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Our guitarist quit because he hates the set list


azmyth

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Honestly, I wouldn't stay in a band with that setlist either (but I would have been able to tell you that LONG before you got ready for your first gig). And as a patron, I would probably leave even if you guys played these songs amazingly well, because every one of those songs has been played to death by a million bands. There is nothing there that could/would sperate you. Purely vanilla icecream. I could go out an watch a dozen bands playing those same songs on any given night. Why would I stay for your band?

I have this same complaint about radio though. Millions of songs to choose from, yet they all play the same 20 or so. Let's just take "Man In The Box". Good tune. Good groove. Can be fun to play. But this is the default Alice In Chains song played by everyone. AIC has a ton of great tunes and huge hits. Why the hell does every band that wants to do an AIC tune pick that one? Any number of their other tunes would also kill, and could seperate you from the riff-raff.... yet, you'll just be one more of the fray.

That said, I may not be your target audience. The reason so many bands play those exact same songs is because they work. I don't know why they still work, but they often do.

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After 35 years of playing original material I joined a cover band about three years ago. We started out playing a lot of songs that we loved, but as time goes on I realize what I really want to do is play songs that people want to hear. This may mean kicking Pink Floyd's "Young Lust" off the list in favor of Rod Stewarts "Hot Legs". Lame but true. I really hate playing to any audience that isn't in to it. My motto has always been, "if we can't blow them away, I'd rather stay home".

 

That said, it seems like your set list is a little heavy on the 1990's melody oriented songs. You could probably use more dance stuff stuff and fewer mid tempo songs. Obviously the songs you are doing are not the kind of songs that your soon to be ex-guitarist is into, maybe you should make sure everyone in the band has some music that they love to play in on the list. Weather it's lame or not is up to the audience, lame is in the eye of the beholder.

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My band plays a couple of those. I take guilty pleasure in "Hard To Handle", I think it's a great tune with a good groove. Of course I'm a sucker for any tune where you can play that kind of soul thing where the organ goes I-IV-I-IV on top of the I.

 

I'm curious why MJ is at the end of the list. That's not a tune I would end the night on..I like to go out with a bang.

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Mutha Goose wrote:

I have this same complaint about radio though. Millions of songs to choose from, yet they all play the same 20 or so.


"Radio" that doesn't suck:

http://betaplayer.radio.com/player/wbcn-free-form-rock

http://betaplayer.radio.com/player/wbcn-the-rock-of-boston

In the good ol' days WBCN used to play the new stuff as much as 6 months before WAAF which gave us plenty of time to have them ready to go cool.gif . The real cutting edge stuff was broadcast late night, here's a "channel" still done by their programming director from back then:

http://www.oedipus1.com/home/

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This is so common.  I have put a number of bands together over the years.  The first thing I do is research what songs work well in the venues we expect to be playing.  (I have have found the most successful ones to be the ones women want to dance to.)  Either a band is just a fun thing for your own entertainment (nothing wrong with that) or it is designed to meet a market need.

Next I put together the set list and ideas on the theme of the band.  When I advertise for musicians I include a partial set list, the types of gigs we are aiming to play etc.  At the first contact I provide a potential member with a full set list and other details.  If they are not interested in the material HOPEFULLY they don't join.

This is what the band is, you either want it or you don't.  Finding the people then trying to fins a common musical direction is the wrong way around.

I supply band members with recordings of all the songs on CD.  I even supply the vocalists with lyrics.

If the leader provides a clear direction from the beginning then there are no issues with "musical direction".  This is what you are joining and if we do it well then it will work in the venues we are looking at working in.

Why has this guitarist reached this point before decideing he doesn't like the material?  The guy is a really selfish prick to waste all this time working a set up as part of a team only to quit just as you can deliver the first gig.  I am guessing it will take the rest of you months to find a new guitarist and get him up to speed when you should be doing the gigs you have already paid the price in time and energy to do.

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Xenon6 wrote:

 

 

This is what the band is, you either want it or you don't.  Finding the people then trying to fins a common musical direction is the wrong way around.

 

^^^THIS.

Every band member is going to bring their own flavor and personality to the band and, as such, there will always be slight variations to 'what the band is' and what the songlist should be, but the band should have a musicial direction beforehand that anyone thinking about joining the band either agrees with or they don't.

You can't be making it up as you go along or even trying to find common consensus.  Two typical songlist plans that probably every musician has tried along the way and almost always are doomed to failure are

1) everybody gets to pick 5 songs 'they' want to do.   This plan is a guaranteed path to having a songlist with 75% songs that most of the band and all the audience hates.

2) everybody comes up with a list of many songs and those with the most "common" votes get chosen.  This plan is guaranteed path to having a songlist that is filled with songs that nobody loves, but is just a bunch of songs that nobody hates.

Set out a direction and gameplan for the band at the outset.  Make sure it makes sense from both a musical and (if it's important to you) business perspective.  Then build the songlist around that.

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Potts wrote:

 

 

Did he have any say in the setlist?

Did you ever notice how someone always gets left out when planning a set list? I can't think of any songs that I picked on our set list. I've been with the band for 4 years and we have over 100 songs. Why isn't there anything from me on that list? Don't know. When I bring a song to the band it's ignored.

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azmyth wrote:

 

 

We are from Middle GA....

 

He's going to play our first gig with us, and then he's gone. He said our set is lame and doesn't "rock" as he put it. 

