Metalheads, I would love your input.

[jive1]

I have some questions, and would love your input.

So I was talking to another TBer over the weekend about putting together an old-school Metal band. Not Poppy Hair Metal, but classic Thrash Metal like Metallica (Pre-Newstead), Anthrax, Megadeth, etc. Maybe throw in some lighter stuff like Maiden. And a few obscure bands like Exodus, Mercyful Fate, etc. Mainly for fun, but we do want to do shows, and even get paid.

First question, do you think there is a market for this? Would you go see a band who played that kind of stuff? I would plan on doing it well, and the players would be capable.

I know due to the repertoire and style of play, we would be limited in venues. I'm thinking it would have to be all ages shows, but maybe not. Any thoughts?
Anyway, we would be limited in venues regardless, so I'm thinking we're going to have to alot of DIY in terms of promotion, etc. In this stage of my life, I'm not into doing showcase gigs, so I know it will be even more of a challenge to find a venue. So my second question is, any ideas on potential venues that can handle the style of music and performance?

Since we're probably going to have to alot of DIY, a thought that entered my mind is to use an opening act, and do 1-2 events that have multiple bands. I'm not 17 anymore, so doing 3 one hour sets of thrash may be more than my body will allow for, even though the heart and mind are plenty willing. Also in the name of helping out the local scene, younger bands, our draw, appealing to venues, and just increasing the size of the mosh pit, I think an opening act would be a good idea. The opening act can get a 1 hour set in, use of the sound system, a recording, and a percentage of the overall take (15-20%). Then we can do 2 60-75 minute sets of some killer thrash. Farther on down the line, I'd like to do an event someplace, where we rent out the venue and make it a day of Metal featuring local Metal bands, and splitting the take of ticket sales based on expenses vs revenue. My third question is, do you think this is fair?

This would be a labor of love more than anything, but we'd also like to get this out there. I'd love your input, regardless if you're a Metalhead or not.

[Darkstrike]

Sounds good to me, not much more I can say, but I dig the idea.

[TheVoiceless]

Well my impression of the metal scene is that it is very segregated. So you need to advertise your band as what you are. Metal is such a broad term, use those examples that you gave. Is their a market? Sure Metallica still has a job. But you need to be linked into the scene. And play the right places. Can't do a proper metal show just anywhere.

Your plan sounds possible. And all ages is really the way to go. Unless you play a metal bar, no one at a bar will appreciate your band. But the thing with metal shows is that you really will have a hard time drawing with only a few bands. Metal is not a big draw in its self. And most fans are ok with the 5 band local shows. Its a very different scene then other genres. Also its a flooded market. With a lot of bad bands to turn away people from the clubs. So if anything I would establish your band in your local market as one of the good ones and run in the circle of the good metal bands. At that point you may be able to draw based on your credibility.

Either way good luck, BANG YOUR HEADS!!!!!!!!!!!

[jive1]

I forgot to mention, we're planning on being a cover band. No originals.

[TheVoiceless]

AHHH!!! Ok well then not to much changes. But you may be able to book a bit more privately, BBQ's, B-days etc. Hum?????? are there any other metal cover bands in your area? Find out and see how they are doing it. Again your draw will be based on how you are linked into the local metal scene.

[Rickett Customs]

Originally Posted by jive1

I forgot to mention, we're planning on being a cover band. No originals.

Jive,
You could check in Baltimore, I've seen an uprising of 80's "hair" and Heavy Metal cover bands playing all around the Baltimore area.
Also here in Southern MD too. Cool thing is the norm for an allnighter in the bars is 3- 45 to 60 min sets.

PM me, I could drop you some club names in SOMD.

[tycobb73]

Maybe you could do some modern bands that have the same type of sound. Matchine Head and Trivium's Crusade album come to mind. Testament, Nuclear Assalt, and DRI are some more oldies to add. I like it, but don't know if anybody else does.

[bassphreak]

I'm not sure, I'd love to see it and was in a jam band doing the same thing until recently. The old school metal is what got me into music and keep me going today. Love the old Testament (and new), Metallica, Overkill, Slayer, Megadeth, Anthrax scene. My CD rack and MP3 player are stacked with old stuff.

I don't think there is much of a market for it, at least by me. I'm not sure how many venues would be into an all metal show. I think you are looking in the right direction and considering the right places. Market might be limited, may not be a good draw for the bar crowds (well some bars).

Love the idea. If it takes off I'll be sure to copy it!

[AndyLES]

There are a few bands like this in NY. The followings are small but loyal (the latter kinda making up for the former). Club owners like bands like this because the audiences are money-in-the-bank, so to speak.

The keys is to enjoy the camp. I love metal of all kinds, but even I'll admit there's something slightly juvenile about the whole endeavour. This is NOT a bad thing, though, so long as you understand, accept, and enjoy it. Case in point: There's a band in NYC, Warhog, that play Slayer, Metallica, Maiden, Sabbath, etc., BUT do so in silly wigs, black leather, and costumes. Guess what? The audiences love it, and are often in on it themselves.

