Cover bands, do you play anything that was not on the radio?

[Hegmatronicon]

so here's a question... does Collective Soul- Shine work well on a crowd? I've seen Gel get a very so-so response by 2 different local bands in the last year or so (I guess they copied each other) but I haven't heard anyone do Shine in years... or River Flows. I always liked Breathe... BTW.

 

 

Shine works well here. Not that it will help you at all i suppose.

[Cheesey]

we sandwich shine in with nitty gritty's fishin in the dark , I call it Fishine in the dark. All the people love to sing that crazy song ...baby get ready ! thank you Luke Bryan for your cover!

[tlbonehead]

Jumping bands, I think it's awesome that you play "{censored} Towne" - I love that song. Rock on, sir! Brian V.

We started playing it before anyone hardly had ever heard the original. Lots of people thought it was one "our" songs. And several other local bands started covering it because it went over really well for us. Same with BLEED. That did really well for us with the right crowd but we didn't start doing it until the album had been out for a little while and people were familiar with it. I'm pretty sure that one was never a hit. Maybe. Part of it is probably the fact that locally, we didn't really have any of the right kind of radio stations that would have played typical 90s popular rock. There was one local station that played modern stuff other than pop/hits but they were mostly the metal junk. Oh and ya, we did SHINE for a while but the song was so worn out quickly. Everybody played it everywhere. We still do WHY PT 2, PRECIOUS DECLARATION, HEAVY, and LISTEN fairly regularly, in addition to RIVER FLOWS.

[SpaceNorman]

I don't know about never on the radio ... that's a pretty big space. We do however do a handful of pretty obscure tunes.

[sickman]

so here's a question... does Collective Soul- Shine work well on a crowd? I've seen Gel get a very so-so response by 2 different local bands in the last year or so (I guess they copied each other) but I haven't heard anyone do Shine in years... or River Flows. I always liked Breathe... BTW.

 

 

Shine use to get a good response, but I also haven't heard anyone do it in years. It's still played on modern rock stations around here. I suggested it to the band, but was met with "no one wants to hear that song" (translation: "I don't want to learn it").

[New Trail]

 

....There's a band down here that does MOSTLY obscure stuff. I want to believe they get away with it because of their superior musicianship. . . . . .

 

 

I think it's probably very true that a band of superior musicians will be able to draw a crowd and get gigs based solely on their ability. HOWEVER, how much better would that same band do if they ALSO did popular danceable covers?

[bigjd]

We also do bleed and heavy with a lot of success.

[SeniorBlues]

I think it's probably very true that a band of superior musicians will be able to draw a crowd and get gigs based solely on their ability. HOWEVER, how much better would that same band do if they ALSO did popular danceable covers?

 

 

I don't think they would do any better unless they changed their repertoire substantially, which would sort of defeat the purpose for them, I suspect. By comparison, most of the posters on this forum seem unwilling to go beyond maybe one or two obscure songs per set.

 

This band has been together since the seventies. It's not about the money any more. I'm surprised more of you all don't feel the same way.

[wades_keys]

I don't think they would do any better unless they changed their repertoire substantially, which would sort of defeat the purpose for them, I suspect. By comparison, most of the posters on this forum seem unwilling to go beyond maybe one or two obscure songs per set. This band has been together since the seventies. It's not about the money any more. I'm surprised more of you all don't feel the same way.

Personally I do feel what you're saying.

But I also have a deep-rooted desire to gig.

I'm not a musical whore though; wouldn't do a convincing enough job if I tried.

We keep "The Lemon Song" in our set even though it's not a "crowd favorite".

We also do a few semi-obscure tunes, like BB King's version of "Stormy Monday" - again, more for the enjoyment of the band than anything else.

It's a constant "tension" to try and keep our sets acceptable to the crowd and also musically fulfilling to us: one thing we DON'T do is rip off other band's setlists - there are far too many copycat bands in this area as it is, and we've had several club owners thank us for not playing the same tired-ass crap that every other band plays.

[JoeDirt]

one thing we DON'T do is rip off other band's setlists - there are far too many copycat bands in this area as it is, and we've had several club owners thank us for not playing the same tired-ass crap that every other band plays.

 

 

The band I am in was started with this very goal in mind. We have kept to it with a few exceptions but we don't play Sweet Home, Mustang Sally, Play That Funky Music White Boy, or Brick House and we never will.

 

We do play some very popular hair band stuff but the funny part is most of the bands around here are stuck playing older classic rock in addition to the crap I mentioned above so our hair band stuff is actually pretty 'fresh' for this area.

[SeniorBlues]

The band I am in was started with this very goal in mind. We have kept to it with a few exceptions but we don't play Sweet Home, Mustang Sally, Play That Funky Music White Boy, or Brick House and we never will. We do play some very popular hair band stuff but the funny part is most of the bands around here are stuck playing older classic rock in addition to the crap I mentioned above so our hair band stuff is actually pretty 'fresh' for this area.

 

 

I think there's a fine art to coming up with set lists that isn't often appreciated. How many times does a song get played for years because somebody says "hey, let's do this", calls the key, and counts it off. I'd much rather do a lot of listening to each other's CDs, then have meetings, discussions, and votes before songs are assigned for the next practice.

