Members New Trail Posted October 22, 2010 Members Share Posted October 22, 2010 As anyone ever been in a band that played originals by default because they couldn't get a consensus on what cover songs to play, or what genre to play? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators BATCAT Posted October 22, 2010 Moderators Share Posted October 22, 2010 You mean all originals? If so... no, and I have a hard time imagining that happening. People usually start cover bands and original bands for different reasons, and to play in different markets. Wouldn't make any sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Austincowbell Posted October 22, 2010 Members Share Posted October 22, 2010 As anyone ever been in a band that played originals by default because they couldn't get a consensus on what cover songs to play, or what genre to play? I can't imagine that happening only because I can't imagine meeting someone, deciding to start a cover band and him saying "I want to do only Polka, Cher covers and Celine Dion...but like... a softer less punchy Celine Dion" and me saying "How about mostly Cannibal Corpse and Gwar" and the two of us thinking "Hey!!! We should write together" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ChordGirl Posted October 22, 2010 Members Share Posted October 22, 2010 :lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members New Trail Posted October 22, 2010 Author Members Share Posted October 22, 2010 I can't imagine that happening only because I can't imagine meeting someone, deciding to start a cover band and him saying "I want to do only Polka, Cher covers and Celine Dion...but like... a softer less punchy Celine Dion" and me saying "How about mostly Cannibal Corpse and Gwar" and the two of us thinking "Hey!!! We should write together" That's pretty good! But kinda true! One of my bands has one member who really only wants to do originals, and we have worked on some, and they're going pretty well. The rest of the band wants to learn some covers so we can play out quicker, and he says he will play covers if the rest of us want to. And that's cool, but the rest of us have such diverse tastes that I'll be interested to see what we like in common. My point is that by default it may be that the only thing we like in common is the originals. And that might be okay, cause working on originals is inspiring, anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kramerguy Posted October 22, 2010 Members Share Posted October 22, 2010 Usually bands come together with the concept of originals or covers being the common denominator .. Now I understand tastes can be extremely specific and when everyone agrees to do death metal, people might have different ideas of what death metal is, for instance... But how in the hell did you guys form without a common goal of either one or the other, and no idea on what genre? That strikes me as bizarre Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tim_7string Posted October 22, 2010 Members Share Posted October 22, 2010 My first band had a touch of that. We all had wildly different songs we wanted to do, although most of them agreed on 80s pop metal. We were terrible at doing covers, but we were actually pretty good at writing original songs. At least playing them well. The songs themselves weren't that good, but we remembered how to play them a LOT better than the covers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Crownman Posted October 22, 2010 Members Share Posted October 22, 2010 But how in the hell did you guys form without a common goal of either one or the other, and no idea on what genre? That strikes me as bizarre I agree, bizarre. Personally, if I get another band going I'd like it to be originals. However, I've found that starting out as a cover band can be extremely beneficial in being a good original band. Why you may ask? You get to shake out the jitters in a cover band quite a bit easier because the majority of the time (IMO) a cover band is there for people to dance, not watch. You get used to playing with the other guys/gals. Learn their eccentricities in a gig environment. The difference between how people are in a practice space and how they are in front of a club full of people can be vastly different. You don't want to write a bunch of originals in practice, then have someone completely lose it when they get in front of a crowd. One thing that worked for the last original band I was in was trying out the originals on a crowd by throwing 2 originals in each of the 4 sets at our cover gigs. This helped us work out any changes to the song that always come to mind after you're played it at a few gigs. It also got a TON more people listening to some originals. Then you can usually promote you're original gig at the cover gig because most cover band clubs aren't in direct competition with the original band clubs. We sold more original band merch & cd's at our cover gigs. Our original band played about once a month, or every other month. So in between those gigs we were able to still sell merch AND promote the next gig to about 400 people every weekend. That was much easier than putting up a million posters. It worked very well because we had a great draw at every original