Too old for covers?

bobblehat

My wife mentioned something the other day that got me thinking. I was talking about adding some new songs to the set and adding a few newer songs. She claims nobody wants to see middle aged men covering Pharrell Willliams or Bruno Mars and I think she has a point. I have never given much thought to the actual artists that we have covered and only considered whether or not it is a good song and if I can play it. As a middle aged white man with slightly greying hair and a beard  I wouldn't dream of entering stars in their eyes as Bruno Mars but think nothing of it when playing at the Dog and Duck !  

What do you think?

Should you stick to songs from your own generation?

mike_l

Depends on what the crowd wants.

A middle-aged crowd wants different to a young crowd

Roland

As @mike_I says, it's the age of the audience, not the performer, that determines what goes down well. If it's a decent song in the first place then you can strip it back to the key elements and re-arrange it to suit your style and instruments. 

Danny1969

Well Pharrell Willliams is in his forties so no bother there

I know what she means though .... I'm in same boat

jd0272

Our singer's early 50's. Said "I wanna do DC's Touch Too Much!!!"

I said "Don't be fckn stupid..."

So content as well as newness for me. 42, greying, beard.

Danny1969

Trouble is you can't not do a lot of the newer stuff if you want to earn decent money ..... cos they want to hear newer stuff a lot of the time. Luckily bands like KOL just stand still while playing and look old themselves so that's fair game

I'm 45 but not gone grey yet and have no beard so fuck it I'm still up for anything

Fez

Once or twice we've heard the "Why don't you play something newer?" question so we put "Gold on the ceiling"  "Learn to fly" "Californimacation"and "Molly's Chambers" in the set but it is rare that they go down better than  Chuck Berry, the Kinks or the Stones. Although we did have people bouncing around to Cali once.

jd0272

Danny1969;340044" said:

Trouble is you can't not do a lot of the newer stuff if you want to earn decent money ..... cos they want to hear newer stuff a lot of the time. Luckily bands like KOL just stand still while playing and look old themselves so that's fair game

I'm 45 but not gone grey yet and have no beard so fuck it I'm still up for anything

45? Not grey? No beard? FFS, act your flamin' age man!

Some tracks are simply a young bands tracks. A 50+ yr old singing Sex On Fire is a bit, well, hmmmm. One thing I've said to the lads is if you lot wanna do that track (insert any track that old gits should leave alone) go ahead, I'll go and have a coke or summat and watch.

bigjon

I'm in my 40s and cover songs by Katy Perry, Beyonce, Lady Gaga . . . I radically rearrange them in a rock direction, though.

FreddieVanHalen

If you think you're too old to play a song you probably are.

But it's just a belief.

My belief is that I can play whatever I want. Of course, my lack of practice is more of a challenge than my age :-)

hotpickups

I have to agree. Nothing funnier than a 50+ singing sex on fire in a pub. I'd leave that one well alone but then again I'd leave that one well alone anyway

Nomad

Danny1969 said:

Well Pharrell Willliams is in his forties so no bother there

And Nile Rodgers is 61.

hubobulous

If we choose something more contemporary, we rock it up. Its odd how a lot of the younger generation that we talk to in pubs at our gigs say that they don't like rock music when buying albums or listening at home, but really enjoy the energy that a distorted guitar and generally heavier vibe gives to a familiar tune.

Sex on Fire is not a song that I like much, but it goes down a storm and the crowd just doesn't care that we're in our 40s when they're drunk, dancing and having a great time.

If I'm honest, we're looking to try to find more contemporary tunes to add to the set. The thing is, I just don't listen to the charts or Radio 1/Capital these days, so wouldn't know what's around anyway!!

KickTheHabit

hubobulous said:

If we choose something more contemporary, we rock it up. Its odd how a lot of the younger generation that we talk to in pubs at our gigs say that they don't like rock music when buying albums or listening at home, but really enjoy the energy that a distorted guitar and generally heavier vibe gives to a familiar tune.

Sex on Fire is not a song that I like much, but it goes down a storm and the crowd just doesn't care that we're in our 40s when they're drunk, dancing and having a great time.

If I'm honest, we're looking to try to find more contemporary tunes to add to the set. The thing is, I just don't listen to the charts or Radio 1/Capital these days, so wouldn't know what's around anyway!!

I can't listen to Radio 1, as I do not have an ASBO currently...  :P

hubobulous

@kickthehabit - do the decent thing me old mucker.....go get oneself an ASBO, listen to the beats on Radio 1 and report back :-)

KickTheHabit

Never!

I'm over 40 now and have a beard... I'll burn!

TBH you are never too old until you think you are ....

just need to find your crowd and avoid the ASBO venues in my experience...

Mind you kiss those days... they were fun...

Roland

hubobulous said:

Sex on Fire is not a song that I like much, but it goes down a storm and the crowd just doesn't care that we're in our 40s when they're drunk, dancing and having a great time.

I find it incongruous to be playing Teenage Kicks in my 60s

hubobulous

Roland said:

hubobulous said:

Sex on Fire is not a song that I like much, but it goes down a storm and the crowd just doesn't care that we're in our 40s when they're drunk, dancing and having a great time.

I find it incongruous to be playing Teenage Kicks in my 60s

I guess, if I'm being picky, the only difference here is that my sex really is on fire.

However, on a daily basis, I don't find myself Livin on a Prayer and contrary to Mick, I can get Satisfaction, (if you ignore his wanton usage of double negatives). But I get your point ;-)

drwiddly

"I guess, if I'm being picky, the only difference here is that my sex really is on fire."


You can get some ointment for that .......

I'll get me coat.

hubobulous

drwiddly said:

"I guess, if I'm being picky, the only difference here is that my sex really is on fire."


You can get some ointment for that .......

I'll get me coat.

Does ointment work on petrol induced flames? I was going to use an extinguisher or smothering blanket.

That's the bitch about the internet.....people take my comments as lame humour when in fact I'm in the process of enduring 3rd degree burns on my manhood

axisus

hotpickups;341602" said:

I have to agree. Nothing funnier than a 50+ singing sex on fire in a pub. I'd leave that one well alone but then again I'd leave that one well alone anyway

 you could always change the words to newer songs and make them past tense "my sex was on fire"