Do Covers Bands 'pull' an audience?

[stingrayPete1977]

[quote name='Doddy' post='1184615' date='Apr 1 2011, 12:47 PM']Yes [/quote]
I think you could do better mate (does my lesson fee come down now?)

[quote name='Pete Academy' post='1184657' date='Apr 1 2011, 01:09 PM']Something considered disgusting, of poor quality, foolish, or otherwise totally unacceptable.[/quote]
Oh you managed to get along to our gig after all then Pete, You must of been at the back

[BottomE]

[quote name='JTUK' post='1184831' date='Apr 1 2011, 02:57 PM']The downside is that that venue might 'encourage' you not to play locally on his patch and it is up to the two parties concerned to work out
if this suits.[/quote]
I had a landlord try that. I said "ok but please do not book any other funk/soul outfits as they are our competition." He didn't seem to like that idea...

[warwickhunt]

My most recent project are seasoned musicians (read as 'old') doing covers and we've all done the pub circuit for some time. It comes as a very pleasant surprise to find that we can and do actually pull in a crowd. In fact mid/late January we did a pub gig which by the end of the evening had been so packed that the landlord professed that they were his greatest takings since taking over the pub 3 years ago (and they have bands on every week); he even went on to say that he'd taken more on the night that we played than he had taken on New Years Eve and New Years Day combined! Not bad considering there were at least two other pubs putting on bands within a mile radius and one of those bands is very highly regarded in the area!

[Skol303]

[b]Q: "Do Covers Bands 'pull' an audience?"[/b]

I guess there's no reason why not... that said, I guess people are more inclined to make the effort to see an 'originals' band, simply because 'originals' bands tend to bring their fans with them. Whereas covers bands tend to be in residence at a particular venue. But that's my experience as an ex-music journalist, not as a performing musician.

I think tribute bands would fall into the 'originals' category, in that people are more likely to travel/make an effort to go and see them.

But to come back to the original question: I think the answer is "yes"; I'd expect a covers band to pull a bigger audience than no band at all. So yes!

Would a covers band pull a [b]bigger[/b] audience than an originals band? Not necessarily... but beyond the pub circuit, probably not. At that level I'd expect an originals band to pull the bigger crowds.

Edited April 1, 2011 by Skol303

[Mog]

Theres two bands which I'd travel a couple of miles to see. There are others which play around locally who do draw a few heads each time but IMO they're pants and not worth the wasted cost of a pint of Hino.

So basically yes, if they're good enough cover bands can build a good following.

[Chris2112]

I think if you're a dedicated covers band, covering something like Level 42 exclusively, you can get a minor following. Otherwise you'll just a covers band, and though you may get recommended by customers for functions, you'll never have a "fanbase" as such.

I remember when I used to work in a hotel, there was one cover band worth watching, they were excellent (the bassist played a Pedulla Pentabuzz through an EA rig at one point too!). Although they played dreary covers, they were all fantastic musicians. However, there were reams and reams of other cover bands who you recognised but were either average or very poor.

[LiamPodmore]

[quote name='charic' post='1184452' date='Apr 1 2011, 11:22 AM']What originals bands that play a lot of covers too? That seems to work very well[/quote]

+1

Thats my bands situation at the moment, our local gigs in 2011 we have managed to pull a good 100+, mostly people who came specifically to see us, and then the locals in that pub, everyone starts to bring their friends along aswell so there always seems to be some new faces along with common ones.

Liam

[TheRev]

[quote name='Doddy' post='1184768' date='Apr 1 2011, 02:26 PM']But on the other hand there are bands on the covers circuit that get £400-500 (and more) and the clubs charge 5 or 6 + quid on the door and
still get full,be it from a regular crowd or from people who have come specifically for the particular band.[/quote]

Absoutley. The best covers/tribute bands in the area will be able to draw a big crowd and therefore will be able to charge more which the venue covers with a door charge which the punters are willing to pay because they know they like the band.
IME, the bands that can do this are usually revue type outfits doing classic soul, funk, glam etc that have been steadily plugging away for 10+ years.

So, in answer to Bilbo's original question, yes, a covers band can pull a crowd, if they've been on the same scene for long enough to build up a solid reputation (weddings feature a lot here) and play popular, well known stuff. Newer bands, or bands playing more obscure material will still have their followers but will have to rely on a venue having a regular supply of bodies.

