Coverband Players Share Your Song Secrets

[dkenin]

Every song you've listed kills where I am from...

In my last band... Pour Some Sugar, Don't Stop Believing, Separate Ways (heck, anything Journey), Long Time (Boston), You Shook Me (ACDC), Jessie's Girl, Sister Christian, Bon Jovi, Nothin But a Good Time...

 

[dkenin]

Yes Modern Country does very well... as for the malmsteen and dream theater I see people falling asleep to that

 

[dkenin]

Interesting to see U2 on here, I find the music in a party setting a little slow... How do you play Devil Went Down to Georgia?

 

[Bill Piersall]

Been in same cover band for 20yrs. Our crowd likes a mix of classic rock and new stuff. We try to mix it up.
We do a version of The Guess Who's "No Sugar/New Mother Nature and go straight into Jane's Addiction's "Been Caught Stealing". Same key and rough tempo, improv a little solo section between the two. People are surprised by the mix and dance through both. We do the same thing with Rolling Stones "Can't Always Get What You Want into Joe Cocker's "Feelin' Alright". Works great.

Stones "Sympathy For the Devil" is another crowd favorite.

Sister Hazel and Train are big with our crowd, they sing the tunes for us half the time

We usually try to do our take on the song and I like to improv through most solos. Nail the signature stuff crowd expects to hear, but have fun with the other stuff.

One thing we've learned as far as song selection for our crowd is to stay away from too many mid tempo songs unless they are tunes the crowd will sing. Mid tempo tunes can get boring and leave people shoe gazing. Keep em' dancing and drinking and the crowd, club owner and your wallet will be happy!

Axe is the ultimate rig for this, any tone or effect I need is on tap.





Sent from my iPhone

 

[darrenw5094]

Razorlight 'In The Morning' always surprised me. Got everyone up out of the seats.

 

[Xrocker]

My secret is that I have over 400 songs in my show. I let the audience pick what they want to hear all night long.

When adding songs I always make sure I have a bands number one and number two hits in my show before I add a song that my be a deeper or more interesting track.

The biggest secret is to always remember that the show is for the audience, not for the performer.

 

[R.D.]

I'm not any different than a lot of you ( so it seems ) - basically I'm a child of the late 70's & early 80's ....

One tune that we could NEVER get out of a bar without playing was - Addicted to Love ( Robert Palmer )

 

[guitarjim]

One thing I'll add (I think someone else mentioned it also) about being in a cover band versus an original band is that I had an awakening when I realized almost nobody pays attention to how well you play your guitar parts. Sure, there's always the 4 guitar players leaning against the back wall with their arms crossed staring at you, but other than that people don't pay attention. I realized this when I completely trashed a guitar solo in a song. I missed a bunch of notes and I wanted to crawl inside my amp and hide. After the set a bunch of people came up to me and commented about how the guitar sounded exactly like the record. That's when I realized that it's mostly about the timing and tone and not about how closely you play the notes to the original. As I'm a closet OCD perfectionist, I used to stress over every note I messed up. But that experience really allowed me to loosen up, stop stressing over laying down the perfect solo, and have fun on stage. The result is that a lot more people respond to my playing than used to, not because I'm playing better, but because I'm out there having fun with them. I realized that the "entertainment" factor for a cover/dance band isn't impeccable playing, it's creating an experience for the customers.

 

[mesaboog]

I find song choice has very little to do with it, well every place is going to be different, but I can tell you my thoughts after 20yrs of covers. Don't take yourselves to seriously. Theres so many bands around here that play every song note for note, you would swear your listening to the radio. They are so boring!, musos think wow they nailed it, punters are like boring! They never get people dancing and never get asked back. We to be brutally honest take the piss, we make all the songs we play our own, we don't try and sound like the song we are playing, if people want that they can turn on the jukebox. Don't try and talk to the crowd after every song, people didn't come for a chat, or to laugh at lame lame jokes, they came to dance and have fun.

Look like your having fun and not in too much pain, play everything quicker. Songs that sound great on the radio usally fall flat because they held back, let them rip. Really accent the beat of the song, almost become percussive in your playing, people just lock into grooves. Most people love a good beat and are simple minded, they just know it goes boom boom crack boom boom boom. They don't care about drawn out solos and arpeggios and trills and flams. Strip the song back to the nuts and bolts, keep it simple!!!

