95% ORIGINALS?

[gravy man]

I just hooked up with a new band ,bunch of cool cats .Plan on getting out to gig say 8 weeks awesome !Only one problem they play say 95% originals ,a few covers.I dont mind originals but they have to be good .Have a good hook ,great melody etc. so far what ive heard there ok .But to do just originals at a gig Im kinda worried were going to hear the crickets .....?I dont want to waste anybodys time here ,should I stay or should I go?On the flipside these guys are miles apart from my old group great attitude ,once a week practice getting out to gig fast etc.?

[memphis joe]

If your groovin on the material you shouls roll with it !!! I once played in a band here in memphis and we did an all original show ,and some nights we would

throw in some covers ,once we had the following it didnt matter as much , play it and they will come !!!!

[mineame]

How established are they in the scene? If they are your average originals band, with 2 or 3 family members per band member. Then your probably not going to have much fun. Especially if the songs you have heard so far are *ok*

 

I would suggest listening to them and playing them some more. If the songs grow on you and you enjoy playing them. Maybe it's worth a shot to get in with this band and help it get bigger then it already is.

 

Another thing you may want to know up front, how much input will you have in future songs.

[ski219]

I'm playing in an original band right now. Most of the gigs we have been getting lately are at established venues with a good crowd. We have played to crickets as well though - it sort of goes with the territory. One plus is that everyone in this band has tons of experience gigging, has good stage presence, and is able to "bring it" on a consistent basis However, I would not have joined this band or any original band if I did not really like the material. We play a lot of shows with multiple bands and we blow away the ones with so so material.

 

Another thing to factor is is cash. You can make some halfway decent extra income with a good cover band. The original band I'm is is good but at this point it more than it takes in.

 

Maybe you should try this band for a while to get some experience and see where it goes.

[Chicken Monkey]

The only times I've played in an originals group I either loved or wrote the originals. Sometimes both.

[Vermoulian]

Songwriting is a craft (to tie into that whole topic from another thread). There are technical standards by which it can be done well or poorly. Even if you are not involved in the writing yourself, if you want it to be better, get some books on songwriting (there are lots of them) and evaluate your band's songs based on what they say. It may help you to articulate weaknesses and suggest things that will make the songs stronger.

 

If the principal songwriter(s) in your band are not receptive to that sort of input but at the same time are not writing strong songs or at least trying to improve technically as songwriters, that doesn't bode well for the band's prospects.

 

Also, spend some time thinking about your live show. Most bands just get up on stage and play. If everyone is aware of things like audience interaction, people will enjoy the show more and maybe come back, even if the songs aren't the strongest. I can think of a number of bands that I've paid to go see that didn't have really great songs; i.e., I wouldn't listen to their CDs, but they put on a fun show. If you can at least get that part of the band package working, you can start building an audience while you're working on improving your songs.

[wardjames]

 

Also, spend some time thinking about your live show. Most bands just get up on stage and play. If everyone is aware of things like audience interaction, people will enjoy the show more and maybe come back, even if the songs aren't the strongest.

 

 

I think this would be the key to an originals band. Even if you had GREAT songs, it would take a really good show and marketing efforts to grow to a consistent draw. This is hard enough to do with a cover band, it's going to be even harder with an originals band. I'd not only have to like the songs, but be confident that the band would put on a good enough show and go enough promotion to grow an audience.

[BATCAT]

I find this thread a bit strange. Isn't whether the focus is on original music or covers (or a mix) something you usually know before you even consider joining the group in question?

 

Speaking generally, in most markets, venues that cater to original music are going to have bands playing shorter sets, to smaller crowds, for less money. There isn't much reason to do it, at least at the startup level, or probably at all on a local level, unless you believe in and enjoy the music.

 

I'd like the OP to share some more details, like what style(s) of music this band is doing, and what kind of venues they intend to play? Are they talking about playing venues that usually have cover bands and doing one cover for every twenty originals? Unless their songs are amazing, they are great performers, and their genre(s) are right for the crowd they will likely bomb? But I don't understand why you'r try to do this anyhow.

 

Confusing OP is confusing.

[New Trail]

 

... in most markets, venues that cater to original music are going to have bands playing shorter sets, to smaller crowds, for less money.....

 

 

That's pretty much the way it is around here. The younger all or mostly all original bands typically play multiple band shows and split the door. The OP's area of the country may be different and more receptive to original bands. One thing you might do is to check out some of the places that the band wants to book and see what kind of bands are doing well in those places. But the bottom like is if you like the music and enjoy playing it, then go for it.

[BATCAT]

 

That's pretty much the way it is around here. The younger all or mostly all original bands typically play multiple band shows and split the door. The OP's area of the country may be different and more receptive to original bands.

 

 

Hell, that's how it is here and I'm in one of the parts of the country that's about a receptive to original bands as you can get.

