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Cover Band annoyance

#162
buldog5151bass said:
I've NEVER used a backing track. I prefer live music to "perfect" music. We do Don't Stop Believing without keys. One guitar plays the keyboard line. My other band has a flute to cover organ lines.
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Same here. We only have guitar, bass and vocals and still do songs that have keys in them. Sure, it won't sound exactly as on the record, but (to me) that's not the point of playing music in bars :D
The crowd certainly doesn't seem to mind.

But backing tracks?! Noooohhh..
If a song really doesn't work with our lineup, we'll just move on to another song to add to the setlist.
For some reason we couldn't get any Tom Petty to sound good with one guitar (go figure). Not adding backing tracks though..

Regards
Mark
 
#172
Billy C. said:
Rocky, I hate to be the one to tell you this, however the ROLLING STONES actually recorded (somebody elses) 24 cover songs on their first 3 albums. only about 11 were "originals". Should you have knowledge about how Publishing companies & record companies worked, you will realize that most major artists were recording someone elses already recorded songs as part of their agreements on their early releases.
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They still made them famous with thier own style not note for note, and are not trying to cover every hit by every artist at the time. Its much different redoing a hit as a recording artist than to be playing mostly crappy versions of hits in a bar to drunks looking to score.
 
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#173
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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There are now regional "genre" type groups (80's, 90's, Hair Band, etc.) that use the same backing tracks, same outfits, even the same name that are booked out of Las Vegas. It usually consists of guitar, bass, drums and a lead vocalist. The agency sets up a group in a particular region with a website, facebook page, setlist, look, press kit, etc. and of course backing tracks. However, the backing tracks for the west coast 80's band are the exact same backing tracks as the Midwest or east coast regional 80's band. They are most likely recorded in LA by good session players and are distributed to the various regional acts. In most cases the actual musicians on stage are nowhere near the level of players that recorded the backing tracks and sometime don't even play their own instrument on certain songs. They have become quite popular and are taking business away from legitimate groups. I know that the private sector just wants to be entertained and could give a hoot 99% of the time, but it seems a bit dishonest to be pushing these groups as being "live" when they are not much more than "canned corporate bands". I contacted the agency pretending to be a potential client and was told that the groups play everything the you hear on the website live and are 100% "for real". So tell me how a 3 piece band with guitar, bass and drums does "Take On Me" by AHA that is almost totally awash with synths and sounds just like the record?
 
#175
Jay Mastro said:
I have to ask since there seems to be much interest in the subject, now this song has a loop that plays for most of the song, it is the electronic intro. I think some of the drums may be looped but it's hard to tell since the drummer uses triggers and an octo pad type pad, both going into Ableton, now I feel like for the type of music they make it is completely fine and as you can see these guys are no joke, very unique sound, now mind you this is only one of there songs and this isn't their formula per se, just how this song is, thoughts? This is honestly one of my favorites by them and the loop has never bothered me but I can see that some people here are 100% against anything pre recorded for live use, I just figured I'd get some input while we're on the subject, thoughts?

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Not sure this is really on point to what's being discussed here.
 
#178
boristhespider9 said:
Why not use backing tracks for all of the instruments and just go up and play air guitar (and drums, etc.)? You can still bring your sweet bass on stage and you'd never have to worry about a cord going bad or a string breaking. Hey, if the crowd doesn't notice or care, what's the difference? That's all that matters...right?
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Well, in the case of a DJ and karaoke, you're absolutely right; the crowd doesn't care, and some bars would make way more money by hiring a DJ or KJ than your cover band. And for a lot of venue owners, that is what matters, sure you're right!

But in the full-band/live music scenario, there comes a point when the crowd does notice and care if tracking and sequencing become too obvious, especially with high-profile lead parts. It's something that has to be done discreetly and you have to attend to audience tolerance and know where the tipping point is.

Depends on the room and the crowd. Not all rooms and audiences would tolerate it. But just like DJ's and KJ's, there is an audience and market for bands that augment their live playing with tracks. I seriously doubt the relatively small number of bands that do it will ever put non-track-using bands out of business.
 
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#179
s0c9 said:
Seriously???
How many folks do you know that have gotten "rich" playing covers??? ;)

It's not about the $$, it's about getting gigs, booked in "A" venues, repeats, weddings, festivals, corp events, etc.
I can assure you that I play far more frequently and get better pay than 98% of the original bands in my area and I don't have to travel all over the state (TX is pretty large) and play ANY venue/event/festival I can get into to get my music heard! Been there, done that...
And yeap, I would use trax before I'd "pay to play"!

NO illusions of success or any of that .. too old. Don't care.. but even so, I'm still playing 80+ gigs a year.
EDIT: and that's with 1 weekend a month "off".
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I came of age in Las Vegas in the 90's and had the pleasure of seeing what caught on with audiences with some bands. There was one , in particular , that started the Disco/Funk ressurgance that spread throughout the country. They played Thursday's at the Rio and Friday's at The Drink. They're called Boogie Nights and the owner franchised them across the country. He still has the groups going, btw. They kicked major ass in L.V. back then and at a time when only DJ's were packing clubs. All they played were covers ! They had backing tracks but it sounded great and I could care because we had a blast for a long time before we got bored, like anyone would, eventually. At their high point, I believe they were making $10,000 a night, maybe more. Pretty amazing.
 
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