This has worked for us everytime but may not work for others, just my 2 cents

I agree to an extent. There is always the POTENTIAL for a cover to be better than the original...but ONLY if you put your own spin on it. If you are going note for note 1:1 copy of the original, you will only have the "potential" to be just as good as the original and more than likely will fall short to some degree.

BUT...with that said. I have seen and played in note for note cover bands that kill it on any given night.

Bottom line though, is you have to be entertaining. If you do songs note for note and are BORING to watch, then the crowd will be bored. (captain obvious) Work on your performance as much as your chops and build a set list that is diverse and large enough to be able to adapt to the demo of any given crowd you are likely to play for.

My experience is that crowds more enjoy cover tunes that we have put our own spin on. And usually these are more fun to play and feel like you are bringing something new to people.

 

[smcrosby]

One thing I'll add (I think someone else mentioned it also) about being in a cover band versus an original band is that I had an awakening when I realized almost nobody pays attention to how well you play your guitar parts. Sure, there's always the 4 guitar players leaning against the back wall with their arms crossed staring at you, but other than that people don't pay attention. I realized this when I completely trashed a guitar solo in a song. I missed a bunch of notes and I wanted to crawl inside my amp and hide. After the set a bunch of people came up to me and commented about how the guitar sounded exactly like the record. That's when I realized that it's mostly about the timing and tone and not about how closely you play the notes to the original. As I'm a closet OCD perfectionist, I used to stress over every note I messed up. But that experience really allowed me to loosen up, stop stressing over laying down the perfect solo, and have fun on stage. The result is that a lot more people respond to my playing than used to, not because I'm playing better, but because I'm out there having fun with them. I realized that the "entertainment" factor for a cover/dance band isn't impeccable playing, it's creating an experience for the customers.

There you go Jim! I used to obsess over covering solos note-for-note too (back in the 70s) until I realized its about hooking up with yer band mates and the audience and improvising your solo in that setting!


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[R.D.]

I find song choice has very little to do with it, well every place is going to be different, but I can tell you my thoughts after 20yrs of covers. Don't take yourselves to seriously. Theres so many bands around here that play every song note for note, you would swear your listening to the radio. They are so boring!, musos think wow they nailed it, punters are like boring! They never get people dancing and never get asked back. We to be brutally honest take the piss, we make all the songs we play our own, we don't try and sound like the song we are playing, if people want that they can turn on the jukebox. Don't try and talk to the crowd after every song, people didn't come for a chat, or to laugh at lame lame jokes, they came to dance and have fun.

Look like your having fun and not in too much pain, play everything quicker. Songs that sound great on the radio usally fall flat because they held back, let them rip. Really accent the beat of the song, almost become percussive in your playing, people just lock into grooves. Most people love a good beat and are simple minded, they just know it goes boom boom crack boom boom boom. They don't care about drawn out solos and arpeggios and trills and flams. Strip the song back to the nuts and bolts, keep it simple!!!

This has worked for us everytime but may not work for others, just my 2 cents

While I generally agree w/ this .... I guess I do have to say that I was raised in an area where the ability to play like a "Live Jukebox" ( as I used to call it ) was highly desirable and a valuable skill .... You didn't have to copy all the solo licks verbatium, but intros, breaks and especially vocal harmonies were key ....

Part of it was the bar/club owners wanted it ..., and were willing to pay for it ..., and the drinkers followed it ....

 

[steadystate]

Theres so many bands around here that play every song note for note, you would swear your listening to the radio. They are so boring!, musos think wow they nailed it, punters are like boring! They never get people dancing and never get asked back. We to be brutally honest take the piss, we make all the songs we play our own, we don't try and sound like the song we are playing, if people want that they can turn on the jukebox. Don't try and talk to the crowd after every song, people didn't come for a chat, or to laugh at lame lame jokes, they came to dance and have fun.

