I'm playing in a couple of cover bands. The singer in one of the bands wants to begin introducing originals into the setlist. Currently there is no clear band lead but we all get along great and this band is about the songs and the hang, we aren't looking to make a living out of it. If I'm being honest I haven't exactly been blown away by the original songs I've heard so far and I'm concerned bringing these songs in and egos getting bruised if/when other BM want to change or otherwise have input to those songs. Anyone got tips for integrating originals into a setlist and navigating the potential pitfalls of disagreement when it comes to including that kid of material?
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Adding Originals to Cover Band Setlist
- Thread starter Jimmy888
- Start date
Try it and gauge audience reaction; it's hard to predict what will resonate with audiences.
If it flops, let it go. The songwriter can include it in his solo project...
There is -no- difference to an audience between a song you wrote and a song by an established artist they just haven't heard yet.
If it flops, let it go. The songwriter can include it in his solo project...
There is -no- difference to an audience between a song you wrote and a song by an established artist they just haven't heard yet.
True: They both tend to lose everyone's interest and half the audience takes a bathroom break.
Probably.
But then you know. You've proved in 4 minutes what an hour of 'what if' in the rehearsal room never could.
Or it could be a hit. It happens. If A&R people could predict hits better you wouldn't have discount bins with 99-cent CD's.
So -- unless you're Allman Brothers introducing 'Elizabeth Reed' do not announce it's an original. Do not announce it's new.
Slipstream in into your regular set and look for crowd reaction.
If, as expected, it flops, whoever was championing the song knows it needs to be reworked or dropped.
I've had two cover band experiences where members came up with originals and wanted to bring them to the band. In the first case, the member realized on his own that they were an indulgence and only ever asked the rest of the band to help him out in the studio, and while there was the kernel of the idea, we never played his songs out...there was never any pushing.
I'm currently in a band where the lead singer and guitarist had some things they put together and did an EP. We incorporated 4 of the songs at one gig that was partially promoted as a "release event" for the EP. Currently, we include one. Again, it's fortunate that these guys realize that their originals are a personal indulgence, so there's not any pushing or grand schemes behind it, and a decent part of our turnout at any given gig are fans/friends.
It sounds like there might be an issue of your singer thinking that people will want to hear and will react differently to their music than is probably the reality. Again, in these scenarios, we were fortunate to not have a lot of ego behind any of it and fairly realistic ideas and expectations. If it comes to serious disagreement, I feel for you but wouldn't have any experience that might help.
That said, to your question of "how?" more directly, I think it helps if you are playing to largely friendly/close audiences. That is, that these are people who are there to see you...if you have "a following", them; if it's really friends and family that come to see you, them. In situations where the place is the attraction and your band is incidental, IMO, don't bother with the originals because you will interest that you potentially gained.
Do you have studio recordings? Are you active online? In promoting a gig with a friendly audience or a good portion of the draw being fans/friends, use the song...post it online and people can click and take a listen. Like above, include in the promotion that it's something special as far as the first public performance of the material. For those people paying attention and already "fans", it's not out of the blue. If it's something with a hook, there might be some familiarity already...maybe even anticipation. In time a good song or two can be nice additions that some people are looking forward to hearing when they see your band.
Good luck with it.
buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
People generally want to hear what they know.
I would say try adding one or two only if :
1. They are good enough (would you pay to hear it if you didn't know the songwriter?).
2. It fits with the others songs you are playing.
I wouldn't even announce them as originals, unless you get a very positive reaction. Then you can mention it.
If the reaction is not at least as positive as your better covers, stop playing originals.
If you get a positive reaction, keep them in the set. If you get a VERY positive reaction, you add another and see
You don't want egos to cost you gigs.
I would say try adding one or two only if :
1. They are good enough (would you pay to hear it if you didn't know the songwriter?).
2. It fits with the others songs you are playing.
I wouldn't even announce them as originals, unless you get a very positive reaction. Then you can mention it.
