An influx of female fronted cover bands in my market recently...

[wheresgrant3]

I may be called out for generalizing here.

 

Over the years I've seen many female fronted bands come and go. Three years ago there was 1-2 cover bands in my area female fronted and now there are seven all playing similar themed pop-oriented music. I just discovered the 7th yesterday... a startup from a former project faded away. I couldn't be happier... it's less bands to compete against and draw comparisons from.

 

The truth is nothing is really exceptional about any of them except one.

 

Over the years from my observation... there are types of bands that I've witnessed.

 

Band A) The Shy Girl: Geezering Male cover band that adds the young, attractive female frontperson to deflect the geezerness of the backing band. Fatal flaw: singer is cute, and shy... possibly too shy. She doesn't load in or out. She shows up 20 minutes before her performance with lyric sheets to practice with. She's never sang in front of people before... at least outside of church or a karaoke session.

 

 

The Wedding Singer B) Older, refined, experienced. Great singer but really a side person for the band. Might share the postition with a male singer as well. Material is a bit dated (Bonnie Riatt is the most current song they play). She sounds great just doesn't appeal to the under 40 crowd.

 

Band C) The SexPot: Band with female front person who looks the part and takes herself way too seriously. The band is ... well who is paying attention to the band? She's attractive, confident, dresses the part, commands the front of the stage, a seductress until she opens her mouth. Pitchy performance... like an animal moaning. All over the map. She tries to hide the weak vocal performance by flirting with the front row. She attracts guys, really drunk guys... She sees admirers, they see a stripper. She repels girls... she can't connect with anyone who is not attracted to her. No grrrl power here! Wives and girlfriends are waiting in the car.

 

Husband & Wife band: D) Husband is a solid musician... wife wants to sing (has never sang before) nuff said. Low paying rooms, rotation of lineups, and no real defined following. This all spells one thing. Whatever wifey wants, wifey gets.

 

Band E) The Pro: An exceptional singer who's talent is front and center. She's comfortable in her own skin and her confidence onstage shows it. Her band is backed by some great players who are equals. She draws people toward the stage with her performance. She's not a super model, nor is she unattractive. In fact, she's a mom who's been out of the game for a while trying to raise a family. Just watching her sing you have to wonder "Why did she never make it"?

 

I've come across one or two female frontpeople from some agency bands that were absolute exceptional. One completely commands the crowd and puts on a great show. At the same time she doesn't over shadow her band who are great musicians. Others are just not that memorable. Just wondering what the bands in your area look like?

[Blackbird 13]

We're fortunate enough in my area to have like thirty steady gigging cover bands, all of which have a fairly unique vibe. Even among the bands that play a little of everything, we all have our niche, and it really isn't often said that "Oh yeah, X BAND is just like Y BAND", because it simply isn't the case. Although some of the expected songs cross, everyone has some things they're known for.

 

Of course, there are at least three COVER bands stay busy working around here by playing stuff that's a bit off the beaten path. One is a classic rock band doing deep cuts by the Allman Brothers and Govt Mule.. one is doing stuff like AFI, Trustcompany, and even ODB... and one is playing Hank III and Shooter Jennings tunes.

 

Of those thirty bands or so that work steadily (2-6 nights a week) around here, I would say there aren't more than five that are female fronted, for whatever reason.

 

The common thread in all the bands that get work around here is energy. Whether they are playing modern rock, hip hop, country, 80s, or whatever else.. the bands that stay busy in this area have an energy onstage and aren't just standing there (with the exception of a few that have been around for 10+ years).

[TrickyBoy]

I have to say that I got luckier than hell the end of last year. We ended up with the perfect girl to front our band. I'd say we're a mix between your first and your last examples. We were a trio of 30 somethings that got lots of compliments musically, but really lacked in stage presence. I was tied to the mic singing and playing guitar, we had a bass player and drummer. So we put an ad out for a male or female front person and Meagan answered.

 

She's a very good singer, but I was afraid she was going to be the shy girl at first. She has become a beast on stage.

 

One example. We played a total smokey dive redneck bar last Friday (my kinda place:thu:). Crowd was engaged but subdued, not a lot of dancing, etc, but we kept 100+ people till well past 1 am (we brought almost no one). So, she goes out into the crowd to get people singing during "Don't Stop Believing" First verse - sings the first line, hold the mic to some chick, she sings the second, Meagan sings the third, holds the mic to some big 'ol dude, he does nothing. She looks at him, looks at everyone else looks back at him and says "C'mon you're making me look like a complete douche here" - he laughs and the crowd goes crazy. She picks back up singing (we never stopped playing the music) and the crowd sings the whole rest of the verse.