 

Thoughts? 

 

 

Be glad he's gone!   It doesn't matter what songs are on your list - your former guitar player simply wasn't a team player which in and of itself is a much bigger issue than any given collection of tunes.   That fact that he was your guitar player means either a) he had an inkling of what tunes were on your list when he joined the band and didn't turn it down as not being his cup of meat then - and/or b) he was party to building the list you're currently playing.   Now, well into the game - he's decided that his tastes in music are superior and quit.   If it wasn't the playlist - sooner rather than later - something else would have set him off.    Better to this obstacle out of the way early and find somebody who's going to be a better fit - than deal with a bandmate who is not happy to be playing in the group.

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I agree it seems weird that he would quit over this at this point.  Going into it was it made clear what the material was going to be or was the rug pulled out from under him 2-3 songs at a time?  Maybe he doesn't really want to gig.  The bar scene can be a lot of work for little pay and if you don't really like the material other "responsibilities" may take priority.

 

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Sounds like a lot of BS to me, OP. Unless you hired him for a gig without telling him the set list and just sent it, he reviewed it, and said "never mind," then there's more to this, either from him or you.

In my experience, no one is quitting due to the set list before a first gig. That's just... was he IN the band, or a sub? Did you put the band together and say "here's what we're doing" and not provide the songs? Did you say "we're going to play a lot of heavy rock that fits my voice"? I don't mean to sound accusatory, but there's some pretty big holes if this is the case.

Otherwise, and more likely, your guitarist is using the set list as his excuse to not play the show. He doesn't want to gig, he doesn't want to be in the band, all kinds of options, but it honestly has nothing to do with the set list.

In either case, I say move on strongly and enjoy your show.

As mentioned by others, your set list up in New England would be a total snoozefest, but that's why it's all about knowing your crowd, your venues, and your competition. If it's not normally a country/ blues scene down there, then yeah, you're playing a lot of great `90s rock tunes, and hopefully the gig goes well!

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Mutha Goose wrote: Why the hell does every band that wants to do an AIC tune pick that one? Any number of their other tunes would also kill, and could seperate you from the riff-raff....

 

 

 

 


 

So true Mutha...any artist has at least 3-4 great tunes other than the 'the big hit' And the bands going for the number one hits are like robotons...hoping everyone will say

"Hey, that's their big hit! I'll get up and dance now."

In my old cover band, even dumb songs like Brown Eyed Girl had 3-4 great Van Morrison songs to get in there too...like Blue Money or Wild Night, much more interesting and fun...and the audience thinks your band is great for playing cool stuff other than top 40 hits...jeesh.

 

Member since 2000 but kicked off in 2010 because HC could not deal with email provider change. Back anonymously!

 

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Mutha Goose wrote:

 

 

Honestly, I wouldn't stay in a band with that setlist either (but I would have been able to tell you that LONG before you got ready for your first gig). And as a patron, I would probably leave even if you guys played these songs amazingly well, because every one of those songs has been played to death by a million bands. There is nothing there that could/would sperate you. Purely vanilla icecream. I could go out an watch a dozen bands playing those same songs on any given night. Why would I stay for your band?

 

I have this same complaint about radio though. Millions of songs to choose from, yet they all play the same 20 or so. Let's just take "Man In The Box". Good tune. Good groove. Can be fun to play. But this is the default Alice In Chains song played by everyone. AIC has a ton of great tunes and huge hits. Why the hell does every band that wants to do an AIC tune pick that one? Any number of their other tunes would also kill, and could seperate you from the riff-raff.... yet, you'll just be one more of the fray.

 

That said, I may not be your target audience. The reason so many bands play those exact same songs is because they work. I don't know why they still work, but they often do.

 

 

About the only part of that post that makes sense for a cover band is your admission that you aren't the target audience.

The "target audience" is not composed of musicians. They are people that come out to bars/clubs to hear music they know and like played very well. They don't leave because "ever band plays that song."  They leave when bands play a bunch of songs they dont know or don't like.

"Give the people what they want" may be a cliche, but it still fills the seats.  

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LOL Been there done that...it's really really REALLY hard to find 3-4 people that will be on the EXACT same page as far as the set list goes, and I can't tell you how many bands I've seen that all the members were way into it, except one, you could tell they just weren't into it, but then when they did one specific cover all of the sudden they came alive LOL

 

I remember one time in college hooking up with this drummer who seemed to have his stuff together, and by this time I had developed (or so I thought anyways) a pretty good BS detector when it came to musos, and he said that he had a band that had been playing together for years playing out making money that needed a bassist...I really needed the money so I jumped at it, met the other guys, and they all seemed to be good to go,,,the drummer had emailed me the set list, then the singer called me a few days later saying he had gotten us a gig later in the week,...I mentioned the set list to him, and he said, and I quote "yeah, we might be doing some of those." The thing is at the time I didn't really think anything of it...

 

Fast forward to the gig, and it was the most epic trainwreck I have ever been a part of....I won't go all into the details, but pertaining to the set list, they would LITERALLY argue about what song to play next for 2-3 minutes after each song...it was just beyond rediculous....

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I didn't even make it through that guy's e-mail. I got three lines in and was already bored with him as a human being.

 

Somewhere out there is a tree, tall and proud, working tirelessly every single day to produce oxygen via photosynthesis just so that man can breathe it. I believe he owes that tree an apology.

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