JTUK Posted July 16, 2016 Share Posted July 16, 2016 [quote name='Norris' timestamp='1468610265' post='3092187'] And Blue - it sounds like you play to a lot of "cold" crowds in your bars. In UK it tends to be a bit more "local" and we have quite a few fans who will follow us around and make an effort to see us if we're nearby. I suppose that makes a bit of difference in our approaches to playing. A familiar crowd makes it an intimate experience, which seems not to be a feature for you as far as I can tell [/quote] Around here, a few bands can call on a lot of passing thru players... in between their better gigs, so there is a lot of seat of the pants stuff but they can pull it off. The band will be set up to do a blues type set...be pretty funky and get quite greasy. So, the song becomes a vehicle to stretch out somewhat. You do need that intimate type gig though but people find out which will do that sort of gig..and band leaders are known for throwing in a few surprises. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewJordan Posted July 16, 2016 Share Posted July 16, 2016 [quote name='bassjim' timestamp='1468666448' post='3092490'] pissed up yobos..............gone down a storm, got repeat bookings and even had someone piss all over them in the bogs whilst explaining they are the best band they have ever seen ect [/quote] Oi! Have you been trying to steal our crowds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted July 16, 2016 Share Posted July 16, 2016 [quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1468626208' post='3092305'] Has no one here been fired because they didn't pull in the crowds? Blue is right. Beer sales pay the band. Dad, you've got the right ideas but in the wrong order. A cover band should entertain the audience whilst, hopefully, having fun. Education? From a cover band? Good luck with that! [/quote] Of course, beer pays the band... doesn't mean you have follow everyone else. You'll live or die on the people that turn up but you'll be likely to turn as many people off with the ' cheesy standards' than you will bring in. If you know the places you play... or the bands that play them then the LL is going to book you on your set and who is in the band. He might not insist you play such and such but I know a few who will not have you if you aren't suited to their cultivated audience. There are very popular bands in the towns around here who just can't get into certain places as there is not a lot to distinguish them from all the others...certainly set-wise. Typically, these will be 80's standard bands, as it happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trueno Posted July 16, 2016 Share Posted July 16, 2016 [quote name='blue' timestamp='1468604863' post='3092134'] You should always pick songs for the audience. You won't be able to educate the audience, that's not what they come out for and not your job. Your job is to sell alcohol and entertain. Blue [/quote] 100% agree... whether you're in the US or UK. I've played loads of stuff that I wouldn't listen to and still enjoyed playing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BottomE Posted July 16, 2016 Share Posted July 16, 2016 We think of ourselves as a working band - to work we need to provide a service that prospective clients are willing to pay for. To answer your question - we edge toward playing tunes that:[list] [*]will work with the lineup [*]fit the general tone of the band [*]might work in different settings [/list] and most importantly[list] [*]that people know and (we have a hunch) will go down well [/list] Its trial and error. There have been tunes that bomb surprisingly and then again some that are popular that you wouldn't have thought. For example, we do a cover of a tune called The Rent by Gwen Guthrie - nor particularly famous - but it always goes down a storm! This proves that there isn't a default answer i guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimR Posted July 16, 2016 Share Posted July 16, 2016 (edited) You just need your songs to have a strong recognisable hook that cuts in within the first 2-4 bars. You also need plenty of songs people know the words to. Women listen to the lyrics and dance. Men tap their feet at the bar and only dance when the women do. Playing obscure album covers in an attempt to teach your audience will just get you men standing at the bar tapping their feet. Not a bad thing but IME it can be a bit soul destroying. There's a million tunes out there, Beatles, 50s Rock'n'roll and Elvis covers are easy, boring and predictable. We don't do them in my current band, however, in a previous function band I was in; we didn't really start getting wedding and function bookings until we added them to our set list. Horses for courses. . Edited July 16, 2016 by TimR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Sausage Posted July 16, 2016 Share Posted July 16, 2016 [quote name='TimR' timestamp='1468672556' post='3092540'] Horses for courses. . [/quote] Who's that by? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimR Posted July 16, 2016 Share Posted July 16, 2016 [quote name='Lord Sausage' timestamp='1468673508' post='3092546'] Who's that by? [/quote] Either 10CC or The Osmonds? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Sausage Posted July 16, 2016 Share Posted July 16, 2016 [quote name='TimR' timestamp='1468673753' post='3092548'] Either 10CC or The Osmonds? [/quote] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue Posted July 16, 2016 Share Posted July 16, 2016 [quote name='bassjim' timestamp='1468666448' post='3092490'] there have been some right shithole dives we have played in lately. we are your typical bit more upmarket quality funk soul covers band that if not playing to a nice crowd of normal people in a reasonably nice pub then we are more likely to be playing a function or wedding for top dollar. We tried these dives out recently with the view that A :because its somewhere different, and B: you never know what you might pick up in future bookings. We completely died at both venues. We started off with at best 20 pissed up yobos which whittled down to the bar staff by the end of the night. If the OPs band had rocked up playing the Verve, Oasis ect they would have gone down a storm, got repeat bookings and even had someone piss all over them in the bogs whilst explaining they are the best band they have ever seen ect Both pubs were run by the same football worshiping big screen lovin every other word is fuc...g beer bellied fun time family and so its no suprise that the punters were of the same mentality. Sometimes its not what you are playing, nor how good you are at it but to whom are you playing it to. I did 4 years in a very successful indie rock cover band, traveled abroad with it and on average did 4 gigs a week playing to mainly the oaisis,jam lovin types. Once you get to know your audience its easy to cater for them but in the mean time there are safe bet tunes which although predictable you cant go wrong with. Probably not the sort of thing you cant wait to pick your bass up and play at home though. Nothing more boring than just playing a G for ages if you are not playing along with the band. Also a regular crowd can boost your confidence to the point you dont think you can do any thing wrong. Its when you are away from them in pastures new that the old comfort zone tunes get every thing back on track..........unless you are playing to the wrong crowd in the first place.... [/quote] Were a bar band we play 70s hard rock. I've noticed we have died when the crowd is the under 25 group. Blue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul S Posted July 16, 2016 Share Posted July 16, 2016 With one of my bands we have kind of forced ourselves a niche, playing in smaller, out of town pubs to a largely older demographic. We don't go near Indie/rock/pop covers but do an eclectic mix of stuff we enjoy and is a bit more musical perhaps. We get rebooked and are repeatedly told what a refreshing change it is to hear something new. It has been hard work to get the venues - some places we have totally fallen flat - but we are now as busy as we want to be after a couple of years. Bonus is the pubs often do nice food Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted July 16, 2016 Share Posted July 16, 2016 We've been asked by a paying punter to add all the usual crap for their wedding later this year, they are paying so that's that. The songs are actually mostly ok really just done to death, brown eyed girl etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mykesbass Posted July 16, 2016 Share Posted July 16, 2016 [quote name='Paul S' timestamp='1468684997' post='3092669'] With one of my bands we have kind of forced ourselves a niche, playing in smaller, out of town pubs to a largely older demographic. We don't go near Indie/rock/pop covers but do an eclectic mix of stuff we enjoy and is a bit more musical perhaps. We get rebooked and are repeatedly told what a refreshing change it is to hear something new. It has been hard work to get the venues - some places we have totally fallen flat - but we are now as busy as we want to be after a couple of years. Bonus is the pubs often do nice food [/quote] Used to get a similar reaction with my old band - best by far was the Eastbourne TUC club where we divided them straight down the middle being loved by half the members "so nice to hear something different, not more of that Rock & Roll" and the other half "got any Elvis?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue Posted July 16, 2016 Share Posted July 16, 2016 [quote name='Paul S' timestamp='1468684997' post='3092669'] With one of my bands we have kind of forced ourselves a niche, playing in smaller, out of town pubs to a largely older demographic. We don't go near Indie/rock/pop covers but do an eclectic mix of stuff we enjoy and is a bit more musical perhaps. We get rebooked and are repeatedly told what a refreshing change it is to hear something new. It has been hard work to get the venues - some places we have totally fallen flat - but we are now as busy as we want to be after a couple of years. Bonus is the pubs often do nice food [/quote] Very similar to the route we took. 95% of our gigs are out of the city. We play the out of the way lake and biker bars. We don't go near the indie or originals clubs for several reasons, they don't pay and the clientele is too young for the stuff we play. Blue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicko Posted July 18, 2016 Share Posted July 18, 2016 [quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1468615848' post='3092236'] We have employed a one person can veto a song choice rule in our band, we've decided that there must be enough songs that we all like and hopefully the audience will too, it's a bit of an odd set but it's getting tweaked at each gig. [/quote] ^^^^ This. With a well chosen set list theres no reason why you can't please both the band and the crowd most of the time. I must amnit though I end up witholding my veto for the really crap stuff which means I end up playing crowd pleasers that I personally dont like. What started out as a 90s set list now includes some very modern stuff and a few classics thrown in as an encore. Our target audience is 30 somethings, but we have never had anyonne complain that thy don't like the set.