covers live

[jazzbo]

they say a band who plays a cover song or 2 cant be taken seriously. what do yall think?

"They" are very wrong.

 

[xush]

"Good artists borrow- Great artists steal!"
-guesses anyone?

that was the big only-needin'-four-strings J man, t'weren't it?

 

[Jimbo]

i was in a similar situation whem my band first started out. from the beginning we wrote original material. the other guys in my band insisted that if we play any covers it must be obscure ones by only artists we like. i agree with playing songs we liked but i wanted to play songs people would recognize so that they would dig us and ultimately dig our originals. eventually (after an unsuccessful gig or two) they noticed people weren't getting into our stuff. so now we work in a few covers mixed with originals.

-jimbo

 

[JimK]

I guess out of 88 keys on a piano, or 144 notes on a guitar fretboard, mathematically we probably are out of completely original music...

There are only 12 notes on that piano/guitar.
I don't believe we "are out of completely original music"...there does appear to be a shortage of original ideas.

I once played in an 'originals' band with a "singer" who despised covers & the bands that did them. Basically, he was a pinheaded Jim Morrison wannabe who couldn't pull off any covers.
Like you guys above have already mentioned-
The rhythm section mentioned others bands who also did covers...
Beatles, Stones, Cream, Hendrix, EVERY Motown artist, EVERY Classical musician, EVERY Jazz Musician, RHCPs, DMB, etc

Not sure about this-
I think U2 did their own thing because they couldn't learn/play any cover music.

 

[The Golden Boy]

that was the big only-needin'-four-strings J man, t'weren't it?

I had read McCartney had said it in several interviews, but I guess the quote actually came from Picasso!

 

[xush]

I had read McCartney had said it in several interviews, but I guess the quote actually came from Picasso!

heh, I was WAY off!

 

[Jimbo]

I think U2 did their own thing because they couldn't learn/play any cover music.

yeah i remember seeing some special on them and they said when they first started they weren't able to play covers because of their talent level. so thats how they created their "sound"

-jimbo

 

[Tnavis]

The cover/original argument is never going to go away. I expect to hear music critics complaining about it, but I cannot for the life of me understand why musicians get so bent out of shape over it. It is very difficult for a band starting out to come up with enough material to fill a set, so picking cover tunes is a great way to start. It's even better if a band can take a cover tune and give it a little twist.

The whole thing is based on the relatively modern idea that you must both play and write your own music. These days, it seems that creative ability is far more important than technical mastery. I think if you looked back into the history of music, you'd be surprised at the amount of musicians who have songwriting help, especially lyrics.

 

[RicPlaya]

Personally I've only ever played a couple live, but I dont have a problem with them.. except for one scenario...

A band I was in a couple of years back played an unsigned night at a local club. All the bands play original material and the audience is there to hear new bands and new music... that's the point in an unsigned band night. Well that's what I thought at least!
The band after us played 2 chili peppers covers, an Incubus cover and a couple of other covers.. in total they played 7 songs, 2 of which were original. The audience loved them, which is fine, but they loved them because they played material they already knew and could get into.

I have no problem with covers in general, but at an unsigned band night where everyone is trying to get their music accross I think it is a little unfair to steal the night by playing music that everyone knows already and that you didnt actually create!

Maybe they had only written two originals? My band we don't have a full original set yet so we toss in a few covers to fill up the time towards the end fo the set.

 

[AQUANOVA]

Some people don't play covers because they can't figure em' out......

 

[squire_pwr]

To those that write I say "Hats off to you!" I really admire those who are able to convey their thoughts and feelings in a musical format.

Hear hear!!!! Good stuff.

Some people don't play covers because they can't figure em' out......

Or because they don't want to show their lack of skill. If you know what it's SUPPOSED to sound like, it's no longer "i wrote it like that." But of course, not to bag on ppl who can play it, and then completely change it up.