Cover Band Rant.

[bgressman82]

so there i am, minding my own business, having some drinks with some friends at a local bar that caters to bikers/metalheads. it's a saturday night, so there's usually some form of live entertainment.

4 guys walk up on the stage, all wearing purple immitation velvet suits, stand in front of a british flag, pull out their "vintage" instruments and begin to play their beatles cover tunes. this goes on for 5 hours.

the bass player, with his violin bass strapped high on his chest, makes jokes and talks to people between every song. what a jerk, he's got a mic, but doesn't sing... just just looks around nervously and fills the gaps between songs with annoying little cracks like "whooo! tough crowd." and "you can probably tell we love the white album too much. or maybe not."

the bar owner, who i now consider a big jerk, had the foresight to not hand out any bottles or glasses that night... just those red plastic cups. he should get praise for this, i think he saved the bass players life while doing so. i have respect for my fellow musicians, but even i was ready to chuck a bottle at the freakin' bass player.

a chorus of boos rings out at the beginning of every set, as soon as the sound guy cuts the stereo... he made the mistake of cutting it in the middle of a metallica song and had his life threatend by one of the regulars. don't worry, this guy threatens someones life every week, it's nothing to worry about. actually, knowing the sound guy's sense of humor, he probably timed it that way on purpose...

the night goes down without major violence...

a few days later, i'm in the local mom and pop music store to buy strings. guess who i see? the guitar player for the beatles cover band. small world, right? he's talking about his recent show, and how he's upset about not making any tips, and only getting enough money from the bar owner to cover gas. i tell him i was there, and he was lucky it was a slow night. he looks at me like i kicked his cat, lifts his nose in the air, and goes right back to complaining to the guy behind the counter. once again, i felt like throwing a bottle.

the moral of the story... snobby tribute/cover bands who think they're the greatest thing their audience has ever seen really grind my gears.

[JimiLL]

someone should have assasinated the lead singer...... then they would have been a perfect tribute!!!!

[5StringBlues]

popcorn

[Greyvagabond]

Originally Posted by JimiLL

someone should have assasinated the lead singer...... then they would have been a perfect tribute!!!!

I think this is the funniest thing I have ever read on talkbass.

[CrispyDelicious]

No matter how many times I read this post, I can't think of what I should type. There is just so much to criticize, all across the board with this one.

[Sundogue]

I give anybody who goes onstage and plays music (original or covers) props, no matter how good or bad they are.

Life is too short to...

1) Give someone a hard time for something they like doing.
2) Not allow others the same consideration I'd appreciate myself.

Unless one of the bikers was holding a gun to your head and forcing you to stay, the source of your irritation or perceived problem was entirely YOU.

[UncleBalsamic]

[PBass101]

Originally Posted by bgressman82

the moral of the story... snobby tribute/cover bands who think they're the greatest thing their audience has ever seen really grind my gears.

[Lunchbox4u_6]

You can hardly complain about the money you make if you agreed to play the show for that amount in the first place, and why did a beatles cover band think that a playing a biker/metal bar would be a good place book a show?!?!

I play in a cover band, and I'm starting to think that the reason I (and my fellow cover band players) take so much heat everywhere is because of chumps like that!

[bgressman82]

untill i ran into the guy later on and figured out he was a snob, i kinda thought it was meant to be some kind of joke. it was one of those moments when everyone was like, "this can't be real, what do they think they're doing?" and, the fact that the bar never hands out red cups kinda made me think it was a late april fools day joke or something.

[bgressman82]

Originally Posted by Lunchbox4u_6

You can hardly complain about the money you make if you agreed to play the show for that amount in the first place, and why did a beatles cover band think that a playing a biker/metal bar would be a good place book a show?!?!

I play in a cover band, and I'm starting to think that the reason I (and my fellow cover band players) take so much heat everywhere is because of chumps like that!

dude, i've had issues lately with people (mostly cover bands) complaining about everything, and the snobby attitude of this guy is the main reason behind it. yes, chumps like this are bad for cover bands.

[denhou1974]

Club shouldn't have booked them if they weren't suitable for that crowd. Not their fault.

They were so terrible but you stayed for 5 hours???

Why is he a snob because he wouldn't let you butt into his conversation?

Not trying to argue or jump on you, I just don't understand.

[WarriorJoe7]

Oh come one... We weren't THAT bad!!! And I happen to like our purple velvet suits!

Originally Posted by bgressman82

so there i am, minding my own business, having some drinks with some friends at a local bar that caters to bikers/metalheads. it's a saturday night, so there's usually some form of live entertainment.

4 guys walk up on the stage, all wearing purple immitation velvet suits, stand in front of a british flag, pull out their "vintage" instruments and begin to play their beatles cover tunes. this goes on for 5 hours.

the bass player, with his violin bass strapped high on his chest, makes jokes and talks to people between every song. what a jerk, he's got a mic, but doesn't sing... just just looks around nervously and fills the gaps between songs with annoying little cracks like "whooo! tough crowd." and "you can probably tell we love the white album too much. or maybe not."

the bar owner, who i now consider a big jerk, had the foresight to not hand out any bottles or glasses that night... just those red plastic cups. he should get praise for this, i think he saved the bass players life while doing so. i have respect for my fellow musicians, but even i was ready to chuck a bottle at the freakin' bass player.

a chorus of boos rings out at the beginning of every set, as soon as the sound guy cuts the stereo... he made the mistake of cutting it in the middle of a metallica song and had his life threatend by one of the regulars. don't worry, this guy threatens someones life every week, it's nothing to worry about. actually, knowing the sound guy's sense of humor, he probably timed it that way on purpose...

the night goes down without major violence...

a few days later, i'm in the local mom and pop music store to buy strings. guess who i see? the guitar player for the beatles cover band. small world, right? he's talking about his recent show, and how he's upset about not making any tips, and only getting enough money from the bar owner to cover gas. i tell him i was there, and he was lucky it was a slow night. he looks at me like i kicked his cat, lifts his nose in the air, and goes right back to complaining to the guy behind the counter. once again, i felt like throwing a bottle.

the moral of the story... snobby tribute/cover bands who think they're the greatest thing their audience has ever seen really grind my gears.

