Members cherri Posted May 10, 2006 Members Posted May 10, 2006 I play in a blues band - which is, by definition, a cover band. How is a blues band by definition a cover band? I doubt Debbie Davies, Sue Foley, Walter Trout, Joanna Connor, Joe Bonamassa, and a gjillion others (signed or unsigned) would agree with you.
Members tucktronix Posted May 10, 2006 Members Posted May 10, 2006 Originally posted by cherri How is a blues band by definition a cover band? I doubt Debbie Davies, Sue Foley, Walter Trout, Joanna Connor, Joe Bonamassa, and a gjillion others (signed or unsigned) would agree with you. I never defined a blues band as a cover band. I can rephrase that for you to say that I play in a blues band that does covers. Would that help you?
Members cherri Posted May 10, 2006 Members Posted May 10, 2006 Thank you for clearing that up - I was going to get all indignant and stamp my tiny feet. I agree with Lee as far as cover selection and original writing.
Members smaynor Posted May 10, 2006 Members Posted May 10, 2006 Cover band only here. No one in my group has any interest in writing originals. I've played for 27 years, and have never had the slightest desire to write songs. It's just not for me. I have absolute respect for anyone that can write songs, especially good ones, and perform them live. It just isn't my cup of tea however. Last weekend we played a Friday night at the local popular club. we had around 100 people there. Pretty full for this club. Our typical draw there is around 100-115. Saturday night had an all-original group playing. Playing-ability-wise, they could kick our ass any day of the week. All very good musicians. They had maybe 25 people there. We're booked almost solid through the end of August. These guys play maybe once every couple months. I just feel like most people want to hear what they've been listening to on the radio that week. I find it hard myself to "get into" a band when I've never heard any of their material. Again, I respect those who do, it's just not what we want to do as a band.
Members FlogRock Posted May 10, 2006 Members Posted May 10, 2006 There's a bit of a misunderstanding in the above posts; cherri quoted walt0915, not tucktronix...Back on topic: I also prefer to do both. It's stupid to fill your set with mediocre originals because of refusing to play covers, and I also wouldn't want to play covers that I don't enjoy, just for the money.Instead play the covers you love, and the originals that are good enough to compete with those.
Members tucktronix Posted May 10, 2006 Members Posted May 10, 2006 Originally posted by cherri Thank you for clearing that up - I was going to get all indignant and stamp my tiny feet. I agree with Lee as far as cover selection and original writing. No problemo... But after thorough reading, I didn't post the comment... We've opened for Smokin' Joe Bonamassa and Sue Foley in the past. Joe sat in with our band a couple of times.
Members fastplant Posted May 10, 2006 Members Posted May 10, 2006 Originally posted by tucktronix We've opened for Smokin' Joe Bonamassa in the past. He sat in with our band a couple of times. Really? That must've been pretty cool, he's one of my favorite guitarists.
Members tucktronix Posted May 10, 2006 Members Posted May 10, 2006 Originally posted by FlogRock There's a bit of a misunderstanding in the above posts; cherri quoted walt0915, not tucktronix... Oops, my mistake:mad: Didn't read the post fully
Members Lee Flier Posted May 10, 2006 Members Posted May 10, 2006 Originally posted by BlueStrat Actually, what you're talking about is the way just about every band thought until the mid 90s, when home studios and the internet made everyone who had been playing longer than 3 weeks think they could be a rock star. Well, I am from L.A., and that attitude started a lot earlier there. It was like pulling teeth to get any so-called "original bands" to do any covers even in the 80's. It wasn't till I moved away from there that I found other like minded people in that department. I always wanted to have a band pretty much like the one I have now, bummer that it took so long to find other people who thought the same! But, better late than never!