gig. Sorry for the rambling, I think I drank too much soda after work. LOL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rhat Posted October 23, 2010 Members Share Posted October 23, 2010 I guess i dont quite get it when a band has idea that its an either or situation. We do cover and we do originals. You might do 5 original songs in a 3 hour show. We do define ourselfs as a texas beach/ country band with some classic rock thown in.... which is a pretty wide variety. we play to a 30 and up crowd. To me the important part is you are out there playing and entertaining people. we are what we are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members New Trail Posted October 23, 2010 Author Members Share Posted October 23, 2010 ....But how in the hell did you guys form without a common goal of either one or the other, and no idea on what genre?.... It's because we've all known each other for years, and have actually all been in bands with each other before, just never all of us together. We all like and respect each other, both personally and musically, so the idea of putting a band together just seemed a natural step. However, the mistake we made was not deciding on a direction before we started rehearsing. On the positive side, I think all of us want to keep playing together in whatever form that takes, it's just that 4 of us want to get some covers together to enable us to book gigs quicker, so we can then work on the originals, and the other guy would prefer to work on originals only. I think it will work out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SunRaFan Posted October 23, 2010 Members Share Posted October 23, 2010 I've been in several original focused bands that considered doing covers. It was always more effort than it was worth to agree on what songs people wanted to cover. Lots of people in original bands have music tastes that are so obscure that crowd wouldn't even know a song was a cover unless the band told them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wallywanker Posted October 23, 2010 Members Share Posted October 23, 2010 ...but like... a softer less punchy Celine Dion" oh man...you owe me a beer - to replace the one that just blew out through my nose and onto my screen :lol:...maybe a new monitor too...:lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ski219 Posted October 23, 2010 Members Share Posted October 23, 2010 I'm in a cover band gigging 2 -4 times a month and an original band gigging 1-2 times a month. I like keeping them separate. I used to be in a band that did both and it worked out ok, but eventually became more of a cover band with a few of our best originals thrown in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Terry Allan Hall Posted October 26, 2010 Members Share Posted October 26, 2010 I stay pretty busy, mostly solo, but as often as possible w/ my trio, by using a 66.6% quality cover/33.3% original (give or take) format...most audiences are cool about hearing an original they've never heard before as long as there's plenty of good covers they're already familiar with, too...and thus my originals have a chance to become familiar to 'em, too! Besides, there are plenty of other folk's stuff that's fun to put my own stamp on... Because I have a rotating cast for my rhythm sections (basically, the best person available on that date gets the gig), I choose about 95% of the tunes (although I'm always open to other folks making suggestions), and that saves a lot of arguments/drama. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members toneforhire Posted October 30, 2010 Members Share Posted October 30, 2010 When I started playing in bands I was exclusively in original bands...until I realized NO ONE wanted to pay/listen to us play our originals...as I got older a few bands were pretty decent and we actually tried to "make it"...didnt work out... I can see throwing in an original or two so the dance floor will empty and give the bar a chance to clean off the floor, but thats about it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lp_junkie Posted October 31, 2010 Members Share Posted October 31, 2010 No, we started as an originals only band because all of us were tired of playing covers in previous bands. Now if we play a cover it is because it's a song we all like, but we'd all rather write a new song than learn someone elses material. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MartinC Posted October 31, 2010 Members Share Posted October 31, 2010 When I first started playing with the guys in my group, they wanted to play original material, but also didn't mind playing some covers. They just wanted to gig and make money-didn't matter how. We did mostly originals from the start. A few years later, we were doing a house concert. We played some Gipsy Kings covers. At that time, no one in our area was doing them, and they were very popular-they always went over well at gigs. That sound sorta defined our style. After the gig the brother of one of my friends came up to me and said "Well, you proved you can imitate the Gipsy Kings" It is a comment that has stayed with me since-more than 15 years. A put down and a challenge. It's something I think about sometimes when when I think