Country songs for rock bands?

[kurtisqpublic]

Brantley Gilbert - Kick it in the sticks
Jason Aldean - Crazy Town/My kinda party
Gretchen Wilson - Here for the Party
Josh Thompson - Beer on the Table
Colt Ford - Chicken and biscuits (for that rap flair)

[Blackbird 13]

Brantley Gilbert - Kick it in the sticks Colt Ford - Chicken and biscuits (for that rap flair)

 

 

I'd love to do both of these.. but no one would know them. I was hoping that Ford's "Country Thang" would catch on a bit more.. but we'll see I guess...

[stratotastic]

Seeing both Last Name and Cowboy Casanova mentioned--are these working for any of you? Both of these came up recently as possible adds, I'm just worried about mid-tempo-ness that can clear the floor. Maybe some potential as angry chick "shout along" songs.

[tlbonehead]

we do a lot of bluesy, roots-rock, and cowpunkish stuff, so good country stuff fits in pretty well.
Fast as You
Ring of Fire
Folsom Prison Blues
Dead Flowers
God Didn't Make Lonely Girls
Kerosene
I feel Lucky
Trashy Women
The Breeze
Guitar Town
Copperhead Road
Blue Eyes Cryin' in the Rain

etc.

[TIMKEYS]

We could get away with Beer, Bait, and Ammo for sure...I wouldn't kill, but we could pull that out late night when people are drunk. We keep meaning to learn "Lord Loves the Drinking Man" as well, as that got decent nightclub plays for Mark Chesnutt, although Kevin Fowler's version's much better . I think you're going to have a tough time with CCR outside of the Red Dirt circuit. Same with Jason Boland or Aaron Watson stuff. I think the Texas audiences are going to be a lot more lenient with variety like that. Here in SD, we play a lot of hard core country, but it's got to be stuff people recognize, like Mama Tried or old George Strait like Amarillo by Morning. We also get away with some really good old standards, like Walking the Floor, There Stands the Glass, and Driving Nails, but only in small doses, and you've got to be set up with a killer PSG or fiddle to get a really good response with that stuff, IMO. With respect to the OP...I think a lot of the country that works in a rock and roll band's been answered. There's maybe a few outlaw songs that you could rock up a little that would work like "On the Road Again", "Are You Sure Hank Done it this Way", and even "Family Tradition" or "Country Boy Can Survive". With respect to newer stuff..."Ten Rounds with Jose Cuervo", "Hillbilly Bone", "That' How Country Boys Roll" is about all I can add to the list. I know it's been mentioned before, but we're learning "Country Girl Shake It for Me" right now and I'm really excited to see how that goes over, it should kill. Learning the lyrics and singing it's a bitch though!

 

 

kevin fowler is a young peoples band down here in texas. btw he wrote god loves a drinkin man. You are prolly right on the regional thing. Texas may well be like its own planet when it comes to music. I think some bands can take chances and sell new songs to people and make it work out well, and others have to go for the low hangin fruit. We play for resort crowd that comes in from all over the country. A huge amount of our sets are material these people have never heard. Our deal is to give people exposure to texas music, because they are in vactaion in texas. Its a food joint bar gig, not a young dance crowd. We are a popular band down here, and work with a front man thats been a full time entertainer for 30 years. He is a singer songwriter who charts and fits into this texas songwriter fold. Another thing we do thats different is that we dont run a set list. songs get pulled out of a pool of songs on the fly. So the songs tend to be hand picked for the moment at a show so the whole set tends to evolve with the crowd. I have learned a ton playing in this band about what it really is to work with a professional entertainer. The guy can own pretty well any crowd you put him up in front of. Its pretty cool to be a part of.

[Vito Corleone]

Ahh, but, what about country attire for rock bands?

 

 

I wear tight jeans and boots at most gigs. Does that qualify as "country attire"?

[TIMKEYS]

I take exception to the fact that you peg me as a "dance band guy" who's playing a country song or two. Quite the contrary, I love new country, and I started off opening up for acts like Gary Allan, Phil Vassar, Chris Cagle, Emerson Drive, Ryan Shupe, Rascal Flatts, and a few other more well known country artists. I don't need you lecturing me about new country music, and I'm just not that into older country, outside of a few choice artists. What I DO understand though is that by playing in a cover band for a living, I have a job to do. My job is to give people what they want. And while I might love playing something like Cross Canadian Ragweed's "17", your average clubgoer won't care, at all. You say that CCR (Ragweed, not THAT CCR) song is a layup... but honestly, it's not. "Don't Stop Believing", "I Gotta Feeling", "Billie Jean", even "Save A Horse, Ride A Cowboy", those are "free shots on goal". The song you posted is like playing professional hockey with a blindfold and a golf club. You MIGHT manage to make a shot, but you'll work damned harder to do it than everyone else that's scoring around you.

