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Playing in an original band has opened my eyes


bassbiscuits
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I've been playing in covers bands for years, but the last time I worked on original material with a band was about eight years ago (aside from depping).

But working on new material with an original band again over the last couple of months has suddenly awoken me as a player all over again - I'm hearing things differently, and have got room to explore and stretch my wings a bit. It's wonderful!

It's also really changed my bass playing too - I'm standing back a lot more and being guided by the music as to what to play and how to play it. Aiming for something a bit different rather than just learning stuff and repeating it. Sometimes the results are really sparse bass lines, where before I might have been tempted to add in too much.

Sorry if it all sounds really obvious, but is puts been a real breath of fresh air to me. Not before time neither.

Covers gigs are definitely still where the money is at, but my sanity is loving having some creative fun on the side.


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[quote name='AustinArto' timestamp='1464300928' post='3058371']
Never played covers. Do you think I'd get something out of it?

I suppose the hard part would be finding a band that didn't play music I hate.
[/quote]

Deoends on the tyoe of covers you do, but generally I think it does help you improve you as a player. Some lines you have to play as they were written, so you need a good ear, and to be able to switch between techniques like pick/fingers/slap. Plus, your singer won't be able to sing everything in its original key so you'll need to be able to transpose on the fly.
It is a completely different game to originals.

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Well, do what you prefer but I think it's all just bass playing.

I have managed to play in both covers and originals bands (a few did both) for most of my playing career. IMO there are no downsides to either style.

They are all just playing songs.

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[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1464303420' post='3058391']
Well, do what you prefer but I think it's all just bass playing.

I have managed to play in both covers and originals bands (a few did both) for most of my playing career. IMO there are no downsides to either style.

They are all just playing songs.
[/quote]

I think it depends whether you are just a player or if you write as well. If you don't write then there's probably little difference from a playing PoV.

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I`ve found that in my current band and my last band, both being originals bands, my bass playing has been pretty much opposite both in style and sound for each. Certainly makes me think more of what I should be doing for the song/band when I have to write basslines.

Edited by Lozz196
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[quote name='bassbiscuits' timestamp='1464297535' post='3058327']
I've been playing in covers bands for years, but the last time I worked on original material with a band was about eight years ago (aside from depping).

But working on new material with an original band again over the last couple of months has suddenly awoken me as a player all over again - I'm hearing things differently, and have got room to explore and stretch my wings a bit. It's wonderful!

It's also really changed my bass playing too - I'm standing back a lot more and being guided by the music as to what to play and how to play it. Aiming for something a bit different rather than just learning stuff and repeating it. Sometimes the results are really sparse bass lines, where before I might have been tempted to add in too much.

Sorry if it all sounds really obvious, but is puts been a real breath of fresh air to me. Not before time neither.

Covers gigs are definitely still where the money is at, but my sanity is loving having some creative fun on the side.
[/quote]

Cool story and good luck.

My story is the exact opposite. Switching from originals bands with few gigs and no money to gigging 2-3 times a week with good money. Enough money to quit my day job and play music for a living.

The gigging really improved my playing. Every time I pick up a bass I'm playing something creative.

Blue

Edited by blue
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At this point in my life I am fortunate enough to not have to worry about getting paid for music... In fact I spend far far more on gear, rehearsals, getting to gigs etc. than I could ever hope to get back. But I'm cool with that...bass playing for me is my hobby, a distraction from work and the general stresses of life. I'm never happier than playing something I've had a part in creating to an audience.

I only play originals... and also only originals where I am in total control of ALL my bass parts... I will never play in a project where what I play is dictated to me. I can't think of anything worse than standing on a stage in front of people playing basslines someone else has written... does nothing for me.

As a result of being zero compromise on the control thing I have had to be more flexible on some other aspects of the bands I play with. Type of music, location and time of rehearsals / gigs etc. Since I realized what is really important to me, I've hooked up with some great guys playing types of music I'd never even thought about... I'm having the most fun I have had in bands these last couple of months.

Music takes all sorts though and if covers float your boat then so be it... no-one is right, no-one is wrong, we are all different and want different things from music / bands. As long as your getting what you want from it (money or enjoyment, or both) stick with it :) life is full of s**t and it's important to make time where you can for the things you like doing :)

Edited by CamdenRob
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+1

We play mainly originals but also play some covers, which we play in 'our style' so they are not slavish copies of the original or we'll play a less well known version of a well known song, though also usually in 'our style'. For example JJ Cale's original version of 'Breeze' instead of the better known Lynyrd Skynryd version.

We also have a bit of fun with Route 66 by basing it on the original version (though we don't have keys):
http://youtu.be/kLUYf6cekMA

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Don't get me wrong - i'm still busy gigging in my covers band too.

The originals band is out gigging regularly too - we've gone down pretty well at support slots for people like Howard Rose, Marc O'Reilly and Emma Pollock, and are doing some local summer festival stuff as well, so it's a really pleasing combination of work.

We're playing at the Gladstone in London this Sunday if anyone wants to pop down!

Edited by bassbiscuits
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I have done both, the covers element gives you that gig sharpness, stagecraft, insight into how other musicians create music, how their bass parts connect with other instruments etc. But the downside is you may well fell constrained by the way the song was originally played, especially if the song has a prominent bass line that is not what you would have written.

The originals band gives you far more freedom to use that experience gained doing covers to create your own basslines, to me at the moment, that is the most important part of music for me...the downside is gigs are far harder to come by, they tend to be on weekday evenings miles away (unless you live in a major city I guess) You don't earn anything for your time and getting noticed is a real hard slog.

