cover "When Doves Cry" originally, but realized we couldn't do it better than the ten year old from Romeo + Juliet, so the obvious next choice was “Kiss", since we ripped its harmonies off all over our new album anyway.
When did you first discover Prince?
The first piece of music I ever owned was a 7 inch of “Batdance", arguably the greatest song ever written about Vicky Vale, and also to feature the lyrics "shut the funk up”.
If you could perform live as one 70s or 80s band or artists, who would it be and why?
Morris Day and the Time so I could have looked at Prince on set during the filming of Purple Rain. Yes, I have purified myself in the waters of lake Minnetonka.
Has music from those decades inspired your own music, beyond this recording?
Prince is absolutely better than Michael Jackson, at least in terms of inspiring Lenny Kravitz. He's my favorite guitar player and harmonizer and his music has inspired all my music and also the bands that I love, such as Nine Inch Nails, and St. Vincent. Besides Prince, the 80s music I love is the first batch of punk bands like Misfits and Bad Brains, the new romantic stuff like The Smiths and The Cure and also the first batch of goth music, specifically
What’s coming up for you?
Ponderosa Festival in August and our new single, "Cheap Thrills”!