Edited April 1, 2011 by TheRev

[Doddy]

[quote name='Skol303' post='1184908' date='Apr 1 2011, 03:49 PM']Would a covers band pull a [b]bigger[/b] audience than an originals band? Not necessarily... but beyond the pub circuit, probably not. At that level I'd expect an originals band to pull the bigger crowds.[/quote]


It depends what level you are talking. If you are talking Oasis original then obviously they'll pull massive crowds,but then
in every town there are loads of original bands that never play to more than a few people-in that respect a good cover band will
pretty much always draw a bigger crowd.

[quote name='Chris2112' post='1184914' date='Apr 1 2011, 03:51 PM']I think if you're a dedicated covers band, covering something like Level 42 exclusively, you can get a minor following. Otherwise you'll just a covers band, and though you may get recommended by customers for functions, you'll never have a "fanbase" as such.[/quote]

You'd be surprised.You can get a good fanbase of people who regularly come out to see you specifically,and will keep an eye
out for when you are playing in their town.

[robocorpse]

Looks like I annoyed some people here. OK, I (personally) never really got on with the concept of "a song" as opposed to a performance, a good example being "Brown Sugar", which I have never ever heard a really good cover of, or any kind of backslapping cabaret exercise. I don't care HOW good the original is, if its played badly or without any conviction or with half the band SIGHT READING it, then I am likely to go home. I have a major problem with a stage full of 40-50 somethings with brand new boutique equipment wailing away aimlessly, adding 25 extra solos to "Mustang Sally" and playing everything in dead military 4/4 with no feel or swing while they disguise their paunch with something "the wife" picked up for them from Burtons, over their brand new loose fit 501s. It just smacks of desperation, although thats where the money is unfortunately, so originals bands get strangled in favour of another mind-numbing "The Fred Starwrangler Blues Experience plays Clapton" at the Dog and Duck.
The only really REALLY good covers band I have ever seen and went back again and again to was Paddy Goes To Holyhead. They actually nailed most of the stuff with good accuracy and proper presentation and stagecraft. They are a rare thing. Tribute acts are another thing entirely, but I have to say both Dressed To Kill (Ceteras band) and "The Musical Box" (Canadian Genesis tribute) were BETTER than the bands they are copying. They put the work in and it paid off in bucketloads. I'd rather see DTK in a pub than Kiss at the Enormo-dome.

Edited April 1, 2011 by robocorpse

[stingrayPete1977]

[quote name='Chris2112' post='1184914' date='Apr 1 2011, 03:51 PM']I think if you're a dedicated covers band, covering something like Level 42 exclusively, you can get a minor following. Otherwise you'll just a covers band, and though you may get recommended by customers for functions, you'll never have a "fanbase" as such.[/quote]
I disagree Chris, This is our ex drummers band that he joined towards the demise of our long running originals band, They are less busy than they were due to babies and stuff at the moment but Im telling you bands like this can and do have people that follow them (travel 10-40 miles or more) just to see them regardless of the venue often the fans wont know anything about the venue until they get there. If your good then your good.

[url="http://www.cannockbloke.com/"]http://www.cannockbloke.com/[/url]

[Bilbo]

[quote name='robocorpse' post='1184934' date='Apr 1 2011, 04:02 PM'].... or with half the band SIGHT READING it,[/quote]

God forbid!

I am not querying whether an originals band, tribute band or covers band pull a crowd or whcih pulls the biggest, just whether or not cover band A can pull a bigger crowd than cover band B or vice versa. Most of the bands I see or hear about in Suffolk tend to play before the same audiences as everyone else. If the venue is full because there is a band in, it is pretty much full whether it is cover band A or B or C or D. The prime determinates on audience size are things like 'is there an international football game on tv tonight'? 'is the X Factor final on tonight'? 'is it a bank holiday tomorrow (our Sunday residency is always busier if there is no work tomorow - nothing to do with us!!)? I am sure there are exceptions but I haven't seen them. The Latin band I play in always pulls a massive audience at one local venue. That'll be because the audience are all Portuguese and we are the only band in the area with a Portuguese speaking singer singing the hits of the Portuguese diaspora!!

[Skol303]

[quote name='Doddy' post='1184925' date='Apr 1 2011, 03:59 PM']It depends what level you are talking. If you are talking Oasis original then obviously they'll pull massive crowds,but then
in every town there are loads of original bands that never play to more than a few people-in that respect a good cover band will
pretty much always draw a bigger crowd.[/quote]

^ Very true. I guess there's no "one size fits all" answer to this topic!

And there's a good argument to suggest that most crowds will respond much better to a band playing covers, which they recognise, than a band playing their own material, which they don't...