Moderators daddymack Posted May 10, 2006 Moderators Posted May 10, 2006 Originally posted by Lee Flier Well, I am from L.A., and that attitude started a lot earlier there. It was like pulling teeth to get any so-called "original bands" to do any covers even in the 80's. It wasn't till I moved away from there that I found other like minded people in that department. I always wanted to have a band pretty much like the one I have now, bummer that it took so long to find other people who thought the same! But, better late than never! True...in the 80s in L.A., when record companies were starting to get lazy, and home studio quality was improving, there were a thousand bands on the 'strip' hawking their originals...and I was doing sound for a lot of them... Now there are twentyfive thousand bands pushing 24,500 poorly conceived CDs in this town alone...As to the original vs covers thing...I have always been mixing originals in with covers, and when I say covers, its the song, not the version of the song that gets covered (I mean, if you do it note for note, the audience may as well put a buck in the juke...)...and we are a 'blues' band, for lack of a better definition...but we do an eclectic mix from Stevie Wonder to Nat 'King" Cole to Louis Jordan and Cab Calloway...along with Muddy, Elmore, Wolf, BB, etc...
Members matt greeno Posted May 10, 2006 Members Posted May 10, 2006 Im only joining another cover band again if I need the money
Members salislore Posted May 10, 2006 Members Posted May 10, 2006 We play covers with some originals mixed in. I enjoy playing most of the covers we do. I am starting another band that will do just originals. It will be a side project. All the members of my cover bsnad will be in it, for now. I write all the original material, so I will be calling all the shots on this one. But, I will certainly be open to suggestions. I call most of the shots in the cover band too.
Members Beachbum Posted May 11, 2006 Members Posted May 11, 2006 Originally posted by daddymack As to the original vs covers thing...I have always been mixing originals in with covers, and when I say covers, its the song, not the version of the song that gets covered (I mean, if you do it note for note, the audience may as well put a buck in the juke...)... Same here. I like making acousti-cized versions of some rock songs.
Members walt0915 Posted May 11, 2006 Members Posted May 11, 2006 Originally posted by cherri How is a blues band by definition a cover band? I doubt Debbie Davies, Sue Foley, Walter Trout, Joanna Connor, Joe Bonamassa, and a gjillion others (signed or unsigned) would agree with you. Well, no disrespect intended. I'm not familliar with the people you mentioned, but all of the blues players I've listened to do a significant number of covers of other's blues songs. To me, its kind of part of blues that you play others' material and put your own spin on it. I made a generalization, and of course its not always correct. So like I said, no disrespect intended.
Members Roy Brooks Posted May 11, 2006 Members Posted May 11, 2006 I play in bands that play both "originals" and covers. Though we don't play covers exactly like the record. All things considered, I like to play with good musicians who I also get along with. I also like to get paid.
Members Blackwatch Posted May 11, 2006 Members Posted May 11, 2006 I play all originals but have alot of respect for those that can do covers. The only reason I do all originals is that I've been prolific and have alot of them. I feel very fortunate that I get to play gigs of all originals.....It's all good as long as you don't suck.....covers or originals......
Members StratAttackJack Posted May 11, 2006 Members Posted May 11, 2006 My old band played a mix of both. We'd do a couple originals, then a cover, then a couple more originals, etc. etc. probably 80% original. One night we played like 4 cover songs out of 20, and these stupid ass gothic kids came up afterwards and criticized us saying we didn't play any originals . We actually took that as a compliment.
Members cherri Posted May 11, 2006 Members Posted May 11, 2006 One of the nicest compliments I ever got on our song writing: "I can't tell which ones are the the covers and which ones are your originals."
Members vanlatte Posted May 11, 2006 Members Posted May 11, 2006 Originally posted by Lee Flier Well, I am from L.A., and that attitude started a lot earlier there. It was like pulling teeth to get any so-called "original bands" to do any covers even in the 80's. It wasn't till I moved away from there that I found other like minded people in that department. I always wanted to have a band pretty much like the one I have now, bummer that it took so long to find other people who thought the same! But, better late than never! I never understood some of the staunch resistance to even suggest a cover song with some original bands. Maybe it's a regional thing or something since I see it a lot in my area. What I do know is the few original bands that throw in a cover here and there always get a HUGE response from the crowd. I tried to stress this with my last band, the importance of "song recognition" and how it can endear a band to the audience. I know that every time I have seen a good original band pull off an interesting cover that I recognize, I tend to remember them over the gluts of forgettable tripe that is also out there. A tasteful cover song that a band makes their own can go a long way for an original band.
