Jump to content
Why become a member? ×

Is there a disconnect between music you like listen to and the music you play in bands??


Barking Spiders
 Share

Recommended Posts

Does the music you play in your bands differ from what you like listening to for fun? When I used to be in bands I'd rarely ever listen to the tunes we covered for fun. I enjoyed playing them on stage but not listening to for pleasure. These days I mostly listen to electronica but there's not much bass guitar there so it's a bit difficult finding bands who wanna cover Orbital, 808 State etc

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's very rare there'll be a song in a covers set list I play that I'd listen to at home etc. Much of what I've played recently I can't stand.

The originals bands were similar. One prog metal the other indie punk. Didn't like either one's material or genre.

Probably explains why I don't stay in a band for long 😀

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

You have to play what the punters want to listen to if you want bookings and that tends to be the same old shi*e. The skill is sticking numbers in that are fun and challenging to play that you like and aren't too far off the mainstream as to alienate you from the audience (and landlady!)
We've tried the odd bit of Zappa and Yes, it usually went down badly!

Edited by skidder652003
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Right now I just got a soul, rock, reggae type covers band together where we play a good mix of what I like to listen to. I guess that is because myself and the drummer started the band with an idea on what we would play. I have chosen a lot of the songs uptil now and they seem to go down well with the rest of the band (and singer) We all have something in there we like and seem to gel on ideas.

The other band I play in is a rock blues band and there I'm not so keen on listening to the material we cover, we do a few of our own tunes as well, which I hardly ever listen to :(

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I seldom listen to songs that I have played in bands, I tend to find my favourite songs by bands don't tend to be their biggest hits (Mr Brightside being an exception) I think once I have spent the time mastering the song, played it live and rehearsed it with the band then I rarely bother to listen to it for pleasure, however with the original stuff Yodaclub turn out I listen to that all the time,I like to A/B it against other contemporary releases and see how mixes stand up

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes there is a massive disconnect between what I listen to and what our band plays.The band exists in two very distinct forms - functions (well paid - usual suspects in terms of material) and pubs (less well paid) - all kinds of stuff ABBA to Zappa) my main aim in the band is to have fun and entertain people - I listen to music that offers me something different - hard to explain, but it occupies a different place and I don't anticipate my taste being interesting to others..

Edited by No lust in Jazz
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would love to play the sort of thing I like, but I can't imagine it is ever going to happen.

Some of the songs we play in the cover band I quite like - probably wouldn't really listen to them if I wasn't in the group. But there are several I wouldn't listen to and some I absolutely hate (and was hard to learn as I didn't want to listen to- probably still not got it right but not listening to find out).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I play in a Blues and a Country band and I can't say I listen to a lot of either.

I have listened to a lot of Blues, in years gone by, but I think I'm all Bluesed out now (after playing in Blues bands for 25 years).

I'd never listened to Country, until I joined a country band, 2 years ago. I've now listened to a lot of country songs to get a feel for the covers we play but I don't sit down and listen to Johnny Cash or Emmylou Harris, when I listen to music for pleasure.

.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Bolo' timestamp='1510252304' post='3405090']
I try to play the music I love. Can't imagine playing music that leaves you cold can lead to a passionate perfomance!
Like working at a copy shop and calling yourself an artist, weird!
[/quote]

+1
I did play in a band for a few years that had half the set of songs I would not listen to personally or had any interest in, eventually got fed up with playing what I considered to be crappy songs and left the band.
I now enjoy playing in a band with musicians of very similar musical tastes and like playing every song in our set.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I like all the songs we play, but I did start the band and made sure we were all singing form the same hymn sheet, some I've got a bit fed up with (Teenage Kicks for one) but I liked them all originally, can't really imagine playing stuff I really didn't like

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've only been in one band where we played songs that I regularly listened to. Result was that I didn't enjoy listening to them anymore.

However, often playing songs I'm not familiar with has also really opened my eyes to artists that I'd previously not had much time for. Bowie being one prime example.

The audience reaction is a major factor in how much I enjoy playing a song.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Over the years I have played a range of styles but always been in a band that reflects my tastes at the time. I suppose this has restricted gigs and when I was younger I'm sure I could have had greater success if I had been less focused / belligerent! That said I have released records, toured, had record deals etc etc, albeit on a more niche level.

However I have always enjoyed playing. My father was a pro session drummer in the 60s and gave it up because although he was earning, he didn't like the music. He's not really played since his early 20s. I think this explains why I have the take on things I have and why it is still fun nearly 30yrs down the road for me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We have two different sets, a punk and alternative set where 90% is stuff I love and a general covers set where 10-15% is stuff I love, about 40% I really like and the rest stuff I wouldn’t choose to listen to but don’t mind. Even then most of my favourite music isn’t exactly mainstream so would not really fit that well but there are always some ones that work. And then there is the issue of a band being more than one person so it will always be a compromise.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My previous band played (very well) mostly covers of music that I like and would listen to (Sabbath, Dio, Deep Purple etc). But that meant that not many people in regular pub gigs would know the music, so hence small audiences. Although, like me, the singer has been around long enough he had an arrogance that meant he refused to play better known songs. A punter was overheard to say "they're good, but why don't they play anything we know?". Discussing that comment at the next rehearsal, the singer said his answer to that would be "why don't you know anything we play?". As I said, arrogance.

Today I handed in my notice to a tribute band that should have been perfect for me, but sadly turned out to be not really as I expected :(

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...