You have to decide how much time you have and, to be honest, what is most important to you, I found it impossible to balance the two bands in the end as the covers band tended to book a year in advance whereas the originals band would be offered good support slots at very short notice, unfortunately that meant that there were date clashes happening too often, I had to make that decision and chose the originals band, which, for me at the moment was the correct decision...that will swing the other way in the future no doubt and I will return to a covers band

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[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1464336421' post='3058487']
I've always done both. It's all music.
[/quote]
Yes, I agree with that.
Here in my part of Finland unfortunately it is harder to get gigs if you only do originals, very limited opportunities especially if you only sing in Finnish.
Had one band doing only originals in Finnish that I felt we had something, got some radio play, but never really got going 3 years in practice and only 1 gig lol.

One of my current projects (talking as an oldie, attracting a mature audience :) ) we seem to have it covered kind of 50-50 with covers and our own songs, the covers we try to do our own versions of, so the creative freedom is there still. From my experience people like to hear music they are familiar with, to do only originals I think you need to hit a certain niche, style of music that will attract enough punters, it's a hard slog here and boring imo to have to categorise your musical style.

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@ Roger2611.

And although the end result was the same for me - I chose my originals band over covers, my experience of playing with both was completely the opposite.

It might be that I am lucky enough to be in a very well organised and efficient originals band, and that my covers bands were always slightly disorganised and complacent, but IME covers bands have to be pretty rubbish before the average punter starts to notice. You can get seemingly away with all sorts of unprofessional stagecraft such as excessive tuning and pauses to locate and have a swig of your beer, which would kill and originals band set stone dead. When I mentioned this to my covers bandmates they didn't really understand what the problem was.

Also my originals band was getting a lot more gigs - 3 or 4 every month all paid and rarely mid-week ones - while my covers band was struggling to be playing more than a handful of times each year. Also the originals band was far more efficient when it came to gigs: All the gear and the band went in the band van (or in a hatchback for gigs where backline and drum kit were provided) and if time was short it was no problem for us to turn up at the venue and be on-stage and playing our set within 20 minutes, at worst, of our arrival.

Contrast that with the covers band where everyone arrived with their gear in their individual cars. There was also the PA and lights to set up and break down, so while the covers gig might pay more, in terms of the number of hours of work both setting up and playing, the originals ended up with a better hourly rate! And that's before you even consider the relative expenses of one car/van for the whole band versus one car for each band member.

In the end my choice was easy to make. I was having far more fun and ultimately making more money for a lot less effort playing music I had written myself over even a set of universally accepted well-known crowd pleasers.

Edited by BigRedX
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I think once the song is written, there's little difference between the two, but I do love the writing aspect of playing in originals bands. Even if the part I go for is just root 5ths, or just a straight drum beat, I still start with a totally blank canvas and can do whatever I want.

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[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1464332673' post='3058445']
At this point in my life I am fortunate enough to not have to worry about getting paid for music... In fact I spend far far more on gear, rehearsals, getting to gigs etc. than I could ever hope to get back. But I'm cool with that...bass playing for me is my hobby, a distraction from work and the general stresses of life. I'm never happier than playing something I've had a part in creating to an audience.

I only play originals... and also only originals where I am in total control of ALL my bass parts... I will never play in a project where what I play is dictated to me. I can't think of anything worse than standing on a stage in front of people playing basslines someone else has written... does nothing for me.

As a result of being zero compromise on the control thing I have had to be more flexible on some other aspects of the bands I play with. Type of music, location and time of rehearsals / gigs etc. Since I realized what is really important to me, I've hooked up with some great guys playing types of music I'd never even thought about... I'm having the most fun I have had in bands these last couple of months.

Music takes all sorts though and if covers float your boat then so be it... no-one is right, no-one is wrong, we are all different and want different things from music / bands. As long as your getting what you want from it (money or enjoyment, or both) stick with it :) life is full of s**t and it's important to make time where you can for the things you like doing :)
[/quote]

this is pretty much my view. music is my hobby and i find it more fulfilling having a say in the construction of songs and having my own control over what lines i play and where we play them.

if i had the choice between a long running covers band and a number of short lived originals bands, i'd go with that every time.

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[quote name='cheddatom' timestamp='1464340377' post='3058546']
I think once the song is written, there's little difference between the two, but I do love the writing aspect of playing in originals bands. Even if the part I go for is just root 5ths, or just a straight drum beat, I still start with a totally blank canvas and can do whatever I want.
[/quote]

But there is something extra special about getting a great audience reaction to playing a song you've written yourself.

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Playing covers is a great way to learn new stuff (as long as you're not stuck playing Mustang Sally and Dakota et al), especially if you get the opportunity to play different styles. Playing original stuff gives you the opportunity to apply your knowledge in a writing context. Best of both worlds is great!

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[quote name='cheddatom' timestamp='1464340377' post='3058546']
I still start with a totally blank canvas and can do whatever I want.
[/quote]

I've been in many bands who were only writing and performing original songs and in reality you'll rarely get a "blank canvas".

If the song is already written you get to put a bass part to the song and that might give you creative input or no scope at all.

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Me too! After 20+ years of dad-rock purgatory playing in covers bands, I've finally found a decent originals outfit. I was given vocal/acoustic guitar demos and had completely free reign to write whatever I liked. - I'd completely forgotton how much fun it was to write my own lines! :)

Like the OP, I've found myself writing quite sparse lines to support and blend with the songs, so it's good to hear that I'm not the only one to take this approach.

I'm also enjoying playing the sort of support slots that seem like they're only available to original bands. We turn up, plug in, have a quick line-check and go straight into our half-hour set, and so far have avoided all of the interminable hanging around that seems to go with covers bands.

I was once given some advice, which was, "Play covers like they're originals, and play originals like they're covers." I take it to mean that you should make covers sound like you wrote them - don't slavishly copy the original song, and that you should work on the structure, arrangement and performance of your own songs, until they sound as good as something you'd hear on the radio.

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