Cover band set-list conflicts.

[PanRap]

I still don't get it.
There is an ad, stating all your favorite bands. You speak with the guy and your musical tastes converge a lot.
And then you start criticizing his song picks?

I mean that situation described is the best initial conditions to start a cover band with a stranger. It seems that you have all the prospective to discuss and in the future and even have some fun covering 2-3 songs of your favorite band in a rehearsal and see what's works out best.

These things are always about attitude and mentality.
as i can see you are an ironhead. so the band is rehearsing the trooper, and you propose "hey guys could we give a shot to aces high?". i don't think anybody would deny you that.

But if you insult the other person like "ok, the tropper is s*** and nobody like this old stuff nowdays. i suggest we have something from the last maiden album to be fresh like hell" i would be really angry with you.

ok your attitude seem to be somewhere between this examples , but still you could have treated this situation a lot better. because imo you don't regularly find bands covering exactly you favorite staff. and which songs are selected is a detail that can always be improved.

and also, if you are describing something as "my favorite band", it means that you like about 98% of their recordings and the 3 most viewed youtube videos, so in that case you ll always enjoy playing on your bass any of their songs

 

[moody]

Proceed to see the rest of the thread. I'm amazed how seriously some people take playing in a cover band.

I'm amazed how seriously some people take playing in an originals band.

 

[smogg]

This has been on my mind lately because it tends to happen a lot especially in cover bands. I was gonna audition for this cover band and the leader sent me some songs to practice. I wasn't particularly fond of his song choices and voiced my opinion about it. He then proceeded to mock my reading abilities saying I didn't read the bands he had listed in the ad. The bands weren't the issue the song choices were. I've had conflicts in the past with other cover bands I've been in where one of the members and I didn't see eye to eye on the song choices. Needless to say I don't think I got the gig haha. How do you guys deal with that? Do you just play what you're told? or do you speak up if you're not gelling with a song?

When ever I answer a request to audition for a cover band I have them send me a list of 10 to 15 songs. I always include the statement "be specific of the songs that you know for sure you're going to do." If I don't like what I see I politely bow out.

No reason to insult them just because I think their song choices are lame/boring/beat to death or what ever. I realize it's only my opinion and nothing more. So I keep my reasons for saying no to my self. It's really not that hard to say no thanks in a kindly manner. No reason to burn bridges unnecessarily.

As always IMO, IME, & YMMV

 

[pudgychef]

Actually yeah, I kinda of came in and took over the whole thing. How can I be a band member if the band doesn't exist yet? Is the point I'm trying to get across.

I wasn't trying to run anything, and mind you there was no band. Just a guitarist/singer looking for people to jam. When it comes to covers I believe personally it should be democratic where everyone has a say in the set. If I'm joining your originals band and you have a bass-line you want me to play I'll play it no questions asked because it's your songs and your vision.

I am confused...you took it over, or wasn't trying to run anything?

 

[Kevan Campbell]

Having read this thread I can’t help but wonder if the audition the OP was going to was for a guy who was wanting to start a tribute band or what I call a “period band”, in that the group would play ONLY songs from a certain time period (80’s hair metal, 20’s swing, 60’s classic rock, etc). Maybe the guy figured that in his market there was a serious need for a 70’s rock show band and he’s setting about finding the musicians that will play what he envisions for this group (whether or not a group actually exists yet). Just a point of conjecture but that may explain his staunch position in not changing the setlist?

Any snarky comments from him could have been an indication of how he reacts to criticism, just as how the OP critiquing the guy’s setlist that he wanted to play could have been seen by that guy as a bass player coming in and trying to take over his project (whether or not any of this is true it may have had the appearance thereof).

Sounds like the OP might be better off putting together his own side project band “for fun” and playing stuff that appeals to him. At least he didn’t go down this road too far before he parted ways from the “BL” in question.

Personally I wouldn’t have said anything if I didn’t like a setlist for a band I was auditioning for, but music is a majority of my income and I tend to have my fun playing music by being professional and playing whatever the client wants.

 

[glocke1]

If some guy wanted to audition for my band, and led off by critiquing my set list, he’d end up in the nope pile...fast. And I’d spread the word, too.

I have a gig. You NEED a gig. Your leeway to critique is minimal.

This...and honestly at least in my area gigs for working stiffs like me are hard to come by, I've learned to put up and shut up. I may not not like all the songs the band Im in plays, and maybe tired of other songs they play, but I've learned how to make it fun.

 

[RickyWoo]

The 2nd post was the closer to the thread for me.

 

[RickyWoo]

Haha I guess I wouldn't pass your audition. That's the thing I don't need the gig I was looking to play covers for fun. This dude is taking the concept of a cover band way too seriously. I have my own originals band I do, I just wanted to have some fun on the side.

Start a cover band then.

 

[JimmyM]

This thread is a riot.

 

[AndyPanda]

I met this girl the other day and decided to ask her out. Seemed like we had a lot in common and might hit it off but I told her she ought to wear different clothes because what she was wearing made her look stupid. For some reason she didn't want to go out with me. I don't get it.

 

[JimmyM]

I met this girl the other day and decided to ask her out. Seemed like we had a lot in common and might hit it off but I told her she ought to wear different clothes because what she was wearing made her look stupid. For some reason she didn't want to go out with me. I don't get it.

You sound like an old friend of mine's Facebook posts.

 

[alembicguy]

Wow 5 pages

 

[Mister Boh]

When I go for a job interview I usually tell the interviewer that their tie is hideous and I only like doing some of the job requirements.

