Cover Band Experiences - Does your band expect a jukebox?

[JohnMCA72]

Your opinion, mine, or anybody else's on this forum doesn't matter. The opinion that matters is the band, & their expectation of how closely you stick to the original lines is something you should ask them up front. It's one of those key questions that you should always ask, like what's the pay split, what's the organization structure, is there a band fund, booking/PA/lighting cuts, policy about members' other projects, etc.

 

[two fingers]

Heck I can't imagine a single place where that set list would be appreciated by a diverse audience. So it's probably going down in flames anyway. That being said, as some others have stated, learn it close to the original, and THEN put your spin on it if the song is one you can get away with that on. At least you will have the "original intent" of the song in your head when you are doing your own thing.

 

[plankspanker13]

Yeah, that set list does not look to work beyond the stereotypical biker/rocker bar. Nothing wrong with that, if that's where you're aiming to span the better part of 2 hours. As for "Communication Breakdown," the chorus is just a standard jazz "walking the major 6th chord" line, but with a bit of different syncopation. OP, you have much to learn.

 

[m0ranwad]

As for "Communication Breakdown," the chorus is just a standard jazz "walking the major 6th chord" line, but with a bit of different syncopation. OP, you have much to learn.

The first part makes you seem helpful, the second part makes you sound like an ass. I know plenty of bass players that don't know any theory. However, I've learned some jazz standards, and I appreciate you pointing this out to me. The timing and speed made it difficult for a novice like me to realize this... The tip helps...

As for the band, they contacted me first, but turns out they are an hour and a half away. I hate the thought of playing Poison and Bon Jovi anyways 8)

 

[delta7fred]

But more than once someone told me their band played their own version, and when I heard their version, it just sounded like a bad cover by a bad cover band.

You will probably find that a lot of cover bands fall into this category.

If you find one where they all play note for note to the record rush out and buy a lottery ticket.

A lot of them don't even play the correct chords once you get too far away from I, IV, V.

Personally I wouldn't even ask if they expect you to play note for note as they will probably say that they expect you to, even if they themselves don't.

In over 4 decades of playing in cover bands I would estimate that 99% of musicians and 99.999% of audience members would not notice anyway.

The guitarist is usually listening to his "tone", the kbd player is walking all over the bass parts anyway, the singer eyeing up the talent in the audience, and who knows what passes through most drummers heads.


Ok, the last bit is tongue in cheek but parts of it are often true.

 

[ChrisB2]

Your opinion, mine, or anybody else's on this forum doesn't matter. The opinion that matters is the band, & their expectation of how closely you stick to the original lines is something you should ask them up front. It's one of those key questions that you should always ask, like what's the pay split, what's the organization structure, is there a band fund, booking/PA/lighting cuts, policy about members' other projects, etc.

You're right, but the OP was asking, generally speaking do cover bands usually expect a faithful recreation, and IMO most of them do. Going in to an audition you should be prepared to play the song very close to the record.

From your experience in a cover band, were you expected to sound just like the record? I prefer to learn a song by learning the melody/chord changes, as opposed to reading a bass tab and mimicking all of the original fills (depends on the song - if it's a well known bass line, then I will learn it).

Yeah, if you're relying on a bass tab from the internet you'll be in trouble. Use your ear and pick out the parts. It takes a lot time and dedication, something I guess some people aren't willing to do. Much easier to "wing it" and characterize those who put in the work a "jukebox." But see, the difference in a jukebox and a faithful cover band is that living people actually play the songs instead of a machine. People like to see musicians perform so there is a slight difference. And no I'm not offended...

 

[RBX4]

But you never know when you're going to run into that lead guitarist who's a musical prodigy and knows every note of every instrument, and will tell you exactly which ones you missed.

I play covers very close to the record unless the bass part is excruciatingly boring, in which case I "improve" it. Face it, the two reasons why you wouldn't play it like the record are:

1. You think you can write a better bass part than the original, and

2. You can't learn the original bass part.

Very true!

 

[scorpionldr]

True...plus shaking rumps (we're assuming female...right?) cause males who like to watch shaking rumps to drink more. Bar sells more drinks, band stands a better chance of being asked back to cause more rumps to shake.

The added pay-off is that with lots of shaking female rumps, you're likely to get photo ops for my wife's least favorite TalkBass thread series "Chicks at Shows".




I'd add that... show up on time and be reliable!!!