[Sartori]

It's metal. So no, there is not a market for it.

I'm only half joking. Local metal bands generally play shows with 4 bands on the bill, as that's the only way to get much draw. I've never heard of metal bands playing multiple sets, either. It's at the very least not common.

If it's not an all ages show, it's not worth bothering. 21+ shows for metal kinda blow chunks. At least in my experience, there's about half as many people there as there would be otherwise.

Not sure how it would change for a metal cover band, as I didn't even realize how many cover bands there were until joining this forum.

[J-Razz]

I've been trying to get my band to metal up our sets a bit and they keep complaining about it and saying people don't want to hear it. So as a compromise what we do is slip in a few metal songs in some medleys here and there. I'm working on a medley now that blends a lot the riffs of the more popular metal songs. The crowds seem to be liking it in small doses.

[Sartori]

Originally Posted by J-Razz

I've been trying to get my band to metal up our sets a bit and they keep complaining about it and saying people don't want to hear it. So as a compromise what we do is slip in a few metal songs in some medleys here and there. I'm working on a medley now that blends a lot the riffs of the more popular metal songs. The crowds seem to be liking it in small doses.

Depends what kind of metal. I'd say people almost always could stand to listen to some Black Sabbath, especially groovy songs like "Fairies Wear Boots" and "Lord of this World."

[Jason P Bass]

Hey, I've been watching this thread with interest. I don't have much direct experience to share, but maybe some helpful indirect experience.

I play in a cover band that plays in the Northern VA area. We play a some songs that I'll loosely group into "hair metal" (Judas Priest, Motley Crue, Poison, UFO). These are very often the biggest hits in our sets. These are the loudest, heaviest stuff we play, and people love it.

Now, the HISTORY of these hair metal bands and the metal you're talking about is very different, but in 2009, looking back, VH1 Classic is likely to play "The Motley Crue Story" back to back with "The Anthrax Documentary". People aren't really segregating the vintage metal as much as they used to. (Current metal is a different story.)

My suggestions are:

Be aware of your demographic, own your demographic, and market to your demographic. In my experience, the fans of 1980s metal are aged 35-50, hate the Dallas Cowboys (Redskins territory), like NASCAR, and are generally the stereotypical red state voter. Very few fans inside the beltway, many more outside the beltway. My cover band is absolutely killing with this demographic, and bar management loves us for keeping people at the bar and drinkin.

I think you'll do well in Springfield, Stafford, Warrenton, Woodbridge, maybe Gainesville/Haymarket, and even Fairfax Co. if you do a LOT of effective promotion. I think you'll have a hard time succeeding in Manassas, Fairfax itself, and anywhere inside the beltway. Playing inside DC might be hard to book, and will probably be hard to get a good crowd. I have little/no experience in MD. You should take every good opportunity no matter where it is, but I would expect to find more opportunities in the stereotypical "red state" cities.

As posted above, EMBRACE THE CAMP. Making a successful cover band show, ESPECIALLY when the music doesn't necessarily sell itself, involves making it a SHOW. Check out the NOVA cover band The Legwarmers. They play 1980s rock/pop, but definitely embrace the camp, and are successful with it.

To directly answer your question about venues, the obvious answer is JAXX (jaxxroxx.com).

For smaller bar gigs, I would contact Sully's (mysullys.com). They actually declined to re-book a previous cover band I was in (after 4 or 5 repeat shows) because we were not hard or heavy enough (!!!) It's a small-med sized place with a couple of pool tables. They have an actual stage area.

And this one is a bit of a flier, and a very small bar gig, but try Dougherty's Tavern in Stafford VA. Small, smokey, but they're in the right area to put on a metal show, in my opinion. I have played some cool cover band gigs there, but I have also played to 3 people.

You might also consider splitting a show with a non-metal cover band, and pulling a crowd that crosses two groups. We're trying to do this with my hard rock cover band (with an African beat / reggae group). We haven't played the show yet, but everybody involved is extremely interested. Northern VA has a LOT of different ethnic groups which makes strange pairings very possible. We're trying to organize this show at a DC nightclub that pays bands $1000 per night. It hasn't happened yet, but probably in early 2010. The club has told us to pick a date and do it.

(Random thought - is there a market for Spanish or Korean language metal? If you could find a band doing either, you could split shows and definitely pack shows in Fairfax Co. and inside the beltway.)

[JMac4strngr]

Some freinds and I have talked about trying the same thing a couple of times just for fun. I have seen a couple of acts doing the old school metal or hard rock thing here in Atlanta, and they seemed to draw a pretty good crowd. Although I think, part of the draw was from the scene that their other everyday bands were part of. As long as it doesn't interfere with a bread and butter gig, I would go for it and see what happens.

