Pub Bands playing their own Material...Mission Creep?

[skidder652003]

So my Pub Band did an album of original material last year and some of it is ok (IMO)

 

We play 3 of the songs from said album in the set, one goes down well, the other 2 are  "politely" received.

 

I'm getting  a vibe from one or 2 other band members that they would like to continue further down this path and perhaps don't quite see how our punters react as well as I do.

 

I'm not a fan of "pub" bands playing their own material, I think the punters like to hear stuff they know. I'm trying to diplomatically suggest keeping the originals to the festival circuit (I'm talking village festivals here!) and only really having 2 max of our better tunes in the set and working on more covers to keep the set fresh.

 

But still I'm getting a feeling of Mission Creep, that the writers of said material are really enjoying the process (and I get that) but it's not really helpful to what we are and have been for the last 10 years. We have a new member who has really raised our game ( a great singer) and it's really brought the band up another level (again IMO).

 

Maybe I'm afraid of change? If it wasn't for the singer, the Album would never have happened and there's talk of another one in the pipeline but our bread and butter is The Dog n Duck circuit and I'm nervous of spoiling that. 

 

Has anyone else had a conflict between what works well every week and the ambitions of other (possibly more ambitious) band members?

[Cat Burrito]

I've predominately played original stuff over the last 34yrs but done a handful of covers bands. My favourite covers bands do one or two originals just to show that we can and I like that. If a band naturally develops that way, fine, but otherwise 2 or 3 is plenty. Simply put your options are you either role with the general flow or you walk. If I find myself out of thinking with the general band view, I go rather than continuing to be the one person arguing. if it isn't a big problem, put up with it.

[skidder652003]

2 minutes ago, Cat Burrito said:

I've predominately played original stuff over the last 34yrs but done a handful of covers bands. My favourite covers bands do one or two originals just to show that we can and I like that. If a band naturally develops that way, fine, but otherwise 2 or 3 is plenty. Simply put your options are you either role with the general flow or you walk. If I find myself out of thinking with the general band view, I go rather than continuing to be the one person arguing. if it isn't a big problem, put up with it.

Yep I'm thinking that's what I'll do, who knows where it'll all end up? I'm not the arguing kind. I suppose our audience will tell us whether it's any good or not. I'm just nervous that it creeps into the set more and more.

[Mykesbass]

My last band transitioned from being a pub blues, blues/rock band into being an originals blues/rock band. The originals tended to blend well with the covers so we didn't have too much of a problem.

I'd suggest trying a couple of others, but make sure they work really well with what you play either side of them. If one already goes down well there's no reason a couple more won't. But the opposite is also as important - ditch the ones that aren't working.

[Barking Spiders]

IMO it all depends how well established your band is on the pub circuit. If you've built up a following over the years and you get regular supporters turning up to your gigs then I think it's ok to sneak in a few originals into the mix. If you don't have that following or are playing a gig outside your usual area then I'd say playing originals is a big no-no.

[Happy Jack]

It starts and ends with the punters ... if they don't like what you're playing then you lose the gig.

 

One of my two main bands (https://www.facebook.com/DamoAndTheDynamites/) started as a purist Rockabilly outfit hoping to get onto 'The Scene'. They weren't very good. There may be an element of understatement in that last comment.

 

When @Silvia Bluejay and I got involved, we steered them quickly towards playing bog-standard pub gigs and introducing far more crowd-pleasing rock'n'roll at the expense of obscure rockabilly tracks. Success followed.

 

Somewhere along the way, bandleader Damo has written four originals. They're pretty good, a couple are really good, so much so that during Lockdown 3.0 we recorded them and then released a CD/EP to local radio. These originals blend very well indeed with the mainstream material, and we play all four at every gig. 

 

They get a positive response from punters who are committed to this sort of music, and a neutral response from those in the pub for other reasons. We like playing them and they certainly haven't prevented us from getting gigs, so there's no problem. However, should Damo write another four originals I wouldn't be at all keen to play all eight at a gig. I'd be thinking in terms of keeping the originals content at a small but noticeable number.

[geoham]

I've got mixed feelings on the topic...

 

From a punter's perspective, I went to see a covers band play in a pub - with a view of booking them for our wedding. We had asked their agent where we could see them live, as I didn't just want to rely on well produced YouTube videos. They knew we were in the audience, the singer made a slightly off-colour comment about it. They played several original songs as part of their set, and didn't get my booking.

