Kevsy71 Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 We're now up to 30 covers in our 7-piece band, and as you can imagine not all would make my personal playlist. I made it clear that I would never, under any circumstance, play one of my least favourite songs; one which made me cringe whenever I saw it performed by a troupe of middle-aged men and backing singers. I promised myself I would never be one of those middle-aged men. "Mustang Sally" During a moment of weakness/madness/drunkness I finally gave in. And you know what? It's quite fun to play; it's a good timing exercise, and relatively relaxed giving the fingers a break between faster numbers. So fire away with songs you can't stand but don't mid playing - and why! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hubrad Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 For me it was The Wild Rover.. hated it and playing it for ages, then one night I looked up out of my pit of misery and saw everyone in the place dancing on the tables and grinning from ear to ear. I though I might as well join them, especially as I was getting paid for this. Love it now! :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul h Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 Sweet Home Alabama. It's been played to death and I never really liked the song in the first place. However it's a no pressure crowd pleaser and I use the opportunity to prove my theory that you can get away with playing any note at any time and nobody will notice I still moan like a bugger if anyone suggests it though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 My criteria for playing a song is: it suits the band, we play it well and the audience likes it. Meet those 3 conditions and I'll play any song. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickyV Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 Summer of 69. It was on our set list for quite a while early on and then removed as we were all fed up to the back teeth with it. But, people like it and always sing along. And if the Foo Fighters can cover it at one of their gigs then who am I to argue... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevsy71 Posted June 15, 2016 Author Share Posted June 15, 2016 [quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1465982911' post='3072537'] My criteria for playing a song is: it suits the band, we play it well and the audience likes it. Meet those 3 conditions and I'll play any song. [/quote] Agreed! The third is the tricky one: second-guessing the audience reaction after you've put so much work into the first two...I've been both pleasantly and unpleasantly surprised at what fills the dancefloor on the night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simes Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 [quote name='paul h' timestamp='1465981800' post='3072532'] Sweet Home Alabama. It's been played to death and I never really liked the song in the first place. However it's a no pressure crowd pleaser and I use the opportunity to prove my theory that you can get away with playing any note at any time and nobody will notice I still moan like a bugger if anyone suggests it though [/quote] Jammed it last night at rehearsal and I played disco style octaves which actually suited it. Of course non of the musical ludites noticed my musical brilliance :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gary mac Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 [quote name='simes' timestamp='1465984441' post='3072567'] Jammed it last night at rehearsal and I played disco style octaves which actually suited it. Of course non of the musical ludites noticed my musical brilliance :-) [/quote] That's exactly what I did when playing this with a Classic Rock band a while back. It cheered me up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No lust in Jazz Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 My own interests are in playing the bass parts as well as I can with the rest of the band and the band playing well - thus nothing is off-limits. The area where I struggle is shoddy versions of songs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrunoBass Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 Sex on Fire. We avoided it for ages, since everyman and his dog plays it. But it got requested for a private party we played and slightly grudgingly we put it in the set. It's never going to be a mainstay of the set but hearing 100 people bellowing the chorus back at you sure is a nice feeling, and it's easy to play. It'll probably (again grudgingly) get wheeled out from time to time I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimR Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 Every single Beatles tune. And actually quite a lot of the songs we play that I liked before we played them but can't bear to listen to. Maybe because I've heard us play then so many times. But that's not really what you asked. I suspect what happens is you're creating the music you're hearing it from a different position and you're also able to put some spin on the bits you don't particularly like. Depending on who is playing it; Mustang Sally can be a hell on earth boring drag-fest, or it can be a lively bouncing great tune. . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul h Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 [quote name='simes' timestamp='1465984441' post='3072567'] Jammed it last night at rehearsal and I played disco style octaves which actually suited it. Of course non of the musical ludites noticed my musical brilliance :-) [/quote] I like your style I tend to play as many chromatic runs as I can. Because. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FinnDave Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 I don't listen to any of the music we 'cover' in the band (actually, it's more reinterpret than cover). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trueno Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 Wrong time of the year, but I've always loathed playing "Merry Christmas, Everybody" or whatever that Slade song is called. Other than that, I've never been too fussed what I play, and I've played loads of stuff I wouldn't actually listen to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubit Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 We took a long break when my job stopped us being able to rehearse. We got together last week and I nearly cried when our guitarist suggested keeping some songs, like wagon wheel ( yuk) Funnily enough, he said let's not do brown eyed girl anymore. I was astounded as it was him that argued that we should do it as it " always goes down well" I want to play decent rock songs mixed with dancy trad stuff. I'm gonna have to put my foot down with a firm hand from now on ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger2611 Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 My only real criteria for not playing a song was if the band didn't do it justice, we came close to a song I really hated when the band said they wanted to play "Moves Like Jagger" unsurpringly for a guitar band of 40+ year olds we couldn't do it "justice" we rehearsed it about 4 or 5 times and threw it out without ever inflicting it on our audience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 I wouldn't listen to the vast majority of our setlist out of choice, but they're a lot more fun to play than they are to listen to. Fortunately, most people don't agree with me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodinblack Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 We play mustang sally, and I don't hate it to either listen to or play. In fact I like it, you can put these huge walking bass lines in it without trouble. I know they are not in the original, but it passes the time and noone complains! We play that chumbawumba one, which i hate to listen to but don't mind playing. Luckily it is easy so I never needed to listen to to work out. Someone was mentioning oasis when we were talking about new songs, I am sure I made my 'over my dead body' complaint known pretty well, but if they did decided to do it, it would be very difficult. There is no way I am listening to oasis at home, so I don't know how I would be able to learn it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raslee Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 Higher & Higher, bores me to death with repetivness - yet I don't mind play Cobhams Stratus which is also repetitive ...but we don't do that number in a weddings band.....shame Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevB Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 I used to cringe doing Mr Brightside because the singer insisted on us playing it a semitone higher than the original despite this meaning there was a particular note that he failed to hit [i]every single time.[/i] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubit Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 [quote name='KevB' timestamp='1466031089' post='3072990'] I used to cringe doing Mr Brightside because the singer insisted on us playing it a semitone higher than the original despite this meaning there was a particular note that he failed to hit [i]every single time.[/i] [/quote] I've never heard of that before. We play a semitone down to make it easier to sing. Im not getting any younger, plus it sounds ballsier when you hit the low E Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lojo Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 About 5-6 years ago "Sit Down" got into our set , It was a real crowd pleaser but I worked hard to get it moved on. Nowt wrong with Mustang Sally, did a mini festival last summer and it was on the set list of the band I was depping for. Id drunk a fair bit and needed the loo badly, so I handed my bass to the guy standing to the side of the stage (bassist from next band) he couldn't say he didn't know it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BottomE Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 +1 on Sweet Home Alabama - in truth we haven't played it for ages but it was requested for a wedding so we duly added it to the set. Amazes me that it keeps people on the dance floor. Its in our library of around 60 tunes that we can pull from but only brought out when absolutely necessary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iain Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 [quote name='paul h' timestamp='1465981800' post='3072532']you can get away with playing any note at any time and nobody will notice [/quote] One of my reasons I don't like mind playing it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rumple Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 Dead Or Alive by Bon Jovi, I protested when it was suggested by our singer, even though I still don't like the song I enjoy playing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.