 

 

 

When you start playing country to a dance crowd , you are going to put yourself into a position where you either gotta play worn out modern country or be able to introduce new material to them. The only country they are going to know is major hits that have been played and played and played... lets call them the mustang sally's of country. Old chart toppers. With a young crowd , it may be too tough a sell for band that just isnt used to laying new material on people thats outside their comfort zone. I think to do that you have to be able to make that crowd lock onto that front man and what he has to say. Thats tough in a format where your run rapid fire dance music on a crowd thats more into themselves than whats really going on up on the bandstand. Kinda like water and oil. This song might work as cross over in a rapid fire set. pat is popular with a younger crowd.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJWnIFlYKjs

[TIMKEYS]

This just came up in another thread ("Which songs are you working on lately") and blackbird13 had a solid response, which I will take the liberty of quoting here: I'm among those who think "Country Girl" is going to be huge, FWIW, so I'd add that track to the final sentence.

 

 

good song ,, but I kinda lost interests before it was over. Somthing about it kinda just droned me into being bored with it. Like the hook.. but it didnt quite get set with me. LOL prolly will be a huge hit ,,,,

[Scott Powell]

We have added 8 Second Ride,Kick it in the Stix,and My Kind of party to the setlist. It's 'Modern Country'.

[wardjames]

I wear tight jeans and boots at most gigs. Does that qualify as "country attire"?

 

 

LOL. Not until you add a belt buckle. Preferably with your name or a bottle opener on it.

[Blackbird 13]

 

 

 

That song was a staple of the setlist for the last band I was in. We got a lot of requests for it, quite regularly, and we always tied it in with "Breakfast At Tiffany's", which has a similar sound and chord structure.

 

However, it was one of the songs that I let go, because there are songs that get better reactions from the bar and club crowds. I'd imagine in Texas that Pat Green's biggest hit would get a lot more mileage than it did here in Virginia, though, and there are still occasions where we do get requests for this, believe it or not..

 

 

 

 

 

The thing is.. I want my setlist to represent a party! I want the songs to be both fun and identifiable. "Wave on Wave" is the latter, but not the former, really, despite being a good song. Something like "Fast As You" or "Save A Horse" qualifies as both, and that's the kind of country that the typical rock and party bands should look at adding, IMO.

[TIMKEYS]

That song was a staple of the setlist for the last band I was in. We got a lot of requests for it, quite regularly, and we always tied it in with "Breakfast At Tiffany's", which has a similar sound and chord structure. However, it was one of the songs that I let go, because there are songs that get better reactions from the bar and club crowds. I'd imagine in Texas that Pat Green's biggest hit would get a lot more mileage than it did here in Virginia, though, and there are still occasions where we do get requests for this, believe it or not.. The thing is.. I want my setlist to represent a party! I want the songs to be both fun and identifiable. "Wave on Wave" is the latter, but not the former, really, despite being a good song. Something like "Fast As You" or "Save A Horse" qualifies as both, and that's the kind of country that the typical rock and party bands should look at adding, IMO.

 

 

 

Wave on wave is what I call non country song by a country artist. Its not my fav pat green song. Pat has an interesting history. He made his loyal fan base by rolling his own CDs as an indy artist. Few have had the success rolling their own like pat. I think for club bands like yours, you are best to stick to the low hanging fruit country stuff thats on everyones set list that isnt really a country band. Its just easier that way. As for the party band thing...it seems that everyone is trying to be a party band. If it works for you and you are not bored with it ,,,, you might as well ride that horse as long as you can.

 

We are a party band but we tend to do it island style with a texas twang. That means we pretty much do it our way. Our most requested song are originals. We get requests for different country artists too , and usually can do a couple three songs of most of them its hard to use the typical party band model and dip very deep into the texas singer songwriter well or get off the top 40 country trail of standards that have been played for years.

