Songs for Three Piece

[Trueno]

Our guitarist has health problems... unfortunately very serious health problems.

 

We have decided to limp on and keep rehearsing and to keep his empty spot on the stage open for his return (which I personally do not believe will ever happen, but I don't want to get too real with the other guys). We won't be gigging any time soon but want to carry on... mainly so we don't go off our collective chump!

 

We do classic rock (what else), some blues, poppy rock, rocky pop. No point being modest... the rhythm section is bloody excellent, but the bass player's BVs leave a little to be desired (but I'm working on it). The singer/guitarist was originally meant to be a singer only, but is pretty handy on guitar and swaps chunky chords and solos with the erstwhile guitarist... but he might be a bit limited if he takes on both vocals and gee-tar at the same time.

 

I think we need to carefully consider our setlist as to what we can do well.

 

Any suggestions for suitable songs, Basschat collective... anything and everything will be considered. I'm open-minded and think that even seemingly unsuitable songs can be adapted.

 

 

 

[paul_5]

first off, best wishes for a full and speedy recovery to your skinny-stringed comrade.

 

Nirvana stuff?

[Newfoundfreedom]

Pretty much anything leaning towards the punk side of rock should be accessible to a three piece. Green Day and The Foo Fighters would be a reasonable enough start. Mostly power cord based with little or no soloing. It might not be the most fulfilling initially, bit it should definitely get you started, or rather keep you going. 

[Lozz196]

Worth checking out some Volbeat, they have some good melodic songs that, although they’re a 4 piece, will work as a 3. 

[fretmeister]

All of them. Just arrange them well.

 

Like Phil  X’s band. Loads of 3 piece versions of big tunes.

[lozkerr]

2 hours ago, Trueno said:

Our guitarist has health problems... unfortunately very serious health problems.

 

I think we need to carefully consider our setlist as to what we can do well.

 

Any suggestions for suitable songs, Basschat collective... anything and everything will be considered. I'm open-minded and think that even seemingly unsuitable songs can be adapted.

 

 

 

 

Sorry to hear that. Best wishes to him for a full and speedy recovery.

 

How about some Jam songs?

[skankdelvar]

Sorry to hear your guitarist's ill. Shame, that.

 

Wikipedia list of rock trios here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_power_trios. The obvious UK rock trios are The Police, The Jam, Motorhead, Cream, Muse, Biffy Clyro, the Manics and - er- Budgie?

 

Fact is, any band that's gigged with three instruments and a vocalist is technically a three-piece for your purposes so you can chuck in The Who, the Zeppelin, Sabbath, Blur, The Smiths, U2.

 

A possibly radical option is to use material by two-piece bands like The Black Keys and the White Stripes and, like, y'know, add an extra part. 

 

 

Edited October 1, 2021 by skankdelvar

[Trueno]

Thanks, guys.

All suggestions will be considered… think I’ll have to write them down.

[Lozz196]

1 hour ago, fretmeister said:

All of them. Just arrange them well.

 

Like Phil  X’s band. Loads of 3 piece versions of big tunes.

Good call, they have a really big sound for a 3 piece band, tight as the proverbial gnats as well.

[peteb]

1 hour ago, fretmeister said:

All of them. Just arrange them well.

 

Like Phil  X’s band. Loads of 3 piece versions of big tunes.

 

I keep suggesting that my classic rock covers band (3 piece plus lead vocals) just gets a setlist made up of Phil X band YouTube covers...! 

 

[Happy Jack]

We do all of these (and more) as a 3-piece, no problem.

 

https://www.lemonrock.com/junkyarddogs?page=songs

 

[Happy Jack]

Just now, Happy Jack said:

We do all of these (and more) as a 3-piece, no problem.

 

https://www.lemonrock.com/junkyarddogs?page=songs

 

 

Edit: It helps that the drummer and I can contribute decent 2-part harmony BVs where needed.

[Trueno]

57 minutes ago, Happy Jack said:

We do all of these (and more) as a 3-piece, no problem.

 

https://www.lemonrock.com/junkyarddogs?page=songs

 

Storming!