 

You can't teach that {censored}!

 

All gloating aside. There are only a couple of other female led bands in the area that I have seen. One was good but forgettable (truthfully, can't you say that for most male fronted bands) and the other does well, the girl is stunning, but she only sings 30% of the songs or so. The rest are sung by the guys in the band and she dances up front and looks pretty.

 

What has worked really well for us is not trying to find "girl songs" for Meagan to sing. Instead, we play mostly the same stuff we would play anyway, transpose keys as necessary, and have her sing it.

 

One more note, Meagan would dress as slutty as we wanted her to, but I think it's important, as pretty as she is, not to. I think one of the mistakes female singers make is to over do playing on their looks. Yes her looks get a lot of guys attention, but belting out Proud Mary and then Sweet Child O' Mine in succession along with her natural charisma is what I think really is starting make a name for us in the area.

 

Attached is a picture from the last show for your viewing pleasure

 

EDIT: For some reason my retarded self can't upload a picture. Oh well.

[matt greeno]

Yup. My ex-landlord/bandmate had an obsession with "making it big" with a female singer. He made many good points about how singing comes more naturally to women and they bring in the crowds (obviously). We would go to karaoke and try to recruit women to sing, with the angle, "How'd you like to do the real thing?" His main scheme was to get a girl who could belt out great country, take her down to Nashville, and live that whole dream. 3 years after our falling out (which is another story unto itself), he had a country cover band, Gina and the Ghost Riders, and the awesome female singer ended up getting out of {censored}hole Stroudsburg and going to Nashville herself. It was on good terms, but still, Karma.

 

There's this one Jersey-based band Called "Dirty Blondes," which is a party band fronted by 2 hot blonde milf's that definitely fit the Sexpot category.

 

A lot of the ones around here are country. The aforementioned Ghost Riders, were incredible for what they did.

 

I think the "2 hot chicks" formula is pretty popular for the most part. It's doubling the sex appeal while attempting to fill 2 different vocal ranges.

[tim_7string]

 

There's this one Jersey-based band Called "Dirty Blondes," which is a party band fronted by 2 hot blonde milf's that definitely fit the Sexpot category. A lot of the ones around here are country. The aforementioned Ghost Riders, were incredible for what they did. I think the "2 hot chicks" formula is pretty popular for the most part. It's doubling the sex appeal while attempting to fill 2 different vocal ranges.

 

 

We have a band with "2 hot chicks" in the area called "Betty Does." Actually, they are from Fargo-Moorhead. They're great! Really good variety of songs, excellent sound, great players and the two female singers are pretty darn good (and nice to look at too).

 

Around here, we have a few bands with women in them. One was called "Mischief," but I think they broke up or are on hiatus for now. Another is "Bethany And The Bandits." Bethany is a great, powerful singer and a fun-loving gal that gets people in the party mood. And a third is "Fire," a band fronted by a lead guitarist/singer husband and a keyboardist/singer wife. I used to be in a band with a female lead singer in 2005-2006. She would fit the E profile (professional).

 

My own fiancee and I had a band last year called "Highwire," but she only sang one song at one gig. She was primarily a bass player, but only played about a set and a half, with the other guitarist taking on most bass guitar duties. We put the band on hold until she can get a whole night of music down. And eventually she'll sing too, once she gets the hang of playing and singing. I guess if I'm honest with myself, we fit the D profile to a tee, except for the "what wifey wants, wifey gets" part; I pretty much pushed her into it.

[Zeromus-X]

We had an A, and we're hoping we've got an E now. We'll find out in about two weeks. But she sings just as much as the others in the band, so I wouldn't call us "female fronted".

[bish0p34]

You forgot "The Queen". I'm in a band with one of them... They think they're the center of the band, and it all revolves around them. Guys want to bang her, girls want to be her. Therefore, it's all about her. With the female-fronted bands I've done, everybody interviews her. They forget to mention there are other people in the band (including a male co-frontperson), thinks she calls all the shots because she's "the image of the band", and forgets to invite the band to award ceremonies and photo-ops for local magazine covers. The ones I have worked with have also been the ones that don't learn songs (but throw fits if we suggest one she doesn't personally like), don't lift a finger to help people bogged down by gear, shows up right before we start...or 15 minutes after we should've started.

 

Yeah, I'm a little jaded, but I've only worked with one female singer I would ever work with again. Of the few female fronted bands around here that I see...most of the girls that are any good (the pitch, the look, and the presence) at what they do fall into this category. None succeed after their band left/fired them either. I know a few who are great to work with, but seem to fall into one of the above categories aside from "The Professional".

