What do you think of covers?

[Dave Muscato]

Hey all,

My band is having a tough time booking shows & breaking even doing original material. I'm not sure I like the idea of playing covers, but at the same time, college-town audiences like ours really seem to like to hear songs that they recognize.

For example, I was doing photography at a show recently for a local guitar hero and his band. They are really great, and very popular around here. Anyway, at this show, they'd play about 3 originals, and then a cover, and then repeat. I noticed over and over that even though everybody loved listening to Tom (the bandleader) play, the audience would pretty much ignore the band while they played originals. As soon as they started a cover, the audience would go nuts, cheering him on and shouting and whistling. Then, back to the originals, and back to their drinks. Sometimes people would call out requests ("Red House," etc), which Tom finally played, and people *really* went nuts, dancing and shouting. Thinking back on it, I realized I can remember every cover they played, and I can't remember the name of a single original, even though they outnumbered the covers 3 to 1, and I own their CD.

What do you guys think about playing covers? Do you feel that it affects your artistic integrity?

And, if you play covers, what does your audience seem to like? My band has a sort of Incubus, Pearl Jam, SRV, John Mayer Trio sound.

Thanks for your thoughts,

Dave

[PABassPlayer]

I like covers...but then, I'm in a cover band.

[Armueller2001]

Originally Posted by PABassPlayer

I like covers...but then, I'm in a cover band.

+1

I'm a big fan of covers, I'm a big fan of people enjoying the music we play, and I'm a big fan of money.

[Bassmanbob]

Hey man. When you gotta, you gotta. You know. No glove, no love.

But seriously. At the ripe age of 41, I find myself playing original material pretty much for the first time.

I love covers, especially when I'm playing songs that I like. If I had to play mostly covers I didn't like, I'd be in a different band.

While we're on the subject, when did it become uncool to play material that you or your friend didn't write?

You think Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and the hundreds of classical musicians cared about whether they were playing music that they wrote or someone else wrote.

You're thinking too much. Just play and have fun. If you like what you're doing, continue. If you want to play other people's music, go ahead and have fun. There's no reason you can't do some of both.

[Munjibunga]

My band plays all originals. Well, other people's originals. People go out to be entertained. They are entertained by hearing familiar songs played well. There's no mystery here. Originals bands will have comparatively small followings, so bars are not going to hire you too many times if you can't attract a crowd. You're not going to get any corporate gigs or casuals if you can't play some familiar dance tunes.

If you're "in it for thr art," then don't expect too much financial return. If it's money you want, then sell out to the man, and play all covers.

[mrmoonjam]

Playing originals can be a deep and personal artistic expression. But IMHO there's no way that playing the songs that a crowd wants to hear compromises your integrity, unless, maybe, the lyrics conflict with your personal values. I've played originals with 2 songwriters. One was OK with playing covers, the other objected to covers in a snooty way that smelled like ego to me.
YMMV

[Gord]

I can see why people like covers, but as far as I'm concerned (in no way do I represent the musical majority) covers are for bars and weddings. People do love covers, but I just kind of roll my eyes.

Something that I think is cool when a band with a real distinct style takes a song and covers it - but they make it fit their style. I think that's a real fun idea. Just my 2c

[Bottom Feeder]

Originally Posted by Gord

People do love covers, but I just kind of roll my eyes.

I just kind of roll my eyes at snooty people who roll ther eyes.

.

[Bottom Feeder]

Seriously folks.

Out of all the tunes you have heard in your lifetime, how many of them have you really liked?
How many songs of a particular band have you liked?
What approximate percentage do you arrive at?

Now, all these people come to the band's gig and these people probably are working with that same percentage in their heads. So chances are, they won't like about the percentage you have in your mind now.

Hey, if they are digging the covers and not so much the original stuff...is there a sign there? Does someone need to poke you with a stick?

Just the thing that I've witnessed. Most people not only connect with a specific song they have heard many times before, but they connect with other people who like a same specific song. They smile at one another "Yeah, I really like this song. You too?" They can now relate to each other on common ground. It can, and may well happen as you gain a following but, it is common and very satisfying whenever we play covers. I really enjoy the people who may look up at me and give me that "Yeah, good tune!"