 

I play in a covers band myself, and while we've toyed with an originals side-project - I doubt any of the pubs we play would appreciate them. At the end of the day, pub punters generally want to hear songs they know. There are some pubs where it'd be more acceptable though. Taking Glasgow as an example, you'd probably get away with it in the Scotia or Clutha - both attract a slightly more serious crowd who appreciate music. However, in nearby O'Neil's your main objective is to keep the dancefloor full.

In the past, I've also played in originals bands and understand how tough it can be to just get your music out there. There's only so many times you can ask friends and family to shell out to see you on a four band bill on a Tuesday night - so any opportunity to get your music heard is a blessing.

 

George

[nilebodgers]

I think it's ok to slip a (very) small number of the best originals into a covers set, but only if they are getting a really good audience response. If the reaction is "polite" as in the OPs first post then those songs aren't good enough so shouldn't be played.

[Mykesbass]

A little trick we used on my old band was to put an original in a 3 song medley. Worked really well.

[Lozz196]

I`d look at this from an audience & venue point of view, are the band playing in venues that charge and to those that want to hear originals or in free admission pubs to a mixed bunch looking to chill/boogie/sing along on a Friday night. If the latter then drop the originals, or develop them and gig them at venues/to audiences who are receptive, but keep them separate. Dropping one or two in is ok, or if you have a following that come to each venue then you can put more in if said following like them, but other than that to me it`s like playing album tracks that no-ones heard of, pub-going Friday night chaps & chapesses aren`t generally interested in stuff they don`t know.

[Cat Burrito]

21 minutes ago, Mykesbass said:

A little trick we used on my old band was to put an original in a 3 song medley. Worked really well.

 

The other approach is to say "If anyone wants a fag, the loo or another pint, now's the time as we'd like to do one of our own". A line that works equally well when introducing a track that the keyboard player sings lead on. 

[neepheid]

It depends upon the punters' expectations (and by extension the venue and the expectations that certain venues put on certain types of bands).

 

In my experience, we don't do original material with the covers band - it's a risk to pick obscure covers, never mind play stuff that the punters have definitely never heard before!  That's why I end up playing the occasional pap song which I dislike - because the punters like it.  If the covers band ever did spit out original songs, I'd put forward that it be spun off into another project.

 

On the other hand, the originals band will play the occasional cover in a standard 45 min set on a multi-band bill - it helps to hook in uncommitted listeners and as long as we put our own stamp on it I'm fine with that (you know, like playing Take Me Out with no guitars.  That was fun - the nah nah nahnahnah nah nah riff works really well when the horns do it).  When the originals band was playing gigs out in the country by itself last year and expected to fill a couple of hours like a covers band would we upped the cover content to about 33% - we appreciate that 2+ hours of completely unfamiliar material is heavy going for all but the most open-minded of gig goers so we adjust accordingly.  Seemed to work quite well.

[tegs07]

Personally I loathe covers bands. I’m in a minority though. Generally the public would rather hear p155 poor Oasis covers than a set list of music that has potential to be great given time. Tricky one.

Edited July 28, 2021 by tegs07

[Nail Soup]

If you are a covers band and go out as such I'd say max one original song per set. So that's two in a typical two-set pub gig.

And then only if they go down OK.

Perhaps consider running an originals set on the side under a different name. For originals band you probably will only do 20-30 minute sets, so can be a bunch of you r best songs, plus a couple of the less well known covers from your covers set.

[wateroftyne]

Also, you've got to have faith in your original material.

 

Absolutely bloody love it? Getting that feeling back from people who've heard it? Get it out there.

 

Playing it 'cos it's nothing special, and people aren't that interested, but hey, it's original and that's what counts...? Maybe have a rethink.

[fretmeister]

When I was in a covers band doing 20+ tunes a night we put in 3-4 originals.

 

When I was in an originals band, we put in a couple of covers. Normally at the halfway stage to get the punters singing along, and then sometimes the last tune.

 

When I was in a functions band - no originals. Well, maybe at 2am when the only people left in the room were the ushers / bridesmaids trying to get laid.

[Nicko]

I think the answer depends on what the covers band is playing to begin with and what the originals are.  If you are playing the standard 80s/90s rock covers as all the other bands and you stick in a funky original then probably not, but if you've chosen to put in lesser known album tracks by well known artists and the originals are the same genre then why not.