about what I want to express with the band. Sure, we want people to enjoy it, but there's got to be more to it for us. Once, I gave a cd to a doctor friend in Central America. He looked at it and asked "is this original music?" I heard that question a few times down there when talking about the group. Some people don't give a rat's ass about a cover band, no matter how good they are, and some people just want to dance to tunes they know. You can do either, or try to split the difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tim_7string Posted October 31, 2010 Members Share Posted October 31, 2010 I can see throwing in an original or two so the dance floor will empty and give the bar a chance to clean off the floor, but thats about it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members New Trail Posted November 1, 2010 Author Members Share Posted November 1, 2010 No, we started as an originals only band because all of us were tired of playing covers in previous bands.Now if we play a cover it is because it's a song we all like, but we'd all rather write a new song than learn someone elses material. That's cool! How often do you play playing mostly all originals? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vito Corleone Posted November 1, 2010 Members Share Posted November 1, 2010 This is a great way of doing things. It sure beats playing obscure covers that may or may not alienate people. I agree. I've always figured that if I'm going to play a song nobody knows, it might as well be one I've written! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lp_junkie Posted November 2, 2010 Members Share Posted November 2, 2010 That's cool! How often do you play playing mostly all originals? Every show is mostly original music, we are pushing a CD and working on a live EP, plus writing for the second CD. We throw in a few covers just to fill some time in the sets, songs that we like that compliment what we are already doing with our own songs, a little from AIC, STP, etc. We've done quite a few gigs this year but we started late because of recording the album the first 1/2 of the year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members New Trail Posted November 2, 2010 Author Members Share Posted November 2, 2010 Every show is mostly original music, we are pushing a CD and working on a live EP, plus writing for the second CD. We throw in a few covers just to fill some time in the sets, songs that we like that compliment what we are already doing with our own songs, a little from AIC, STP, etc.We've done quite a few gigs this year but we started late because of recording the album the first 1/2 of the year. Okay, that's cool and all, but do you play every week, twice a week, once a month, what? Do you get paid when you play? Not to get too nosy, but if you're a mostly all-original band playing in multi-band shows for merch sales only that's one thing, but if you're a mostly all-original band playing every weekend for good pay, that's quite another! I'm just wondering because around here there's no work for an all-original band. I wish there was, but there's just not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lp_junkie Posted November 2, 2010 Members Share Posted November 2, 2010 right now we are doing every other weekend, but we recently headlined a Pagan festival playing to 4000 over a 4 day event. We get on average $150-200 each after we take out the "bands" cut (pays for merch, travel expenses, etc.) for smaller clubs, some of the larger clubs pay a little better. We have to travel for better gigs, and do some MWR gigs for the armed forces at different bases (they pay very well). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators BATCAT Posted November 2, 2010 Moderators Share Posted November 2, 2010 ... a mostly all-original band playing every weekend for good pay IME for an original band in a given market, twice a month is pretty much the absolute most you can play without exhausting your draw and stepping on the toes of bookers. Playing more often is gonna involve traveling to different markets. And to do it well, you need to put in the work to promote yourself in those markets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sroux Posted November 2, 2010 Members Share Posted November 2, 2010 We're kind of an anomaly I guess.We play about 1/3 original tunes, 1/3 popular rockabilly/old school country tunes (Carl Perkins/Cochran/Presley etc), and 1/3 obscure 50's tunes. We play a couple of times a month, not so much because that's all we can book, but we're working stiffs that play for fun mainly. Usually between $300 to $500 for a night. We usually just play here in Baton Rouge, but have been playing increasingly more in New Orleans. We're starting to branch out, and have played Florida and Alabama. We've had offers to tour with some pretty big acts on the east coast, but our day jobs really won't allow it. We try to do mini tours around holiday weekends. I'm trying to increase the original content, because I'd rather be doing mostly originals. Most of the covers we do are so obscure most folks think they're originals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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