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I Couldn't Care Less What Cover Songs We Play. I'm a Musical Hore!!


sventvkg

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As Long As The People Dance And Party To them....SO many other musicians I know, including my heavyweight band members get caught up in wanting to do tunes they think are cool...I don't get it..It's a cover song!!!  I have my own songs that I give a **** about and get off on, I do cover stuff FOR MONEY ONLY!!! I don't want to spend unncecessary time and effort on tunes that will not kill for the benefit of band members..SORRY.  I've found out that I'm in the minority with this attitude which shocked me!! Who is with me? Discuss!

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Are you being facetious here? Aren't you the who told Grant a couple of weeks ago that you'd shoot yourself if you had to play the songs his band plays?

 

But yes, I agree with your post for the most part. A cover band is about entertaining people with music, having fun doing it, and making some money while doing so. Focus on enjoying playing the song and your performance of it and connecting it with the audience. You didn't write the song, and everybody knows that. Nobody cares if YOU think it's a good song or not.

 

But, having said that, you DO have to enjoy what you're doing, and if your dislike for the material is so strong that you just can't get past it then you just can't get past it. I would just suggest finding ways to do so if you want to be a successful cover band. Or finding other ways to have similar success with songs you do like.

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sventvkg wrote:

 

 

As Long As The People Dance And Party To them....SO many other musicians I know, including my heavyweight band members get caught up in wanting to do tunes they think are cool...I don't get it..It's a cover song!!!  I have my own songs that I give a **** about and get off on, I do cover stuff FOR MONEY ONLY!!! I don't want to spend unncecessary time and effort on tunes that will not kill for the benefit of band members..SORRY.  I've found out that I'm in the minority with this attitude which shocked me!! Who is with me? Discuss!

 

I'm somewhat with you in that I enjoy playing bass on most anything. I didn't play at all from about '83 to '03 so "missed" learning all those songs many of you hate. I just learned BEG a couple months ago LOL. Yah, a working cover band had better play what the audience wants, not what they want, if they want good gigs. Nobody wants to see a bunch of wankers playing "cool" songs that most don't know - great way to stink up the place and not get invited back.

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I'm maybe lucky in this way--- I came up in the 80s and played in a couple of very popular cover bands. It was really easy to blend what the crowds wanted to hear with what I liked because we we're all on the same page. And there were enough popular songs to choose from that we could easily find stuff to play that everyone in the band was at least OK with doing. So while still being able to play stuff I liked I was also able to learn the value and importance of putting the audience first.

 

So when, 20 years later, it became necessary to put aside my personal tastes sometimes for the needs of audience, it was much easier to do so because I had already learned all about putting the audience ahead of song choice.

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You are right Dave, I did say that to Grant. I only have to do about 5-6 tunes like that to his entire night of **** songs list:) I wouldn't enjoy it if I had to play his stuff but if It paid well enough I'd do it. My price would be at least $750/$1000 a night however:)

 

But your post does have a point so I will amend what I said and say I'll play anything as long as it's worth it financially. For a $100 club gig, I'm doing what I want. For 3-$500 a gig in my band there's some schlock but enough cool stuff. I'm can take or leave most if it:) For really bad stuff to me like hip hop laden saw synth pittbull featured party crap that a DJ should be playing my price would go up. So yes Guido, you're right..I guess there is a price.

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Yep.

 

At the end of the day, it's all about enjoyment. For me, there are three things that make doing a cover tune enjoyable---how much I enjoy playing the song; how much the audience is enjoying the song; how much am I getting paid. If I put each on a scale between 1 and 100, I figure that I can get any combination of the 3 to add up to 100, I'm doing good. Anything over 100 and I'm doing great.

 

The thing you learn pretty quickly is that if you are getting paid well, the audience MUST be really enjoying it. Because there aren't too many gigs where you get paid well to play for crowds that don't like you. So liking the material really just becomes an exercise in how much enjoyment of the material can you wedge in without negatively effecting the other two things.

