• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Rehearsals +Cover Bands (not equal) Success?

K

KillerQuebec

Jun 27, 2010
147
1
#1
Just wanted to get the collective opinions and feedback.

I'm a cover bass player. One thing I've discovered is that any band I ever made money with never rehearsed. and conversely, every band I rehearsed with never made a dime.

The band I am in now never rehearses. I did one audition and one little practice session so he could show me how he arranges the songs. that was a year and about 100+ gigs ago.

Since I been in AZ, I got with a few other players and without exception, the ones that rehearsed relentlessly never played a gig.

I'm not saying this applies to original or pro level artists, or theater gigs.

I'm not complaining, but anyone else out there have this experience?

And I have nothing against rehearsing. Especially new material. I like playing so rehearsing once or twice a month (or year) is no problem for me.
 
#4
i hate a lot of rehearsing, do you really need to go over Statesboro Blues again? now if you want to jam i am all for it. my guys want to rehearse everyday & that does not leave a lot of room when we gig at least 2-3 times per week.
 
#6
I am in a band now that likes to rehearse....I resist, saying: "Can't we all just learn the tune and then play it live?"
I have never been in a band that rehearsed as much as these guys want to. It bugs me a little, but since we gig every weekend, I have gotten it down to rehearsing only if we are putting 5 or 6 new songs into the rotation rather quickly. Other than that, I am in a successful band that rehearsed alot.:hmm:
 
#7
My experience squares with the OP.

Just my perspective but I don't do the "jam band" thing. If I'm putting time into learning material, I expect to be out on stages playing that material PDQ, for actual audiences and pay. I have been in projects where everyone gets together once a week for a couple months, and finally someone asks, "where are we gonna gig" and invariably those projects never make it past the first gig if even that far.

The far better results, IME have come when one or two people get asked to put something together (usually on short notice), and they recruit me, we do two or three nights of intensive rehearsal the week before the show, go out there and do it. I'm in a project like that right now... we did one show this spring, have another one coming up next month and are about to close a deal on a 2nd show for next month also. We'll probably get together once, maybe twice before each of those shows and then likely not play with each other again till a week or two before the next gig, cause we all have other bands and really can't spare the time.

Someone posted here once that if a new band isn't out and gigging within a month of formation (I think that was the timeframe), they likely never will. And that's really true.
 
#8
I would say that your premise (a correlation between practice and making money) leaves out too many other factors that clearly do lead to making money. These include management, talent, commercial appeal, stage show, and an audience connection. The best band won't make a dime without selling itself, and the worst won't sell, practice or not. On the other hand, some people's comfort zone is practicing.
 
#13
You can have a band full of great musicians that all sound great together, but unless at least one of those members has the motivation, personality and contacts to hit the bricks and line up some gigs, you're pretty much stuck in rehearsal mode forever or until the band dies, whichever comes first. :p

That, or you need to hire a manager straight off the top which is really a bigger bite than a lot of bands are comfortable taking, especially in the "weekend warrior" cover band world.
 
#14
In a cover band you might need to get together a few times at first to gel then its homework and gigs unless you need to re-tool and add new songs. There was a post on here where they were talking about guys flaking on practice and practicing 2x a week for a coverband.???? To me thats way overkill.

My originals band has some crazy arangements and stops in our music and we only practice 2x a month max and gig the rest. If you know each other and the music, do your home work the music will stand up on its own.

Funny thou when i thought about the OP post. All the bands who did practice the most were the worse bands i have been in and went no where..basement hacks.
 
#15
jaywa said:
My experience squares with the OP.

The far better results, IME have come when one or two people get asked to put something together (usually on short notice), and they recruit me, we do two or three nights of intensive rehearsal the week before the show, go out there and do it. I'm in a project like that right now... we did one show this spring, have another one coming up next month and are about to close a deal on a 2nd show for next month also. We'll probably get together once, maybe twice before each of those shows and then likely not play with each other again till a week or two before the next gig, cause we all have other bands and really can't spare the time.
Click to expand...

That doesnt sound square to the OP at all? :D
 
#17
MatticusMania said:
That doesnt sound square to the OP at all? :D
Click to expand...

Yeah... as I re-read what I originally posted, I see what you mean. I guess what I meant is that in my experience it works best to have a gig in hand and then prep for it in a short, focused amount of time vs. rehearsing for weeks or months "on spec" with no gigging on the horizon. Those are the situations where I lose interest in a hurry.

Some musicians are fine with never leaving the basement or rehearsal space... I happen not to be one of them.

That all being said, my main band (a variety cover band) never rehearses, averages anywhere from 2 to 5 weekend nights a month and takes home $100-150 a man per night, which is about average for established cover bands in this market. Around here at least it's kind of an informal badge of honor to be in a band that "doesn't rehearse" because as others have noted, it usually means either a) the band is gigging regularly and getting all the play time they need that way and/or b) all the members in the band are also playing in other bands which means they're all good enough players that regular rehearsals outside of gigs aren't necessary.
 
#19
jaywa said:
Yeah... as I re-read what I originally posted, I see what you mean. I guess what I meant is that in my experience it works best to have a gig in hand and then prep for it in a short, focused amount of time vs. rehearsing for weeks or months "on spec" with no gigging on the horizon. Those are the situations where I lose interest in a hurry.
Click to expand...

I feel ya. I get antsy when my band runs out of scheduled gigs.
 
#20
Yes I have experienced this. I couldn't find the exact post I was thinking about, but in short, some folks here have expressed it in that they see an inverse relationship between the amount of gigs a band plays and how often they rehearse.

I play in a couple cover bands for many years, and we hardly rehearse. Between both bands I'm gigging usually every Fri. & Sat. The only time we rehearse is if we are adding new songs.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back