[ggm1960]

We cover a few songs that are a little less played but are still somewhat known. But I gotta say Im surprised how few in the audience know Lights Out by UFO though. That and Meanstreak by Y&T. Great songs but apparently not as widely known. Im wanting too cover We Become One and Easy Livin by Fastway but I fear the audience may not of heard much of them either. Anyways I like throwing something different in with the obligatory Nickelback, Buckcherry,AC/DC,etc... bar HardRock set/s.

Lights Out by UFO was one of the best albums of the late 70's. I wore that sucker out. I still think Phil Moog was one of the best singers ever. If you guys haven't heard this stuff you're really missing out.

Also, Michael Schenker played guitar in that group!

[ggm1960]

We do murder in my heart for the judge. moby grape.

 

 

The first full length record I ever bought, I was in 6th grade, was Three Dog Night and it had that song on it.

 

I bought the album because of the hit, Old Fashioned Love Song and I remember being pissed because the LP didn't have the harmony vocal scat at the end like the radio single did!

[fanuvbrak]

The only song I've ever played live that went over well without a bit of radio airplay is "All Night Long" by Will Hoge. It's the kind of song you hear and the first time you're hooked.

I thought that would extend to some Drive By Truckers stuff (especially when I was in an alt-country project) and we'd start "Where the Devil Don't Stay" and it was like a cue for people to go smoke.

[New Trail]

I know that the Grateful Dead always did covers, and I'm pretty sure I've seen videos on Youtube of them doing covers of Brown Eyed Girl and Mustang Sally, and I think Mustang Sally was with Trey Anastasio sitting in. And you think, WHY would a band like that play those {censored}ty songs? Cause the crowd likes them, and probably because the band enjoys them, too. And think about the crowd. Typically a Grateful Dead crowd will be dancing. But what about some guy who's really into the Dead but his girlfriend isn't. Well, maybe doing a song like Brown Eyed Girl or Mustang Sally gets the GF's attention whereas 'Truckin' or 'Uncle John's Band' wouldn't. I know Gov't Mule does a lot of covers, too.

[ChordGirl]

But what about some guy who's really into the Dead but his girlfriend isn't. .

That relationship is doomed.

[rhat]

The first full length record I ever bought, I was in 6th grade, was Three Dog Night and it had that song on it. I bought the album because of the hit, Old Fashioned Love Song and I remember being pissed because the LP didn't have the harmony vocal scat at the end like the radio single did!

We used to do alot of 3 dog night back in the day. Not many teen bands covered that stuff.

[slodge]

 

Something like "Whipping Post" I have never heard on classic rock radio, but it goes over pretty well. .

 

 

What the hell kind of 'classic rock' station are you listening to???

[tlbonehead]

What the hell kind of 'classic rock' station are you listening to???

no schitte. Gets played around here a lot.

[tlbonehead]

saying songs that have never gotten radio airplay doesn't leave very many. There are still stations out there that pride themselves for playing "other" songs off of the albums. Ever since that first Bottle Rockets album came out we've been doing a number of songs from it. We still do RADAR GUN and, occasionally, THOUSAND DOLLAR CAR. RADAR GUN still gets requested a lot because people know we do it. We did songs from the first Wallflowers album that were never hits. Same with Refreshments.

[Opus Antics]

Yeah, I don't think radio play is necessarily the standard to use. Some degree of familiarity is. Of course radio play can lead to familiarity. But as discussed earlier in this thread, there are other ways that people can get to know songs.

[jeff42]

I know this was touched on earlier in the thread but there are some "album Tracks" that can be played/ or have been played "back in the day" with great success.

for instance when GNR- Appetite for destruction was hot, ANY track from that album worked.

same thing for Pearl Jam-Ten & Nirvana- Nevermind.

Again back when alt rock/grunge was "king"

or what about Led Zep IV?

maybe this needs it's own thread...

[wheresgrant3]

Not an area I can give real firm advice on... since every tune we play has had significant radio exposure. Yes, we're musical whores, and we play the very worst in guilty pleasure music. However that's what keeps the show running and the line out the door and around the corner.

In the early days we would stick in some 'b-side' favorites. We dropped that strategy when we saw the oxygen leave the room. In my previous band all we played were punk covers and b-side tunes and we had a healthy following. A fun time... but it wasn't sustainable in the long run. Too much of a novelty.


I'll argue till my dying day... that song selection is important, but only half the battle. They way you perform them is what really completes the circle. I've seen plenty of bands butcher popular songs to dispersing audineces. They simply added them because they saw other bands perform them (with a decidely differen't crowd reaction). There really is no magic pill of a setlist. You just need to take risks, stabs, tests and tweaks until you find out what works for you.

[Rich4Once]

We cover a few songs that are a little less played but are still somewhat known. But I gotta say Im surprised how few in the audience know Lights Out by UFO though. That and Meanstreak by Y&T. Great songs but apparently not as widely known. Im wanting too cover We Become One and Easy Livin by Fastway but I fear the audience may not of heard much of them either. Anyways I like throwing something different in with the obligatory Nickelback, Buckcherry,AC/DC,etc... bar HardRock set/s.

I could do without the obligatory tunes you mentioned, and would totally dig the Fastway, Y&T, and UFO stuff. I might be the only guy loving it, but I'd be *loving* it. I suppose if one guy going ape{censored} for the oddball tunes is your goal, then you'd be okay.

[Blackbird 13]

In our acoustic duo setup, we throw out "Fu(k her Gently" by Tenacious D, and "With All My Country Heroes" by Hank Williams III, neither of which have had significant airplay, but both of which still seem to work well.