[Trueno]

Seems you’re only limited by your imagination. I’d happily play just about all of these… the problem, as it occurs to me now, is convincing the rest of the band. I think we need a talk…

[peteb]

1 hour ago, Trueno said:

Seems you’re only limited by your imagination. I’d happily play just about all of these… the problem, as it occurs to me now, is convincing the rest of the band. I think we need a talk…

 

You also have to take into consideration what the strength and weaknesses of the band are. How good are the BVs, can the guitar player convincingly fill the space in a three piece, can the rhythm section create this space for him to work with, etc??  There is definitely a knack to playing in a three piece... 

Edited October 1, 2021 by peteb

[M@23]

4 hours ago, fretmeister said:

All of them. Just arrange them well.

 

Like Phil  X’s band. Loads of 3 piece versions of big tunes.

Agreed, don’t limit yourselves and rule out good songs by only being a 3 piece. 
But, Phil X is basically the equivalent of 2 very proficient guitarists and a great vocalist!

Same with Richie Kotzen. Huge sound for a 3 piece… but each of the 3 is a total master of their instrument. 

[Guest]

12 hours ago, skankdelvar said:

Fact is, any band that's gigged with three instruments and a vocalist is technically a three-piece for your purposes so you can chuck in The Who, the Zeppelin, Sabbath, Blur, The Smiths, U2

 

Comparing the studio albums and live recordings of most bands like these makes me feel that more Jimmy Pages should have done what Johnny Marr eventually did and found themselves Craig Gannons. (In Pete Townsend's case, he should have found himself a Johnny Marr)

[Guest]

13 hours ago, Newfoundfreedom said:

Pretty much anything leaning towards the punk side of rock should be accessible to a three piece. Green Day and The Foo Fighters would be a reasonable enough start. Mostly power cord based with little or no soloing. It might not be the most fulfilling initially, bit it should definitely get you started, or rather keep you going. 

 

A front man should find being both Joey and Johnny Ramone simultaneously an exhilarating experience

 

 

 

[theyellowcar]

Best of luck to you and especially your guitarist.
 

Not to recycle all of the excellent suggestions that have already been made, you could possibly try and cover some good “Brit pop” ground as a three - Blur (Song 2 comes to mind) Oasis, Suede, maybe Bluetones, maybe Primal Scream etc. 

[steve-bbb]

 

 

check out grace and danger and some of the other JM albums from the same era - very sparse spacey arrangements you could easily arrange for a 3 piece

[steve-bbb]

sublime blues - John Martyn covered this beautifully,  so did Boz Scaggs - this is the Bobby Charles original

 

 

[Trueno]

38 minutes ago, theyellowcar said:

Best of luck to you and especially your guitarist.
 

Not to recycle all of the excellent suggestions that have already been made, you could possibly try and cover some good “Brit pop” ground as a three - Blur (Song 2 comes to mind) Oasis, Suede, maybe Bluetones, maybe Primal Scream etc. 

I’d really be up for some Primal Scream.

[Happy Jack]

18 hours ago, Trueno said:

We do classic rock (what else), some blues, poppy rock, rocky pop.

 

 

This sounds to me like a covers band playing pubs to punters who get steadily drunker as the evening wears on ... pretty much like my band The Junkyard Dogs then.

 

Much as I love the blues, and much as I admire the work of John Martyn, very few of these recommendations could possibly be considered 'crowd pleasers'. I spent YEARS trying to get through to the Dogs that "we play what we want to play and if you don't like it, well tough titty" is a rather soggy sales pitch.

 

A few years ago we finally reached the stage where we could play three straight sets of crowd-pleasers which the band ALSO wanted to play. Guess what? We are fully-booked every year, turning down gigs by mid-Summer, and pretty much all those gigs are at £300 - a decent rate around here for a pub band.

 

[Trueno]

I’ve also spent a lot of energy with this band trying promote crowd pleasers. I’ve played crowd pleasers to huge crowds and I’ve played non-crowd pleasers to non-crowds. I know which I prefer. As my “thing” is actually playing sax in a soul band… and I can’t do that without a lot of time and travelling… I’m happy to play bass (locally) to almost anything, especially if I get to dress up.

 

Curiously, the main obstacle to playing crowd pleasers was always the poorly guitarist (a Beefheart fan).

[Happy Jack]

I'm loving the idea of the band leader announcing to a bunch of half-cut office workers on a Friday night in Huddersfield, "and now it's time for our Captain Beefheart medley".