Members Beachbum Posted May 11, 2006 Members Posted May 11, 2006 Originally posted by vanlatte I never understood some of the staunch resistance to even suggest a cover song with some original bands. Maybe it's a regional thing or something since I see it a lot in my area. What I do know is the few original bands that throw in a cover here and there always get a HUGE response from the crowd. I tried to stress this with my last band, the importance of "song recognition" and how it can endear a band to the audience. I know that every time I have seen a good original band pull off an interesting cover that I recognize, I tend to remember them over the gluts of forgettable tripe that is also out there.A tasteful cover song that a band makes their own can go a long way for an original band. I know what you mean. There are some bands in my area totally objectable to playing any covers. They like to say, "We don't play other peoples music anymore man, we're doing all our own stuff." As though they've 'evolved' to a different level. But they have trouble getting hired for gigs, and, when they do get hired they have to bring in more bands because they don't have enough songs to play for a gig. Interesting to watch these types of bands attempt financial survival. I believe the ego gets in the way.
Members tucktronix Posted May 11, 2006 Members Posted May 11, 2006 All I have to say is... if you're fortunate enough to be able to do originals and get steady work, God bless ya'. There's nothing wrong with either. If a band sucks, I wouldn't want to see them whether they do originals or covers. I do believe that it's always good to put your spin on it when doing covers. Personally, I'd rather play originals than covers. But, then again, I love playing out.. and want to be able to play out as much as I can. So, if I can get more work by doing covers, so be it.
Members BlueStrat Posted May 11, 2006 Members Posted May 11, 2006 Originally posted by vanlatte I never understood some of the staunch resistance to even suggest a cover song with some original bands. Maybe it's a regional thing or something since I see it a lot in my area. What I do know is the few original bands that throw in a cover here and there always get a HUGE response from the crowd. I tried to stress this with my last band, the importance of "song recognition" and how it can endear a band to the audience. I know that every time I have seen a good original band pull off an interesting cover that I recognize, I tend to remember them over the gluts of forgettable tripe that is also out there.A tasteful cover song that a band makes their own can go a long way for an original band. I agree. When I do festival shows or concerts, I now make it a point to throw in at least two covers, done in a different way. We often do an arrangement of "Come Together" with horns, and may do a version of "I Saw Her Standing There" too. Sometimes if my set is 90 minutes or longer, I'll do a few acoustic songs in the middle, gradually adding guys until we're back to full strength, and I do a solo acoustic version of ZZ Top's "Just Got Paid." The crowd goes nuts, but the truly amazing thing is, I sell quite a few more CDs even though none of those songs are on them.
Members Blackwatch Posted May 11, 2006 Members Posted May 11, 2006 I do 2 covers in my show... Lowell George...Roll me Easy Robert Johnson...Come on in my Kitchen...
Members vanlatte Posted May 11, 2006 Members Posted May 11, 2006 Originally posted by Beachbum I know what you mean. There are some bands in my area totally objectable to playing any covers. They like to say, "We don't play other peoples music anymore man, we're doing all our own stuff." As though they've 'evolved' to a different level. But they have trouble getting hired for gigs, and, when they do get hired they have to bring in more bands because they don't have enough songs to play for a gig. Interesting to watch these types of bands attempt financial survival. I believe the ego gets in the way. This was one of the points of contention with my prior band. Some of these guys were even with me when we saw some of these bands pull out a cover and see the crowd response. Apparently, when it came to us, asking for just one cover was a "Waste of time because we have so much of our own material"Ego strikes again.
Members cherri Posted May 11, 2006 Members Posted May 11, 2006 IMO, an excellent, tight, unexpected take on a difficult cover lends musical validity to a band's originals. It demonstrates that you've got the chops to back up your writing. Learning many songs in different styles makes you a better, more versitile musician, whether you play them out in at shows or not. Original bands that refuse to learn any covers are doing themselves a disservice. The bigger your repertoire, the bigger variety of material you have in your musical tool box that you can draw on when you're writing. My take on covers vs originals.
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