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue Posted July 18, 2016 Share Posted July 18, 2016 (edited) [quote name='Nicko' timestamp='1468843798' post='3093668'] ^^^^ This. With a well chosen set list theres no reason why you can't please both the band and the crowd most of the time. I must amnit though I end up witholding my veto for the really crap stuff which means I end up playing crowd pleasers that I personally dont like. What started out as a 90s set list now includes some very modern stuff and a few classics thrown in as an encore. Our target audience is 30 somethings, but we have never had anyonne complain that thy don't like the set.. [/quote] I don't get involved with what material we play. I actually like all The songs we play. Some I didn't initially like ,however over time I've grown to like them. Remember in the US it's tough playing and managing 4 hours of material. Blue Edited July 18, 2016 by blue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted July 18, 2016 Share Posted July 18, 2016 [quote name='blue' timestamp='1468859046' post='3093841'] I don't get involved with what material we play. I actually like all The songs we play. Some I didn't initially like ,however over time I've grown to like them. Remember in the US it's tough playing and managing 4 hours of material. Blue [/quote] I can agree with that.... doing 2x45's or 1x70 mins means the band becomes the draw and the reason why people come to that venue rather than anywhere else. But because of that, the band can pretty much choose what they play. If people don't turn up, then you are doing 'something' wrong somewhere... But it is also important to know the gig and what the form is. The best pubs around here have a booker who knows what they want .. If that means 80's gtr then you need to match that or not bother. The more discerning pubs tend to want a good rosta, playing something different and lets see what you've got. These...imo..are the most fun gigs. You want paying but it is more about how much of a good gig it is... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HengistPod Posted July 19, 2016 Share Posted July 19, 2016 We also have the veto system in place. The world is full of music, so why play tunes you don't like playing? We're all too old for that. Having said that, I'll withhold my veto if there's something the other guys really want to do and it doesn't make me cringe too much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicko Posted July 19, 2016 Share Posted July 19, 2016 We recently had a cull of songs that had been suggested to add to the setlist but never quite got around to being learnt and practiced. We had about 30 songs on the list and rather than a veto we tried to see how much interest there was in the songs. We ended up dumping around 25 songs, and surprisingly there were 10 or so that got no votes - so even the member (and I use the term advisedly) who suggested them decided they were wrong. I was unfortunately unable to dump "Are You Gonna Go My Way" or "Rocks" which were already in the ready to gig list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No lust in Jazz Posted July 19, 2016 Share Posted July 19, 2016 We have two types of gig; the pub gig - where anything goes - its less well paid, therefore we'll play what we like and the function gig where we are well paid and provide a service centred around dance music. We have a get together away from rehearsal to decide on new material, if its on the list it, it gets learned and rehearsed in list order - we'll change the key to suit the vocals if necessary and record a version of the song and listen back to decide if its good enough to play live. Two 'lessons' that I've learned - its not what you play, its how you play it and play to the strengths of your band. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uk_lefty Posted July 19, 2016 Share Posted July 19, 2016 My latest band gets bookings for local festivals and parties, there is a varied audience and you don't quite know what they'll react to. We want our audience to sing along and dance (both ideally). We are a bluesey rock band by nature but we are finding we need to play a diverse range of crowd pleasers but with a bluesey rock flavour to keep people happy. We made set list adjustments on the fly last gig because we had five hundred people staring blankly at us playing songs we love, but going mental for songs we didn't think woukd work.. strange thing is I only enjoy playing the song live if the audience enjoy it, regardless of what I would want to listen to alone in my car or noodle my bass along to at home. I want a set where our audience sings and dances along to every song, that's what I enjoy most. It's no big ambition and not very sophisticated but it suits my band and our audience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted July 19, 2016 Share Posted July 19, 2016 Yep ^ I'd rather play mustang Sally to a massive audience of people dancing and singing along than look at blank faces as we perform a near perfect rendition of an album track by Joe Bonnamassa, I've done both and I'll take the easy option every time especially if we are charging them for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue Posted July 19, 2016 Share Posted July 19, 2016 You want to play songs that keep people coming to all your gigs, building a following. We have fans that follow us from gig to gig.Again, that takes time. It didn't happen over night. And keep in mind we're not what you would call a professional band. Blue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmo Valdemar Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 [quote name='blue' timestamp='1468951769' post='3094624'] And keep in mind we're not what you would call a professional band. Blue [/quote] You are a professional bass player, are you not? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ivansc Posted July 25, 2016 Share Posted July 25, 2016 [quote name='HengistPod' timestamp='1468928129' post='3094355'] We also have the veto system in place. The world is full of music, so why play tunes you don't like playing? We're all too old for that. Having said that, I'll withhold my veto if there's something the other guys really want to do and it doesn't make me cringe too much. [/quote] You just reminded me that I once got fired from my OWN band over one person deciding he didn`t want to play anything anyone else suggested.... and then one day he suggested quite forcefully that I leave if I wasn`t happy with that! As I left, with a big grin of relief on my face, the guitar player followed me and whispered "you bugger! You engineered that didnt you?" I didnt, honest! One of HIS song choices was "Rocking Robin, btw. In a sleazy southern blues band.... *sigh* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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