To cover band, or to not cover band.....

Deijavoo

Possible chance to audition for a cover band. Cover bands really ain't my thing but playing every weekend, getting paid, sounds great next to the never ending struggle of originals bands I've always played in. 

Original bands will always be my main focus, writing is my love but I've got to admit I'm tempted. 

Anyone else had the same conundrum? 

John_P

I'd say go for it...
I've played in lots of original and covers bands (currently one original taking a pause and two active cover bands), it's a lot of fun having a better chance of a decent crowd, easier to replace musicians and getting paid -  you can have all these with an original band but it's just so much easier playing covers.

Remember that you're auditioning the band as much as they are auditioning you - a lot of the issues in bands are still there:  people learning material and being reliable, everyone having decent (i.e. reliable and working) gear, ego's, making sure you get the balance of crowd pleasers and tunes you all like etc etc.   

I used to joke that a lot of original musicians would benefit from a year or two playing club gigs - a quick way to learn how to gig professionally or learn the harsh truth ;-) 

If it works out right, it can be a lot of fun and the lack of pressure means you can enjoy the show as well as having plenty of drunk girls dancing in front of the stage

monquixote

I've done both. 

The way it works is that you really enjoy it, and the money comes in handy and then then you get jaded with playing Sex on Fire / Mustang Sally quit and join an originals band which is very exciting and creative and then you get jaded by the fact that it's hard to get gigs and no one comes to see your band so you quit and join a covers band. You really enjoy it, and the money comes in handy and then then you get jaded with playing Sex on Fire / Mustang Sally quit and join an originals band which is very exciting and creative and then you get jaded by the fact that it's hard to get gigs and no one comes to see your band so you quit and join a covers band. You really enjoy it, and the money comes in handy and then then you get jaded with playing Sex on Fire / Mustang Sally quit and join an originals band which is very exciting and creative and then you get jaded by the fact that it's hard to get gigs and no one comes to see your band so you quit and join a covers band.

not_the_dj

I gave up on the originals thing years ago, but gig pretty regularly now in two bands playing the usual pub set. I enjoy playing guitar, people dance and I get cash on my pocket at the end of the night.

Deijavoo

On the professionalism front I always found that my bands were probably too organised, rehearsed etc.... at times. Maybe I'm kidding myself and covers is what I'm destined for.

Don't get me wrong I love playing anything but covers bands just feels totally against what I want, but maintained gear, regular gigs....mmmm...

Deijavoo

......but......

John_P

^  Lol and Wisdom if would let me do both...

That sums it up perfectly!    

Jalapeno

Regular giggage is not to be sniffed at, when in a no-gig period you realise what's missing from your life !!!!

Col_Decker

do it

you get to play, practice your chops, work on your banter, and widen your power-stance, etc. And you get paid.

mudslide73

If you're sick of conning the same people over and over to come to originals gigs - do covers. You get good audiences who turn up with minimal promotion (on their own accord!), sing all the songs and you get paid. It isn't as forfilling artistically but I've had more fun since i've been doing covers.

Deijavoo

The consenus is the same.

I'll give it a shot and see what happens. 

digitalkettle

I'm in two cover bands right now...but neither are what I call jukebox bands. One is modern country rock, the other is blues. Sort of the best and worst of both worlds: I don't have to play Mustang Sally, All Right Now, or Wonderful Tonight...but...they may as well be originals if no-one knows the tunes :-S

DiscoStu

monquixote said:

The way it works is that you really enjoy it, and the money comes in handy and then then you get jaded with playing Sex on Fire / Mustang Sally quit and join an originals band which is very exciting and creative and then you get jaded by the fact that it's hard to get gigs and no one comes to see your band so you quit and join a covers band. You really enjoy it, and the money comes in handy and then then you get jaded with playing Sex on Fire / Mustang Sally quit and join an originals band which is very exciting and creative and then you get jaded by the fact that it's hard to get gigs and no one comes to see your band so you quit and join a covers band. You really enjoy it, and the money comes in handy and then then you get jaded with playing Sex on Fire / Mustang Sally quit and join an originals band which is very exciting and creative and then you get jaded by the fact that it's hard to get gigs and no one comes to see your band so you quit and join a covers band.

@TTony

Forum t-shirt backprint slogan if ever there was one!

