Is it possible to have a successful covers band that doesn't play Mustang Sally?

[Bilbo]

Reading this thread gives me the willies. I might as well stick with the day job as go out there raking over these old cadavers. 'We play stuff WE like, not what they want' - easy to say when what you like is coincidentally what they want you to play. Its like the Yes men in a company - the boss never tells them what to do because s/he never [i]needs[/i] to tell them what to do. There are people here who will play anything for money and those who will play anything whether there is money on offer or not. What I can't see is anything remotely interesting to listen to/watch. Venues will book you if you list a few 'popular' acts? Discerning or what?

Its all feels a little tired to me.

[JTUK]

[quote name='crez5150' post='1132427' date='Feb 18 2011, 04:37 PM']We used to do Synchronicity 2..... hard bloody song to sing[/quote]


We do it as well and had to drop it a tone as all Sting's song are hard on the vocals.
I think we will replace it with "bring on the night" and have dropped "she's too good for me".

Like him or not, Sting's has a very strong higher register and that can be a killer.

[icastle]

[quote name='4000' post='1132442' date='Feb 18 2011, 04:54 PM']We're also working on Message & Can't Stand Losing......I'm surprised to hear that people don't play the Police (except for the key - and possibly drummer - issues). I don't think anyone round here does but that's not saying much. [/quote]

The key is a little hard for our singer to hit so we're having to balance what's achievable whilst not straying too far from the feel of the original.
It's sounding 'possible' at the moment...

[dave_bass5]

We do "every little thing" once in a while, not for a few months though.

[Pete Academy]

Before Nearly Dan, we were a five-piece covers band. We chose to do songs that nobody else was doing. Apart from a fair few Steely Dan songs, we did Chris Rea, Robben Ford, AWB, Was Not Was, Go West, Paul Simon, Sting, etc. It went down really well in the local pubs, but we did a wedding and it bombed.

It all depends on the gigs and venues you are planning to do. But i reckon if you play something well and with obvious conviction, you will always win the majority of the audience over.

[JTUK]

[quote name='Bilbo' post='1132449' date='Feb 18 2011, 05:01 PM']Venues will book you if you list a few 'popular' acts? Discerning or what?[/quote]

They'll book you once on that maybe.

If you aren't any good, then you'll not get a return or up your money.

But it is also true, anyone can pretty much blag a gig but sooner or later you'll have to be worth it.

Anyway, personally, we don't kid ourselves, we have been outdrawn by many a band we can play under the table and no one is going to be surprised if the landlord/booker goes with the band who pulls the most in.

[4000]

[quote name='Bilbo' post='1132449' date='Feb 18 2011, 05:01 PM']Reading this thread gives me the willies. I might as well stick with the day job as go out there raking over these old cadavers. 'We play stuff WE like, not what they want' - easy to say when what you like is coincidentally what they want you to play. Its like the Yes men in a company - the boss never tells them what to do because s/he never [i]needs[/i] to tell them what to do. There are people here who will play anything for money and those who will play anything whether there is money on offer or not. What I can't see is anything remotely interesting to listen to/watch. Venues will book you if you list a few 'popular' acts? Discerning or what?

Its all feels a little tired to me.[/quote]

I'd be happy just to get a gig somewhere in Cheese Central, and would happily play for free. I don't care about the money & never have, lucky given I've been playing originals for 30 years.

As for playing things you don't want to play though, as I said to someone recently (and here I wholeheartedly concur), it's one thing being paid to snog someone who's quite attractive, it's something else entirely when it's someone you think is hideous.

FWIW ultimately we're only now considering the cover route (or probably nearer 60/40) due to our guitarist deciding that's the only way we can get gigs and the rest of us (only 2 since the drummer left) being unable to talk him out of it. Basically we're a bunch of old mates who want to continue to play together, that's all. In reality the prospect of becoming a cover band is like the prospect of having my testicles eaten by piranhas.

Edited February 18, 2011 by 4000

[4000]

[quote name='icastle' post='1132456' date='Feb 18 2011, 05:05 PM']It's sounding 'possible' at the moment... [/quote]

Sounds familiar.

[Marvin]

[quote name='icastle' post='1132433' date='Feb 18 2011, 04:44 PM']Yep - I've never heard anyone doing a Police cover either, which is odd as they were a big part of 80s/90s music.
We're working on Message in a Bottle and Every Little Thing at the moment. [/quote]
Band I'm with are currently working on Roxanne and Every Breath. I was considering suggesting Spirits in a material world.

We did Roxanne for the first time last night at practice. The most difficult part seems to be just timing that first note on the verses. The drummer isn't too sure about the song so everything is a little hesitant.

[lojo]

We played "cant stand losing you" at our last 3 gigs, and I am doing some gigs soon with another band who just lost their bassist, and "walking on the moon" is on the set list i've been given

I really love "bombs away", best police song, but no one will know it, which obviously highlights the dark side of this thread, that as much as some of us love covers, we do shy away from putting to many obscure songs is our sets, which is a shame

[4000]

[quote name='lojo' post='1132572' date='Feb 18 2011, 06:44 PM']We played "cant stand losing you" at our last 3 gigs, and I am doing some gigs soon with another band who just lost their bassist, and "walking on the moon" is on the set list i've been given

I really love "bombs away", best police song, but no one will know it, which obviously highlights the dark side of this thread, that as much as some of us love covers, we do shy away from putting to many obscure songs is our sets, which is a shame[/quote]

You should try it anyway. You never know.