 

[cnltb]

This has been on my mind lately because it tends to happen a lot especially in cover bands. I was gonna audition for this cover band and the leader sent me some songs to practice. I wasn't particularly fond of his song choices and voiced my opinion about it. He then proceeded to mock my reading abilities saying I didn't read the bands he had listed in the ad. The bands weren't the issue the song choices were. I've had conflicts in the past with other cover bands I've been in where one of the members and I didn't see eye to eye on the song choices. Needless to say I don't think I got the gig haha. How do you guys deal with that? Do you just play what you're told? or do you speak up if you're not gelling with a song?

If it#s a cover band I have no issue playing most anything.
Whilst I take it as seriously as any other job, to me it's 'just covers' and nothing to get precious about.

 

[Hounddog409]

Yeah that's where this got mucky because in the ad he listed all my favorite bands (besides Kiss) and I thought hey this could be fun. We had a nice 30 min conversation on the phone a couple days ago and I thought it went great. He sends me the set and I thought a couple of songs could be changed out for more crowd pleasers, and that's where everything went to crap.

I think you are missing the point. You are not in the band, so you have ZERO say or input on the setlist. That is a discussion you should not have started. Period.

 

[hrodbert696]

I wasn't trying to run anything, and mind you there was no band. Just a guitarist/singer looking for people to jam. When it comes to covers I believe personally it should be democratic where everyone has a say in the set. If I'm joining your originals band and you have a bass-line you want me to play I'll play it no questions asked because it's your songs and your vision.

Yep, well the guy responded basically with some of the stuff you guys were saying. Said I had no place to negotiate the set, and with my attitude I wouldn't make it LA (which is where he's from), and mocked me some more. That's fine I don't like LA anyways. I'm not looking for a career in "professional" cover band, I'm going to school to become a dental hygienist for crying out loud!! I have more fun with my original band anyways. Well this whole incident was exhausting, forget I even started this thread.

As far as I can see - it's a mismatch, you guys weren't on the same page, so move on, end of story. No big deal, really.

The "wouldn't make it in LA" line is a big red flag; that's the kind of thing you hear from a relive-my-glory-days-that-never-quite-worked-out type. You'll hear it from the guy who once subbed in a band that opened for somebody famous on the Japanese leg of their world tour twenty-five years ago and has talked about it ever since and tried to use that as his stepping stone to rock star fame and fortune. So as far as I can see, you dodged a bullet not getting involved in a band with this guy.

As far as auditions go, and etiquette; you're responding to his ad, he's auditioning you, even if he has no other band yet, so if you want the bass chair, play what he asked you to play. If they're not good song choices for a gig, you can talk about changing them for better choices later. But challenging the choices when you're still auditioning would send up a red flag in most situations. When I was putting together Six Cowards, I was explicit about the concept; 21st century indie/alternative music covers. But I got several people, some still at the email stage, insisting, even arguing with me, "you CAN'T do that, you HAVE to play some classic rock too..." Uh, no I don't, not every band needs to play classic rock... bye. There's another bassist I know who went into an audition who's a big Van Halen fan, has a Michael Anthony sig bass and everything, and basically spent the audition trying to talk them into adding Van Halen to the list rather than showing he could play their list... bye.

I think that in effect, what happened is that you skipped a step. You assumed the band was a democracy and that the guy was open to input on the set list, and proceeded accordingly. Evidently that wasn't the case. At an audition, he's auditioning you, but you're auditioning him too, and establishing those kinds of issues are one of things you want to find out. Who's in charge? Is it going to be democratic? How married is he to these song choices? How is the process going to work? What's the goal of the group? So you go to the audition, you play what you're asked, and after showing that you're an awesome bassist you ask those kinds of questions to see if it's going to be the kind of group you want to be in. If it becomes apparent that it's not going to be the kind of democratic thing you like and that he sees himself as the Boss who will Make All the Important Decisions, you can then say thanks, not for me.

 

[lfmn16]

The purpose of screening before an audition is to weed out the bands that aren't a good fit. If you don't like the songs, you aren't a good fit. All you need to say is, "Thanks for your time, this band doesn't look like a good fit for me." I don't get the whole purpose of telling the BL that you don't like his song choices. Did you think he was going to say, "OK, we'll play what YOU want to play?"

How would I deal with it? I'd deal with it by thanking the BL and declining the opportunity. You say you don't need it now, but you never know what the future holds. What it the benefit of burning your bridges?

 

[MtManiac]

If some guy wanted to audition for my band, and led off by critiquing my set list, he’d end up in the nope pile...fast. And I’d spread the word, too.

I have a gig. You NEED a gig. Your leeway to critique is minimal.

It’s a pretty clear indicator that you don’t want to be in our band if you don’t like our set list. No brainer.

 

[jaco944]

... in the 3 cover bands I've played in over the last 7 years, I've enjoyed maybe 50 out of the 200 songs from all 3 bands. But playing live and loud? In the moment? With fellow competent quality musicians? Every song is great and I play my heart out of every single one. Money does not factor into the equation for me.

This^^^^ I mentioned my disdain for Brown Eyed Girl in another thread, but with one band it’s always fun and the musicianship doctors up a played out cover.

 

[gln1955]

The "wouldn't make it in LA" line is a big red flag; that's the kind of thing you hear from a relive-my-glory-days-that-never-quite-worked-out type. You'll hear it from the guy who once subbed in a band that opened for somebody famous on the Japanese leg of their world tour twenty-five years ago and has talked about it ever since and tried to use that as his stepping stone to rock star fame and fortune. So as far as I can see, you dodged a bullet not getting involved in a band with this guy.

This sounds like a guy who posts on CL here every so often. He rants on about how the much the Dayton music scene and all the musicians suck compared to New York City. Then he begs people to come play with him. He's been posting the same ad for a year on and off.