what the band likes vs what audience likes & Rock + Sax

[MoonBassAlpha]

Plenty of Bowie tunes with Sax.

[mcnach]

[quote name='Monkey Steve' timestamp='1496676073' post='3313125']
Thin Lizzie have the odd bit of Sax on there, and I could see AC/DC It's A Long Way To The Top with sax replacing the bagpipes, and there's a lot of stuff that has horn sections on the odd song (some Aerosmith, Chili Peppers) and some that have horn sections in the band (Rocket From the Crypt, Mighty Mighty Bosstones if they're not too ska). And beyond that I reckon you can get away with new arrangements with non-original instrumentation, as long as you're doing it really well (and that's the test...). Maybe don't sell the set as being sax based and see whether the punters think it's a nice surprise...

For song choice, my last covers lot were doing hard rock/metal but with an emphasis on doing stuff that wasn't cliche'd or that every other hard rock/metal covers band would do - the "No Paranoid" rule. Basically so that we wouldn't get bored, but always stuff that we thought the crowd would know. So we'd do a Metallica song but it would be Master Of Puppets rather than Enter Sandman, Neon Knights rather than Paranoid, Touch Too Much rather than Whole Lotta Rosie, etc. Specifically stuff that any punter who was going to see a metal covers lot would know and like, but didn't usually get to hear. We only ever played a handful of gigs (and split up due to lead guitarist issues when we were gearing up to make a proper push on getting gigs) but the ones we did play went down really well, and always the same feedback - "it's really nice to hear somebody playing stuff that isn't the same set that everybody else plays"

So i reckon you can get away with some more unusual/less obvious song choices if the crowd are there to hear that sort of a thing in the first place. We reckoned that our audience would probably know 60-80% of what we played, and only played stuff by very well known bands - it was never "here's Meanstreak by Y&T which you won't remember but you'll love once you hear it" it was "here's a less obvious song by Anthrax or Megadeth or Iron Maiden". And we structured the set so that if there was one song that we knew would be less well known, we followed it up by a more well known one so there weren't whole passages in the evening where everybody would be scratching their heads.
[/quote]

Indeed, there are a lot of songs that can lend themselves easily to a bit of sax here and there. Thin Lizzy's "Dancing in the moonlight" is a favourite of the sax guy, and mine (it was one of my favourite guitar solos to play back when I played more guitar than I do now)...
I think you got the right idea: not to play obscure songs, but try to play the ones that are still popular just not covered by everybody.
We don't plan to sell it as "look, rawk with sax!", just as a normal rocky covers type of thing... but then you'll find the lineup cotains a sax. Some bands get remembered because they have that pretty girl on drums. We have a[s]n ugly[/s] dude on sax

[SpondonBassed]

Let us know if the band gets gigs as far south as Swarkestone Bridge then. Sounds like a worthy project.

[mcnach]

[quote name='SpondonBassed' timestamp='1496744240' post='3313538']
Let us know if the band gets gigs as far south as Swarkestone Bridge then. Sounds like a worthy project.
[/quote]

It looks a little far, as the plan is gigs within a couple hours of Edinburgh or so... but with the other band we go down to England a lot, through the sax player's contacts, so who knows? Maybe some day go on a little excursion nearer you... if it happens I'll let you know

[Kirky]

I was never a fan of sax but the guy in Ezra Furman's current band is fantastic. He's the musical arranger as well, and is happy to play a supporting part and do great solos. Well worth checking out to see how a sax can drive a band (but it's not classic rock).

[SpondonBassed]

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1496749595' post='3313584']
...Maybe some day go on a little excursion nearer you... if it happens I'll let you know
[/quote]

Cheers.

The more I think about it, the more it makes sense. If the saxophonist is doing the serious business for the band and he's good at dropping in and out where the tune demands, he'd make an ideal band co-ordinator/leader.

I don't know or want to know the proposed politics of the band as that's such a personal thing but if it means the bass player has not got to do all the leg work it's a winning idea.

[mcnach]

[quote name='SpondonBassed' timestamp='1496753254' post='3313621']
Cheers.

The more I think about it, the more it makes sense. If the saxophonist is doing the serious business for the band and he's good at dropping in and out where the tune demands, he'd make an ideal band co-ordinator/leader.