[Haysoochreesto]

Sounds to me like the owner booked a band that doesn't fit his bar. So really, you should blame the owner. If I were to book a gig for my cover band I would, among other things, tell the owner what kind of music we play and even fax him a song list. Then we'd agree on a price and then we'd show up and do the gig. I would assume that if the owner hired us, he'd know what kind of people come into his bar and what kind of music they like. So again, most, if not ALL the blame lies with the owner of the bar.

Also, and I can't believe you didn't think of this, some bands have off nights. No one is kick-ass perfect in every gig. Some nights are better than others.

Finally, as far as the bass player goes, it sounds like maybe he was trying to make the best of a bad situation but isn't very good at doing that. If he's a douche, fine, but it sounds like he was a very small part of the problem.

[MoBeach]

Originally Posted by denhou1974

They were so terrible but you stayed for 5 hours???

I certainly would have found something else to do.

[Quadcam]

Originally Posted by Haysoochreesto

Sounds to me like the owner booked a band that doesn't fit his bar. So really, you should blame the owner. If I were to book a gig for my cover band I would, among other things, tell the owner what kind of music we play and even fax him a song list. Then we'd agree on a price and then we'd show up and do the gig. I would assume that if the owner hired us, he'd know what kind of people come into his bar and what kind of music they like. So again, most, if not ALL the blame lies with the owner of the bar.
.

THIS!

he booked a beetles tribute at a biker bar??

[5StringBlues]

Originally Posted by Quadcam

THIS!

MOM!?!

[Jim Campbell]

Originally Posted by bgressman82

so there i am, minding my own business, having some drinks with some friends at a local bar that caters to bikers/metalheads. it's a saturday night, so there's usually some form of live entertainment.

4 guys walk up on the stage, all wearing purple immitation velvet suits, stand in front of a british flag, pull out their "vintage" instruments and begin to play their beatles cover tunes. this goes on for 5 hours.

the bass player, with his violin bass strapped high on his chest, makes jokes and talks to people between every song. what a jerk, he's got a mic, but doesn't sing... just just looks around nervously and fills the gaps between songs with annoying little cracks like "whooo! tough crowd." and "you can probably tell we love the white album too much. or maybe not."

the bar owner, who i now consider a big jerk, had the foresight to not hand out any bottles or glasses that night... just those red plastic cups. he should get praise for this, i think he saved the bass players life while doing so. i have respect for my fellow musicians, but even i was ready to chuck a bottle at the freakin' bass player.

a chorus of boos rings out at the beginning of every set, as soon as the sound guy cuts the stereo... he made the mistake of cutting it in the middle of a metallica song and had his life threatend by one of the regulars. don't worry, this guy threatens someones life every week, it's nothing to worry about. actually, knowing the sound guy's sense of humor, he probably timed it that way on purpose...

the night goes down without major violence...

a few days later, i'm in the local mom and pop music store to buy strings. guess who i see? the guitar player for the beatles cover band. small world, right? he's talking about his recent show, and how he's upset about not making any tips, and only getting enough money from the bar owner to cover gas. i tell him i was there, and he was lucky it was a slow night. he looks at me like i kicked his cat, lifts his nose in the air, and goes right back to complaining to the guy behind the counter. once again, i felt like throwing a bottle.

the moral of the story... snobby tribute/cover bands who think they're the greatest thing their audience has ever seen really grind my gears.

well i certainly would not walk into any biker bar in any kind of suit much less velvet,and the stars n bars would prolly have gone over way better,but beyond the banter was the music any good.....how would it have been if it was played by some skynyrd lookin dudes

[derekd]

Originally Posted by Haysoochreesto

Sounds to me like the owner booked a band that doesn't fit his bar. So really, you should blame the owner. If I were to book a gig for my cover band I would, among other things, tell the owner what kind of music we play and even fax him a song list. Then we'd agree on a price and then we'd show up and do the gig. I would assume that if the owner hired us, he'd know what kind of people come into his bar and what kind of music they like. So again, most, if not ALL the blame lies with the owner of the bar.

Also, and I can't believe you didn't think of this, some bands have off nights. No one is kick-ass perfect in every gig. Some nights are better than others.

Finally, as far as the bass player goes, it sounds like maybe he was trying to make the best of a bad situation but isn't very good at doing that. If he's a douche, fine, but it sounds like he was a very small part of the problem.

I thoughts exactly. Reminds me of the scene in the Blues Brothers, when they get booked to play the cowboy bar. After Rawhide and Stand By Your Man, what the heck are you gonna play? I don't blame the Liverpool wannabe's for being off their game. They probably read the writing on the wall as they were setting up, and were pretty nervous.

[Vakmere]

Next week Yanni will be appearing that that same bar. Hurry, get your seats early.