Does my cover band need a gimmick?

[TrickyBoy]

 

I just say this as a word of caution... gimmicks are a committment not a shortcut.

 

 

This is what I meant when I said you can't half-ass it.

 

I guess in thinking about it, a good gimmick will give you an initial "leg-up" on the competition when it comes to first impressions with club owners and the audience. But you better be able to REALLY deliver if you're going to go that route.

[jeff42]

This is what I meant when I said you can't half-ass it. I guess in thinking about it, a good gimmick will give you an initial "leg-up" on the competition when it comes to first impressions with club owners and the audience. But you better be able to REALLY deliver if you're going to go that route.

 

YES. a gimmick is great but you still have to do a TON of work to pull it off and start making $$$$.

 

Like I mentioned in my post before there was a band in my area that was the perfect example of just having a theme or gimmick is not enough: They ended up looking like a bunch of 40 year olds dressed up in silly costumes playing songs that were not really huge Glam rock hits. Now that I think about it more they did a lot of late 70s rock too...

 

Anyway They failed badly for a variety of reasons. I think these reasons included setlist, price, attitude and a big one: there is already an established Hair band Tribute in Northeast PA that does it well.

[Vermoulian]

I don't think it necessarily counts as a gimmick, but I think it can make it easier to book a cover band if you have a theme. The way I like to describe it is, can you tell somebody what kind of band you are in one word (or at most, one short phrase)? If someone (someone who might be intersted in booking a band) says, "Oh, you have a band? What kind of music do you play?" and you have to launch into a presentation about your unique take on your style of music, you're heading up to the plate with two strikes against you. Compare and contrast the following:

 

EXAMPLE A

 

POTENTIAL FAN: Oh, you have a band? What kind of music do you play?

 

JOHNNY COVERBAND: We do wide range of songs representing everything from power-pop to funk, but we like to put our own unique stamp on what we do, which it's difficult to describe because we blah blah blah energy blah blah blah art blah blah blah.

 

POTENTIAL FAN: Sounds . . . interesting. Maybe I'll be back later.

 

EXAMPLE B

 

POTENTIAL FAN: What kind of music does your band play?

 

JOHNNY COVERBAND: Disco.

 

POTENTIAL FAN: Oh, I love disco!

 

 

Note that in example B you can substitute any of a number of things for "disco": eighties new wave, Motown, rockabilly, old-school punk, southern rock, etc. etc. etc. But having a very simple way to describe what you do makes it easier for people booking the band to know what they're getting, makes it easier for you and them to advertise, and has the potential to bring in people who have never heard of you but like your genre.

 

Of course, there are lots of very good cover bands doing the "we put our own stamp on a wide variety of material" thing. I think it's tougher to attract new people and build an audience if you start out that way, but obviously it can be done.

[newmaxnew]

 

Gimmick was not the right word to use. I don't mean dressing up funny or wearing makeup (although that gimmick worked pretty well for KISS). I just mean setting us apart from the masses. I agree nothing is going to work if the music sounds like {censored}, but just being the "best cover band out there" is not enough. Besides, is the average listener really paying close enough attention to notice a band absolutely nailing Sweet Home Alabama vs the band next door doing a decent job of the same song?

 

 

Look at what the other bands are playing and then try to be different.

 

When I put my current band together I noticed that there were lots of cover bands playing Billy Idol, Guns and Roses, Skynard, Bon Jovi and 80s stuff. So i put together a band that plays 60s and 70s. Our set list is uaully at least 80% different from most of the other cover bands in my area.

 

Max

[jeff42]

 

Look at what the other bands ar eplaying and then try to be different. When I put my current band together I noticed that there were lots of cover bands playing Billy Idol, Guns and Roses, Skynard, Bon Jovi and 80s stuff. So i put together a band that plays 60s and 70s. Our set list is uaully at least 80% different from most of the other cover bands in my area. Max

 

 

This is a good way of doing it. If you have 1000 bands playing disco in your area, a disco cover band isn't the best idea.

 

When we started getting a little more "serious" I noticed most of the bands in our area were playing heavier modern rock, so we for the most part, didn't... and don't.

[wheresgrant3]

 

This is what I meant when I said you can't half-ass it. I guess in thinking about it, a good gimmick will give you an initial "leg-up" on the competition when it comes to first impressions with club owners and the audience. But you better be able to REALLY deliver if you're going to go that route.

