General Music Chat

I play what I want to play, whether it's original or cover. If the song is good we play it. If the song sucks we dump it. We don't play covers note-for-note, however most people can recognize the song, we don't change it too much, except sometimes we do. As far as going to see bands I'll walk out on note-for-note bands, that's what juke boxes and DJ's are for. I want to hear something that took some creativity. I'm not a mynah bird or parrot mimicking somebody else's material. We put instrumentation in songs that aren't on the original. We play some songs with a very different flavor than the original. I like this thread, thanks for posting it. Later...

if I were gonna do covers, that exactly the way I'd want to do it Bob!
only 2 things in the world smell like fish, and one of em is fish!

I'll walk out on note-for-note bands, that's what juke boxes and DJ's are for. I want to hear something that took some creativity.

But you are a musician, most of the people who come out to see you aren't. What would they prefer to hear in a cover?

Kramer is right. I want to go see original acts and see what they as a group have to offer. My band has had many a quarrel over this. As of now we do a 40/60 ratio of originals/covers. I need my music to be heard and the crowd usually likes stuff that they recognize. You get them hooked they will come back, with friends. But please stop covering Rock you like a hurricane, it was bad then and you cant make it any better.

Kramer is right. I want to go see original acts and see what they as a group have to offer. My band has had many a quarrel over this. As of now we do a 40/60 ratio of originals/covers. I need my music to be heard and the crowd usually likes stuff that they recognize. You get them hooked they will come back, with friends. But please stop covering Rock you like a hurricane, it was bad then and you cant make it any better.

hah. I love that song! Not that I would play it, but 80's cheese metal is the shiznit.

Kramer I don't know what most non-musicians want to hear in a cover. I guess the first thing is to make the cover recognizable. One good way to do that IS to play it note-for-note. I really don't know if MOST people want to hear something played note-for-note. I haven't taken a poll of the audience. No matter what you play if you can't hold the crowd you're doing something wrong. Most bars, especially here in Kansas City (aka Covertown USA) want you to play recognizable covers, even the blues bars. I call it the top 40 syndrome. Just about every blues band in town does Sweet Home Chicago, Stormy Monday, Mustang Sally, Pride and Joy, etc. etc. We even do some of these songs. Do I play them like the record? Mostly NOT. I'm not Stevie Ray or Clapton or B.B. King. I don't sing like any of them. I'm not going to even try. I don't want any of the instrumentalists I play with to copy a Stevie Ray Vaughan solo note-for-note. They're NOT Stevie Ray or B.B. King, or whoever we are covering. I want the covers to sound like us. I want the originals to sound like us. If the audience likes the way WE sound they usually stick around and we get asked back. Some venues unfortuneately have grown accustomed to having nothing but note-for-note cover bands. If you honestly enjoy playing that way and you get repeat gigs then there's nothing wrong with that. The note-for-note formula works. It just has no appeal to me. I've been in note-for-note bands and we gigged numerous times and did well. Being that I have creative urges it drove me crazy after a while. I got to play five years ago with Jerry Dowell (check out JerryDowellband.com) who does almost nothing but his own tunes. It was a giant breath of fresh air to me. I got to create my own bass-lines. When I left that band I started writing my own tunes and re-working some of the covers we did to suit my style of playing and singing. It was the best thing I ever did. Now I feel when we perform we are accomplishing something special. Can't wait to record a real CD. Hard to record a CD playing note-for-note covers. You've got a good point about pleasing a crowd. Later...

yeah, you make some good valid points. I guess what it all boils down to is that there is no right or wrong approach.

Personally, I'm so sick of doing covers... Even fresh ones we add become stale and mediocre to me rather quickly... I'm sure I've said that in at least 10 threads this week....

Yes you have Krammer. And I for one applaud your move toward original music. Not that I think anything is wrong with doing covers. I just love the creative release of original music.

depends on the venue.
if its a bar where drinking is the focus: covers.
a venue with focus on music: originals.

feel your venue out before you play. places like a coffee shop will receive a mix of both well.

Im just tired of 'learning' covers. I'm compelled to learn them note for note.
It's a lot of work and time to do that, if youre trying to build a 40+ song catalog for a cover band...

Wouldnt be so bad if I just winged everything, but I just can't do that. I'm sick and need help.

Music is an art form that was turned into a business, but its still art (at least it is for me)
*(;>)-~

Originals 100%

I guess I might feel different if I wasn't creative enough or in a band with the rest of the guys not creative enough to write songs and perform well enough to get a crowd of 500+ people throwing horns in the air, screaming and wanting more when the set was over. However that is not the case.

Call them war stories or whatever you will, but most of the stories we are accumulating surpass those of 99.9% of the cover bands I know.

I guess I have more respect for people who entertain the crowd with their originality then I do for people who play someone else's material. No offence, but that's my .02.

If what I am doing now ends in 3 years I will still feel very much more accomplished than I would feel after 20 years of playing covers.

Fast Fret I hear where you are coming from on originals.

But and this is the kicker, if your band stops in year or two, then what have you got a? A CD and a bunch of memories that get better over time than they were when they were happening. Theres nothing wrong with that. Ive been there and done that, and wouldnt do it any differently the second time, but when my original bands quit it was all over and I had to start from scratch all over again.

As far as being creative, I think the more you exercise your brain musically the better you are on a creative level. Im at a point that I learn new covers just for kicks and it gives me ideas for originals. Its just things that I hear and think hows he doing that, and I learn it as an exercise, not because Im going to play it. I probably could run thru 300 songs well enough to do a gig and another 400 just to jam, and Im also at a point that I can mimic a solo over anything out there, so I think exercising helps. Well in my case it does anyway.

But if you have a good basis in covers there will always be somewhere you can play.

And on how you play just make sure that whether you do covers or originals that you kickass and are thouroughly rehearsed before you get out in front of people.

And always have fun.

Covers..... I'm too old to whore myself all over NY doing free gigs to get exposure.... back in the day it was a blast... now I'm having sooo much fun at age 49 shredding like a banshee to a crowd of die hard metal fans!

Both, as long as it sounds good.