If the reaction is not at least as positive as your better covers, stop playing originals.
If you get a positive reaction, keep them in the set. If you get a VERY positive reaction, you add another and see
You don't want egos to cost you gigs.
Thanks for your perspective and suggestions. Our singer is a good guy - we all get along great now playing covers and generally agree on what is going to work when it comes to selecting music. I'm bit of a planner and preparation freak so I see potential pitfalls when it comes to one person's creations and turning that into band material.
Situations tend to be unique, and it's understandable that this would cause you some concern, but I think the most common belief would be that in the generic cover band situation (if there is such a thing
) people want to hear songs that they're familiar with *for the most part*. That's the main thing to keep in mind.And to add context, here is the one song that we've continued to include in playlists. Friends seem to know it a little now and being a basic blues tune, the incidental audience does seem to mind...there might even be some toe tapping. And this is thrown into a fairly typical playlist with mostly hits from Steely Dan to Zeppelin to Bruno Mars...
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That's definitely been my experience. I was once complimented on an 'original' song I played in a cover band. When I told the guy it was a Kinks tune he wouldn't have it--said he was the world's biggest Kinks fan and knew all their material. He kept insisting so I finally told the guy it was an original meant to sound like the Kinks (it was 'Gotta Get The First Plane Home' from Kinks Kontroversy).
To the OP: Give it a shot. The crowd reaction will let you know whether to keep it in the set.
I agree. There's no reason not to slip a few originals in, strategically placed. I wouldn't necessarily feel bad about announcing that it's an original, either, but I suppose it makes more sense to say so after you've played it.
However, if it's a danceable tune, I wouldn't stick it after five other danceable tunes. Your dancers are tired by then and you'll have no way to know if leaving the dance floor meant they don't like it or they're just ready for a break. That runs the risk of dropping the song for the wrong reasons. Probably the third slot in a danceable mini-set is better.
It gets awkward when you're playing a set full of tried and true, top-selling hit songs written by arguably the best songwriters in the world, and you then try to insert your band member's original song he wrote about his dog. You'll have to worry about fragile egos getting bruised when they fall flat with the band or the audience. Or even worse, the songwriter gets defensive, goes into full denial mode, and insists his songs are pure genius, the audience has no taste, and the band are just jealous of his songwriting abilities. Not saying your guy is like this, just been there too many times. To the point I won't play in original bands any more, unless the songs blow me away.
I'd push to keep them separate. Nothing against learning them and demoing though. The exception being if it's truly a great song that the band can get behind and is excited about, then why not.
I'd push to keep them separate. Nothing against learning them and demoing though. The exception being if it's truly a great song that the band can get behind and is excited about, then why not.
Personal experience, the best place to insert one is a straight through between 2 songs they'll know. Play Kung Fu Fighting(???) then transition straight into original then play Lady Cab Driver (because you know it's my favorite Prince song, always has been). I wouldn't stop the set and say "this is an original about a boy and a girl from Bensenville, IL and what happens when she goes off to college..." Just play it. At least do that a couple times and you'll know the reaction. I am perfectly capable of being wrong about this...but I think the mistake is introducing it as something they aren't going to know and alerting them that they may not like it. If you play it and it has a decent groove it will more likely just be another song in the set.
Personally, I don't like originals played by a cover band. I play in both an originals band and a cover band and I've found that the expectations and musical knowledge of the audience differs greatly between the two. Originals and for that matter, deep album cuts are set killers IMO and an opportunity for the audience to look at their watch and decide it's getting late. I'd be more inclined to just start a side project and look for venues where original acts are expected rather than try to shoehorn in something to the cover band set. My opinion only
I'm not a fan of doing so, but it can work.
First the band has to be able to sell it. If the band is just indulging the author, then it's not going to go over well.