 

Just my experiences, for what they're worth.

[flanc]

We only have a couple that are local and one of them is us. The other is a five piece with the female lead a courageous and competent singer who is fighting father time as she is in her early fifties. She sings a lot of Grace Slick and Joplin tunes mixed with current stuff that is not too hip. They play the smaller places and VFW's and do fine in their niche.

 

The other is my band. My wife plays bass but used to play keys...she's very competent at singing and playing at the same time but get's more front time and mobility with the bass (wireless). She's really the focus/front person but we share lead vocals as neither of us feel we can sing hard all night.

 

We hardly fit the "d" mold as she drug me into the band scene. I had never been in a band until we met and she has been gigging her entire life...well since her teens. She is definitely a pro and has worked at her craft her whole adult life. We are your typical local party band that keeps our set list fairly current (Kings of Leon, Katy Perry, Lady GaGA, Kei$ha, etc) with some well known classics mixed in. My wife is in her late 30's but works out and stays in shape. She has a closet full of stage clothes and takes pride in being "the sexy chic" in the band. We get a ton of younger girls who come out and seem to idolize her a bit as she doesn't just sing, but also plays and rocks as hard as the boys do. We tried going regional a few years back... we were with an agency etc...but it was just too much work given our day jobs and family lives. We are now content to play the better rooms in area and be one more sought after local bands.

 

EDIT: I saw Bish0p34's "Queen" description. My wife certainly has a touch of that...I think of it more as the confident swagger of a good front person. She and I own the PA and lights and are always the first to arrive and last to leave. She busts her arse at load-in /load-out MORE than any other bandmate. When the papers come for interviews...they definitely want to talk to her but she does mention the rest....so maybe she is Queen-lite.

[cooterbrown]

Definitely an E band, in my case, except she never "got out of the game", even though she's been raising two daughters (along with our guitarist - her husband of 28 years.).

[wheresgrant3]

 

We only have a couple that are local and one of them is us. The other is a five piece with the female lead a courageous and competent singer who is fighting father time as she is in her early fifties. She sings a lot of Grace Slick and Joplin tunes mixed with current stuff that is not too hip. They play the smaller places and VFW's and do fine in their niche. The other is my band. My wife plays bass but used to play keys...she's very competent at singing and playing at the same time but get's more front time and mobility with the bass (wireless). She's really the focus/front person but we share lead vocals as neither of us feel we can sing hard all night. We hardly fit the "d" mold as she drug me into the band scene. I had never been in a band until we met and she has been gigging her entire life...well since her teens. She is definitely a pro and has worked at her craft her whole adult life. We are your typical local party band that keeps our set list fairly current (Kings of Leon, Katy Perry, Lady GaGA, Kei$ha, etc) with some well known classics mixed in. My wife is in her late 30's but works out and stays in shape. She has a closet full of stage clothes and takes pride in being "the sexy chic" in the band. We get a ton of younger girls who come out and seem to idolize her a bit as she doesn't just sing, but also plays and rocks as hard as the boys do. We tried going regional a few years back... we were with an agency etc...but it was just too much work given our day jobs and family lives. We are now content to play the better rooms in area and be one more sought after local bands.

 

 

Flanc... I wish you played up here. You guys would be welcome with open arms. I think years ago I contacted you about you're wife's keyboard (EMU) to see if you had an output noise issue. Since then I periodically check your website, keep up with the band pics and video. For a weekend hobby you guys have a great mindset and it shows. And your wife is able to command a mic with no pretention.

[flanc]

 

Flanc... I wish you played up here. You guys would be welcome with open arms. I think years ago I contacted you about you're wife's keyboard (EMU) to see if you had an output noise issue. Since then I periodically check your website, keep up with the band pics and video. For a weekend hobby you guys have a great mindset and it shows. And your wife is able to command a mic with no pretention.

 

 

Thanks Grant! Coming from you, that's a real compliment!

[3shiftgtr]

You missed one. And I am not being sexist, cuz I am just DESCRIBING. BTW, this is NOT humor.

 

Band L) Good looking, talented frontperson who is a lesbian. She is a trained vocalist and instrumentalist, sings the hell out of anything with "guts", and is a mesmerizing entertainer. She is also 'one of the guys' and competes with them for {censored}. She works the "straight side of the fence" onstage and keeps her preference for women a secret at gigs. She hates 'mooks' with a passion, and in a subtle way, sarcastically disses them from the stage. She secretly hates all men, buts accepts her male bandmates as friends and equals. She had a shot at the big time, but got put on the shelf and is bitter about it, but can't find anything better to do with her life. She also hates all things "mom". And the minute ANYTHING comes along that takes her attention away from the band...*poof*...she's gone.....never to be heard from again. Rumors abound regarding rehab, heroin etc, but no one really knows for sure.