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I consider myself pretty lucky in this regard.  I've come to the realization that the satisfaction I get out of playing in front of people comes from the execution rather than the material itself.  That said - I can be happy playing pretty much anything - as long as we play it well.  I'm happy that I'm wired this way - it would suck to be one of those guys who struggles to enjoy playing out because they're not happy with the material on the setlist.

I can honestly saw that I manage to find something I like about virtually every tune I play.   Sometimes, it's the way a vocal comes together, other times - it's a simple "weird" chord somewhere in the tune.  Regardless of what it is - there's always something that I look forward to each tune on the list.

I satisfy my artsy side in other ways.  I'm always working on a tune or two that I find musically stimulating as part of my personal practice routine - and have an on "again / off again" jazz project that gives me a forum to stretch out. 

I'm thankful that I can be happy in pretty much any musical context - whether it's working on material that I find musically stimulating - or simply banging out well worn classics.   It sure makes my musical life a lot less tortured!

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I don't listen to most of what we play, but I have fun playing it. I think one of my favorites is Some Kind of Wonderful. Great groove, get those 4 part harmonies going. I have a lot of fun playing. Even the country music we do, which I wouldn't be caught dead listening to. I feed off the crowd and I love a full dance floor. I make enough that its worthwhile.

 

I was in another band a few years back. We made the conscious decision to NOT play the classics. We played everything that was current at the time.

 

Matchbox 20

Refreshments

Tragically Hip

Collective Soul

Four Horsemen

The Headstones

 

Plus some stuff a bit older

 

The Cult

Black Crowes

 

We agreed that we wouldn't play as much but we were going to play what we wanted. We always went over well. Got paid well enough that it was worthwhile. But not as much as I do now.

 

To me, one cover is as good as the next. There might be a couple groaners in our set (Dreams and La Grange) but I still put on a happy face and in 3 minutes its all over.

 

 

That's what she said haha

 

:)

 

 

Wait.

 

 

:,(

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Everyone's mileage will vary, of course.   But while I usually pride myself on being able to understand other peoples' points of view on a subject, one thing I've never really been able to get is when faced with these two different scenarios:

A) Playing a cover tune you absolutely personally love to crickets.

B) Playing a cover tune you don't care for to a packed dance floor and/or huge applause

was ANYBODY would prefer A).    And when you add that B) is the path that is almost always followed up by being paid well....it's just always seemed a no-brainer to me.

Now obviously the best of all possible worlds is to like the songs you play as much as possible and we all try to do that to some degree or another (I agree with Norman that I like enjoy playing every song we do for some reason or another), but whenever I hear somebody tell me that when faced with only those two choice they'd pick A)??

My only thought is that maybe they've never actually experienced B)....  Or, it's something that I just simply can't wrap my head around and understand.

 

 

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sventvkg wrote:

You are right Dave, I did say that to Grant. I only have to do about 5-6 tunes like that to his entire night of **** songs list:) I wouldn't enjoy it if I had to play his stuff but if It paid well enough I'd do it. My price would be at least $750/$1000 a night however 

But your post does have a point so I will amend what I said and say I'll play anything as long as it's worth it financially. For a $100 club gig, I'm doing what I want. For 3-$500 a gig in my band there's some schlock but enough cool stuff. I'm can take or leave most if it:) For really bad stuff to me like hip hop laden saw synth pittbull featured party crap that a DJ should be playing my price would go up. So yes Guido, you're right..I guess there is a price.