My band has had steady work and made great money for over 14 years straight doing exactly what you say not to do. The bands who "make the songs their own" are the ones who don't get asked back. There is a difference between listening to a juke box, and watching a band recreate all of the details live before you. Our audience dances, but they also watch the band intently the entire night. Most of the positive comments we get are about how accurate the performance was and how much they appreciate the attention to detail. I guess it depends on where you live.

 

[dkenin]

Knowing 400 songs is the winner... just play everything and gauge the crowd real-time. So when you guys say modern rock, what exactly are we talking about?

 

[barhrecords]

My band has had steady work and made great money for over 14 years straight doing exactly what you say not to do. The bands who "make the songs their own" are the ones who don't get asked back. There is a difference between listening to a juke box, and watching a band recreate all of the details live before you. Our audience dances, but they also watch the band intently the entire night. Most of the positive comments we get are about how accurate the performance was and how much they appreciate the attention to detail. I guess it depends on where you live.

I think it really boils down to how close are you really covering it.

From your clips you post, I think your band is covering things at a very very very high level. As authentic as it gets.

Most amateur or mid level bands even when attempting note-for-note covers play competent versions, but far from note-for-note. These kind of performances can sometimes be flat. No mojo. The band is focused totally on playing something a little out of their reach.

 

[Xrocker]

Knowing 400 songs is the winner... just play everything and gauge the crowd real-time. So when you guys say modern rock, what exactly are we talking about?

I pass out a music menu with pens and post it notes to every table before the show. I also keep all the post-it's that come up to the stage and mine them for data. Shows me the trends of exactly what each crowd wants to see and how it varies from venue to venue and town to town.

 

[RossE]

Favorites for my band are Reeling in the Years and Some Kind of Wonderful. Those two songs are good examples of my approach. Reeling in the Years has the most classic and recognizable guitar solos ever in my opinion. The better I can nail the solos the happier I am and the better the delivery. Some Kind Of Wonderful on the other hand is dancing party song. As long as we drive home the core of the song and have fun with it I'm happy. That one we make our own and the crowd always loves it.

 

[dkenin]

I like this

I pass out a music menu with pens and post it notes to every table before the show. I also keep all the post-it's that come up to the stage and mine them for data. Shows me the trends of exactly what each crowd wants to see and how it varies from venue to venue and town to town.

Marketing, the only thing is we put all our drop D or Eb songs together so we have a method to our set list, so it's hard to be able to move things around

 

[guitarjim]

My band has had steady work and made great money for over 14 years straight doing exactly what you say not to do. The bands who "make the songs their own" are the ones who don't get asked back. There is a difference between listening to a juke box, and watching a band recreate all of the details live before you. Our audience dances, but they also watch the band intently the entire night. Most of the positive comments we get are about how accurate the performance was and how much they appreciate the attention to detail. I guess it depends on where you live.

I guess the point I was trying to make earlier is that people don't really know the songs as well as they think they do (from a guitar perspective). If I nail the tone of the guitar with the Axe, and I do a solo that is generally based on the original, everyone (except the guitar players on the back wall) thinks I copped the song perfectly. It's really the tone and feel that people remember, not the notes. Your audience may well be more attuned, I'm just speaking for the dance crowds that we get. I will also admit that on songs where the guitar is considered one of the main voices of the music, like say "Reelin in the Years", or a Santana song, I'll do those note-for-note.

 

[lauke-lux]

Doesn't matter, all that works is the energy and dynamics that you can translate, whether it be covers or originals. Play any song standing up like a shit and without any energy nobody will even take a look if they didn't get out smoking a cigarette already. Pink, Rock'n roll ledzep, Superstitious & any big+fat+rocksongs generally translate very easy. There is no common rule.

 

[stratos]

I agree with staying within the bands capabilites, cover close as possible without getting anal about it...HAVE FUN!
Our band [url]http://www.theflashbacks.biz [/URL]plays at a retirement city in Florida (The Villages)..mostly boomers with money.
Journey, Boston work well....the old 50's stuff works for some bands who cater to that crowd, (we want to do material no one else is trying to cover).
We play a few current country hits.
Disco era stuff always works
The crowd will line dance to ANYTHING...I HATE the MACARENA!!!...uhg..ad nauseum.