[yorks5stringer]

We do Roxanne as a Bossa, makes it a different song until we throw in the original ending...at the end!

[chris_b]

Aaarrrggghhh! 6 bloody pages!!!! A good covers band is a good band no matter what they play, end of story.

[Phil Starr]

[quote name='Marvin' post='1132565' date='Feb 18 2011, 06:35 PM']Band I'm with are currently working on Roxanne and Every Breath. I was considering suggesting Spirits in a material world.

We did Roxanne for the first time last night at practice. The most difficult part seems to be just timing that first note on the verses. The drummer isn't too sure about the song so everything is a little hesitant.[/quote]
We do Roxanne. It became part of our set when we had to play it to accompany a dancer. The timing problem is a quarter beat pause on the bass at the beginning of the verse, not to tricky to coordinate with the vocals if your bass player and singer can synchronise! Once it clicks it's fun to mess about with the rhythm.

[pete.young]

[quote name='icastle' post='1132433' date='Feb 18 2011, 04:44 PM']Yep - I've never heard anyone doing a Police cover either, which is odd as they were a big part of 80s/90s music.[/quote]

Bed's too big without you, by Sheila Hylton, with more than a little help from Sly and Robbie. Totally transforms the song.

[wateroftyne]

The closest thing to a covers band I'm in plays, amongst other things, Psycho Killer (Talking Heads), Are You Sure Hank Done it This Way? (Waylon Jennings), Too Far Gone (Neil Young), Skin and Bone (The Kinks), Why Are Man (Mark Knopfler) Lady Eleanor (Lindisfarne) and Fisherman's Blues (Waterboys).

The punters are usually quite taken aback that there's a band out there doing this stuff...

[KevB]

[quote name='yorks5stringer' post='1132869' date='Feb 18 2011, 10:30 PM']We do Roxanne as a Bossa, makes it a different song until we throw in the original ending...at the end![/quote]

Interesting you mention that - the original version of Roxanne, as being noodled around acoustically at rehearsal by Sting on guitar, was a Bossa. Summers mentioned it in a recent BBC4 doc.

[JTUK]

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='1138568' date='Feb 23 2011, 01:54 PM']The closest thing to a covers band I'm in plays, amongst other things, Psycho Killer (Talking Heads), Are You Sure Hank Done it This Way? (Waylon Jennings), Too Far Gone (Neil Young), Skin and Bone (The Kinks), Why Are Man (Mark Knopfler) Lady Eleanor (Lindisfarne) and Fisherman's Blues (Waterboys).

The punters are usually quite taken aback that there's a band out there doing this stuff...[/quote]


They should be greatful..

But certain pubs lend themselves to a different slant and others just want the same old pub set.
It is always a tough question..when we do a new venue..and a lot of places are new to this band, we might check out the type of bands there and on the circuit, I have only recently just got into doing this as before getting gigs wasn't my problem with bands.
We see many acts and their sets and they can seem popular as they get a crowd in, but I think some people dopn't expect much..but when you ask them about their music tastes, they are very very varied.
Are these the same people supporting the local music scene in general..??

If you don't play the same typical numbers, and acceptance is pretty slow...it has taken us a year or so to get musos to come and watch us.
It isn't a case of not going down well..it is simple marketing.
Once you have them at a avenue...it is down to you to keep them.

[ironside1966]

In my experience the successful cover bands are the ones that entertains, playing a bunches of songs is not enough you need to get the audience on your side, not every one is interested in watching a good musician but most people like a good show. Playing is important but if a band hides behind music stands, never smiles, looks like the are part of the audience and makes no effort in presentation then you need songs like mustang sally that sell themselves.
I have played any thing from level 42; Go west, Bowie to Albert lee to unto date charts in cover bands.

Edited February 24, 2011 by ironside1966

[dumelow]

[quote name='ironside1966' post='1139103' date='Feb 23 2011, 08:25 PM']Playing is impotent[/quote]

[icastle]

[quote name='ironside1966' post='1139103' date='Feb 23 2011, 08:25 PM']Playing is impotent[/quote]

That expains the problem I have getting the lighting stands up...

[TimR]

Someone on here once said that just being a cover band was too bland to sell. If you are a 90s/00s pop-rock or 70s punk, or 80s funk/disco you are much easier to market.

The pubs/venues will be able to sell you and you will draw the people who know what they like.

There is no reason I can see to be playing wedding/function tunes in a pub. If a pub band started playing that type of music I'd be out of there.

BUT the general wedding/functions cover band is the same as a disco. How many times does the DJ trot out ABBA, New York New York etc. They're just as bad as the cover bands. You are providing dance music for drunk people to celebrate to. Its easy and yes it leads to laziness but playing requests keeps the crowd happy. Saying that I've played plenty of gigs where you just start playing and people dance and no-one comes up and requests anything.

What you are all overlooking is that a live band is "magic" to people who are not musicians and who don't go out every weekend to a gig.

A friend of mine stood mesmerised in front of a band who quite simply were awful. Afterwards he said they were excellent and he had no idea how they all know what to play and made all the bits fit together. People love live drum kits.

When they hear Mustang Sally they don't hear CFG ad infinitum, they hear and see magic, it something they know and is predictable and they can sing along to it.

SO Whatever you do play needs to fit in to your style, be instantly recognisable and people must know the words.