 

You guys depend on song recognition and we tend to survive on song introduction. Its a different kind of show. Its also texas

[SBF3000]

we do country boy can survive. people love it

[Blackbird 13]

Wave on wave is what I call non country song by a country artist. Its not my fav pat green song. Pat has an interesting history. He made his loyal fan base by rolling his own CDs as an indy artist. Few have had the success rolling their own like pat. I think for club bands like yours, you are best to stick to the low hanging fruit country stuff thats on everyones set list that isnt really a country band. Its just easier that way. As for the party band thing...it seems that everyone is trying to be a party band. If it works for you and you are not bored with it ,,,, you might as well ride that horse as long as you can. We are a party band but we tend to do it island style with a texas twang. That means we pretty much do it our way. Our most requested song are originals. We get requests for different country artists too , and usually can do a couple three songs of most of them its hard to use the typical party band model and dip very deep into the texas singer songwriter well or get off the top 40 country trail of standards that have been played for years. You guys depend on song recognition and we tend to survive on song introduction. Its a different kind of show. Its also texas

 

 

Maybe it goes back to what some of the guys on here preach about, localization. 95% of the original bands that play around here just don't make money the two times a month that they do play, and even some of the established cover bands have trouble adding original material to the setlists.

 

A band around here that formed and DIDN'T add the "low hanging fruit" songs (your words, not mine), they'd have trouble working 2-5 nights a week, to the point that I'd ALMOST say it was impossible. But then, I live in a heavy military, beachside tourist area, so that's the crowd.

 

My big complaint with you is that you throw this stuff at me like I don't know what or who it is. I'm aware of Pat Green and Cross Canadian Ragweed, and I know OF Kevin Fowler, and I like a lot of the stuff that Green and CCR do. I'm also a realist though... and while yes, maybe I could take a song like "17" or "Country Star" and introduce it to our crowd, get them to know it and make it a signature, but I could do something similar by reworking a song like "This Is How We Do It" or even "Folsom Prison Blues". As much as I'd like to perform Charlie Robison's "Sunset Boulevard" every night... if I were going to introduce a brand new song to our crowd, it would make more sense if it were one that we wrote and was an original to our band.

 

It's almost like running an independent TV station. Maybe you could say we're airing can't miss shows, but colorizing them or adding commentary (which has worked great for some stations and horribly for others) Adding a new show that no one's ever heard of is silly, unless it's going to become a viable property for my station. Why waste that time and energy to, basically, sell someone else? It's prime space for OUR station! This works the same with a band, it's the same deal.

 

Obviously, if you guys have people at your shows, then you are doing things right, no doubt. I'll argue till I'm blue in the face though, that similar results can be achieved through an easier path. I'm not saying that it flat out CAN'T be done your way, but it can be done easier.

 

Even take country for an example. Let's say you tell me one band plays Pat Green, Cross Canadian Ragweed, Ryan Adams, Hank III, Kevin Fowler, Steve Earle, John Prine, Drive By Truckers, Junior Brown, Jack Ingram, and BR549 all night. THEN, let's say I hear that another band plays Keith Urban, Brad Paisley, Big & Rich, Miranda Lambert, Carrie Underwood, Garth Brooks, Kenny Chesney, Zac Brown Band, Gretchen Wilson, Montgomery Gentry, and Toby Keith all night. Which band do you think most people are going to take the party of ten they're going out with that night to see?

 

 

 

 

People tend to forget. Artists like the ones I named, or even folks like Taio Cruz, Bruno Mars, and Muse, are not more well known by accident. They're more well known because MORE PEOPLE LISTEN TO THEM, it's proven fact. I'm not saying that it's RIGHT or JUST that artists like Nickelback and Jason Aldean are way more popular than guys like Pat Green or Brantley Gilbert.. but I'm saying that it is what it is.

 

You seem to resent that... and it honestly makes it look like sour grapes. I don't think that's your intention.. but I've found when it comes to music, the sooner you learn to respect ALL of it (even the two note rap song that didn't take much talent and sounds like a kid could have written), the sooner you'll begin to appreciate good music even more. And, speaking from experience, some of that "low hanging fruit" isn't as easy to pick off the branch as you think it is!

 

Still.. I'm always glad to hear that musicians are working, and good on you that you're doing what you want to be doing and getting paid for it. Also, FYI, Pat Green is the man for the way he basically came to the label and said "Hey guys, here's what I've got, if you don't sign me you're blind." I don't know that those were his exact words.. but he laid out a package that even the worst A&R guy had to know was money, and kudos to him for that!

[modulusman]

 

Still.. I'm always glad to hear that musicians are working, and good on you that you're doing what you want to be doing and getting paid for it. Also, FYI, Pat Green is the man for the way he basically came to the label and said "Hey guys, here's what I've got, if you don't sign me you're blind." I don't know that those were his exact words.. but he laid out a package that even the worst A&R guy had to know was money, and kudos to him for that!

