Backing/click track cover band support group needed

[Holdsg]

I play bass, and I play keyboards, in different bands.
So I might have a somewhat unique perspective to the discussion of ... why not hire those players that are on the track?

I generally agree that a keys player can add measurably to the value and variety of a band. And not all of us are flakes.
But not always does it makes sense to have a keys player when you play maybe 2-3 songs a night that require keys. Its a tradeoff, naturally.

This gets real when I start talking about my tribute band project...a Who tribute band in which I play keys.
There are many iconic keys parts in Who songs, so iconic that even the Who played them in "backing track" form live, such as Baba O'Riley and Won't Get Fooled Again. Pete was experimenting with the "new toys" of his day, the first sequencers, analog synths, effects, etc. And the Who had several background piano/keys players on the recordings, and to this day on tour, they just never shared the spotlight of the big 4 (then 3, then alas, 2).

When I was asked to play keys for this band, I was very careful to try to recreate the iconic songs as best I could with my keys rig. I think I've accomplished that, with one exception. I could never replicate the sequenced opening to Eminence Front to mine or anyone else's satisfaction. So, that is the one song in a 2-hour song list that we play to a "track", which is the isolated keys from the original recording. The track is pre-loaded into my Korg Kronos, and I just push play when everyone is ready to start the song. The drummer does not use a click, we just make sure he can hear the track. Everyone knows the song well so there is no variation, we play that song the same every time.

So that's the balancing act that this one band does, and I do not feel it is cheating at all to use the best available thing when everything else you have tried doesn't measure up.

 

[troy mcclure]

I would love to use tracks if I could get my guys into the 21st century. I would only take requests during the set breaks and set your songs up in that order before your next set starts.. no way you should have that much dead air.

 

[HolmeBass]

It's funny that the dancers look at you funny between songs, but also cool because it means *they don't know*! There is a band here in town that uses backing tracks for key synth and horn riffs, they play 70's disco and have great vocals, but just drums, bass, and two guitars on stage. It took me a while to figure out there were backing tracks! I was impressed upon hearing a key synth riff in one of the songs, and scanned the stage to see which guitarist was picking it up and doing such a good job with it - when I realized it was none, no guitarist was covering it. Next tune had a horn riff that really gave it away. Then the in-ears and rock-steady tempos made so much sense.

Still a lot of fun to listen to, and as long as people are really singing and most all of the drums were live, I give them credit for putting something together that competes favorably with DJs.

 

[Robb Fesig]

To OP:
Band Helper (www.bandhelper.com)
ik Multimedia iRig Pro - connected to iPhone for playing backing tracks
ik Multimedia MIDI 2 - connected to iPad for controlling all other MIDI devices
RFX 128 Footswitch - inputs to ik Multimedia MIDI 2 - controls iPad

Using these two iDevices and the corresponding ik Multimedia devices, I am able to start and stop backing tracks for ANY song in our repertoire, and change processors and preamp settings for everyone in the band, at any time with single footswitch press. I can handle requests, change set list order, stop a track if we get out of synch, all in real time. Time between songs less than 5 seconds.

If anyone needs more information on how to do so, feel free to ask. It's actually stunningly easy once you wrap your brain around it.

 

[QORC]

I didn't personally make my bass, amp or sax ....am I cheating?

Heck--if I don't bring my own hand made cycle that I have to pedal to produce electricity for the band...am I cheating?


lol

uh no...because you're playing it

but if you're up there and half your band is on pre-recorded tracks, it's blurring the line between musicianship and live karaoke.

I'd rather only play songs that we can actually accomplish as musicians. that takes skill. setting off a track and playing along with it takes not much skill.

 

[hrodbert696]

uh no...because you're playing it

but if you're up there and half your band is on pre-recorded tracks, it's blurring the line between musicianship and live karaoke.

I'd rather only play songs that we can actually accomplish as musicians. that takes skill. setting off a track and playing along with it takes not much skill.

I'm curious - have you played to a click?

 

[Michael Schreiber]

uh no...because you're playing it

but if you're up there and half your band is on pre-recorded tracks, it's blurring the line between musicianship and live karaoke.

I'd rather only play songs that we can actually accomplish as musicians. that takes skill. setting off a track and playing along with it takes not much skill.

I second that in a way, that me and my guitarist find it easier to play along the drum track we're practicing to each day. We're used to that, and we can set the volume to a level we wish. Our drummer is very good, we really have a similar feeling of rhythm and tempo. Still, every time we play is a new setting; it's always subtly different, plus it's LOUD Whereas playing to the usual backing track for practice is always the same, and at a volume we can control. BUT: As comfy as we might feel - any recording of mine lacks the spirit compared to our live recordings. It's untamed, undomesticated energy; while the drum backing track stays always the same. Guess, it's a matter of taste; I'm more into the unpredictable, wild live thing

On the other hand, I imagine it may be harder for drummers to play along a click or backing track. Don't know.

And now, I am sorry for so much off-topic. It doesn't matter, how we like to play, does it?
The question was how we can help the OP to overcome the gap between requested songs, so let's help 'em out.

My favorite answers so far are:
- Ableton live
- Playing a medley
- Scheduling blocks of songs

@Marley's Ghost :
Another thing might be: While hacking in the next backing track, you could play with the audience, like "Can you guess what comes next?" after playing a short riff. Kind of interactive. Maybe not before every song, but in alternation with making jokes. Just too much talk I would not like, when I'm in the crowd. Make something happening, that I'd find cool.

Good luck! \m/
And let us know, what you're going to try.