ICBM

I like playing covers or even in a complete covers band as long as they're always approached as playing the song and not the record. The obsessive trying to 'nail' songs exactly like the original recording drives me nuts - I hate listening to cover bands like that, let alone playing in them. As soon as it gets to the point of "you have to play it exactly like that because that's how it is on the record", I'm out. Just put another dime in the jukebox and be done with it...

But covers done you own way can be great fun - more than originals even. It's like playing originals but the audience recognise the songs so the response is always far better... which is annoying if you write originals, but true! And is actually no different to playing an original that someone else in the band wrote, if you think about it.

Even classical musicians interpret the written score and put their own personality on it, not play it robotically.

EricTheWeary

ICBM said:

I like playing covers or even in a complete covers band as long as they're always approached as playing the song and not the record. The obsessive trying to 'nail' songs exactly like the original recording drives me nuts - I hate listening to cover bands like that, let alone playing in them. As soon as it gets to the point of "you have to play it exactly like that because that's how it is on the record", I'm out. Just put another dime in the jukebox and be done with it...

But covers done you own way can be great fun - more than originals even. It's like playing originals but the audience recognise the songs so the response is always far better... which is annoying if you write originals, but true! And is actually no different to playing an original that someone else in the band wrote, if you think about it.

Even classical musicians interpret the written score and put their own personality on it, not play it robotically.

Yes the note for note thing is just making life hard for yourself and nobody cares. It also tends to hilight mistakes. That's also, roughly, the difference between a covers band and a tribute act. Just as a word of caution though - I wouldn't assume that being in a covers band is an endless supply of money (and knickers) thrown at you just because you can strum through Mustang Sally. There is a lot of competition out there and not a lot of money floating around. If the audition is for a band that is already organised with a steady supply of gigs then you have fallen on your feet.

jaygtr

A lot of famous bands that get covered a lot don't bother playing their own songs note for note .

A. Because they can't.
B. because they can't be bothered.
C. Because they want to keep things interesting for themselves and the audience.

So i can't understand why a covers band would want to either.

Although it does to a certain extent depend on the song. If a solo is very recognisable like "alright now " I wouldn't deviate to far

JayGee

jaygtr said:

A lot of famous bands that get covered a lot don't bother playing their own songs note for note .

[...]

So i can't understand why a covers band would want to either.

Although it does to a certain extent depend on the song. If a solo is very recognisable like "alright now " I wouldn't deviate to far

The way I see it most songs have certain "signature" licks and/or riffs which define them and as long as you fit them in (or even just kind of reference them) the rest is up for grabs. 

I think the key thing is that if you're going to change things make the changes big and obvious as there's a fine line (in the heads of the punters, obsessives, and obnoxious band-mates) between "just tweaked this a little bit" and "too lazy and/or not good enough to play it properly" - I prefer to avoid that grey area and am very happy that the band I'm in at the moment shares that view as I suspect I'm all too often firmly in the "not good enough to do it properly" category :-)

Jalapeno

Or "Could, but once I've nailed the main lick I can't be arsed with the rest"

RocknRollDave

@JayGee Spot on.

One of the down sides of being a covers band (and I know this is a generalisation, but let's generalise for a minute) is that you will have to provide your own PA and you won't be working with a sound man unless you choose to pay for one yourself.
That said, many folk would see that as a positive.

There's an element of "swings and roundabouts" as what you'll lose in terms of the satisfaction of playing songs you wrote yourself you will gain in the cheers that go up when you play a song that people actually know..admittedly it might be Sex On Fire

jaygtr

It also depends on how good the original guitar part is.

If you think " I could never come up with anything remotely as good as that " then copy away!

Danny1969

In my experience if you want to go out as a covers band at a professional level then yeah you should really be able to nail songs and solo's note for note. That ability can actually make life easier to a certain extent because if everyone plays exactly whats on the record there isn't any need to rehearse a lot of the time. I bet there's plenty of guys on here in wedding bands who have to play certain songs for the first dance and sometimes you will never need these songs again. So you don't rehearse your own version you just stick to what's on the record and turn up and play it. Also if you have to use dep players due to other commitments like session work it's a lot easier if the dep player only has to listen to the record to know exactly what to play. 

As for the covers \ originals thing, just do both. If you get people into the venue spending their money then throwing some originals into the set isn't a problem and can even help you sell some CD's