ben604 Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 The ongoing "what songs shall we learn?" debate rages on, with me firmly in the let's stick to bluesy rock and maintain a bit of consistency across the set, while a couple of the others want to mix it up and add some pop punk stuff. What's the consensus? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 We play what works for the band regardless of genre. Obviously there is a style that works best for the most part, but this shouldn't preclude any other style. A lot of name rock acts have dabbled with reggae for instance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwood662 Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 Up to you, but if you want to earn good coin you are going to have to do some contemporary hits in different genres - pop/dance/rock. On the other hand if its more for fun play what you want I guess, Id personally stick to the classic bluesy rock though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 When I put the band together I had a bit of a vision about the songs and type of way we would put them togther, so altho we concentrated on covers, we wanted a certain style and we were able to make the set our own. This changed when we got seduced..against my real wishes..to take on more functions and had to pander to that market. This has lead to dancey songs leading the way which dilutes the position we started from. We have found this also makes us more popular in the pub type gigs I favour, so it is a loosing battle for me. I still think we retain a band style/sound though as we do dictate where the song is going and what it is trying to do....so not a complete failure but time together is against us as well... so the set has widened and the artists we cover has broadened as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GRAHAM SG1 Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 In my experience, most audiences want to hear a mixture of sounds, if you play a good variation of songs then you have more chance of giving them what they want and going home happy . One thing that does turn an audience off sometimes is an endless supply of meaningless long guitar solos that do not resemble the song being covered, I would think many of you guys are familiar with that situation, that is one reason I choose songs that do not have much scope for too much guitar over indulgence !! My first band was a blues band and after an hour or so, many people turned off and left the pub bored ! `Middle of the road` is possibly the best place for a typical covers band My current trio`s set includes songs by; Beatles Stones The Who Credence clearwater revival Lynnrd Skynnrd Small faces Elvis Eddie cochran The Clash Sex pistols Undertones Monkees Steve miller band Stealers wheel Free Neil young Deep purple REM Hendrix and others I cant remember right now ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 (edited) [quote name='GRAHAM SG1' timestamp='1331113032' post='1567676'] In my experience, most audiences want to hear a mixture of sounds, if you play a good variation of songs then you have more chance of giving them what they want and going home happy . One thing that does turn an audience off sometimes is an endless supply of meaningless long guitar solos that do not resemble the song being covered, I would think many of you guys are familiar with that situation, that is one reason I choose songs that do not have much scope for too much guitar over indulgence !! My first band was a blues band and after an hour or so, many people turned off and left the pub bored ! [/quote] One of the very best bands round here just uses popular songs and most from the blues genre as a vehicle for solos from the whole band..but mostly sax, gtr and keys. It helps that they always have excellent vocals as well but I think people will listen to something special even if it may be a bit left field. They don't empty a pub Edited March 7, 2012 by JTUK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truckstop Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 You should totally mix your genres. It helps to have a wide range of music so that you can tailor setlists to particular gigs. Say someone saw your blues/rock covers in a pub one night and they want you for a wedding or something, but wanted you to play something more well known? You win, that's what happens! But obviously, if you're just doing it for fun and you want to play blues every month, then do it! That's why you're in a blues band! Truckstop Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brensabre79 Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 We set out with an ethos originally of playing post-punk classics, we have found that demand dictates we also do some more modern songs, and some of the members of the band were really keen to drop the ethos and just do whatever people want, this has certainly been advantageous in gaining bookings for functions. However, what we do is pick songs from any era that we feel fit with the original ethos. Sure we do Kaiser Chiefs, Supergrass, Arctic monkeys etc. etc. We even do Duffy (bleaugh), but we always do it with a post-punk twist. i.e. "what would the Clash or the Stranglers do if they were playing his song?" It works for us because we get to keep our ethos, we get to play the songs everyone wants in a style that suits us. And we can pretty much guarantee nobody does "Moondance" quite like us! So I say play whatever song you like, from whatever era you like, but put your own twist on it. As long as you don't mess with the vocal line, and keep in some of the important musical hooks, people will recognize it and appreciate it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben604 Posted March 7, 2012 Author Share Posted March 7, 2012 Thanks guys, interesting reading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 [quote name='ben604' timestamp='1331109820' post='1567625'] ....The ongoing "what songs shall we learn?" debate rages on.... [/quote] There are three rules in our covers band. The number has to have been a top twenty hit, we have to be able to play it properly and the audiences have to like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ou7shined Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 Just make sure your website/flyers say "bluesy rock and pop punk mix" (or whatever) then they know what to expect when they book you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GRAHAM SG1 Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 At one stage a few years ago, most of our songs were covers of songs by dead artists ! Theres a different theme for someone - could call the band `Covers of the Dead` ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 Primarily my covers band, The Daves, is a punk band, concentrating on English punk between 76 - 79. However we include The Ramones in with this, and for a little bit of more modern sounds, a couple of Green Day. We also play Ace of Spades, because we like it. So we have a specific direction, but I think unless deciding on a specific genre, chris_b has it nailed with his bands approach. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shizznit Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 Even though we are a Soul/Funk band we have started to play Ska songs for some daft reason. We played a couple of Mod meet type gigs last year and a couple of Ska songs were requested. Since then we have put 5 or 6 Ska songs in the set. I like Ska and I enjoy playing it, but a lot of folks do get confused when we whip those songs out because they expect us to play Soul and Funk. It's starting to bug me quite a lot and my reservations fall on deaf ears. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeftyBiskit Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 Basically we give the punters what they want, whether it's pop,punk,indie rock-as long as the punters are up dancin'and go home happy-job done. It does'nt suit everyone but as long as the majority enjoy it we know we'll get a repeat booking. LB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scalpy Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 We do lots of the typical soul stuff and stuff in a soul type vein, Poker Face, Ring of Fire and Single Ladies and the like, but the male vocalist has decided that he wants to do a ballad and that Lionel Richie is a soul artist. I don't mind mixing genres but this is probably a step too far! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobbytodd Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 we tend to mix it all up with stuff from the 60's right through to todays music.cover all your bases and keep the punters happy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barronvonmarlon Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 my lot set out to be suckers of Satan's teet right from the outset we felt the best thing to do was embrace the cheese that people like, my favorite thing is finding that song that everyone loves but no other local bands play so we have everthing from acdc to lady gaga(given the band is all male pokerface never sounded like this before) in our set Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legoman Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 I think there's nowt wrong with crossing genres. I'm all my years of playing it seems like many cover bands feel like they HAVE to stick to just playing the safe standards in order to hold an audience's attention (more so in a pub/club rather than function/private hire scenario where you probably don't have the freedom because you're paid to play the songs the hirer wants you to play) and pass up the opportunity to throw in a number of other well known tracks that rarely get any kind of airing but would be well received. It's something the cover band I play in does and the general feedback we get is that it makes a refreshing change to hear the kind of songs we do and we've even inspired people to buy music from the artists we've played because they've not really noticed or heard of them before or it's dawned on some just how good some of these other songs are! The other bonus is that it makes playing sets way more enjoyable as you don't feel like you're like a live jukebox. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raslee Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 [quote name='shizznit' timestamp='1331549062' post='1574400'] Even though we are a Soul/Funk band we have started to play Ska songs for some daft reason. We played a couple of Mod meet type gigs last year and a couple of Ska songs were requested. Since then we have put 5 or 6 Ska songs in the set. I like Ska and I enjoy playing it, but a lot of folks do get confused when we whip those songs out because they expect us to play Soul and Funk. It's starting to bug me quite a lot and my reservations fall on deaf ears. [/quote] Haha i can relate to this, i've been playing in reggae/ska bands and reggae covers bands for the last 5-6years. So for a change just after xmas i thought i would join a soul/funk band that were seeking a bassist and my usual reggae keyboardist joined the soul band also...The rest of the band got wind of our reggae history and promptly put Monkey man (Specials version), No No no (Dawn Penn) & now want to do a Marley tune... further more they're mixing this with more mowtown/R&B tunes like Zoot suit Riot and Etta James/Shirley Bassey etc....and now they want to do an Adelle track.....I'm a soul man Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shizznit Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 [quote name='Rasta' timestamp='1331798228' post='1578862'] The rest of the band got wind of our reggae history and promptly put Monkey man (Specials version) [/quote] Hehe!! That's one of the ska songs we cover! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BottomE Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 We don't mix the genres and stick pretty much to your normal funk/soul/disco tunes. Thing is if you are doing a genre as wide as this you can play a lot of tunes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shizznit Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 [quote name='BottomE' timestamp='1331804206' post='1578989'] We don't mix the genres and stick pretty much to your normal funk/soul/disco tunes. Thing is if you are doing a genre as wide as this you can play a lot of tunes. [/quote] Very true. I find the trick is to stick to songs that are played on Radio 2! We play a Rosetta Hightower song (Baby Bird) that is a guaranteed dance floor clearer, amoungst other niche Northern Soul and Stax songs we play. Great song, but nobody knows it! You can probably tell from my posts on this topic I do not select the set lists for my band! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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