I don't know or want to know the proposed politics of the band as that's such a personal thing but if it means the bass player has not got to do all the leg work it's a winning idea.
[/quote]

That's pretty much how it would be. I mean, I do have a few contacts around here so I'll deal with a couple of places for sure (I take care of booking gigs at a few places with my other bands), but he's the guy who would get us the gigs and he's good at it. He gets his commission, but he earns it! In the other band I'm in with him, the vast majority of the gigs are booked by him (I only book a few and nobody else books anything). It's a nice little extra earner for him, and we would not have those gigs at all without him, so it's good. He likes that sort of thing which I'm happy to let others do...

[Count Bassy]

[quote name='Trueno' timestamp='1496575376' post='3312355']
To answer your question, if I heard of a local band playing the likes of [b]Lizzie [/b]and AC/DC with a sax player.... I think I'd give it a miss.
[/quote]
Have you heard "Live & Dangerous"?

[Count Bassy]

The band I am currently in has a sax player that doubles up on piano. Generally plays Alto which is great, but when she gets the soprano out and starts "duelling" with lead guitar it sounds amazing.

If the Sax player is a sax only then when not playing he/she could do what the singer does when not singing.

[TrevorR]

The wedding/covers band I used to play in was guitar/bass/sax/drums. Stuff we played varied quite a bit and got quite rocky in places. It worked brilliantly on a whole range of non-sax and quite rocky numbers. Give it a go and keep an open mind and you might be surprised.

[dmccombe7]

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1496582944' post='3312438']
That sounds pretty cool, actually!

What are they called? If they play around here I'd like to see them.
[/quote]

The Led Zeppelin Story.....unplugged.
[url="https://www.facebook.com/The-Led-Zeppelin-Story-730639227005478/"]https://www.facebook...30639227005478/[/url]

They are playing Motherwell Concert Theatre in August. I know they've played Glasgow various venues recently but not sure about Edinburgh.


Dave

Edited June 8, 2017 by dmccombe7

[Panamonte]

Loads of Hawkwind, King Crimson and Van der Graaf Generator tunes to choose from. Guaranteed floor-fillers down the Dog & Duck

Edited June 8, 2017 by Panamonte

[mcnach]

[quote name='dmccombe7' timestamp='1496943393' post='3314919']
The Led Zeppelin Story.....unplugged.
[url="https://www.facebook.com/The-Led-Zeppelin-Story-730639227005478/"]https://www.facebook...30639227005478/[/url]

They are playing Motherwell Concert Theatre in August. I know they've played Glasgow various venues recently but not sure about Edinburgh.


Dave
[/quote]


That's very cool, thank you!

[mcnach]

[quote name='Panamonte' timestamp='1496945004' post='3314924']
Loads of Hawkwind, King Crimson and Van der Graaf Generator tunes to choose from. Guaranteed floor-fillers down the Dog & Duck
[/quote]

We don't play the Dog & Duck anymore. It's the Tickled Trout or better now.

[Beer of the Bass]

If you cover Hawkwind, King Crimson and Van der Graaf Generator, the pubs might hate it, but I'd come and see you!

[mcnach]

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1497123107' post='3316049']
If you cover Hawkwind, King Crimson and Van der Graaf Generator, the pubs might hate it, but I'd come and see you!
[/quote]



I'll let you know!

[BrunoBass]

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1496573152' post='3312335']
The song choice is going to be purely "what we like". Whenever I see bands that choose songs that way, I find them to be of limited appeal and as good as they may be they end up playing to semi empty bars, which means very soon they just don't play anywhere.
[/quote]

This thread passed me by originally but having just seen it, and particularly this comment, I find it relevant to my situation with my current band. The bandleader wants us to play 'songs he likes' at the expense of 'songs people want to hear' which in my opinion isn't a sustainable model for a covers band that exists to play pub gigs.

[mcnach]

[quote name='PaulGibsonBass' timestamp='1497271036' post='3316909']
This thread passed me by originally but having just seen it, and particularly this comment, I find it relevant to my situation with my current band. The bandleader wants us to play 'songs he likes' at the expense of 'songs people want to hear' which in my opinion isn't a sustainable model for a covers band that exists to play pub gigs.
[/quote]

I agree... I think the selection has to have a broad appeal for it to work. But I hope there are satisfactory ways to compromise. I liked the method suggested above, where the songs chosen came from well known bands and the songs themselves were well known, just maybe not the top "hit" but the second... something that will still be instantly recognised and liked, but not always the most obvious song that everybody does.