[abaguer]

There's a Dylan quote I heard in an interview where they asked him how he wrote songs and he said that before he ever wrote a song he had spent a few years learning lots and lots and lots of covers. That's how he learned to write songs, by emulating, admiring and stealing. He went on to say that he was puzzled by the prejudice a lot of younger songwriters have against playing covers and just doing their own original songs.

[justabass]

Learning and playing covers will for sure get your chops and your ear up. Theres no way I could play 20+ shows a month playing all originals and pay my bills. You just HAVE to pick tunes you are gonna enjoy playing and the crowd can relate to as well. Thats the hard part....just my opinion

[Neb Maro]

It's a little weird to think of, but all covers initially began as originals did they not? Many bands did in fact develop their own unique sound that became popular and caught attention of record producers which led to records, big gigs, big money.
So, judging from that, there can be money in originals. The thing is, I guess, that you have to get the right people to like them. So why not continue on your orginals and learn some crowd pleasing covers on the side? Seems like a good deal overall because you not only get to keep your bands orginality, you also become crowd pleasers on a broader basis as you intersperse their favorite songs through your set. Who knows, you may be inspired by those covers as abaguer said Bob Dylan was. Just a thought.

[Kenny Allyn]

You know there is a great story about the Beatles ... just a week after they had released the ground breaking "Sgt. Pepper" album, with all it's incedible over tracking and layers and such. Seems they went down to a local club to catch an act everyone was talking about ... there on the stage was this little three piece band that played every song on the album to there total amazement ... and better than the four of them could have ever pulled off live.


... Now it's true not every ... er any band will ever have the likes of Jimi Hendrix again, but that "cover" band did.

[bassbully43]

Covers = Money......period. Even the big bands make big hits out of doing covers...has been done for years.

[guy n. cognito]

Before all the "artists" jump in and tell you not to sell you soul, I would also advise you to consider playing covers. Especially if you are playing in bars and have no following, covers are a good way to get people to listen to your band, get consistent bookings and get butts in the seats. I have heard many bands that will play a 3 to 1 ratio- 3 covers for every one original. In a three hour set, you could easily work in 8-10 original songs, and actually get people to listen to them.

[Phalex]

If you can sell it, sell it. I got sick of the lackluster turnout and small paychecks my original band generated. If people pack a club to hear you do your original thing, great! If people pack a club to hear you do someone elses original thing, that's pretty awesome too.

I think the greatest cover band in the history of music has to be thr Rolling Stones. (Once a song is 30 years old, is it still an original?) They started out doing covers of blues tunes, and they aren't afraid to play something written by someone else to this day. It doesn't seem to have adversely effected their appeal at all.


Remember: If you aren't appearing, you are disappearing.

[brianrost]

Originally Posted by abaguer

There's a Dylan quote I heard in an interview where they asked him how he wrote songs and he said that before he ever wrote a song he had spent a few years learning lots and lots and lots of covers. That's how he learned to write songs, by emulating, admiring and stealing. He went on to say that he was puzzled by the prejudice a lot of younger songwriters have against playing covers and just doing their own original songs.

+1,000,000

For the record, if I like to listen to a song I always have a good time playing it myself.

[VanillaO]

First gig I ever played was a set of 12 covers and 2 originals. We kicked it off with a groovy original, and then went right into More Than A Feeling. People kind of just sat there through the original, but as soon as they heard a familiar song, they kind of turned their heads and listened. And this was at a place meant for show, not just a bar :P

[Relic]

I've found that a mixture of originals + covers seems to work best. Play the right covers - ones that compliment your originals and you'll be set. Plus it opens up more venues, some places where we've played are primarily looking for covers, others, originals. We can do both. The money we make playing the covers-only places (which is invariably a LOT better than original clubs) we fold right back into recording costs for our originals.

[QORC]

I like playing what people enjoy hearing --- songs they know! most original bands are frankly a bit lame and will have a hard time connecting original material with most audiences.

but to each his own.