I've been having problems with drummers lately either bailing out on rehearsal at the last minute or constantly having "car problems" yet not doing anything about that (I'm growing tired of the "...well it stopped making that noise/running rough/etc. so I didn't have anyone look at it...".

Yup, rumps make money.

 

[QORC]

The closer you can get to an original, the better. "putting our own spin" on a song is usually a way to cover the fact that the players aren't clever enough to play it properly.

 

[Dave W]

My band does covers, and we most certainly don't play them note-for-note. Does our audience care? Nope! In fact, a lot of them rather enjoy the spin that we put on the songs.

This is our experience as well.

My take on this is that you have to know the original "the right way" before you can understand it well enough to put your own spin on it. Otherwise you're possibly in the land of "faking it" or "lazy". Two things nobody gets paid well for.

+1

We'll start off playing it as close to the original as we can, barring instrumentation that we don't have (we're a trio), then it usually ends up evolving into something slightly different.

We don't put or spin on everything, and I'd prefer to keep it exact to be honest but it's not always my call.

I'm sorry, but the bands who "make the songs their own" by putting a twist or spin on the original song are very, very rare. Most cover bands who play the songs differently than the record are simply not good cover bands. As to why you would play it like the original when the original artist made changes, that is simple. If you are good, you can use some of those live versions. That artist went out night after night, sometimes year after year, and the song EVOLVED. Now if you you start out playing JUST LIKE the record, and then it evolves naturally, then good for you.

But more than once someone told me their band played their own version, and when I heard their version, it just sounded like a bad cover by a bad cover band.

I completely agree with this! This is what I don't want my band to fall into, so I'll try my best to keep everyone in line whenever possible.
Sometimes the guys in the band think a song sounds good, but in reality it's awful. I try to be the voice of reason and make sure we don;t go out there playing sub par crap.

 

[Mr.Bass40]

There has been a lot written on this already.
There are a lot of different approaches to it. And It depends on what style of music you are doing.
There really isn't any steadfast rule or right or wrong, you just should be on the same page with the other members in regards to how you will perform the song.
I first want to know how the drummer is going to be playing the song, if he learned it verbatim, then he is going to expect my bass line to be what he has been practicing to.
So I get the changes, then try and learn the song note for note.
I will add my own flash if I feel there is a space.
Sometimes it does metamorphis into something else.
If you only change the song slightly, you sound like a bad cover band.
I feel the artist wrote who
song picked the certain notes for a reason..... Why not play it as written.
Then there is the school of maybe playing every song with let's say a funk feel, to make them your own signature.
Also I have gone to an area with a lot of bands and heard three different bands do the same song
but because of what they hear, their feel, different instruments they all sounded a bit different.

 

[bucephylus]

OK while we are on the subject of sounding EXACTLY like the juke box, will someone please explain why all these perfecto cover bands out there mic the kick drum on the one and three until its blowing the mix out the door while on the Juke those Aerosmith etc etc tunes have the snare on the two and four right underneath the vocals?

Forget it. Sorry I asked.

 

[PlaysAJunker]

The actual bands don't stay 100% on the same riffs. I've been transcribing Bob Marley recently and the bass riffs are substantially the same but there are some dinks and dunks off the line. Or listen to Low Rider, for example. There's a consistent thread of a bassline (this is a great example because the bassline is so prominent) but there is what is apparently a reasonable amount of variation on the fills, etc.

I don't think Laura-I-love-the-long-island-iced-teas-here in the second row is going to flip her @#$t if you don't knock out the bass fill in measure 44 verbatim. On the other hand, songs have thematic passages, and if your bassline is the thematic passage and you are not playing what the customers expect then you are probably not doing a good job.

 

[PlaysAJunker]

You're right, but the OP was asking, generally speaking do cover bands usually expect a faithful recreation, and IMO most of them do. Going in to an audition you should be prepared to play the song very close to the record.



Yeah, if you're relying on a bass tab from the internet you'll be in trouble. Use your ear and pick out the parts. It takes a lot time and dedication, something I guess some people aren't willing to do. Much easier to "wing it" and characterize those who put in the work a "jukebox." But see, the difference in a jukebox and a faithful cover band is that living people actually play the songs instead of a machine. People like to see musicians perform so there is a slight difference. And no I'm not offended...

If it's important I'll put on the cans and transcribe the part, write it out on paper. It really helps on internalizing, especially when the style is one that you're not that conversant with. And your worst-case scenario is that you struggle with something for an hour and end up with useful sheet music.