[Blackbird 13]

 

We had an A, and we're hoping we've got an E now. We'll find out in about two weeks. But she sings just as much as the others in the band, so I wouldn't call us "female fronted".

 

 

Assuming the singer is who I assume it is.. that would be an E. She's a great performer, and if her style blends with the Riot's, then it'll be awesomeness! When are you guys playing the first show with her?

[cooterbrown]

 

We only have a couple that are local and one of them is us. The other is a five piece with the female lead a courageous and competent singer who is fighting father time as she is in her early fifties. She sings a lot of Grace Slick and Joplin tunes mixed with current stuff that is not too hip. They play the smaller places and VFW's and do fine in their niche.

 

 

I should be grateful after reading that.

 

My lead singer is also in her early 50s - but could pass for late-30s.

She never pigeonholes herself into a style.

 

Kay is game for learning anything new.

She loves Black Eyed Peas, Evanescence, Joss Stone, Duffy, and any kind of R&B or funk. She can bring it on Led Zeppelin, as well.

Yet...for a reception last year we had to learn the Ella Fitzgerald version of "Stars Fell on Alabama", and Kay simply owned it.

Her versatility and excellence never cease to amaze me.

We would be just another band, without her.

[sickman]

LOL @ this thread. Good idea.

 

Also, I from Trickyboy's new avatar I want to check out his band. (insert creepy bass guy comment here)

[John Bartus]

I've known a few husband/wife duos where they both were equally strong musicians. I suppose it's great when everything clicks, but it must R-E-A-L-L-Y suck when there's a disagreement, musical or otherwise.

[jeff42]

I have played in many bands that were fronted by a female or had a female member. there were some good memories but a lot of annoying ones too.

 

* in high school a female singer was brought in cuz the guitar player wanted to do her. (we played mainly Glam rock/ 80s hard rock) So half the band quit cuz we were going in a "softer direction." She brought in players she knew and boy did they suck... yes they sucked by high school standards! That band soon fell apart, but the guitar player and singer are married now and have kids so at least something good came out of it.

 

*in the early 90s I was in an 80s tribute band with a female keyboard player who also sang. Well she wanted the one guitar player and the bassist wanted her... that didn't end well.

 

*another project fell apart cuz everyone had sex with the girl in the band... everyone that is but me. I was the only one that actually followed the whole "hands off the girl" rule we had.

 

*In the late 90s a project I was involved with brought in a female keyboard player who all of a sudden started calling all the shots. Any kind of democracy went out the window a week later. Luckly we lost our practice space and the band disbanded.

 

* when "There & Back Again" 1st started we had a female vocalist who wasn't in key often, had no stage presence, wouldn't load in, would say really rude things over the mic if the crowd wasn't "super into us" and refused to do almost every song any of us suggested... I tested this out by giving here a list of 100 pop/ mainstream songs one time... she said no to 98 of them and grudgingly agreeed to 2 of them.

 

I have only worked with 2 or 3 women that I would work with again. But then again most male vocalists think they can rule the band too. Lucky for me our vocalist is a very good friend of mine and really doesn't have an ego. We can actually discuss things and try to work band stuff out porfessionally and rationally.

 

I am not saying all females that are lead vocalists are divas... just some that I worked with.

[ettsn]

Oh God. I might be in an "A" band...

[urca]

I have to say that I got luckier than hell the end of last year. We ended up with the perfect girl to front our band. I'd say we're a mix between your first and your last examples. We were a trio of 30 somethings that got lots of compliments musically, but really lacked in stage presence. I was tied to the mic singing and playing guitar, we had a bass player and drummer. So we put an ad out for a male or female front person and Meagan answered. She's a very good singer, but I was afraid she was going to be the shy girl at first. She has become a beast on stage. One example. We played a total smokey dive redneck bar last Friday (my kinda place:thu:). Crowd was engaged but subdued, not a lot of dancing, etc, but we kept 100+ people till well past 1 am (we brought almost no one). So, she goes out into the crowd to get people singing during "Don't Stop Believing" First verse - sings the first line, hold the mic to some chick, she sings the second, Meagan sings the third, holds the mic to some big 'ol dude, he does nothing. She looks at him, looks at everyone else looks back at him and says "C'mon you're making me look like a complete douche here" - he laughs and the crowd goes crazy. She picks back up singing (we never stopped playing the music) and the crowd sings the whole rest of the verse. You can't teach that {censored}! All gloating aside. There are only a couple of other female led bands in the area that I have seen. One was good but forgettable (truthfully, can't you say that for most male fronted bands) and the other does well, the girl is stunning, but she only sings 30% of the songs or so. The rest are sung by the guys in the band and she dances up front and looks pretty. What has worked really well for us is not trying to find "girl songs" for Meagan to sing. Instead, we play mostly the same stuff we would play anyway, transpose keys as necessary, and have her sing it. One more note, Meagan would dress as slutty as we wanted her to, but I think it's important, as pretty as she is, not to. I think one of the mistakes female singers make is to over do playing on their looks. Yes her looks get a lot of guys attention, but belting out Proud Mary and then Sweet Child O' Mine in succession along with her natural charisma is what I think really is starting make a name for us in the area. Attached is a picture from the last show for your viewing pleasure EDIT: For some reason my retarded self can't upload a picture. Oh well.

