Choosing songs in your (covers) band

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  • Danny1969Danny1969 Frets: 10357

    There's been quite a few occassions I've spent a fair bit of time nailing something only for us to play it twice and never again. Stockholm Syndrome, Olivers Army, Fairware to The Fairground are a few that spring to mind. Some songs you all agree on and then for some reason they don't pan out. 

    I always think of a gig as a football match and your songs are your players. You don't always field your best 11 but if it's not going well and you need to bring someone else on then you want some variety and quality on the bench


    www.2020studios.co.uk 
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  • GrunfeldGrunfeld Frets: 4028
    edited January 2015
    Danny1969 said:
    I always think of a gig as a football match and your songs are your players. You don't always field your best 11 but if it's not going well and you need to bring someone else on then you want some variety and quality on the bench

    What a great analogy (and I don't even like football!). 

    There's a crucial bit of that though, which ought to be common sense but isn't always:  it's the "if [the gig] is not going well..." 

    To spot how a gig is going requires paying attention to the audience as a whole, not just the pair of gobby idiots who are making the most noise.  It is not impossible for singers/ musicians to be in their own little world to the extent that they don't notice their favourite song is not working with an audience on a particular gig... (or even most gigs).  To be fair it's not always easy to spot but it's a skill worth having.
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  • How many songs would you say you guys know off the top of your heads, for the band? 50?
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  • GrunfeldGrunfeld Frets: 4028
    How many songs would you say you guys know off the top of your heads, for the band? 50?
    Let's see.... one... two...four...  --- at least 4.5 chords. 

    That's pretty much everything covered.  The rest is jazz.  
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  • bigjonbigjon Frets: 680
    We've got 200+ but I'm the only one who has to learn them - the bassist drummer and keys player just work off a spreadsheet I give them with chords, structure, tempo and YouTube link
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  • Danny1969Danny1969 Frets: 10357

    My main band works off a list of about 90 or so. Those are tight as a chuff though. We can't use any kind of written cheats cos the light show means we can't see shit on stage. Sometimes I have a job to see the fret markers 

    For normal pub work 2 x 1 hour sets should be fine. Clubs are more like 3 x 45 so anyway between 30 and 40 songs should be enough depending on the gig
    www.2020studios.co.uk 
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  • EricTheWearyEricTheWeary Frets: 16253
    If you don't have enough songs worked out then a 25 minute version of Hey Joe is always acceptable. \m/
    Tipton is a small fishing village in the borough of Sandwell. 
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  • LevLev Frets: 228
    In my experience having a repertoire of about 100 songs will cover you for most gigs. You need to be able to handle requests, if you don't know a specific song you should be able to do something else by the requested artists, so know at least one ACDC song, U2 song,  Coldplay, GnR, Queen etc.

    Nostalgia is a big deal with cover bands also so be able to play an 80's, 90's set etc. Also try to include some new chart songs (or an adaptation of them at least). In many cases you won't know the type of crowd you've got until you're well into your set so you need to be able to adapt the set on the fly. If you can stick together past the first few gigs you'll find your repertoire expands pretty quickly especially if you play a variety of venues.
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  • mike_lmike_l Frets: 5700
    If you don't have enough songs worked out then a 25 minute version of Hey Joe is always acceptable. \m/

    Worked on Wednesday evening..........

    Ringleader of the Cambridge cartel, pedal champ and king of the dirt boxes (down to 21) 

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  • EricTheWearyEricTheWeary Frets: 16253
    mike_l said:
    If you don't have enough songs worked out then a 25 minute version of Hey Joe is always acceptable. \m/

    Worked on Wednesday evening..........

    See! :(|)
    Tipton is a small fishing village in the borough of Sandwell. 
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  • Emp_FabEmp_Fab Frets: 24210
    I implemented a voting system in the last band.  Everyone emails a load a of suggestions to me (so nobody else knows who suggested what), I then email the complete list out to everyone.  They vote either yes, no or veto.  The veto is there so nobody has to play something they absolutely hate.  Once all the votes are in, we pick the songs with the most votes.  Job done.
    Lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine.
    Also chips are "Plant-based" no matter how you cook them.
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  • slackerslacker Frets: 2216

    I'm currently starting a covers band, one's tailed off and not sure if dead or not and I left one in 2013 and another in 2014. So my thoughts on choosing and doing songs is past experiences influencing the current one.

