Building a cover band for latest pop stuff? (rap, hip hop, r&b)

WarriorJoe7 · #1 06-01-2008, 04:46 PM

I started another thread under band management looking for songs to cover to get the 20-30s crowd dancing, and this is directly related. http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f67/good-dance-covers-20-30-something-crowd-439343/#post5800357 I want to get into a cover band that can cover the most popular (good) stuff from the last 5 years. Below are some of my ideas. This is gonna be hard to pull off as far as finding the right pieces but read and discuss.

I want to play modern stuff that every club seems to be playing (I know I know I agree that alot of it is crap however I want to find the good stuff and there are a couple of artists atleast.)

As far as a regular band not being able to cover these well I am formulating my ideas as I write this. Let me know what you guys think.

Ideally the band would only have a drummer and a bassist from the typical band that we are familiar with. The keyboardist would be the centerpiece musically taking the place of lead guitar, or perhaps sharing the lead with a DJ (ones that add DJ stuff and samples, not the DJs that play completed songs.) Then likely the vocalist would be black but doesn't have to be (the vocalist could also be the DJ or keyboardist but maybe preferably not so they can interact with the crowd and get them dancing.) Perhaps if the DJ was also a percussionist it could be pretty awesome.

Now basically what the typical full service DJ does would be tighter than us, however once we got our act together we could be a more interesting show IMO. I haven't seen anyone try to pull this off which is why I think it would be interesting to try.

It would be a huge stretch of the imagination but if the keyboardist or DJ/percussionist also played some funk/rhythm guitar then we could pick up alot more older dance tunes. Throwbacks!

Petebass · #2 06-02-2008, 09:06 PM

OK I'm a different country, so I don't know exactly how my experience is going to translate - what you're proposing is exactly what I tried to do a few years ago here in Sydney.

It didn't work. It seems that the kids who are into that sort of music aren't into seeing live bands. Many haven't even see a full live band before. Sure they'll go watch a rapper in concert and think it's live entertainment, but often those artists fill the stage with DJ's and dancers instead of drums and musical instruments. So it's no surprise they'd rather hear a DJ playing those songs given their only previous live experience is what we musicians would consider a "watered down" show. And the venues would rather hire a DJ because they're cheaper than a band.

I'm back to playing retro covers now, and we've never had so many gigs.

But like I said, I don't know if the Sydney 20 somethings and the New York 20 somethings will react the same way. You'll have to judge that yourself somehow.

WarriorJoe7 · #3 06-03-2008, 01:30 AM

Hey thanks for the input. I may try it anyways and see how it turns out. I hope some others chime in. If everyone says the same thing then I will go back to playing rock LOL

WarriorJoe7 · #4 06-03-2008, 01:32 PM

anyone else wanna chime in?

alfredpunkjazz · #5 06-03-2008, 11:28 PM

In my experience, modern pop music it's really complicated stuff to recreate... Lots and lots of processed sounds, sometimes an awful lot of instruments and stuff... It is very interesting, but I see it somehow not worth all the job you gotta do to get it done properly, all that IMHO.

Stumbo · #6 06-03-2008, 11:45 PM

How many groups are already doing what you want to do in your area?

WarriorJoe7 · #7 06-04-2008, 05:56 AM

NONE unless you count DJs by themselves... then A LOT

So it will be a new way of presenting the same old stuff... but that's what everyone wants is the same old stuff. As long as we can find a KILLER keyboardist with phenomenal gear I don't see the modern sounds being a problem. These don't have to be exact productions. As long as they can get the right notes and sounds that are close in some cases... it would be good to change it up though too.

derrico1 · #8 06-04-2008, 07:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WarriorJoe7

As long as we can find a KILLER keyboardist with phenomenal gear I don't see the modern sounds being a problem.

A keyboardist/DJ might make you easier to book.

jady · #9 06-04-2008, 09:33 AM

The keyboardist and DJ will make or break it, it can add a lot of polish to your sound or fill it up with one fingered, dated dx7 crapness!!!!

Good luck tho, if u can make it work it will be awesome!!!!

WarriorJoe7 · #10 06-04-2008, 11:05 AM

I almost must mention that I have a Peavey Midibase and some nice effects that work with it. I can switch off and let the keyboard play bass while I play something else. Yep the keyboardist/DJ will make or break us, so basically I just need to find a talented one that wants a full band. They will be in the position of power, which I don't mind because likely they will have a much more developed sense of this type of music anyways. I will follow, as long as I like what their vision is.

winston · #11 06-04-2008, 12:10 PM

I sometimes think about getting a project like this together. If we're on the same page "Hey Ya" by OutKast and "Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley are two must-haves. Stuff like "Let's Get it Started" or "Girls" by the Black Eyed Peas is kinda dumb but appeals to lots of folks. I'm not really into JT but his songs definitely get people moving.

If you're going after the over 30 crowd and playing groovy tunes I think it'd be safe to throw in some hits from the '80's/'90's. IME as a DJ if people are grooving to pop they like it when you mix it up with the good stuff. The guys may roll their eyes but the chix go crazy over tracks like "Hungry Like the Wolf" by Duran Duran, Madonna's "Holiday", or Jamiroquai's "Space Cowboy".

Powerful laptops and software like Ableton Live make it possible to pull this kind of thing off. A project like this could be a nerdy keyboardist's wet dream! Of course you'll need a vocalist who can rap & sing with talent & charisma, plus slick promotion.

WarriorJoe7 · #12 06-04-2008, 01:23 PM

Thanks for the info winston...

Petebass · #13 06-04-2008, 02:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jady

The keyboardist and DJ will make or break it, it can add a lot of polish to your sound or fill it up with one fingered, dated dx7 crapness!!!!

Absolutely true. In fact, you'd we found we needed a keyboard player with a mountain of gear and 40 fingers to do it properly.

In the end we decided we couldn't manage without adding a sequencer of some kind. In a way it was good because it made it possible for keyboard players to come and go. At this point I should point out that the band put together the sequences collectively. Therefore when the keyboardists left, the sequences stayed with the band.

It was a lot of preparation work for sure. For simplicity we used cubase and a lot of sampled sounds. The final sequence was dumped on to a mini-disk player for the live gigs (music on the left, click track for the drummer on the right).

The alternative is to have several keyboard players, but that's not economically feasible. The addition of a DJ might work as well.