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Cover Band annoyance

#181
One approach to running a cover band is to be as broad as possible and to sound as much like the original recording as possible.

A lot of these guys use backing tracks for things their personnel can't do - an all-female chorus, a horn section..stuff like that. It can be a little offensive to our sensibilities as musicians, but it's what many of the customers want.
 
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#182
Altitude said:
One approach to running a cover band is to be as broad as possible and to sound as much like the original recording as possible.

A lot of these guys use backing tracks for things their personnel can't do - an all-female chorus, a horn section..stuff like that. It can be a little offensive to our sensibilities as musicians, but it's what many of the customers want.
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I've lost exact count of the cover bands I've been in over the decades, but I can remember the two that used tracks or sequencing; they were wildly popular with a certain audience (and NOBODY but me played the bass lines). So even though it's hardly the "norm" for me, I certainly understand it from a business and marketing perspective.

I played with Moses Jones here in Denver last summer while he was in between full-time bass players (I only wanted to sub and help him out); no sequencing or tracking, but it's a 13-piece band with horn section, three lead singers, and two keyboard players. Sequencing/tracking parts would have been unnecessary and redundant. That's the ideal if you want variety in your playlist and all your parts live, but what an incredible logistical and management nightmare. A lot of musicians who want to sound like that and have that variety (and the lucrative gigs that follow) just can't do it from an organizational perspective.

And of course, we're all smart enough to do the math and compare $1,000.00 divided by 13 versus $1,000.00 divided by 5.
 
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#183
I find this thread fascinating.

None of the bands I am in (3) use backing tracks, and I never have, and agree with the guy that said the day he has to, he will hang it up for sure.

When I'm out wanting to hear music, I want to hear live music, whether that is rock, jazz, country, bluegrass, reggae, or dance music.

I was on a cruise recently. 2 party bands on board. 1 was a male/female duo playing guitar to backing tracks, one was a 4-piece band with a chick singer playing everything live.
The Duo room was empty every night, the live band room, while never packed, had so much energy there, that band was so much more entertaining. So I think its not just me that wants to hear it live. Otherwise, IMO it cheapens the experience FOR THE LISTENER.

A big part of the reason why people would use them, as has been mentioned here, is personnel issues - you want to keep the numbers low to make more $ individually, and you can't find the right people to play X for 1 or 2 songs a night. Well I have to think that if you can't find the people who play, you should pick another genre to play. As one of the few keyboard players that also plays bass, I feel bad that good keyboard players are so hard to find. If keyboard players are hard to find, I should never lack for work. Which is pretty much the case, but not always.

Being a keyboard player in a classic rock cover band, I'm asked to play all the signature licks in the songs that require organ, piano, or horns. I know how some of you feel about keys playing horns, and until I got my Korg Kronos, I always felt the horns sucked, but now they at least sound legit. We don't play Baba O'reilly. We don't play Pink Floyd with all the crazy sound effects. We could play those, I could obtain the samples, but we would rather stick to something that we don't have to compromise on. Just like we don't play X song because its way out of our singer's range, or we refuse to play Free Bird. Whatever, you have to make choices, and some of them may not be popular with your audience.
 
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#184
Holdsg said:
So I think its not just me that wants to hear it live. Otherwise, IMO it cheapens the experience FOR SOME LISTENERS.
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Otherwise a great post, but I had to make that a little less universal based on personal experience. Now I fully agree.

Let me know when you're passing through Denver; I'll chauffeur you around and show you at least three live dance/party bands that use sequencing and I guarantee you the audiences on the packed dance floors won't feel cheated in the least, even if you do. ;)
 
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#185
Audiences are funny... They like seeing live performers but they REALLY like hearing music that is as close to what they hear on the radio as possible. This annoys the devil out of me, since I've always loved spontaneous / improvised music (like Jazz); But I cannot begrudge a band who finds that, without backing tracks, they can't get gigs.
 
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#186
electracoyote said:
We gotta remember: The average audience patron or guest in the room couldn't care less, if they notice at all.
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And that is why venue owners put on DJ's to play those same songs. He can pay less and get constant music for a longer period.

Double E said:
Slight correction...they won a Grammy for their recorded material. The problem was that they did not sing the vocal lines on their own recording! I have no idea what they did for live performances.
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Slight correction, they won a grammy on behalf of the people who recorded those songs. They never sang a single note in the studio and all their live appearances they were miming.


dtsamples said:
Do you think cover bands with tracks mime while the track plays?
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And that is exactly why I don't like any tracking. You really don't know how much is being tracked and mimed and how much is being performed by those on stage.
 
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#189
AaronVonRock said:
I guess that's why cover bands are so popular with certain types of people. The cover bands offer the audience the experience of live music without the danger and risk of hearing something original and unfamiliar.
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Cover bands do not have to be utterly unoriginal... but there are members of the public who fit what you describe; Heck, these days, if I meet a guy who can make a living playing in a cover band, I congratulate him!
 
#190
There is a difference between duos with recorded backings and bands with additional parts.

I have tried to start a duo once. It wasn't easy to get the backing tracks to sound good and authentic, however it was easy to actually play, you can get a count in and the backing track keeps the time.