I'm assuming $750-1000 per man... which is moot since only the top of the agency bands can command that pay (and assuming you're not in one). The reason why they get that pay ironically is because they play that s**t song list and have been doing so successfully for 20 years or more. So you're logic isn't really flawed... only if you believed you'd have an opportunity to apply it. ;)  That's not a dig, just reality (not for lack of talent... it's just the bands that are established for decades set the $premium rate ) :)

 

If it makes you feel any better in terms of shlock... I have to play Toby Keith,  Brooks & Dunn and Luke Bryan... so that sorta goes hand in hand with  hip hop laden saw synth pittbull featured party crap that a DJ should be playing... ;)

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StratGuy22 wrote:

It's way too easy to play "lead bass" it's so much fun. I've never played a gig on bass. But it's sure fun to mess around with!!

 

I played bass for 1/2 a gig(bassist had a family situation and had to leave right before the 3rd set) and it was one of the most fun gigs I have played. It didn't hurt that the entire bar was on my side knowing I was put on the spot, but once we kicked in, I realized what fun bassists have! And power! You move the whole place and MAKE people dance. And yes, it's kinda like playing lead guitar all nite as opposed to strumming chords. He had a Fender bassman and I cranked it, sounded amazing.

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sventvkg wrote:

 

As Long As The People Dance And Party To them....SO many other musicians I know, including my heavyweight band members get caught up in wanting to do tunes they think are cool...I don't get it..It's a cover song!!!  I have my own songs that I give a **** about and get off on, I do cover stuff FOR MONEY ONLY!!! I don't want to spend unncecessary time and effort on tunes that will not kill for the benefit of band members..SORRY.  I've found out that I'm in the minority with this attitude which shocked me!! Who is with me? Discuss!

 

Well, I don't agree 100% BUT this is the way I feel about my current project. Maybe I am old or something but to me, in a band sit., I am all about what the other players and audience will dig. If a guy in my band sings something real well, I am fine with it. That's the main issue, is it sung well and with conviction.

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There is very little I won't play...maybe Norwegian Black Metal, or something that is just so overfocused on evil rhetorically. But in actuality, I love to play music....all kinds. It wasn't always that way, but it is now. If the musicians are great, then the music will be great regardless of genre.

 

So I don't care what the song/style etc is.  Are you gonna pay me? Great! Then I'm gonna play my ass off and make sure that that music is the way it's supposed to be.  Every style has a "thing" and finding it and getting inside it is a most excellent challenge.  Like being an actor. That doesn't make me a whore....it just makes me a guy who likes to f**k. 

 

Now, that said....there is lots of stuff I HATE HATE HATE to listen to, but gladly play. And have. And do. I can have lots of fun playing music I hate to listen to. See, the stuff I like is rarely popular. In fact, I really don't ever listen to pop anything. I'm not anti pop, I just don't gravitate to it listening wise. 60% of my 1200 cd's are instrumental.  So when I play the style of music I love to listen to, am I getting off a little more? Well, kinda. But kinda not. Fun to listen to and fun to play are different for me.

 

But playing my orig stuff? Well I'll take that any day. Any day.  

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^^^^^LOL^^^^^

 

Dude, you're loaded for bear aintcha?

 

Your answer to this question:

 

Playing obscure covers that the musician likes is the kiss of death in poularity for a coverband. Duh. But what about original music....was that part of your conversation...is it applicable to your point or no?  

 

.....um, is NO. See how easy that was?

 

FIFY. :smiley-eatdrink013:

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3shiftgtr wrote:

^^^^^LOL^^^^^

 

Dude, you're loaded for bear aintcha?

 

Your answer to this question:

 

Playing obscure covers that the musician likes is the kiss of death in poularity for a coverband. Duh. But what about original music....was that part of your conversation...is it applicable to your point or no?  

 

.....um, is NO. See how easy that was?

 

FIFY.
:smiley-eatdrink013:

Yeah, simple answer.  Just not sure why you'd bring up originals at ALL in this thread.

 

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I like to meet the audience halfway.  Some things that I KNOW they're going to like, and some things that I'm pretty sure they've never heard before, so it's a chance you just have to take every time.  I get a kick out of seeing people dance and/or enjoy themselves, either way. 

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