 

This band will end as soon as one of the guys makes a play for her. My prediction: done within a year

[rhat]

I think the reason why you see alot of fem fronted bands is that these days guys dont get involved with school choir programs. When i was doing teen bands in the 60s I dont remember ever playing in a band that didnt have a lead singer who was not involved in the school choir music program. The last band had three of them ,, who sang great harmony.

 

Alot can be learned from the school music programs ,,,, i think lack of particiapan in these programs and the cut backs has really lowered the bar for young bands.

[pickinatit]

 

Of those thirty bands or so that work steadily (2-6 nights a week) around here, I would say there aren't more than five that are female fronted, for whatever reason. The common thread in all the bands that get work around here is energy. Whether they are playing modern rock, hip hop, country, 80s, or whatever else.. the bands that stay busy in this area have an energy onstage and aren't just standing there (with the exception of a few that have been around for 10+ years).

 

 

:poke:This post would be meaningful if we knew WHERE AROUND HERE IS !!

 

Or am I missing that somehow ?

[bnelly428]

I think the reason why you see alot of fem fronted bands is that these days guys dont get involved with school choir programs. When i was doing teen bands in the 60s I dont remember ever playing in a band that didnt have a lead singer who was not involved in the school choir music program. The last band had three of them ,, who sang great harmony. Alot can be learned from the school music programs ,,,, i think lack of particiapan in these programs and the cut backs has really lowered the bar for young bands.

 

I agree with this. Also one thing I have noticed lately, and it may just be coincidence; that the guys who are doing backup vocals and/or harmonies successfully are usually older (relative term, I'm 26). I attribute this to the music of the day when they learned the instrument, they listed to Bon Jovi at age 13 whereas I listened to Metallica etc.

 

 

And I am in a Female fronted cover band.

 

We'd be considered a combination of A and E. When we first started our singer was very shy, but has come into her own the more we've played out and is really distinguishing her own style and interacts with the crowd very well.

[SeniorBlues]

 

I think the reason why you see alot of fem fronted bands is that these days guys dont get involved with school choir programs. When i was doing teen bands in the 60s I dont remember ever playing in a band that didnt have a lead singer who was not involved in the school choir music program. The last band had three of them ,, who sang great harmony. Alot can be learned from the school music programs ,,,, i think lack of particiapan in these programs and the cut backs has really lowered the bar for young bands.

 

 

I used to work with both men and women who clearly had chorus experience. That helps for lead singing, but I'm only now realizing how common it is to see someone who can sing lead (after a fashion) but can't sing harmony.

 

Trying to cover older songs with three parts (never mind four parts behind a lead) is getting to be a challenge. Used to be the norm.

[mstreck]

I know of one other female-fronted band from our area. I'm not sure where they fall, but they are definitely local "celebrities". They tend to stick to classic rock covers and jam-band stuff. They play out a lot, but no high-money beach gigs from what I can tell from their schedule. The singer is in her mid-20's and a total sweetheart! She is also on the upswing from battling breast cancer just last year.

 

I don't know where we fall, either - we're just trying to have fun and make sure that everyone else is, too.

[snoggin]

I'm in one of em in our area. Not sure where we fall but I'd like to think an E. Julie has been doing this for a long time.. I think she flat out rocks.. Still , we dont have much of a following yet , its tough here in the bay area it seems.. Maybe our material is too dated but i dont really see any (party type ) bands around either doing cover material..

 

Trying to figure out how too market this and go about trying to develop more of a following.. We have a full length cd we just made so are trying to do some of those type gigs as well as the cover/ bar type.

 

Any thoughts appreciated

www.myspace.com/moonchildmarin

 

all the tunes in the player are originals but there are cover videos down below if you scroll down