[Monkey Steve]

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1497276823' post='3316954']
I agree... I think the selection has to have a broad appeal for it to work. But I hope there are satisfactory ways to compromise. I liked the method suggested above, where the songs chosen came from well known bands and the songs themselves were well known, just maybe not the top "hit" but the second... something that will still be instantly recognised and liked, but not always the most obvious song that everybody does.
[/quote]

funnily enough song selection was one of the key points that ultimately put paid to the band of mine that did this. Not from the audience - the No Paranoid rule was always well received - but from one particular band member who only wanted to play Iron Maiden or Cult songs because that's all he listened to in the '80's so he couldn't conceive that anybody might recognise songs by, say, Motorhead or Judas Priest. He'd spend whole rehearsals arguing that rather than Bomber, which clearly nobody would recognise, we should add Rime Of The Ancient Mariner to the other five Maiden songs that we already knew because you can never have too many and it's good to have spares and to be able to rotate them. And he was quite serious. When I told him that I wasn't going to learn another Maiden song he accepted it in very poor grace and came up with another Cult song that we could do as we only had three on those and our imaginary audience would love them.

[mcnach]

[quote name='Monkey Steve' timestamp='1497455079' post='3318323']
funnily enough song selection was one of the key points that ultimately put paid to the band of mine that did this. Not from the audience - the No Paranoid rule was always well received - but from one particular band member who only wanted to play Iron Maiden or Cult songs because that's all he listened to in the '80's so he couldn't conceive that anybody might recognise songs by, say, Motorhead or Judas Priest. He'd spend whole rehearsals arguing that rather than Bomber, which clearly nobody would recognise, we should add Rime Of The Ancient Mariner to the other five Maiden songs that we already knew because you can never have too many and it's good to have spares and to be able to rotate them. And he was quite serious. When I told him that I wasn't going to learn another Maiden song he accepted it in very poor grace and came up with another Cult song that we could do as we only had three on those and our imaginary audience would love them.
[/quote]

Rime of the ancient mariner!!! that's 13-14min right there in a single song You can add Alexander The Great at nearly 9 minutes, and Hallowed Be Thy Name which is almost 8 minutes... "hey, it's just 3 Iron Maiden songs"

[Monkey Steve]

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1497476666' post='3318597']
Rime of the ancient mariner!!! that's 13-14min right there in a single song You can add Alexander The Great at nearly 9 minutes, and Hallowed Be Thy Name which is almost 8 minutes... "hey, it's just 3 Iron Maiden songs"
[/quote]

the irony was that after splitting than band up (I told the lead guitarist in question that I'd had enough of him and was quitting when unbeknownst to me the drummer had sacked him the previous night) the drummer, singer and rhythm guitarist (basically everybody except me and the lead guitarist) formed a Maiden tribute band and didn't ask him to join! If he hadn't been such a tool he could have been in the band of his dreams.

Sometimes Karma really bites you in the backside

[mcnach]

[quote name='Monkey Steve' timestamp='1497532418' post='3318920']
the irony was that after splitting than band up (I told the lead guitarist in question that I'd had enough of him and was quitting when unbeknownst to me the drummer had sacked him the previous night) the drummer, singer and rhythm guitarist (basically everybody except me and the lead guitarist) formed a Maiden tribute band and didn't ask him to join! If he hadn't been such a tool he could have been in the band of his dreams.

Sometimes Karma really bites you in the backside
[/quote]

!!!

[linear]

FWIW I will actively avoid any pub that has installed a standard four-piece playing rock covers, but this band I would definitely stop in to have a listen; even if they were playing Sex on Fire and especially if they were playing Rime of the Ancient Mariner

[mcnach]

[quote name='linear' timestamp='1497535167' post='3318940']
FWIW I will actively avoid any pub that has installed a standard four-piece playing rock covers, but this band I would definitely stop in to have a listen; even if they were playing Sex on Fire and especially if they were playing Rime of the Ancient Mariner
[/quote]

Rime of the ancient mariner... with sax, cello and ukulele. Got it!

[SpondonBassed]

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1497546851' post='3319055']
Rime of the ancient mariner... with sax, cello and ukulele. Got it!
[/quote]

Can't we squeeze a kazoo solo in there somehow?