Members New Trail Posted September 8, 2011 Members Share Posted September 8, 2011 Our originals band is getting prepared to play our first show. We're all older experienced players so this will be new for all of us. The closer the show gets I'm getting an apprehensive feeling about people hearing our songs for the first time. Learning and performing a cover takes a certain set of skills, but writing originals is a completely different animal. If you're playing a cover that doesn't work, or that the crowd doesn't like, you can just drop it and add another song, but the apprehension that I'm starting to feel is that if the crowd doesn't like our originals that we spent so much time on, they don't like us. It's much more personal. I just hope they like us! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members n9ne Posted September 8, 2011 Members Share Posted September 8, 2011 In my experience, people that go to original music venues tend to me much more receptive and open-minded about music than your typical cover-band bar crowd. People go see cover bands because they want to party, and they expect to be entertained. That's the whole reason they're there. Original music venues, OTOH, have a completely different vibe. The people are genuinely interested in hearing new music....otherwise, they wouldn't be there. I wouldn't worry about it....just put your stuff out there. Besides...... in my experience, people typically have to hear a song 3-4 times before they know whether to like or dislike it. The first couple times they hear it, they're just window-shopping. The long and short of it is, I don't think anyone will be passing judgement on your music one way or the other; at this point, they just want to hear it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Lee Flier Posted September 8, 2011 Members Share Posted September 8, 2011 Yeah, what n9ne said. Another thing to keep in mind is that it IS going to take you some time to build a strong original catalog. When you play in a cover band, you're drawing from decades of lots of other people's work which has already been proven to be successful. Never mind that every one of those artists you're covering went through a painstaking process of working on new songs, finding that some of them didn't work, throwing those out and coming up with more new ones. Many songwriters and bands throw out dozens of songs that they've crash-tested before coming up with a set of gems. And you can always throw a hip cover or two into your set, just to "orient" the crowd a little as to where you're coming from musically. So try not to make too much of this first gig, in the big picture. It's likely that some songs will go over better than others, but that people will generally be receptive. Just try to have fun and enjoy the moment, and after half a dozen gigs you can start to break it down and figure out what works and what doesn't and why. Best of luck to you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members urca Posted September 8, 2011 Members Share Posted September 8, 2011 Don't sweat it, the 6 people that are there will like it...... ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members New Trail Posted September 8, 2011 Author Members Share Posted September 8, 2011 Don't sweat it, the 6 people that are there will like it......;-) As long as we don't get people yelling out cover tune requests we will survive! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rog951 Posted September 8, 2011 Members Share Posted September 8, 2011 You'll be fine. Unless all your songs suck, that is! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members New Trail Posted September 8, 2011 Author Members Share Posted September 8, 2011 You'll be fine. Unless all your songs suck, that is! Well, we think they're good, but that's another part of the whole originals picture too, isn't it? We're probably not very objective when it comes to our own songs. Probably nobody is. I think about all the songs and albums that have been released that were probably highly thought of by the artists and/or writers that wrote and recorded them but that failed to have success. Were they bad songs, did the artists have bad judgement about them, did the record companies A&R guys mess up? It makes you wonder! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators BATCAT Posted September 8, 2011 Moderators Share Posted September 8, 2011 Well, we think they're good, but that's another part of the whole originals picture too, isn't it? We're probably not very objective when it comes to our own songs. Write---> Demo--->Weed out the weaker stuff--->Refine the better stuff---> Record with producer who won't bull{censored} you---> Listen to the album a few months down the line ...aaaand repeat! You can never really listen objectively, but over time this gives you perspective. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 3shiftgtr Posted September 8, 2011 Members Share Posted September 8, 2011 Remember, as dumb as this sounds, you are sharing the music. Give it to them, and let them decide if THEY like it. You can't do much but be honest to what you wrote and put full ass, soul, and passion into every note. Let the rest take care of itself. And there is nothing wrong to writing new stuff based on what gets a reaction. But even that is a slippery slope, as what works in one venue, won't in another. So just be true to your vision and inspiration, and play your {censored}ing ass off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dancebass Posted September 8, 2011 Members Share Posted September 8, 2011 If they don't like it, drop a bucket of pigs blood on your singer's head then run like hell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members P. Wallace Posted September 9, 2011 Members Share Posted September 9, 2011 If you're gonna do originals, you should do it for the Passion to create and express yourself. I believe if you show genuine passion in the music you write, people will like it. Edit: you should be able to show some technical proficiency in being able to perform said original music as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members stomias Posted September 9, 2011 Members Share Posted September 9, 2011 FREEBIRD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Lee Knight Posted September 9, 2011 Moderators Share Posted September 9, 2011 Remember, as dumb as this sounds, you are sharing the music. Give it to them, and let them decide if THEY like it. You can't do much but be honest to what you wrote and put full ass, soul, and passion into every note. Let the rest take care of itself. And there is nothing wrong to writing new stuff based on what gets a reaction. But even that is a slippery slope, as what works in one venue, won't in another. So just be true to your vision and inspiration, and play your {censored}ing ass off. Absolutely. I'm becoming more aware of