Set List Sharing - Secrets, Etiquette, Etc.

[Munjibunga]

Seems like a silly notion to me. If a song is that great, don't worry - someone else is playing it. You don't hold any claim to a particular song unless, of course, it's your own original. Even then, I'd feel flattered that someone thought it was good enough to cover.

[electracoyote]

Originally Posted by MatticusMania

Do any of you go check out other cover bands and see what works well for them, and then attempt those songs with your own bands? It sounds like Tituscorw does

Just about every weekend I'm not playing, I club hop with the specific intent to see what other bands are playing and how the songs are going over with the crowd. Since most of the cover bands in my area are of about equal ability, you can tell if a song will work with your band or not. I'll hit four bars in one night and catch most of four different bands' sets. I then report to my bandmates, most of whom are too busy/lazy/unconcerned.

The popularity of "pop" songs tends to be regional. For example, "Mustang Sally" may be completely played out in your area and send them scampering off to the restroom and parking lot for a smoke. It may pack the floor with regularity in my neck of the woods. That's why generic playlists or "most requested" lists alone won't paint the full picture.

[sobie18]

If you want to borrow my "House of the Rising Smoke on the Stairway to Freebird" medley, have at it...

[jmattbassplaya]

Originally Posted by sobie18

If you want to borrow my "House of the Rising Smoke on the Stairway to Freebird" medley, have at it...

If you have it, I'll take it

[Tituscrow]

Originally Posted by MatticusMania

No, not really. Im just asking if there are people out there who won't share certain songs that they include on their set lists and keep guarded like secrets.



I dont consider covering a song to be "stealing". I think thats an odd perspective. Honor among thieves... silly.



Well, you answered it!
(the answer was "no", as in "no, your band does not keep the songs you play secret")

Again, Im just asking in regards to etiquette and such. From what Im gathering, there would be nothing wrong with asking someone from a coverband what songs they play, which ones go over really well, and such.



Thats kind of what Im getting at... not that Im anxious of anything, just curious how others approach this kind of thing and build their set/playlists.

Do any of you go check out other cover bands and see what works well for them, and then attempt those songs with your own bands? It sounds like Tituscorw does

Haha. For clarification, can I just say that we don't set out with an agenda to see what songs we can plunder! However, occasionally we may hear a song and think 'yep...we should do that one'. Case in point...a while back we saw a band (with horns and all) play 'Jungle Boogie'. Badly. We knocked it out at the next rehearsal, and the three of us thought it sounded great. It's been a set staple ever since.

It's not like anyone has 'dibs' on a song that isn't even their own. However, I do think etiquette and respect should be mutual when sharing a bill.

Besides, I suspect most drunken punters a) wouldn't want to hear the same song twice by two different bands and b) couldn't give two hoots which bass player nailed it on 'Mustang Sally'.

[LiquidMidnight]

I always found the concept of "stealing" cover material absurd on its face.

"OMG! They're playing Brickhouse too. They stole the idea to play it from us!"

[LiquidMidnight]

Originally Posted by jmattbassplaya

If they have a song that never fails then chances are that they play it every gig. Chances also are that other bands are already aware of that song and play it, too. That's why the most successful cover bands almost always have very similar set lists But that's just my opinion that I'm basing off of my own experiences. As you know, I'm in college and go out a good bit, so I get to see what works and doesn't work as far as covers go almost every weekend during the semester. There's really no secret to it, IMHO. What it ultimately comes down to, IME, is whether or not the individual band members are willing to 'sell out' and play those songs.

To add to that, while it is never an exact science (I've occasionally seen "sure bets" tank and off the wall stuff get awesome crowd reactions), most experienced musicians have a pretty good idea of if a song is going to work or not. For example, if you're going to cover some Zeppelin, you don't need to go swipe a discarded setlist off of a stage to know that Communication Break Down is going to be a helluva lot more successful in setlist for the average bar gig than Stairway to Heaven.

[mellowinman]

Hey, steal our whole set-list.

I wager you aren't going to do half as good with it as we do, as we chose those songs because they fit us so well. And I'll tell you right now, if you steal our set list, and kick the heck out of it, and really do a great job, do you know what I'll do?

I'll come to a lot of your shows, and be a big fan.

Because those are songs I really like, and the reason we chose them is because so many bands have done a p--- poor job of them over the years.

[Keithwah]

Originally Posted by mellowinman

Hey, steal our whole set-list.

I wager you aren't going to do half as good with it as we do, as we chose those songs because they fit us so well. And I'll tell you right now, if you steal our set list, and kick the heck out of it, and really do a great job, do you know what I'll do?

I'll come to a lot of your shows, and be a big fan.

Because those are songs I really like, and the reason we chose them is because so many bands have done a p--- poor job of them over the years.

I totally agree. I think the moral to this thread is grow up. Sharing set-lists on a multi-band show only makes sense. I don't need to play Stranglehold if the other two bands are playing it. But if the first band playing it sucks, betcha I'm going to be doing it so people can remember what it was supposed to sound like.

[JoeWPgh]

Who gives a rat's furry behind which songs anyone plays? It's how they play them that counts - first, middle and last.

[Munjibunga]

Originally Posted by MatticusMania

Who said anything about stealing? We're talking about covering songs that other bands cover; ones that your band may not have thought of doing.

Bro. Key word: cover. You are talking about songs that someone else made popular, then you decided to put them in your set list because they were popular. Whichever other band poached the song from you is doing the same thing. They're not covering it from you, they're covering it from the same band you cover it from.

I'm trying to imagine a situation where your band plays a song at a club and members of another band are there. You've got to play the song in such a way that only non-band-member patrons can hear it and identify it, so the other band's members can't poach it.

