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Repertoire must's!


JamesBass
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So I've been doing some dep work for friends bands over the past few months, and each band has a different set list with only a few songs that are the same, songs like; Sweet Child o'mine, another one bites the dust, Livin on a Prayer, Sex On Fire, and Use Somebody.

Now cause I've enjoyed this so much and currently don't have a band of my own to speak of, I'd like to do much more in the way of dep and session work, what are the must know songs? I play most genres but no modern metal and no slap playing.

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Pub band depping???
I'll start you off....
Smoke on the water
Wishing well
Alright now
Really got me
Paranoid
Any big ACDC hits
Caroline or rockin all over the world
Sweet Caroline
500 miles
Sweet home Alabama
Oh well
Hi ho silver lining
Just 17
Wild thing
Dakota or a phonics track if you're anywhere nr Wales
Sex on fire
Bright side
Use somebody

Worth knowing

Happy
Get lucky
Budapest
Hey ho

Pass on to the next person.....

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Don't recognise that set...all bar a couple.

If you want dep work round here, the bands that are prepared to dep out are variations of Blues Bro revue bands.
You aren't going to get much work if you can't do the function soul/RnB thing. Dep work in a pub is a LOT of work
if you have to learn stuff you don't know and gtr bands don't seem very comfortable with deps without rehearsals
which is not really depping unless you are paid for that, IMO

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Seems like a bizarre idea to me. If bands have properly prepared charts, there is no reason why anyone should be unable to do any tune/gig at a moments notice. If you haven't, you are reliant upon a concensus view as to what the song should sound like, which version you are familiar with and whether or not the singer can do stuff in that key. In my experience, the result is chaos. If you have no charts, rehearse. If you can't rehearse, have charts.

Some of the best music I have ever played is music I have never heard before I played it.

(PS Although I have played a few of them in my time, I know none of Jonesies list of tunes (which looks very Rock-centric to me). A Soul band will have a different go to list, as would a Funk band, a Punk band and Pop band etc etc).

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Yeah I offered up a grandad rock s,Wales valley set from my formative years...... This was stuff that as I bounced and depped with various bands these were standard.
Ok soul band.....
Mustang
Midnight hour
Soul man
Take me to the river
Grapevine
Hold on
Signed sealed delivered
Sex bomb
Not unusual.

......... As I said..... Same Stuff that pops up in all bands. Did a promo vid for an agent recently and put songs in that I've never seen other bands do..... Few elton John, hall n oats and some 90's rnb. Word back from venues was can you do seet home Alabama and brown eyed girl (face palm) ..... Oh yeah learn brown eyed girl.....

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That's nonsense. Your formative years and mine are completely different. Pub bands aren't homogenous. I have never played Sex On Fire and you have probably never played Birdland (I have; in a pub in Surrey). People come at this from different angles and the idea that everyone should know certain stuff is nonsense. My first band did 2 covers, Dazed and Confused by Led Zeppelin and Silver Machine by Hawkwind. Never played them again. I was 45 before I played Mustang Sally and 48 before I ever played 'Good TImes' or 'Ain't Nobody' :lol: This idea that there are 'required' standards for pub bands is nonsense. The implication is that, if you don't know 'Son Of A Preacher Man' you haven't 'paid your dues' or aren't properly 'schooled'!! The reality is more like 'Do you know -------'? 'No'. 'OK, Let's play something else'. 'O.K'

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[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1421061559' post='2656606']
[b]That's nonsense.[/b] Your formative years and mine are completely different. Pub bands aren't homogenous. I have never played Sex On Fire and you have probably never played Birdland (I have; in a pub in Surrey). People come at this from different angles and the idea that everyone should know certain stuff is nonsense. My first band did 2 covers, Dazed and Confused by Led Zeppelin and Silver Machine by Hawkwind. Never played them again. I was 45 before I played Mustang Sally and 48 before I ever played 'Good TImes' or 'Ain't Nobody' :lol: This idea that there are 'required' standards for pub bands is nonsense. The implication is that, if you don't know 'Son Of A Preacher Man' you haven't 'paid your dues' or aren't properly 'schooled'!! The reality is more like 'Do you know -------'? 'No'. 'OK, Let's play something else'. 'O.K'
[/quote]

I think that's a bit harsh.

The op asked about depping and the list that jonesthebass gave out contained most of the songs that the majority of bands on the pub circuit play.

There will always be bands that don't play the obvious songs and there are bands that play soul,country,folk, all sorts of genres including jazz in all it's forms. They will certainly get gigs if they are good enough.However having played around the country, in Germany and in Tenerife I can tell you that that list would equip you with enough knowledge to dep in many many bands.

I am sure that Jonesthebass didn't mean you HAD to play those songs to do the pub circuit ,just that THE MAJORITY of bands out there play them.

I saw a Swiss band playing in an "Irish pub" in Dubrovnik with an Eu playing bassist ...and they did Sex on fire! :)

Edited by Raymondo
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Cheers Raymondo.
Like he said....... The OP asked for common generic songs that most bands do.
Do I like half of those songs I listed.....no! If I never have to play smoke on the water ever again I won't be upset but from 15yrs on the s,Wales circuit those are the tracks that pop up time and again with the diff bands.
I'd love to have a crack at bird land , one band used to do maniac by micheal sembelo and loads of micheal macdonald stuff with full harmonies. Is it worth learning?!? Only if you really like those tracks cos I've never been asked for them whilst depping. Seems there's some angry people on here this morn. Jeez I know its Monday but come on guys.
I even said I'll start the list from my experience..... Any one else is free to add to the list. I thought this was a co operative place to help each other. Leave the ego at the door or go and play guitar!