Having live musicians with a couple of parts on a backing track would be a whole level of extra difficulty. The drums have to keep in time with the backing and everyone has to keep in time with those drums. You can't make any errors.

I have yet to be in a band with a drummer willing to play to a click. I think that a good band with good additional backing parts deserves a little bit more respect than they are being given.
 
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#191
BAG said:
And that is why some venue owners put on DJ's to play those same songs. He can pay less and get constant music for a longer period.
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Again, had to edit it, apologies. I just don't do well with universals, especially in a discussion like this.

A live band that augments its sound with a little selective sequencing/tracks and has a great stage/lighting presentation can put DJ's out of work in some situations. There are many venues in my neighborhood that would much prefer the aesthetics of a live band and its connection with the audience over a DJ, especially if the live band can deliver the same song selection accurately. I know a few venue owners who would pay more for that kind of live band, because they know the draw is better in the long run.

And more wedding and corporate event planners, in an attempt to make their event unique and special, are looking to accurate live cover bands instead of DJ's these days.

In short, a growing number of audiences prefer the interaction and connection with a live band, if only the live band can deliver the song selection of a DJ and the songs sound "like the record." These audiences couldn't care less about a little sequencing, especially since the vast majority of non-musicians can't even tell it's going on.

Always exceptions, and the DJ is still the go-to for a lot of venues. But not all venues by a long shot.
 
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#193
I've never been in a cover band that uses backing tracks, but I have played in original bands that use tracks from a sequencer.
drummer played to a click. It was fun, having effects and other parts coming in while the band was playing.
synth guy wasn't much of a keyboardist, so we'd figure out a part we liked, I would play it, he saved it, quantized it in step with the sequencer, and pow, we had keyboard parts that were always right.
but we used that stuff mostly for effects, thunder, bombs, swooshes, etc.
can be a useful tool in the right hands, but if someone wanted to do that stuff in a bar band or something, I'd say hey just pick another song that doesn't require that much stuff.
 
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#194
I'm in a cover band. Everyone sings. We have a lead guitarist, a female lead vocalist, A male lead vocalist piano/organ dude who can swap over to rhythm guitar, bass, and drums. We do not use backing tracks. While our instrumentation doesn't allow us to play every possible song note for note (like a song with 2 guitars AND keys), we can cover most songs well enough to get the feel and mood of the song across, as well as providing the signature riff, etc. And we could interpret a song if we wanted to do something where the instrumentation didn't line up at all. I don't see us ever using a backing track.
 
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#195
Authentic sounding backing tracks:
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People go to bars to hear their favorite songs. Most don't even know it if you're using backing tracks. How many musicians go to bars to dance?
I played for years in a duo and we used backing tracks but we also played the heck out of guitar and bass, and both sang lead and harmonies.
On the first part of our show we exclusively used backing tracks because we did a "Rat Pack Tribute" and the audience loved it.
Garage bands can afford to have integrity and purity of song and so can acoustic performing artists. If you're in a bar, people won't even notice.
Part of our job, along with performing, is to get the audience involved and drinking/dancing. That's public relations. Like it or not, unless you're a recording artist. That's part of your job. And if you need to use backing tracks to achieve that, so be it. I played before there were even backing tracks or 8 tracks. Did my time. I use backing tracks as a solo act and I'm not going to feel bad or apologize for that. To each their own, but don't judge those who do.
And by the way, yes many recording artists use backing tracks, to click them into a song, then to provide more backing. Welcome to the real world.
Speaking of the real world, don't blame musicians who downsize and use backing tracks for loss of larger bands. You can thank Mr. Businessman, whose bottom line is, "How much bang for the buck can I get?" If that means 3 people for $300 instead of 6 for $600, that's not the performing musicians fault, it's the club owners fault.
 
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#196
baceface said:
I saw a cover band the other night and they had me curious about many things and wondered if others do what they are doing. I was never in a full blown cover band and rarely see them play but when I do, ive come across some really good acts.

Overall the band was good.. great vocals, gear etc... but I noticed that every single song they played... they were using a backing track? I get it if you're playing "We are Family" and dont have a piano player but it honestly sounded more like karaoke to me. The bass player looked like he was just popping on rootnotes because the bass was coming through the track. No stage presence, not much any convo between songs and they had stands with sheet music.

Probably the first time I saw a band with good musicians where I truly didnt give a crap and left early. Is running a backing track normal for any of you folks here?
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I would never be a party to using backing tracks. That's effing horrible.
 
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#198
Again - I understand the use of backing tracks - just wanted to say though - we do "Turn Down for What" played all live with just guitar, bass (just doing the "bass drop" thing on E), keys (nothing fancy), drums. One of our most popular songs. I do the "vocal" ;)
 
#200
Its all about money people, cmon.
I d use b tracks becoz they dont get sick, they dont give u a hard time, u dont have to pay them and they never play a wrong note.
BUT, i also dont want to see a band miming or having 90 % of their performance being b tracks.
But ea to their own, if u dont like backing tracks, dont go to those gigs....?
It aint rocket science.
 
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