Members n9ne Posted June 5, 2012 Members Share Posted June 5, 2012 Inspired by the "generic, predictable setlist" thread....a bit of self-scouting. Judging from the setlists that other have posted, it's clear that the majority of cover bands rely heavily on the same basic pool of tried-and-true standards. Lord knows mine does. With that being the case, and assuming your band does a lot of these same tunes....what (if anything) has your band done to establish its own identity and set itself apart the rest of the bands working your local circuit? Creative song selection? Wacky costume changes? Elaborate light show or visual presentation? Surely there has to be something about the band that gives people a reason to come out and see you....or something that keeps them from leaving in the middle of your set. Right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbonehead Posted June 5, 2012 Members Share Posted June 5, 2012 song selection is a big one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ChiroVette Posted June 5, 2012 Members Share Posted June 5, 2012 So what sets YOUR band apart from the rest? Mostly my striking good looks. Seriously, for us, as a Grateful Dead cover band, what sets us apart is that, unlike a lot of Dead tributes who concentrate either on the wild, melodic modal jams OR the structure, we do both. We really try to shoot for both authenticity and creativity, which is a very tough thing to do in any kind of a cover band because you aren't doing your own material. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TIMKEYS Posted June 5, 2012 Members Share Posted June 5, 2012 huge songlist. we put on an up close and personal show with a front man that knows how to connect with people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vito Corleone Posted June 5, 2012 Members Share Posted June 5, 2012 1) Paying attention to the market and working to be the type of band people want to pay money to have perform at their event.2) Being self-aware enough to know our strengths and our weaknesses and know how to emphasize the former and de-emphasize the latter.3) Two attractive girls up front who sing their asses off. Not necessarily in that order. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mendolin Posted June 5, 2012 Members Share Posted June 5, 2012 We are just a bunch of nice guys. I mean we are not trying to be nice, we just are. We are not pretending that we do something no other band could pull off. We invite people backstage... We socialize during, before and after the show... And its really not hard to do... It could be worse than talking to beautiful girls during breaks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rog951 Posted June 5, 2012 Members Share Posted June 5, 2012 The singer is very good. I'm praying he doesn't see this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members OldGuitarPlayer Posted June 5, 2012 Members Share Posted June 5, 2012 Well what makes my band different from the others is that we are three old men and we play blues. I like to think we do it pretty well. The other groups around here all play classic rock or Top 40. I also play in an all acoustic group consisting of stand up bass, mandolin, fiddle and me on acoustic guitar. What makes us stand out from other bands is that we have (destined to be) one of the best fiddle players in Canada with us and she just turned 19 yrs old. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Shamdog Posted June 5, 2012 Members Share Posted June 5, 2012 Nothing really...we pretty much suck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Potts Posted June 5, 2012 Members Share Posted June 5, 2012 we have (destined to be) one of the best fiddle players in Canada with us and she just turned 19 yrs old. That must be awesome!!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members PRSJim Posted June 5, 2012 Members Share Posted June 5, 2012 Nothing really...we pretty much suck. LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mel Cooley Posted June 5, 2012 Members Share Posted June 5, 2012 The mixture of brilliant musicians backing a lame singer/guitarist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sbrett Posted June 5, 2012 Members Share Posted June 5, 2012 There are a few things, but I think the top one is professionalism. We show up on time, we start on time, we take short breaks, we're respectful of the club owner/staff, etc. Many of the bands around here have a 'do what we want when we want' attitude, and they don't last long. Actually there's a group that has changed names four or five times...usually happens when they start to get a bad rap and want a 'fresh start' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 992gnt Posted June 5, 2012 Members Share Posted June 5, 2012 Being dysfunctional mostly... We have a female lead, and since we started there are a half dozen other bands following suit (that does not make us the leader either), and we play a pretty wide variety of songs. We have yet to find our groove and I think we are still defining who we are a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kmart Posted June 5, 2012 Members Share Posted June 5, 2012 1) We are a niche/genre band, and we go the extra mile to make sure we sound as close to the recordings as possible. We might not appeal to as broad an audience, but we appeal MORE to a select group. For us, this is part of 'the sell', and for us, it works. Nobody else in our area is doing what we do. 2) We've all been playing in bands for a long time, so all the 'act like pros' stuff (show up on time, be prepared, controlled volume, adapt as necessary to make it work for the client, etc.) does go without saying for us. 3) More and more for us, we're building out a full pro production: quality PA, designed light show, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members joshmac Posted June 5, 2012 Members Share Posted June 5, 2012 We are young, energetic, have good harmonies, and our members can all play tastefully Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members flanc Posted June 5, 2012 Members Share Posted June 5, 2012 Good vocals (three lead quality) with very good harmonies. Energetic, attractive and engaging front person is a big plus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Roadappledrumme Posted June 5, 2012 Members Share Posted June 5, 2012 https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/255441_194002190645878_673541_n.jpg Need I say more? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members musicmanmu Posted June 5, 2012 Members Share Posted June 5, 2012 For us it's definitely song selection. We are the only band in the region (at least that I can see as playing the club circuit) that do Top 40 pop/rock stuff. Everyone else here is either strictly country (and its various derivatives), metal or what I'd call "artsy/indie" type music. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members StratGuy22 Posted June 5, 2012 Members Share Posted June 5, 2012 We are good at what we do, we have a lot of fun, we all genuinely like each other as people, as friends and I think it shows. Between us we know just a boatload of songs, and take requests. If someone knows the song, the others are on the ball enough to follow through with it. We have a great sounding decent setup, PA & Lights. We are volume appropriate for the room. We aren't against guest singers, depending on the circumstances. We can read a crowd well, if country is working, we can give them more country. If rock is filling the place, we keep rocking. Up to 4 part harmonies are a plus as well!! We just have a lot of fun. If we are having fun, the audience has fun as well!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kramerguy Posted June 5, 2012 Members Share Posted June 5, 2012 A lot of people tell us that we play a lot of stuff other bands don't and how much they like that. We still play a lot of standards tho, but when we get into the heavy stuff (break stuff, sober, whatever, bodies) they really go nuts for it. Our singer is really good, and he's pretty much a chick magnet, so that also helps I think. Other than that, we are not musically or performance-wise any better than anyone else around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wades_keys Posted June 5, 2012 Members Share Posted June 5, 2012 The mistakes.... Actually only half-kidding, and I think on reflection this can be said about ANY band. Just hopefully they sound like "happy" accidents LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tim_7string Posted June 5, 2012 Members Share Posted June 5, 2012 As compared to the other bands in my area: We don't try to play every weekend like a lot of bands do. We have a fairly diverse setlist. We also don't play the same songs in the same way as the other bands do in the area (with the same arrangement, which makes the other bands sound almost interchangable at times). Excellent musicianship that is very tight, yet loose when it needs to be too. A chubby frontman that sings halfway-decently and plays well too, playing with passion every show. A less-chubby bassist that is energetic and fun onstage. Two cousins in the same band (kind of unusual). A fantastic drummer that is also easy to get along with (rare around here!). I would say my cousin and I both harmonize well too, but so do a lot of the other bands here, so I can't include that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jimiv Posted June 5, 2012 Members Share Posted June 5, 2012 We wear cargo shorts, have our baseball caps on backwards and use music stands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nchangin Posted June 5, 2012 Members Share Posted June 5, 2012 https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/255441_194002190645878_673541_n.jpgNeed I say more? The drums should be in front and the chick should be behind you. Yup. Nice kit! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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