[LiquidMidnight]

Originally Posted by jive1

I forgot to mention, we're planning on being a cover band. No originals.

I think this is going to be your biggest obstacle. In my experience, the metal scene really is more of a scene based on originals. Even doing the tried-and-true "play covers and sneak in originals" method wouldn't work as well because metal is such a niche genre to begin with. It's not like covering Journey, Green Day, and SRV with which the average bar patron is familiar. When Metallica was small time, people thought the Diamond Head covers they were doing were originals.

My band covers everything from Miley Cyrus to Pantera. We do Symphony of Destruction and Enter Sandman. Most people are pretty into those tunes. We also do Seek and Destroy. Sometimes it turns heads with people standing stagefront in awe and sometimes it tanks with people sitting at their tables with laconic expressions on their faces. It depends on the crowd. Placing it in the setlist usually requires strategy. Of course, our average fan is not a die-hard old school thrash-head.

I do agree with Voiceless. In my experience, there are a ton of crappy metal bands with little musicianship and guitar tones so scooped that you can't hear any note definition through the FOH. The best local metal band we have, IMO is The Embalmed: http://www.myspace.com/theembalmed They are one of the few local metal bands who "gets it" in regard to everything from hooks in songwriting to guitar and bass tone to musicianship (plus, they are hella nice cats to boot).

I'm not saying that what you are planning to do is impossible. You know your scene and demographic better than I do. However, I think it's going to be a difficult uphill battle - particularly since you're going to playing multi-band shows, often with pretentious and douche-y all-original bands who look down their noses at cover bands as being somehow inferior.

But I'd love to see a band slam out a lot of that stuff with excellent musicianship and killer stage presence. Of course, as a musician, I'm not the average venue patron, so I'm probably not a good barometer of how this would succeed.

[Stuart O)))]

I play in a hard-rock/traditional metal cover band in the western suburbs of Chicago. In my experience: YES, there IS a BIG market for good hard rock and metal cover bands. HUGE really. Here in Chicago-land just pick up a copy of Illinois Entertainer, every issue is littered with bar/club ad's promoting these cover bands. I would be surprised not to find the like in the burbs of every large city.

I can vouch that every time we play a Metallica cover half-a-dozen drunk chicks get all loud and rowdy. Girls+Booze+Metallica=Awesome But don't take my word for it, check out the poor sound quality "seek & destroy" sound bite on www.myspace.com/disorderrockschicago

[All_¥our_Bass]

It could work, esp. since you choose fairly well known bands that are actually pretty tame sounding-you're not going to be playing technical death metal or grindcore.

I'm sure most people would dig it.

[kugelspot]

Originally Posted by TheVoiceless

Well my impression of the metal scene is that it is very segregated.

Thats putting it mildly... Especially in the more extreme genres. That said, you should be fine playing old school thrash though. Death Metal, black metal, metalcore, grindcore, and of course modern thrash all came from it, or are at least influenced by it in one way or another, and I have yet to meet a death metalhead or black metalhead that couldn't stand Slayer or early Metallica. The only genre more "agreeable" than old school thrash is NWOBHM (and you mentioned doing some Maiden, so you should be pretty safe).

Originally Posted by LiquidMidnight

I think this is going to be your biggest obstacle. In my experience, the metal scene really is more of a scene based on originals.

Metalheads are generally more open to originals than your average pop or classic rock fan, but like (almost) everyone else, if they hear you play a song they love, and play it well, then they will be happy. I'd pay to see a metal cover band, if they were any good

[cassanova]

Here in the Tampa area metal bands are a dime a dozen and the gigs don't pay well at all. Many of them also suck, so if you have capable musicians and a good set the crowd will more than likely follow.

If you're wanting to accomodate all ages then I'd suggest you play the older material you mentioned and also dabble into groups like Lamb of God, Dimmu Borgir, Cradle of Filth, Arch Enemy, Meshuggah, Pantera, Slip Knot, etc, and play some their newer or even older material.

Here's a couple of pretty good places to start building a set list IMO.
http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/
http://www.metalblade.com/english/content.php

[dj150888]

My experience in the matter comes mostly from playing in a totally original band, theres definitely a reasonable sized but very loyal crowd at a metal gig. We do usually play on multiple band bills, with around 3 bands per night, money usually being split 60%, 20%, 20% with headliner and support acts. Realistically, if money is the main goal, there is a definite market for specific tribute acts, but not so much for general metal covers bands. I've seen metal tribute bands make pretty good money, a semi-local Iron Maiden tribute regularly pulls over £1000 in a night.

You will forever be scorned by people who ask "haven't you grown out of that metal thing yet" and other such trash, but if you enjoy playing it, theres a pretty good chance you could make some cash, though the tribute thing tends to earn much better.