    The 2013 band was formed by the drummer with the bassist as an MD. Bassist picked songs he liked that were all Radio 2 playlist keyboard based, we didnt have a keyboard player. Songs were nearly all by male vocalists, we had a female one. I left after 6 months.

    2014 was a classic rock start up we never got a vocalist but the lead guitarist band leader insisted on picking the songs. Luckily the band folded before I could leave.

    The dormant band was actually very much fun the songs were picked by the singer, I played double bass in that band and loved it. Song choices were eclectic and very off kilter. We didn't do many gigs.

    So with that lot behind me I started a covers band. The idea is to do around 50 50 instrumentals and songs with me singing. I've got a drummer and we have had 3-4 rehearsals.We purposely havnt got a bass player yet as I know 4 and we want to thrash out song choices and arrangements first. here's only two people to sort for rehearsals so it's really easy. Anyway, song choices...

    I choose all the songs and play them to him. We'll run through the songs, we keep what works and what he likes. If he's not enthusiastic we'll not practice it. Also the songs choices are known but not mainstream cover stuff. The idea is not to be top 40 and not be weird. Also we are working on working together and playing together. Nothings set in stone and we are sorting styles as we go. Currently it's a mixture of blues, rock, funk and dance.

    The bass players I know are all capable of fitting in quickly  and I might keep the bassist as a depping position. Actually if anyone plays bass in the Bedfordshire area let me know.

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  • koneguitaristkoneguitarist Frets: 4125
    I think when any covers band starts up, unless it's a specific genre or tribute band, you always tend to throw a lot of songs in and the band starts to get a feel for what does and does t work. 
    My old band started out like this , we did 60's 70's 80's stuff, and all sorts in between. 
    But after a while we got known for the sound we had at time which was me driving everything acoustically, so started doing more and more songs that fitted that, like REM, Tom Petty etc.
     Don't be afraid to think outside the box, people only remember beginning and end of night by the next day, so make sure your opening and closing songs are not only good but different. 
    We used to do a rocky version of The ballad of Davy Crockett, great fun watching people leave at the end of the night still singing the chorus. 
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  • RolandRoland Frets: 8591
    First time around I didn't respond to this thread because we were changing our approach. It's all too easy for a pub covers band to churn through the same old songs that everyone else is playing.

    We have good singers and musicians, and get repeat bookings because we play some of the more complicated songs which other bands usually don't tackle. Personally I enjoy tackling something new. Whether it's 80s songs, which are new to me because I was too busy with children and career to notice them, or a fresh arrangement of a well known song.

    So we decided to compile a 'long list' of songs which each member would like to play. Rather than allow a veto we decided to try each song, see whether we could find a style and arrangement which suited it. If yes then we play it live in two different venues before deciding whether it has a permanent place in the repertoire.

    It's not a democracy because the lead vocalist and I decide what goes into the set list, but it's a lot of fun. It takes time because we listen to lots of performances before coming together to work on an arrangement, but that's what we enjoy doing. Some arrangements I do myself, but quite often it's playing a song through with other people that inspires the arrangement. It's a bit like actors not learning their lines until after the read through.
    Tree recycler, and guitarist with  https://www.undercoversband.com/.
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  • thomasross20thomasross20 Frets: 4423
    I'm all for learning the difficult songs!
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  • pintspillerpintspiller Frets: 994
    bigjon said:
    We've got 200+ but I'm the only one who has to learn them - the bassist drummer and keys player just work off a spreadsheet I give them with chords, structure, tempo and YouTube link
    Sounds like my kind of band. Keep me in mind if your bassist pulls out.
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  • Seriously, just hire new singers who CAN be bothered.
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