Demos -- Writer's Poke #205

While this isn’t necessarily a major trend in the music world, it is an interesting trend in the music world that matters most to me: mine.

Over the past year or so, some of musicians I enjoy have started releasing demo material from the archives. First it was Winger, which released Demo Anthology. Instead of simply releasing a greatest hits collection, Kip and the boys gave us something special: a two-disc collection of some of our favorite songs – in a way that we hadn’t heard them previously. Different lyrics for some songs, different arrangements... awesome.

Next came Stryper with The Roxx Regime Demos. These are demos of the songs we would come to know on The Yellow and Black Attack.

Finally, Lisa Loeb re-released The Purple Tape, which first came out in 1992 -- originally not on a major label, and in cassette tape form only.

What is so cool about demos? They’re raw; producers haven’t over-polished the music; and what we get to hear is the artist’s intensity, passion, and potential.

If you cut a demo to represent your life, what would you include?

"We get sweaty , 14-year-old boy's demo CDs, ... and no panties." -- Chris Shiflett

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