 

[guy n. cognito]

I'm curious - have you played to a click?

We know the answer to that one....

 

[Exploiter8]

May as well hire a DJ if people want to hear "note for note/sounds just like the record" renditions. Sorry if anyone got butthurt over my comment. Carry on.

 

[Hahaha]

I'd rather only play songs that we can actually accomplish as musicians.

That's why so many places hire DJs instead of bands these days. DJs are able to play a much greater variety. My hat goes off to the bands that are augmenting their sound with backing tracks to play songs that would otherwise be too difficult to cover. They are able to cover a broader range of material which makes them more competitive with DJs.

 

[craigie]

uh no...because you're playing it

but if you're up there and half your band is on pre-recorded tracks, it's blurring the line between musicianship and live karaoke.

I'd rather only play songs that we can actually accomplish as musicians. that takes skill. setting off a track and playing along with it takes not much skill.

That's B.S. Spoken like someone who has never tried it. If you don't have great time it would fall apart irreparably. I've seen a lot of "musicians " I doubt could pull it off.

 

[Slevage]

and how very sad and pathetic it is....bands with backing tracks are able to play with very people and undercut opportunities for real bands that actually play their music

Unfortunately the music business is about 90% business and 10 % music.
I've heard bar bands that are excellent and some that are not so great.
At the end of the night, some inferior bands generate substantially more revenue than the monster bands, so they get gigs.

 

[Slevage]

I didn't personally make my bass, amp or sax ....am I cheating?

Heck--if I don't bring my own hand made cycle that I have to pedal to produce electricity for the band...am I cheating?

Michael Phelps doesn't combine hydrogen and oxygen to fill the pool with water---
what a cheater!

lol

 

[hrodbert696]

That's B.S. Spoken like someone who has never tried it. If you don't have great time it would fall apart irreparably. I've seen a lot of "musicians " I doubt could pull it off.

Yep. For me one of the things that makes me hesitant to adopt it is worrying that we wouldn't be able to pull it off. Miss a transition and the track clicks on while the band train wrecks. Though to put it the other way around, one of the things I like about live performance is being able to be spontaneous, stretch a section out or go back around and repeat the chorus again, or for that matter just cover for each other's mistakes. It's a trade-off.

 

[Savage_Dreams]

If you've been to a major concert in the last 30 years, then you've heard backing tracks and been blissfully unaware...

blissfully unaware? i dont think so. its part of the downfall of live music.

im done on this though. everyone who thinks backing tracks are ok is why people cant accept true live bands anymore and go see djs. they get the exact same sound minus the annoying people onstage. buh bye.

 

[Nashrakh]

blissfully unaware? i dont think so. its part of the downfall of live music.

Just like radio and vinyl have been. Welcome to the 1930s.

 

[electracoyote]

I should preface this by stating that I love my band and my bandmates. We get along great and have so much fun playing out. We are a trio that covers a huge swath of material, and our fans love us. But there's that awkward 10-45 seconds between songs when the next track is being queued up. The dancers look at us quizzically. Same song = same arrangement every time. The occasional technical difficulty. Forget medleys or mashups. Yes, the struggle is real.

My band has used tracks for about the past year and a half.

We mainly use them for songs with complex horn arrangements. When I started this project I tried to put a live horn section together. For those who haven't tried that, let me tell you, it can be incredibly challenging. My reading and charting skills are fair at best, and finding a horn player willing to take charge of the section, charts, and arrangements just wasn't happening. On top of all my other MD/BL duties, I couldn't adequately manage a horn section, it's like running a band inside a band.

So I track horns and bring along at least one live horn, usually a sax. I work with some of the best in town, and they enjoy the experience (and the money).

We hit our tracks with a >95% accuracy. We've only had to kill the track a few times in the last year and a half, out of hundreds of successful attempts. If we get in the wrong spot, the drummer is really good at instantly killing the track so no one notices, even fooled me a couple of times. Live horn keeps playing.

We have no awkward pauses between firing up tracks. Drummer lines them up in set order and a touch of the screen sends him one measure of guide clicks, and we're in. Usually he fires up the next song while we're sustaining the last chord from the previous song, resulting in zero dead air.

I even have a way of putting together two sequenced tracks for beat-matched segues. Mash-ups have to be planned from the start, before you lay your tracks, but my band is not big on mash-ups anyway (they get mixed responses in my neighborhood).

And we run our tracks from an iPhone, lol. MP3, stereo out, left channel click, right channel instruments.

I could go hog wild and put all kinds of stuff into our tracks, but aside from horns, we handle almost everything else live on stage. Two guitars who also play just enough keys to get by, three good voices, we cover a lot of ground live. So, no guilt here, and almost all my competition is using some form of tracking, many way more than my band. In my market (mainstream pop dance covers), it's adapt or die.

Some musicians gripe, but at less than 1% of the total audience, I couldn't care less what snooty musicians think.

 

[Robb Fesig]

I think you hit the nail on the head @electracoyote. What matters is what the audience wants, not what some snooty musicians have to say...

 

[s0c9]

I think you hit the nail on the head @electracoyote. What matters is what the audience wants, not what some snooty musicians have to say...

And this is the BUSINESS aspect of live music. The venue could care less how "good" you are as musicians. They care about food, liquor and other "sales", equating to how many folks hang out for the night. That equates to giving the audience what they want, and the band knowing what they want. If a band has to use tracks to stay busy.. so be it.
The purists will still be practicing in their garage(s) while the others will be out gigging !!

 

[fhm555]

So it's karaoke with instruments?