Members B Money Posted September 30, 2005 Members Share Posted September 30, 2005 B Money - saw you were doing Sweet Caroline. Are you doing it straight or rocking it? Do you guys have a female singer? keys? we start it out fairly straight, but by the time we get to the chorus, we're in balls-out rockin' mode. Think big, overdriven power chords Of course, we play one guitar part to capture the basic chords of the song, and the other guitar part mimics all the horns and string parts. We keep it in the key of C. No keyboard player. No female singer except for our bass players wife who gets up and sings "I will Survive". Did I mention we were a rock cover band? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rim Posted September 30, 2005 Members Share Posted September 30, 2005 Nice set list, B Money. I guess your band and my band won't be sharing the stage any time soon since our set lists overlap at least by 50%. -------------- I think (not that I would know personally) another key for a big and loyal following is to play locally regularly. People will be more loyal if they knew they can see you every first Saturday of the month at the same bar, for example. People tend to be creatures of habit. Of course, it's almost a catch-22 since it's hard to get a regular gig without a big, loyal following. There's the rub. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fastplant Posted September 30, 2005 Members Share Posted September 30, 2005 Originally posted by rim Nice set list, B Money. I guess your band and my band won't be sharing the stage any time soon since our set lists overlap at least by 50%. -------------- I think (not that I would know personally) another key for a big and loyal following is to play locally regularly. People will be more loyal if they knew they can see you every first Saturday of the month at the same bar, for example. People tend to be creatures of habit. Of course, it's almost a catch-22 since it's hard to get a regular gig without a big, loyal following. There's the rub. See, I find the opposite. If you're good, it's best not to overplay. You dillute your fanbase by playing TOO often. If you play every friday and sat night, then people have to choose which show to go to. Chances are most people won't go to every show. But if you play say 3 times a month, then you will have more people at those shows. However, if you have no following at all, then yes, you should play as often as possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rim Posted September 30, 2005 Members Share Posted September 30, 2005 Originally posted by fastplant See, I find the opposite. If you're good, it's best not to overplay. You dillute your fanbase by playing TOO often. If you play every friday and sat night, then people have to choose which show to go to. Chances are most people won't go to every show. But if you play say 3 times a month, then you will have more people at those shows. However, if you have no following at all, then yes, you should play as often as possible. True. The example I gave was just once a month - you definitely don't want to "over extend your welcome". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Scheming Demon Posted October 3, 2005 Members Share Posted October 3, 2005 I've heard all the sentiment expressed in the previous posts before. I happen to play in a fairly successful Rush Tribute. I do it because I love the music. I could play in a Bon Jovi Tribute or (insert more popular style of music here) band and make a lot more money and play to more people but I would not enjoy it as a musician and personally. That's my personal choice. However, I will say that being in a Rush Tribute or in a progressive type band, musicianship matters big time. While the average person may not discern the subtleties the average Rush or progressive fan is a lot more knowledgable and has a much higher expectation. I personally enjoy that challenge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BndGrl Posted October 3, 2005 Members Share Posted October 3, 2005 Originally posted by Scheming Demon However, I will say that being in a Rush Tribute or in a progressive type band, musicianship matters big time. While the average person may not discern the subtleties the average Rush or progressive fan is a lot more knowledgable and has a much higher expectation. I personally enjoy that challenge. True but what people expect out of a tribute band and what they expect out of a cover band are vastly different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Scheming Demon Posted October 3, 2005 Members Share Posted October 3, 2005 Originally posted by BndGrl True but what people expect out of a tribute band and what they expect out of a cover band are vastly different. Isn't a Tribute Band a cover band? It is in my book. I don't think an AC/DC Tribute would be held to the same standards as a Dream Theater Tribute. I know, we're splitting hairs here! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BndGrl Posted October 3, 2005 Members Share Posted October 3, 2005 A cover band to me is a just your typical bar/wedding/corporate band that plays a variety of cover songs from different artists. Tribute band is a band that obviously trying to emulate one specific band. Most of the people that go to see tribute bands are fans of the original band and are probably a little more familiar with the music and will pay attention to musicianship. Many times people who see cover bands don't even know who the band is when they walk through the door and could care less what they are playing as long as they can sing their drunk asses along. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wheresgrant3 Posted October 4, 2005 Members Share Posted October 4, 2005 Originally posted by BndGrl A cover band to me is a just your typical bar/wedding/corporate band that plays a variety of cover songs from different artists. Tribute band is a band that obviously trying to emulate one specific band. Most of the people that go to see tribute bands are fans of the original band and are probably a little more familiar with the music and will pay attention to musicianship. Many times people who see cover bands don't even know who the band is when they walk through the door and could care less what they are playing as long as they can sing their drunk asses along. You obviously don't live near NJ.... Cover Bands like The Nerds, Big Orange Cone, The Benjamins have followings larger than most regional original bands. They have a booking agent, a contract with riders and are usually supplied with dinner and a hotel (depending how far they are booked). Sure they are just cover bands... but they are in a unique situation that allows them to make a living at playing other people's music 6 days a week. Really depends on the area. In NJ tribute bands don't necessarily hold the same following or clout. Now if you were in the New England area 5-6 years ago, the opposite was true... Tribute bands for artists like RATM, Sublime, Dave Matthews, Korn, Alice In Chains... reigned supreme. Not sure if the situation is the same these days (likely it's not), however there are distinctly different people who go to both shows. Depends on your market... but in Long Island, NJ, Philly... cover bands at the club level usually have large dedicated followings that know every song in the setlist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wheresgrant3 Posted October 4, 2005 Members Share Posted October 4, 2005 Originally posted by Scheming Demon Isn't a Tribute Band a cover band? It is in my book. I don't think an AC/DC Tribute would be held to the same standards as a Dream Theater Tribute.I know, we're splitting hairs here! For the most part I agree here.... I think DT has a larger percentage of fans who are actually musicians... therefore if you are in a Rush, DT or even Zepplin Tribute band you had better play your ass off. Most AC/DC fans wouldn't know the difference between A Minor and A7maj5. That's not to say AC/DC sucks... it's just that they are not as reknowned for their musicianship as a band like Rush. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BndGrl Posted October 4, 2005 Members Share Posted October 4, 2005 No, it's unfortunately the same here There are several large cover bands around here that typically do draw huge crowds (pack a room with a capacity of 800 and have a 90 minute wait at the door to get in) they get free booze, free rooms, make $3200+ for a weekend, blah blah blah... But you also have clubs where it doesn't matter who's playing, there will always be somebody sitting there and they could probably care less if you mess up a note or two or 15 as long as you are showing them a good time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Glyder Posted October 4, 2005 Members Share Posted October 4, 2005 Speaking of Stars....ie...Jersey cover bands....These guys pack em in everywhere they go and make a killing. They sure aint pretty and the musics not the greatest ....but they got an act and it pulls em in. http://www.stars-productions.com/index.php?ID=AR/The_Amish_Outlaws/index http://www.stars-productions.com/AR/_media/theamishoutlaws_insane.mpeg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wheresgrant3 Posted October 4, 2005 Members Share Posted October 4, 2005 Originally posted by Glyder Speaking of Stars....ie...Jersey cover bands....These guys pack em in everywhere they go and make a killing. They sure aint pretty and the musics not the greatest ....but they got an act and it pulls em in.http://www.stars-productions.com/index.php?ID=AR/The_Amish_Outlaws/indexhttp://www.stars-productions.com/AR/_media/theamishoutlaws_insane.mpeg These guya are great!!! They were a Rockland County, NY band that got signed about 6 months ago. Very entertaining!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members triton76 Posted October 4, 2005 Members Share Posted October 4, 2005 One thing I didn't see mentioned is that you have to have strong vocals more than gtrs etc. I was in a band with a female lead singer. Then a new guitarist came in who could sing lead. We had to switch bassists and got a guy who could sing. Soon I felt we were playing the same old songs but with the 3 part harmonies happening I felt like we really took it to another level. Especially on Long train runnin by the Doobies "without loooooooove"! Of course my mic was taken away after one rehearsal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members srsfallriver Posted October 5, 2005 Members Share Posted October 5, 2005 When I was in highschool, I played in a cover/some original band that had a large, consistant following. I left the band when I went to college. Amazingly (I'm in my 30's now), the band lived on and was still together a year ago (with just a couple personnel changes). I went to a show to see my old bandmates and how they had grown. I saw alot of familiar faces in the crowd! They had the same people following them to every gig that they had back in the 80's! Appart from that, they played quite a few of the same covers from those early days. It seems that they had found a nich and a crowd that enjoyed it very early on and stuck with it. The band broke up several times throughout its life (last winter was the last one) but I believe those guys will get together again and that crowd will be there! If you're curious, they played alot of Aerosmith, Tesla, Ozzy, Queensriche, and Creed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wheresgrant3 Posted October 5, 2005 Members Share Posted October 5, 2005 I've found that more than anything... people just have to like you as much as they like the music you are playing. The bands that suffer are bands that either try too hard (50 playing "Small Things" ... not a good idea) or have no personality onstage or offstage. For five years I played in a band that crawled up from the basement and started playing clubs. We played pop tunes played as punk covers ... a little different and we did it because ... it was different than most of the local CB's and #2 they were easy to play (and none of us were exceptional musicians. After a year of total obscurity and empty rooms I started what was one of the first active websites in the area. It started small but grew big quickly as I took lots of pics and updated the site weekly with picture galleries. We made sure people felt as though they were part of the show. I made it a priority to introduce myself, remember names, work the crowd...etc In a short time... the little band that could was competing with the top cover bands in the area drawing 100-200+ people per night. After we broke up.... I joined another band a year later... and it was like all of the people who used to come out and see my previous band ported over. Of course some people complained they didn't like the material of the new band (staright party rock covers) but they all still liked the atmosphere. And that is something I bring to this new band... I try to make every feel like they are welcome... like it's a big party and they are all invited. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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