 

Probably safer is to do an original cover - taking a well known song and changing genre.  I always fancied doing "I kissed a girl" as a heavy rock number, but couldn't get some of the band to agree.

[KevB]

The Blues-Rock trio I was invited to join came out of one remaining member (drummer) of a local originals trio that had a following but even they used to do some covers (main person in trio passed away a few years ago and we use a completely different name for this act) but so far we have only played one of the originals from that band in the 3 or 4 gigs we've done and even that has had a mixed reception so I think we did the right thing of filling the 2 sets with mostly fairly well known covers. Some of the lesser well known stuff (to a more general audience) that I thought would go down with the target audience (bike rallies) has also been a bit mixed reception wise and will be next target to be pruned out as we learn more stuff.

We did a rally at the weekend - what do you think got most people up and dancing? Alright frigging Now. Folk like what they like and you're getting paid to entertain them.

Edited July 28, 2021 by KevB

[Waddo Soqable]

I've only been in one covers band, all the rest were originals. In the covers outfit we slipped in one original, and tbh the audience didn't really notice, they seemed to enjoy that one alongside all the rest.

Conversely, in a few of the originals bands we sometimes threw in one cover, done in an original style rather than a straight copy.

I reckon, either way, just 1 per set is about right.

[Mickeyboro]

I did put a comment in (deleted?) that transitioning to originals can cause the writers to get a bit up themselves. It would certainly change the balance of power in some people’s eyes. 
I know we’re not talking about recording/releasing, but the Zombies weathered an early crisis when singer Colin Blunstone took the bus to the studio to see songwriter Rod Argent parking his Aston Martin...(car may differ) 😬 

[Mykesbass]

3 minutes ago, Mickeyboro said:

I did put a comment in (deleted?) that transitioning to originals can cause the writers to get a bit up themselves. It would certainly change the balance of power in some people’s eyes. 
I know we’re not talking about recording/releasing, but the Zombies weathered an early crisis when singer Colin Blunstone took the bus to the studio to see songwriter Rod Argent parking his Aston Martin...(car may differ) 😬 

👋😉

[Bassassin]

Might be an idea to create a separate identity for the originals 'version' of the band - different name, look etc, and use the covers gigs to promote it.

 

I was in a pub covers duo that was basically 2/3 of my originals band - me & the guitarist + pre-recorded drums/keys, both singing. We had a different name, identity & audience to the originals band but we chose two short, catchy originals that fit well with the covers as a teaser/taster for the 'proper' band. We managed to get a reasonable crossover from the pub punters for our originals band.

Edited July 28, 2021 by Bassassin

[MacDaddy]

54 minutes ago, KevB said:

*** snip ***  Folk like what they like and you're getting paid to entertain them.

 

This. Absolutely this.

[Dad3353]

Kiemsa started out, and continued until the end, as an Originals band, (bass, drums, two guitars, three brass and a lively singer...). The very first dates were self-promoted concerts, but quickly expanded to all venues in an ever-widening radius from the Home Town. After self-financing (from gig takings...) their first CD, they became regional, then national. That's when I 'stepped off the bus' (I started off doing the sound, then the lights when the drummer changed; the ex-drummer did the sound...). Having been self-managed up till then, a management deal was struck and they carried on for a couple more years, touring France and Germany. I was invited to the extremely lively 'Farewell' concert when they split. None of the material was covers, from start to finish. Difficult, even, to categorise; I used to say 'ska/punk/rock'. It always went down well; I have many memories of cafés, bars and pubs where the jammed-in crowd exploded the place with exuberance. It's true that the original songs (and their performance...) was very good indeed, and Martin, the front man, took on the role like a fish to water. If the songs and music are up to it, I see no reason why they wouldn't be well received (but they have to be darned good..!). Here's extracts from one of the larger concerts; the repertoire and energy was the same in tiny bars and clubs (Our Eldest on guitar, stage left; I did the lights...). Happy daze..!

 

 

Edited July 28, 2021 by Dad3353

[chris_b]

Most of the bands I've played with in the last 20 years have played at least one original song, even the cover bands. And most of the original bands have done at least one version of a cover.

 

Original or cover doesn't matter. The only criteria, is the song is good enough and does it go down well with the punters.