 

 

 

There in lies the problem.... 99% of the bands don't really have the talent or the ability to pull it off. It's really not a simple thing. Take The Amish Outlaws for example. Their theme... a bunch of transplated Amish farmers who come to NJ to form a cover band and discover the 'Devil's World'. They dress in full Amish garb, sing everything from Snoop Dog to Frankie Vallie and never break character. Seriously, approach one member between sets and they never break character. It's terrific. They did have a semi quick rise in the NY/NJ area. They formed in 2005 or 06... puddled around some local clubs for a year before takin their 'act' to an agent. The agent took off and ran with it because they can sell it. They take wide risks with their setlist and they pull it off with ease. I love the concept, and the execution. It's like Richard Cheese... another marquee act. I'm not saying with the right group of guys/girls it can't be done. I just don't know many bands willing to go that deep into theatrics to sell the show. In fact... having a theater, or performance background in some cases is probably a good pre requisite. The founder of the Amish Outlaws did stand up comedy for a few years. That takes courage and determination.

 

A gimmick is a great idea... but most bands would fail miserably at the execution. Face it... most avereage cover bands only add tunes that they see work for other above average cover bands. With that line of thinking there little doubt that trying to create a gimmick while still compiling a workable setlist that keeps the audience's attention for three whole sets is putting the cart before the horse. I'm not saying it can't be done... but it really is alot more difficult than putting on some silly hats.

[Austincowbell]

 

Read the Doc Hollywood thread. There's a good discussion of this basic topic there. My opinion is this. There are lot's of ways to differentiate your band from the competition. Schtick is one that I've seen work really well. (Search on Youtube for "The Nerds" and "The Molly Ringwalds". Austin Cowbell's band here on the site is another band with unique idea (they do all mash-ups - check their stuff out, it's really good)

Thanks for the compliment... just a quick note to clarify: we never intended the mashups to be a gimmick. We just thought they were fun and started doing them and that's basically become our trademark.

 

as for a traditional cover band, THE best cover band in Austin, hands down is a band called "Skyrocket". They have no gimmick. NONE. No uniforms, no shtick, no nothing. What they DO have are 5 people who could front a band as a singer without any trouble at all. Their worst singer is probably better than 99% of the other cover bands I've seen and as a function of that talent they get great bar shows and even better corporate shows. Good for them.

 

http://www.myspace.com/skyrockettheband

[TrickyBoy]

 

Thanks for the compliment... just a quick note to clarify: we never intended the mashups to be a gimmick. We just thought they were fun and started doing them and that's basically become our trademark. as for a traditional cover band, THE best cover band in Austin, hands down is a band called "Skyrocket". They have no gimmick. NONE. No uniforms, no shtick, no nothing. What they DO have are 5 people who could front a band as a singer without any trouble at all. Their worst singer is probably better than 99% of the other cover bands I've seen and as a function of that talent they get great bar shows and even better corporate shows. Good for them. http://www.myspace.com/skyrockettheband

 

 

Just so you know, I think the mash-up thing is awesome. Not sure if you want to call it a gimmick, theme, schtick, whatever. My point is that it differentiates y'all from other bands and it's an example of using something like that and making it work really well. No negative connotations whatsoever.

[rhat]

 

Thanks for the compliment... just a quick note to clarify: we never intended the mashups to be a gimmick. We just thought they were fun and started doing them and that's basically become our trademark. as for a traditional cover band, THE best cover band in Austin, hands down is a band called "Skyrocket". They have no gimmick. NONE. No uniforms, no shtick, no nothing. What they DO have are 5 people who could front a band as a singer without any trouble at all. Their worst singer is probably better than 99% of the other cover bands I've seen and as a function of that talent they get great bar shows and even better corporate shows. Good for them . http://www.myspace.com/skyrockettheband

 

 

 

 

THIS.... Your mash up deal would never work unless the material you mash up is solid product, which I am sure that it is. No flower pots on a bands heads will make a band work ,, they have to be a solid band.

[Austincowbell]

Just so you know, I think the mash-up thing is awesome. Not sure if you want to call it a gimmick, theme, schtick, whatever. My point is that it differentiates y'all from other bands and it's an example of using something like that and making it work really well. No negative connotations whatsoever.

No, I totally understood it that way and I appreciated the compliment. What I was alluding to was that if someone else were to try mashups or something like that as their "gimmick" it might not be met with as much success as.... this will sound crazy... "playing songs well". I say this because a fair amount of people simply don't like the mashups. They want to just hear songs straight and I completely understand it. So... basically by doing mashups we are limiting our audience rather than growing it.

[Zeromus-X]

There's an entire CD group dedicated to what you're trying to do. Google "Punk Goes". There's a few Punk Goes Pop, Punk Goes Crunk, Punk Goes 80s, Punk Goes Acoustic, etc, etc.