If you poach a song from another band and they get wind of it and come over to your practice space to kick your collective asses, can't you just say you heard it on SiriusXM or something?

[Ed Fuqua]

At the base, both sides of this issue are "we aren't in any way special or unique so we need to protect from others/acquire from others musical material."

[Factor88]

Well, I am going to go against the conventional grain here. Although I can’t say that in the band I am in right now we have any songs that I would “conceal” in public forums, I could see doing it and think bands I have been in might have done it in the past.

First of all, sharing set lists when you are on a multi coverband bill is probably NOT what the OP is talking about. In this case, sharing the lists is a good idea and if you have certain songs that are not normally covered by most bands, these other bands are going to see you cover them anyway.

Second of all, I don’t think songs like “brickhouse” or other surefire, well know coverband staples are what the OP was talking about either. I think the point was that in the best cover bands, the set list is 95% well known songs that most other bands do, but 5% songs that KILL but none of the other bands in that market do. If all other things are equal, it is these songs that set them apart from the other coverbands, in a sense giving them a certain edge on the competition. While surely eventually the other bands in your area might pick up on this and start doing those songs themselves, at least for some time you are enjoying that slight advantage.

Third of all, the notion that any good song is already being played by other cover bands is sort of dumb. There are thousands of great songs in the pop-rock genre, and I would say most cover bands have a rep or roughly 100-200 songs. I know for a fact my band plays plenty of songs that kill that I’ve never heard any other band in Miami do…sure maybe there are bands in Texas, Connecticut, Michigan, and California playing those songs, but they are not my competition. To me, the clubowners, and the audiences in my market, the fact that those other bands in other markets do the songs is irrelevant. Only the bands in my market count. So it is perfectly reasonable to assume that a band could be covering less played great songs but be the only one in thier market to do so.

Look, every time a coverband learns a new (to them) song, there is an investment in time, and carries a certain risk that the song will bomb. For a song like Brown Eyed Girl (assuming you are a classic Rock Cover band) the risk is very low. But if you instead want to learn “Into the Mystic” knowing that it is not a great dance song but you just think it will work at certain points in a show , the risk is much higher that you wasted your time. Real smart bands that have a great feeling for their market usually can find these hidden gems and make the right investment. But then some less astute band comes along, sees the success the other band is having with the song, and capitalizes on the other band’s astute investment, at no risk to themselves. I’m not saying that is unethical, or anything, I’m just advancing it as a reason a band might want to keep those songs between them and the audience as long as possible…..

Anyway, it is obvious from the above posts that this isn’t a majority opinion. And I also don’t want to make it seem like it is a big deal to me. But it is nice to take a risk and then get the reward exclusively yourself, rather than breaking ice for someone less willing to take the risk………

[two fingers]

I understand you OP. Yes, we always did it. We called it "sandbagging". You hold something back from your publicized list of songs and save it as a "surprise" for the audience. And, yes, one reason for doing this is that other cover bands check out your web site looking for ideas.

I'm not a member of a band officially these days (I do a ton of fill-in work) so I have nothing to lose by sharing now. I sing "Your Love" by The Outfield. (The pop rock song from the 80's that starts off with "Josie's on a vacation far away".) Anyway, it always KILLED at shows. We never put it on our web site. For a couple of years I was the only person in our region doing it. Once word got out though, EVERYBODY started doing it. Most dropped it by a forth or so, but they still gave it a shot. But that's one example of a song we were able to keep under our hats for a while that set us apart. Our regular audience members knew it was coming, but other bands didn't know we did it.

Short version: Yes, if you can get away with it, try it. It might offer you a chance to break from the crowd. But always be looking for the next song to keep in your pocket.

[Phalex]

There's nothing wrong with stealing another bands entire setlist. The only hitch is you have to have the musicianship in your own band to put a different spin on it, or just do the songs a whole lot better.

It's not the song selection (Which is very important) it's the ability of the band to pull the selected tunes off in a very appealing manner.

Stranglehold is mostly an A. It's easy to make that boring, or to look bored. Making that droning A entertaining takes a certain something.

[Factor88]

For those guys advancing the opinion that if you can pull off the songs in our set list as well or better than us, then kudos to you, I ask you to consider the following scenarios:

Scenario A: new cover band forms in town, they are very good and start having some success. They come to one of your shows, and within two months have reworked their own set list so it is virtually the same as yours. Since they are so good, within another 3 months they have bumped you from your usual gigs and you are unemployed.

Scenario B: new cover band forms in town, they are very good and start having some success. They play many of the same songs as you, because these are standard coverband fare, but it is only 50-60 percent the same material. Since they are so good, within 5 months they have bumped you from your usual gigs and you are unemployed.

Look I get it, the end result of the scenarios are the same, but if you guys are going to tell me you would feel the exact same about each of these scenarios, there is some serious lack of self-awareness going on…….

[alembicguy]

It's not so much what song as how you do that song that has mattered for my group.

[Russell L]

Never heard of such talk. No secrets here.

[pklima]

I don't think it's anything to really worry about. I think most bands are not very interested in stealing songs that work, and would be much more interested in stealing other bands' excuses to avoid playing crowd favorites, whether "Mustang Sally" or "Gangnam Style".

Ending up unemployed because somebody else does the same songs better isn't likely, either. If those songs really do well and really are in demand, then yeah, when a new band starts playing them somebody would end up unemployed. But that somebody would not be you but a third band which plays other, less popular songs.

[Factor88]

Originally Posted by pklima

Ending up unemployed because somebody else does the same songs better isn't likely, either.

I agree, but that wasn't really the point I was trying to make with the given scenarios. They were hypotheticals.