 

I think he plays for free.

[dan88z]

Seeing both Last Name and Cowboy Casanova mentioned--are these working for any of you? Both of these came up recently as possible adds, I'm just worried about mid-tempo-ness that can clear the floor. Maybe some potential as angry chick "shout along" songs.

We dropped Last Name a while back. It had fallen to the "filler" portion of the set list and we've been trying to eliminate that element completely. It went over OK but not great for us from what I remember, and we did it well so that wasn't the reason. I think if it had gone over better we'd have kept it. It was a fun tune to play. It sounds simple but the arrangement has some twists in it that keep you on your toes.

[stratotastic]

 

We dropped Last Name a while back. It had fallen to the "filler" portion of the set list and we've been trying to eliminate that element completely. It went over OK but not great for us from what I remember, and we did it well so that wasn't the reason. I think if it had gone over better we'd have kept it. It was a fun tune to play. It sounds simple but the arrangement has some twists in it that keep you on your toes.

 

 

Good to know, thanks. Yeah, we still have a pretty strong play-what-I-want-to-play element in this band that we're trying to quash. Most of us have a pretty good idea what will go over, but folks always seem to be trying to sneak in favorites (myself included, haha). Fortunately, almost always, logic prevails.

[TIMKEYS]

I think he plays for free.

 

 

Doing a little bit of both these days ... been getting some decent paying weddings and off property gigs. Got some cool stuff on the books comming up too. The venue survived the big slow down when the winter people left,, and we are into the summer season pretty much in full force and back to a full venue. I am very happy with the way things are progressing. Be happy dont worry lol

 

The goal is to make the home base bar, the best live, singer songwriter driven americana music venue on the texas gulf coast.

[Jealousblues]

This just came up in another thread ("Which songs are you working on lately") and blackbird13 had a solid response, which I will take the liberty of quoting here: I'm among those who think "Country Girl" is going to be huge, FWIW, so I'd add that track to the final sentence.

 

 

that song is begging to be rocked out a bit.

It just seems like it could be so powerful

[rangefinder]

 

that song is begging to be rocked out a bit. It just seems like it could be so powerful

 

 

Yeah I was just working on it today. Typically I'm a stickler for following the notes and phrasing of the original, but it sounded better when I just blasted through the lyrics getting "close enough" at a faster tempo.

[Jealousblues]

T-R-O-U-B-L-E by Travis Tritt....a bluesy rocker, and if you leave out the pedal steel guitar it does not identify as a "country" song.

 

 

 

probably because it was a rock song when Elvis did it ;-)

(though someone probably did it first though?)

 

[Jealousblues]

 

 

hahahaha, I didnt know if anyone else knew about this

we learned it for a first dance at a wedding

[TIMKEYS]

hahahaha, I didnt know if anyone else knew about this we learned it for a first dance at a wedding

We started doing it last winter sometime. We know alot of singer songwriter type songs

[Bim1959]

I currently play in 3 bands: 2 that do country as well as classic rock and the 3rd is a R&B/MoTown/Blues band.

T-R-O-U-B-L-E died years ago. Both my country bands quit playing it because nobody's dancing to it.

Everyone likes hearing Last Name and Cowboy Casanova but nobody dances to them either.

Garth Brooks ALWAYS goes over well. Seems even most rock crowds know who he is and like him. Skynyrd. As long as you stick to their stuff everyone has heard you cant go wrong. Simple Man, 3 Steps, Sweet Home Alabama, Free Bird...those you cant go wrong with. I know a Little - nobody knows it's Skynyrd and it's too fast to dance to anyway.

One interesting medley that lasts a good 10 minutes if you wanna push it that far is Sweet Home Alabama/Werewolves of London/All Summer Long.

Everyone also likes Georgia Satellites - Railroad Steel and Keep your Hands to yourself. Dan Baird's I love You Period is also a good tune but iffy. Some people like it, some dont.

Also, around here in the Midwest Save a Horse is dying off. Miranda Lambert is catching on as well as Gretchen Wilson.

Just pick and choose carefully.

[ckcondon]

Well since we're in Jax FL which is Skynyrd's birthplace, they are pretty overplayed by every classic rock band around. We do "All Summer Long/SHA" but that's it.

I like some of the suggestions.

Definitely looking more at modern country rockers, the stuff that is the new "Arena rock". Big guitars and sing along choruses. You know, songs that don't need a fiddle, banjo or pedal steel to go over!