something. As I'm writing more than I ever have... why am I writing tunes? For my ego? Cause I like to write? Why... Because I love someone sharing what they've created with me. So, I know there's someone that feels the same about what I do. So I want to share it. It's that simple. That mindset has taken all the personal pressure away. Sure, I work hard at my music. But when it gets to a certain point, it's time to share it. Keep it simple. Share it. Then use the experience to rewrite, rearrange, reassess the whole thing if need be. Then go share that. And so on. Keep your joy the focus and don't get bogged down in doubt. Emerse yourself in the process. Of course it could be better. That's why you're doing the show. Enjoy the process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TIMKEYS Posted September 9, 2011 Members Share Posted September 9, 2011 I play for a songwriter. He has 46 original songs. we only have 5 or 10 in regular rotation at gigs. We can play 20 or so as a band now and are in the process of grabbing some more off the two oldest CDs. Originals like anything else get weeded out. Its not that ones that stay on the shelf are bad songs, its just these are the ones the guy who wrote them wants to play. Original shows ,, fill an hour of your best stuff. I know he knows if he still wants to be an original singer songwriter ,, he has to release a new CD every two years. I would guess that would be the most pressure. new one drops later in the fall. Its nice to be a just a guy in the band where you can hitch along and not have to put up any money. No pressure. He has a second career as a venue owner, so he is always wearing two hats. I think he thrives on pressure. eeeeeeeek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members theGman Posted September 11, 2011 Members Share Posted September 11, 2011 Why don't you play a cover song say once in 5, just to make sure that all your songs don't suck? That will give those 6 people time to regroup and listen to the next group of originals. They'll be better prepared; think of it like mouthwash between glasses of wine, or possibly cloves of garlic! Besides, as mentioned, they won't even know if they like your new original for a few listens anyway; they wouldn't even admit it if they didn't like it, because that's part of the original highbrow persona. Only cover people admit to not liking songs, because if you don't like songs, that means you like others better, which then become/are cover songs! The trouble with original songs is that if you have a really great song, other people might like it. Then, it becomes by definition a cover song, and EVERYBODY will like it, which means the original 6 people will not be able to like it any more! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TIMKEYS Posted September 11, 2011 Members Share Posted September 11, 2011 Why don't you play a cover song say once in 5, just to make sure that all your songs don't suck? That will give those 6 people time to regroup and listen to the next group of originals. They'll be better prepared; think of it like mouthwash between glasses of wine, or possibly cloves of garlic! Besides, as mentioned, they won't even know if they like your new original for a few listens anyway; they wouldn't even admit it if they didn't like it, because that's part of the original highbrow persona. Only cover people admit to not liking songs, because if you don't like songs, that means you like others better, which then become/are cover songs! The trouble with original songs is that if you have a really great song, other people might like it. Then, it becomes by definition a cover song, and EVERYBODY will like it, which means the original 6 people will not be able to like it any more! We are a house bar band in a food and drinks joint. The place seats like 150 or so,,, and generally we have between a 100 and 150 on a regular basis. we play all kinds of music along with the original stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WynnD Posted September 11, 2011 Members Share Posted September 11, 2011 This thread itself is why I like the idea of a cover band adding original material throughout the night. It's a rare bird in the audience who appreciates a song the very first time they hear it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members New Trail Posted September 12, 2011 Author Members Share Posted September 12, 2011 This thread itself is why I like the idea of a cover band adding original material throughout the night. It's a rare bird in the audience who appreciates a song the very first time they hear it. Wouldn't that depend in a large part on the quality of the song? I hear songs on the radio all the time that I like on first listening. In fact a lot of my favorite bands, Tortoise, The Kings of Convenience, Death Cab for Cutie, Wilco, Badly Drawn Boy, The Sea and Cake, Minus the Bear, for examples, were bands whose songs I heard on public radio and liked the first time I heard them, and then sought them out. Ha! Or maybe I'm a Rare Bird!!!!!!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ralph onion Posted September 13, 2011 Members Share Posted September 13, 2011 Do it brother! Who in the hell wants to hear another cover band? How many cover bands make it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TIMKEYS Posted September 13, 2011 Members Share Posted September 13, 2011 Do it brother! Who in the hell wants to hear another cover band? How many cover bands make it? Most of the guys who have made it started with covers. Covers are where they learned their skill sets. Its hard to get the kind of experience it takes to be a pro , if they didnt pay their dues playing bars and honky tonks on the way up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators BATCAT Posted September 13, 2011 Moderators Share Posted September 13, 2011 Let's ask ourselves if we really need to do this again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TIMKEYS Posted September 13, 2011 Members Share Posted September 13, 2011 This thread itself is why I like the idea of a cover band adding original material throughout the night. It's a rare bird in the audience who appreciates a song the very first time they hear it. True. the guy I play for has done one of his new songs twice in the solo part of our nightly routine. To be honest I could not tell you anything about that song. I know its a pretty good song , because I didnt notice it, when it was mixed into a cover set. When the last CD came out ,, the song that charted the highest, was not the one I expected. Go figure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members vanlatte Posted September 13, 2011 Members Share Posted September 13, 2011 Let's ask ourselves if we really need to do this again. The trolls are bored. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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