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I should have clarified, eventually I'd look to take it past your generic pub band stuff, which obviously would mean functions, and any function band worth their salts will have charts etc.

I've played in bands that have only really played original material, so my formative years were spent learning theory to write and the odd cover cause I had the time and will power to. Now though I'm at a completely different part of my "career", as well as dep work for local pub bands, I'd love to get cruise ship work, which again is very different in terms of song choice and atmosphere.

So lets think of this thread/question as more of "What songs, across a wide range of genres, are the foundation songs in the set list?"

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We just play what we like and what we think the punters will like. I've been with the same band for ever but if I was joining a different band, I would expect them to allow me time to learn the stuff. How can you know what songs to learn? You would need an enormous repertoire of songs to be able to just slot in with any band, plus just knowing all these songs wouldn't be enough, you'd have to practise them all the time or they would go out your head.
There's lots of songs we used to play, and if someone comes up and asks for one, I'm like, I can't remember it, and they are all cheesed off cos you used to always play it. Muscle memory doesn't always last for ever. Ok, a quick run through and it comes back, but to expect someone just to know tons of songs is a big ask!

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Jamesbass.... Cruise ship work get your reading skills as good as you can. Show band gets loads of charts at short notice. Jazz wise get your chops up.
Work on your aural skills too. If you get used to hearing intervals and chord changes it helps massively when you're put on the spot. Pretty soon you start to notice lots if songs with the same chord progressions.....ie the old 3 chord trick.

And ubit .... Yeah I know its a huge amount of songs and yes I have had to learn them and yes every now and again someone calls a song I haven't played for years but if you know roughly how it goes you can put a basic bass line into it.

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[quote name='Jonesthebass' timestamp='1421073756' post='2656817']
Jamesbass.... Cruise ship work get your reading skills as good as you can. Show band gets loads of charts at short notice. Jazz wise get your chops up.
Work on your aural skills too. If you get used to hearing intervals and chord changes it helps massively when you're put on the spot. Pretty soon you start to notice lots if songs with the same chord progressions.....ie the old 3 chord trick.

And ubit .... Yeah I know its a huge amount of songs and yes I have had to learn them and yes every now and again someone calls a song I haven't played for years but if you know roughly how it goes you can put a basic bass line into it.
[/quote]
Cheers Jones, the weakest point out of those you listed for me is the sight reading, I can do it, but would be unable to do an entire gig doing so, especially if the track is 16ths and lots of fills. Though I can read a lead sheet and play from that no worries, it's more the full on dots type thing I struggle with. Luckily though being a young guy with a plethora of free time reading is something I'm working on!

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[quote name='lojo' timestamp='1421063659' post='2656640']
Thats a lot of time to prepare, how'd it go ?
[/quote]

Quality lolz !!
Sorry Bilbo :ph34r:
B)

Edited by kennyrodgers
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[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1421061559' post='2656606']
That's nonsense. Your formative years and mine are completely different. Pub bands aren't homogenous. I have never played Sex On Fire and you have probably never played Birdland (I have; in a pub in Surrey). People come at this from different angles and the idea that everyone should know certain stuff is nonsense. My first band did 2 covers, Dazed and Confused by Led Zeppelin and Silver Machine by Hawkwind. Never played them again. I was 45 before I played Mustang Sally and 48 before I ever played 'Good TImes' or 'Ain't Nobody' :lol: This idea that there are 'required' standards for pub bands is nonsense. The implication is that, if you don't know 'Son Of A Preacher Man' you haven't 'paid your dues' or aren't properly 'schooled'!! The reality is more like 'Do you know -------'? 'No'. 'OK, Let's play something else'. 'O.K'
[/quote]

If you read it then sure you'll read it, but most pub bands wont have charts so where will that leave you...?? with a lot of prep
for £50, I'd say.
Very many pub songs are buskers in that you've heard the song, you'll hear the changes and it's done.
After a while in those sort of gigs, you have a reportoire of as many songs as you can recall.
It isn't going to be super slick, most probably, but then you get what you get for £50..
Double it and you are likely out of pubs anyway.

Birdland is a jazzer so you'll certainly have come across that but most likely you'll have a pad for those gigs but then also the band leader is sorting thru the charts for the next few songs whilst everyone else is soloing the changes..

I'd say you'd need both gigs anyway...

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[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1421061559' post='2656606']
That's nonsense. Your formative years and mine are completely different. Pub bands aren't homogenous. I have never played Sex On Fire and you have probably never played Birdland (I have; in a pub in Surrey). People come at this from different angles and the idea that everyone should know certain stuff is nonsense. My first band did 2 covers, Dazed and Confused by Led Zeppelin and Silver Machine by Hawkwind. Never played them again. I was 45 before I played Mustang Sally and 48 before I ever played 'Good TImes' or 'Ain't Nobody' :lol: This idea that there are 'required' standards for pub bands is nonsense. The implication is that, if you don't know 'Son Of A Preacher Man' you haven't 'paid your dues' or aren't properly 'schooled'!! The reality is more like 'Do you know -------'? 'No'. 'OK, Let's play something else'. 'O.K'
[/quote]

This kind of post will become one of my Daily Annoyances in the Off Topic section. I'm biting my tongue here.

Edited by interpol52
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