Where I live (Manchester), covers bands are rarely found playing the larger venues (clubs and concert halls) which are almost exclusively the home of originals bands; albeit those that have been signed and are well-recognised by paying punters. There are, of course, exceptions - venues like the famous Night & Day Cafe, which is pub-sized but a great place for listening to original music.

Commercially, I'd put money on the covers bands earning a more regular wage, if that's any kind of answer! ;-)

[Pete Academy]

[quote name='robocorpse' post='1184934' date='Apr 1 2011, 04:02 PM']Looks like I annoyed some people here. OK, I (personally) never really got on with the concept of "a song" as opposed to a performance, a good example being "Brown Sugar", which I have never ever heard a really good cover of, or any kind of backslapping cabaret exercise. I don't care HOW good the original is, if its played badly or without any conviction or with half the band SIGHT READING it, then I am likely to go home. I have a major problem with a stage full of 40-50 somethings with brand new boutique equipment wailing away aimlessly, adding 25 extra solos to "Mustang Sally" and playing everything in dead military 4/4 with no feel or swing while they disguise their paunch with something "the wife" picked up for them from Burtons, over their brand new loose fit 501s. It just smacks of desperation, although thats where the money is unfortunately, so originals bands get strangled in favour of another mind-numbing "The Fred Starwrangler Blues Experience plays Clapton" at the Dog and Duck.
The only really REALLY good covers band I have ever seen and went back again and again to was Paddy Goes To Holyhead. They actually nailed most of the stuff with good accuracy and proper presentation and stagecraft. They are a rare thing. Tribute acts are another thing entirely, but I have to say both Dressed To Kill (Ceteras band) and "The Musical Box" (Canadian Genesis tribute) were BETTER than the bands they are copying. They put the work in and it paid off in bucketloads. I'd rather see DTK in a pub than Kiss at the Enormo-dome.[/quote]

I agree that there are cover bands out there that fit your description. Quite a few years back I used to go and watch a local 3-piece that were unbelievably bad. But with a few beers in them, the audience thought it was great. In contrast, we have a local band called The Barflys, including our singer and our lead guitarist (plays bass in that band), and members of the Climax Blues Band, featuring guitarist Lester Hunt, who is arguably one of the finest players in the country. No frills, just amazing playing and feel, and a blues-rock set that doesn't feature the usual dross.

[4000]

[quote name='dmccombe7' post='1184694' date='Apr 1 2011, 01:40 PM']I would definately pay to see a good cover band.[/quote]

I definitely wouldn't. As I've said before, I'd far sooner see a bunch of kids trying to do something original but not very well than a typical cover band. It's to my eternal shame that we're now considering a 50-75% covers route and I'm sure we'll be as hopeless as the majority of cover bands I've seen round here, who really are quite appalling.

I don't class tribute bands as cover bands; to me they're a different entity; The Musical Box for instance are superb, and light years above anything I've ever seen round here in every respect.

Edited April 1, 2011 by 4000

[4000]

[quote name='robocorpse' post='1184934' date='Apr 1 2011, 04:02 PM']Looks like I annoyed some people here. OK, I (personally) never really got on with the concept of "a song" as opposed to a performance, a good example being "Brown Sugar", which I have never ever heard a really good cover of, or any kind of backslapping cabaret exercise. I don't care HOW good the original is, if its played badly or without any conviction or with half the band SIGHT READING it, then I am likely to go home. I have a major problem with a stage full of 40-50 somethings with brand new boutique equipment wailing away aimlessly, adding 25 extra solos to "Mustang Sally" and playing everything in dead military 4/4 with no feel or swing while they disguise their paunch with something "the wife" picked up for them from Burtons, over their brand new loose fit 501s. It just smacks of desperation, although thats where the money is unfortunately, so originals bands get strangled in favour of another mind-numbing "The Fred Starwrangler Blues Experience plays Clapton" at the Dog and Duck.[/quote]

You know, if I didn't know better I'd say you lived in Blackpool.

Me, as soon as I see a waistcoat I'm off.

[4000]

[quote name='Bilbo' post='1184962' date='Apr 1 2011, 04:23 PM']God forbid!

I am not querying whether an originals band, tribute band or covers band pull a crowd or whcih pulls the biggest, just whether or not cover band A can pull a bigger crowd than cover band B or vice versa. Most of the bands I see or hear about in Suffolk tend to play before the same audiences as everyone else. If the venue is full because there is a band in, it is pretty much full whether it is cover band A or B or C or D. The prime determinates on audience size are things like 'is there an international football game on tv tonight'? 'is the X Factor final on tonight'? 'is it a bank holiday tomorrow (our Sunday residency is always busier if there is no work tomorow - nothing to do with us!!)? I am sure there are exceptions but I haven't seen them.[/quote]

I'd say this is my experience too, although I tend to avoid pubs when cover bands are on- based on most of those I've actually seen who just depress me utterly - so maybe I'm not qualified to say. I will add there are probably one or two exceptions though.