 

You could probably fully market yourself using the songs off those CDs as examples. Some of them are a bit heavy for typical bar-band work (August Burns Red's version of "Hit Me Baby One More Time", for example), but some would be quite do-able.

 

Here's one we've added to our list:

 

rrQrwLcizWw

[RobRoy]

Hooked on Classics redux?

[pickinatit]

 

Oh NO!! :facepalm:Don't get me started on these guys.

I spent a whole night LMAO at these guys a couple weeks ago.

[MDLMUSIC]

I was in an oldies show band for a couple of years where we did different eras each set. Set 1 was the 50's/Early 60's. Set 2 was mid-60's (surf music and British Invasion). Set 3 was Woodstock. Set 4 was the 70's and beyond.

 

We had costume changes and even instrument changes for each set and it went over pretty well in a concert type setting, but no so much in a bar. People seemed kind of confused about the whole costume change thing and couldn't figure out why we wouldn't play their requests just because they came from the wrong era.

 

In my current oldies/classic rock trio my only gimmick is putting on a funny hat or wig for certain songs. A lot of audience members have told me it really makes the songs memorable because they can see and hear that I'm having fun while doing them. My favorite is "To All the Girls I've Loved Before." I made a wig by cutting a plastic Superman wig in half and putting a bandanna and a reddish-brown braid on the other side. When I sing the song I turn my body so that the black wig is facing the audience when I'm singing Julio Iglesias's part, then I turn to the other side for the Willie Nelson part. I change my voice into an exaggerated imitation of both of their voices and use the vocal harmonizer for when they sing as a duet. The audience eats it up.

 

When I work with the German band, I'm always wearing my lederhosen and I always speak with a thick German accent, even when I'm away from the bandstand. You gotta make the act believable for it to work.

[mr3lions]

To the OP,

I admire your decision to try and set yourself apart from the pack. You also never mentioned anything about the gimicky costumes in your post so I assume you may not want to go that route and I applaud you for that also.

You did mention taking songs and "punking" them up. There is a band called Me First and the Gimmie Gimmies that does this.

 

Somewhere Over The Rainbow

 

 

99 Red Balloons

 

 

All My Lovin'

 

 

They look like a ton of fun but I don't know, personally if I could do this every week.

 

Good luck.

[skinsscalper]

Cool idea to the OP, but there's nothing original about it. Me First and the Gimme Gimmes have been doing it for years (and really {censored}ing well).

 

Honestly, the difference between one covers act and another is talent and stage presence.

[rhat]

 

Cool idea to the OP, but there's nothing original about it. Me First and the Gimme Gimmes have been doing it for years (and really {censored}ing well). Honestly, the difference between one covers act and another is talent and stage presence.

 

 

 

On the talent side of things ,, vocals are the biggest part, multiple part vocals trumps guitar players any day of the week.

[skinsscalper]

 

On the talent side of things ,, vocals are the biggest part, multiple part vocals trumps guitar players any day of the week .

 

 

 

For the most part, yes. It's very impressive to see a band that can pull off the harmonies in a song. However, if your guitar player sucks to begin with, there's not a vocal harmony in the world that will save your band (double that for the drummer).

[SeniorBlues]

 

For the most part, yes. It's very impressive to see a band that can pull off the harmonies in a song. However, if your guitar player sucks to begin with, there's not a vocal harmony in the world that will save your band (double that for the drummer).

 

 

Well yes, if someone really sucks, they can bring down anything, but if everyone is mediocre, in the true meaning of the word, and you have great vocals, you will do well if you pick the right material.

 

I suppose that's true of any strength in a band. Let the light shine. If you're not part of the solution, at least don't be part of the problem.

[rhat]

 

For the most part, yes. It's very impressive to see a band that can pull off the harmonies in a song. However, if your guitar player sucks to begin with, there's not a vocal harmony in the world that will save your band (double that for the drummer).

 

 

 

 

 

it kinda depends on the music ,, you can run a soul band on horns and vocals and a strong rhythm section ,,, pick the right material and you dont need mr hot fingers on lead ,, he does has to be a real strong rhythm player. you wont play alot of classic rock without a good lead player ,, but then a good classic rock band goes for alot less a night than a really smokin soul/ horn band with great vocals. you play to your strong points and avoid things that show your weaker ones. A bad drummer is a band killer ,, hard to work around that. same goes for vocals. Given the choice of going short suited ,, its the lead player i would be most willing to give up.