Second, you have to have sets that include lesser known music from known artists. I am a fan of doing a few of these - maybe it's somebody's new favorite song! If you already sprinkle in little known covers, then they won't even notice an original mixed in. If all of your sets are well known songs, it'll stick out and not feel like part of the overall experience.
Third, if you're going to do it, it needs to be sparse - no more than one per set level of sparse.
There's typically more to lose than gain by playing originals in a cover band.
First the band has to be able to sell it. If the band is just indulging the author, then it's not going to go over well.
Second, you have to have sets that include lesser known music from known artists. I am a fan of doing a few of these - maybe it's somebody's new favorite song! If you already sprinkle in little known covers, then they won't even notice an original mixed in. If all of your sets are well known songs, it'll stick out and not feel like part of the overall experience.
Third, if you're going to do it, it needs to be sparse - no more than one per set level of sparse.
There's typically more to lose than gain by playing originals in a cover band.
I’m in an originals band, but I knew it was when I joined. The other two guys are prolific writers and have probably thirty songs between them. Some I like better than others, but most are pretty okay with me. We are lucky in that we play at some places that encourage original music; in fact, one of them requires originals only, no covers. But we also maintain a couple sets of cover tunes to salt in to keep people interested. Mostly though, the covers go over pretty good, and I’m happy to be part of the project.
If you do mix a couple of originals into a covers night, my advice is to get the blessing of whoever is booking your band. In my previous band, I sometimes did or didn't. Generally we would get a good response so I stopped worrying about it after a few times. One time I didn't give a bar owner a heads up and it was our first gig at one of the best places to play (first hint that we should have skipped originals that night). The bar owner was less than pleased. What made it worse was for the only time ever, the singer somehow forgot how to get back into an original song after the guitar solo, forcing the band to do an "extended mix" of an original song. The owner cornered me in between sets, accusing us of padding our set with a long original. Even before this experience, I always preferred keeping original and cover gigs separate. If the audience is expecting covers, there a gazillion hits that are better to play than an original. If the audience is expecting originals, they'll be more receptive. Just my personal experience.
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IME it's better to stick covers into an originals gig than originals into a covers gig.
For any material I don’t think is a good idea but don’t want to argue, I just agree to try it out at a show and use the same measurement as any other tunes. We’ll do it if it goes over well and dump it if it’s a flop.
If we insist on doing originals anyway then we need to chat about what our goals are as a band and confirm that we all still align.
1. Tom Petty, Rickie Lee Jones, The Beatles, Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, etc. recorded and played covers live. (the most prolific and successful song writers ever did complete albums of covers)
2. Some venues no longer allow covers due to ASCAP fees.
3. Someone brings in a song that may sound "meh" at first but when everyone participates in the arrangement, when everyone takes ownership, you might be surprised with the result.
4. Don't talk yourself out of it because it doesn't fit your preconceptions. It's the journey, not the destination.
2. Some venues no longer allow covers due to ASCAP fees.
3. Someone brings in a song that may sound "meh" at first but when everyone participates in the arrangement, when everyone takes ownership, you might be surprised with the result.
4. Don't talk yourself out of it because it doesn't fit your preconceptions. It's the journey, not the destination.
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Personally IMO there are very few good song writers in the world. If the band consensus is it would qualify as a “Good Song” , like something with great lyrics, shorter, a hook you can’t get out of your head, and or a catchy melody, one or two of them spread out over your show might work. And that acceptance is going to be based on how well you play your covers and how close your are to the original recording.
But keep in mind, most people that go to see bands want to hear songs they are familiar with. Subjecting your audience to music they haven’t heard and have no way to understand is not helping your cause. I can assure your average patron does not hear music like you do, and a goodly percentage of them couldn’t tell the difference between pitches if their life depended on it.
Best advice is to save your “art” for recording, and after 40 years you can have a library of original music that has the same value as weird old “Uncle Chuck’s” collection of his paintings in his attic, like mine…LOL!!!