Edited April 1, 2011 by 4000

[Happy Jack]

[quote name='robocorpse' post='1184934' date='Apr 1 2011, 04:02 PM']Tribute acts are another thing entirely, but I have to say both Dressed To Kill (Ceteras band) and "The Musical Box" (Canadian Genesis tribute) were BETTER than the bands they are copying.[/quote]

We're drifting a fair way OT with this, but I entirely agree with the above.

A few years ago, I saw both The Rolling Stones and The Counterfeit Stones in the same month.

The tribute band played exactly the songs that the audience was hoping to hear, they got the look + the kit + the sound + the attitude exactly right, and they played really well.

The originals ... erm ... didn't.

[Conan]

[quote name='4000' post='1185055' date='Apr 1 2011, 06:08 PM']I don't class tribute bands as cover bands; to me they're a different entity; The Musical Box for instance are superb, and light years above anything I've ever seen round here in every respect.[/quote]

Eh? So they aren't playing covers then? They write new material in the style of early Genesis?

[Happy Jack]

Trip-trap, trip-trap ...

[spinynorman]

[quote name='Bilbo' post='1184962' date='Apr 1 2011, 04:23 PM']God forbid!

I am not querying whether an originals band, tribute band or covers band pull a crowd or whcih pulls the biggest, just whether or not cover band A can pull a bigger crowd than cover band B or vice versa. Most of the bands I see or hear about in Suffolk tend to play before the same audiences as everyone else. If the venue is full because there is a band in, it is pretty much full whether it is cover band A or B or C or D. The prime determinates on audience size are things like 'is there an international football game on tv tonight'? 'is the X Factor final on tonight'? 'is it a bank holiday tomorrow (our Sunday residency is always busier if there is no work tomorow - nothing to do with us!!)? I am sure there are exceptions but I haven't seen them. The Latin band I play in always pulls a massive audience at one local venue. That'll be because the audience are all Portuguese and we are the only band in the area with a Portuguese speaking singer singing the hits of the Portuguese diaspora!![/quote]

I think what you're seeing is a test of the venues, rather than the bands. As has been said already, a venue that has regular music and a landlord/manager that books good bands and promotes them to the punters, will keep up similar levels of audience week after week, with variations for the reasons you describe.

A better test would be to hire a venue that doesn't have regular music and put on Band A, B, C etc, on the same night of the week, at irregular intervals. I know if you did that round here Band A and B would fill it. That's because they are well known (locally) party bands who play "Your Socks is on Fire" and 40 other covers that sound exactly the same. This keeps large numbers of young to middle-aged ladies very happy all night and an equally large number of tied or hopeful males go where they go. They also have reasonably charismatic lead singers who network extensively, drink in all the right pubs, turn up for open mic nights and spend time on Facebook, which helps develop the following. Band C (that's us) would bring in a handful of people who don't drink or dance and have to get the bus at 9:30. That's because we play Nirvana and White Stripes covers, the bass player's a miserable git who never smiles and really we can't be bothered with all that networking stuff. We go down reasonably well in a few pubs where crusty old blokes reminisce about seeing Muddy Waters in 1965. That's show business.

[dmccombe7]

[quote name='4000' post='1185055' date='Apr 1 2011, 06:08 PM']I don't class tribute bands as cover bands[/quote]

Don't quite follow your reasoning on that one ?
DTK are by far the best tribute band I've seen and as stated in this thread probably better than the originals.

If you went to an originals concert and they played a cover song would you leave.

Many original bands have over the yrs covered someone else's material.

If you look at many of the major bands "live set list" you will regularly find covers thrown in.
Don't see any harm provided its done well.

Rush produced a full covers album (Crossroads) - didn't make them inferior or worse musicians.

How does that work with Genesis when you had Phil Collins singing old Peter Gabriel material. ?
Does that count as a cover.