 

But I live in the rock/pop world. I expect it might differ if you are doing jazz, or blues, or country, or something else. I don't really know. Which is why it would be cool to know more.

[BlueStrat]

 

I just hooked up with a new band ,bunch of cool cats .Plan on getting out to gig say 8 weeks awesome !Only one problem they play say 95% originals ,a few covers.I dont mind originals but they have to be good .Have a good hook ,great melody etc. so far what ive heard there ok .But to do just originals at a gig Im kinda worried were going to hear the crickets .....?I dont want to waste anybodys time here ,should I stay or should I go?On the flipside these guys are miles apart from my old group great attitude ,once a week practice getting out to gig fast etc.?

 

 

Are you talking about a band playing 4 hour nights in dance clubs or 45 min to one hour shows in original music clubs? That would make a huge difference to me.

[BATCAT]

Yeah, definitely too little info.

 

That's ok, I'm sure we can just make a bunch of assumptions based on our own limited experiences that will lead us into a seven page argument about something that has nothing to do with the original topic, right?

[BlueStrat]

Yeah, definitely too little info. That's ok, I'm sure we can just make a bunch of assumptions based on our own limited experiences that will lead us into a seven page argument about something that has nothing to do with the original topic, right?

 

It's the BSWTB way!

 

I was going to add (but someone already beat me to it) that if it's a blues, jazz or singer/songwriter gig, 4 hours of 95% originals wouldn't be unheard of and might even be expected. A rock dance club, maybe not so much.

[Hard Truth]

It depends on your goals-are you in it for the money or for the fun? If for fun, which is funner for you to play: covers or originals?

 

Also it depends on where you live-We don't have many venues for covers bands in the City I live in.

[ckcondon]

Yeah, definitely too little info. That's ok, I'm sure we can just make a bunch of assumptions based on our own limited experiences that will lead us into a seven page argument about something that has nothing to do with the original topic, right?

 

Love it!!!

[MrKnobs]

I'd say we do about 95% originals, and we do it pretty successfully.

 

It's a long road to get there, though. First you don't have enough material to play more than a 45 min set, so you're sandwiched in with 3-4 other original bands, all playing for each other and not many actual customers. That's a hard way to build a following. The idea that "If 10% of the people who come to the shows like us, pretty soon we'll build up a following" doesn't work too well when 100% of the people hearing you are the other bands waiting to play.

 

The solution is networking.

 

You play open mics, you beg other, more established bands to let you share their gigs, open for them, play their breaks, etc, anything to get exposure to actual audience rather than just the other bands and their girlfriends, family, etc.

 

Another opportunity that we stumbled upon (we were too stupid to think of this) is playing fundraisers. The first one we did was an HIV benefit and we were astonished to be playing to a packed room with the dance floor actually filled! WTF?? Then the light bulbs went on over our heads and we realized the audience was actual, normal, partying, non-musician people who would NEVER, EVER have heard us had we not got that opportunity. Some of them even bought CDs!

 

The songs have to be good, though. Being a cover band starts with the huge leg up of playing songs that have been proven over time and that most people immediately recognize. Your songs need to be that good, maybe even better, to get people singing the choruses and dancing to them, since they're hearing them for the first time. And you'd better have some covers (which can be done "your way") for the times when you end a stunning rendition of your best tune and people just sit there staring at you.

 

Being an original band is hard, but so rewarding when it works. I played covers for many, many years, and it was a blast at times, but I'm never going back. Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven.

 

Terry D.

[Dancebass]

I can't even begin to wrap my head around the thought of being in an orginal band if you don't absolutely love what you're doing?????

 

The shelf life for that is what, 20 minutes?

[TIMKEYS]

The majority of original music I have heard bands do comes from regular bands at regular gigs , mixing in their original stuff with covers that are within their core genre. I just dont buy into the either or deal. The songwriter I play with has 4 CDs out and a 5th that will be comming out. The first year I played with him, was mostly stuff off the latest CD sparcely mixed into a cover show. Now we are starting to expand back into the older CDs and dig into the best songs off those. There is enough material there to play original for a three hour gig pretty easy. Its a cover/ original band ,, and I dont see that changing. What we play depends on what kind of show it is. We ran 4 orignals in a row at last nights show ,, thats pretty unusual for us ,, but we do have a show comming up the end of april that will be pretty much all originals.. and from what I understand it will prolly be a hour and half show , opening for another gulf coast singer songwriter who has a pretty high profile down here in texas. I expect to be doing alot more original stuff than our normal shows, ramping up for these split shows we are going to adding to the schedule. The goal is to bring in one pretty well known, out of town texas act a month.

 

This is still staying in line with the fact that we are a cover/ original band, due to the fact that its gonna be business as usual except for the monthly singer songwriter deals.