Is there not a happy balance whereby you play both your own material and some covers and provided you are good pull in the max audience - i think that's a plan

Dave

Edited April 1, 2011 by dmccombe7

[4000]

To answer 2 comments (and I'm rather disappointed that I have to explain this; if you can't tell the difference between The Musical Box and the typical band playing down the pub on a Friday I'm really not sure you should be playing ), a tribute band, whilst obviously playing covers, are attempting to emulate everything about a particular band, from the music, to the exact performance, to the look, as accurately as possible and so invest in the audience a feeling of what it might be like to see the real band in their heyday. It goes far beyond "playing the songs", if nowhere near as far as creating the art in the first place. It is often done from a place of real love of the original band, and is often done with a sense of perfectionism.

What I describe as a cover band is often a bunch of mediocre players who cobble together a bunch of songs by different bands that they think/know will go down well (usually a pretty ubiquitous set), play them fairly inaccurately but conversely with little sense of putting an original spin on things in the hope of earning a few quid and who all look either far too excited or far too disinterested to be on stage doing what they're doing. A few years back I sadly watched a band who obviously wanted to be whatever the current version of Pantera is, dressed accordingly with BC Riches et al and looking totally cheesed off, playing a set of tunes (very badly) by bands like the Beatles and the Stones. That, I don't want to see. If someone plays Wish You Were Here, I either want to hear an exact copy of the original or a completely new take on it, not some half-hearted version completely lacking the beaauty and subtlety (and indeed musicianship) of the original. My problem with 99% of the cover bands I've ever seen is that they basically murder the songs they're playing. I may just have been unlucky.

I appreciate there are parts of the world where there are cover bands that rise beyond this; indeed there are probably one or two round here, but they're certainly in a minority in these parts.

Edited April 1, 2011 by 4000

[stingrayPete1977]

[quote name='4000' post='1185199' date='Apr 1 2011, 08:00 PM']To answer 2 comments (and I'm rather disappointed that I have to explain this; if you can't tell the difference between The Musical Box and the typical band playing down the pub on a Friday I'm really not sure you should be playing ), a tribute band, whilst obviously playing covers, are attempting to emulate everything about a particular band, from the music, to the exact performance, to the look, as accurately as possible and so invest in the audience a feeling of what it might be like to see the real band in their heyday. It goes far beyond "playing the songs", if nowhere near as far as creating the art in the first place. It is often done from a place of real love of the original band, and is often done with a sense of perfectionism.

What I describe as a cover band is often a bunch of mediocre players who cobble together a bunch of songs by different bands that they think/know will go down well (usually a pretty ubiquitous set), play them fairly inaccurately but conversely with little sense of putting an original spin on things in the hope of earning a few quid and who all look either far too excited or far too disinterested to be on stage doing what they're doing. A few years back I sadly watched a band who obviously wanted to be whatever the current version of Pantera is, dressed accordingly with BC Riches et al and looking totally cheesed off, playing a set of tunes (very badly) by bands like the Beatles and the Stones. That, I don't want to see. If someone plays Wish You Were Here, I either want to hear an exact copy of the original or a completely new take on it, not some half-hearted version completely lacking the beaauty and subtlety (and indeed musicianship) of the original. My problem with 99% of the cover bands I've ever seen is that they basically murder the songs they're playing. I may just have been unlucky.

I appreciate there are parts of the world where there are cover bands that rise beyond this; indeed there are probably one or two round here, but they're certainly in a minority in these parts.[/quote]

That's probably 95% of basschat me included I'm sorry we can't meet your high standards

[4000]

[quote]Don't quite follow your reasoning on that one ?[/quote]

See above.

[quote]DTK are by far the best tribute band I've seen and as stated in this thread probably better than the originals.[/quote]

See above.

[quote]If you went to an originals concert and they played a cover song would you leave.[/quote]

Depends how badly it was murdered; see above.

[quote]Many original bands have over the yrs covered someone else's material.[/quote]


But they've usually played it well or invested something in it; see above.

[quote]If you look at many of the major bands "live set list" you will regularly find covers thrown in.
Don't see any harm [b]provided its done well[/b].[/quote]

Aye, and unfortunately there's the rub....

[quote]Rush produced a full covers album (Crossroads) - didn't make them inferior or worse musicians.[/quote]

That's because they aren't. How many local cover bands that you know would be even close to their standards? I certainly don't know any.

[quote]How does that work with Genesis when you had Phil Collins singing old Peter Gabriel material. ?
Does that count as a cover. [/quote]


No, because it's still the original band.

[quote]Is there not a happy balance whereby you play both your own material and some covers and provided you are good pull in the max audience - i think that's a plan [/quote]

Of course, providing you do it well (see bold above).

I am not against playing covers at all. I am [i]most definitely[/i] against half-hearted, poorly played covers.