Double Bass Do you guys do pop covers bluegrass style?

[neddyrow]

being the band leader, i have been moderating a "debate" in our band.

my wife is the singer in our bluegrass band - not her thing but she has a great voice, loves to sing and loves me, so she puts up with it. we have been doing more non-bluegrass gigs to showcase her more bluesy soulful voice when the banjo player can't make the trip.

anyway, my wife also loves pop music and brings up that she would like to do modern covers bluegrass style. i think it's a good idea for a few reasons: 1. it showcases her voice 2. it's a nice palate cleanser to change things up in a long show 3. usually shows off the talent of the soloists 4. people like catchy tunes i could go on. two of the guys in the band are more traditional and don't really care for the idea. they don't want to take the time to learn it and, of course, that's not a song Earl would play.

the compromise has been that we will do just bass and vocal for a song or two. we do "16 tons" and are working on "king of the road" and "ain't no sunshine" for the future. we snuck in "its all about the bass" at a show recently and it was a big hit! and now with the success of "post modern jukebox" and "love canon" i think it would be a good way to bridge the gap to non-bluegrass lovers. especially when a decent percent of our gig are bar gigs where bluegrass may not be there thing.

so....what guys out there do pop covers bluegrass style? is it a no-no? i'm ok with both sides.

 

[Jay Corwin]

We would also do a few here and there. Some never made it out of rehearsal.

Pumped Up Kicks by Foster the People was a staple in out set for about a year. We also did Start Wearing Purple by Gogol Bordello, though not exactly a pop song. It used to be our most popular song.

We also do King of the Road. Very fun to play on bass.

 

[mbelue]

I love covers worked into a new style or genre. A good song is a good song no matter how you do it. That is, of course, if you do it well.

The only rule: don't suck.

 

[neddyrow]

We also do King of the Road. Very fun to play on bass.

you'll have to send me some tab of how you do it!

 

[Hammertime3]

Teach Your Children...not exactly pop but not a bluegrass song when it came out either. If you have perfect harmony and timing, Seven Bridges Road. That's a killer if done right. BTW, if you listen to Roger Miller's "King of the Road" the guy on the bass does a great job. Pretty sure it's an upright, but he modulates a couple of times, half note at a time, and never misses a beat. Really tasteful bass on that. Don't know who it was
though.

 

[two fingers]

Hayseed Dixie

 

[Jay Corwin]

you'll have to send me some tab of how you do it!

I might be able to transcribe it when I get some downtime. I've never done that before, so it would be an experience! We play it pretty straight to the original, but substitute the piano part with mando.

 

[BobKay]

Check out Larry Stephenson. He always includes a pop tune or two in each CD. And he has more contemporary content, as well. Also Doyle Lawson had Lonely Street on his last CD. Too bad that some of your band members aren't interested. In my opinion, it's always about entertaining, and not everyone wants to sit through an entire set, let alone an entire night, of traditional bluegrass. Play to the audience.

 

[BobKay]

Here's another example I just remembered - the Seldom Scene. When John Duffy was in the band, they had a festival stage routine where they turned their backs to the audience, put on sun glasses and turned up their collars, and then turned around and played a few 50/60 rock and roll numbers. Very entertaining. I guess the hard core traditionalists probably packed up their lawn chairs, but the traditionalists never really liked Seldom Scene anyway.

 

[neddyrow]

In my opinion, it's always about entertaining, and not everyone wants to sit through an entire set, let alone an entire night, of traditional bluegrass. Play to the audience.

exactly.

what i'd like to do is something similar to what was mentioned above with the seldom scene and red knuckles. it's nice to switch it up....for the fans and the band.

 

[DiabolusInMusic]

We would also do a few here and there. Some never made it out of rehearsal.

Pumped Up Kicks by Foster the People was a staple in out set for about a year. We also did Start Wearing Purple by Gogol Bordello, though not exactly a pop song. It used to be our most popular song.

We also do King of the Road. Very fun to play on bass.

Bluegrass style? Please tell me you have a recording somewhere, I'd love to hear that

 

[neddyrow]

Here's a great example:

 

[Jay Corwin]

Bluegrass style? Please tell me you have a recording somewhere, I'd love to hear that

We didn't do it bluegrass lol. I should have clarified that. It was done as a jam with different lyrics each time made on the spot.

 

[Steven Ayres]

"Last Train to Clarksville" is a great banjo tune, open to harmonies, and fun for the audience.

 

[damonsmith]

Please no.

 

[jthisdell]

We do about two thirds pop/rock covers and maybe a third more traditional bluegrass. We always get better response from the rock/pop covers and I think audiences find them more fun. Anything from Brown Eyed Girl to Sweet Caroline to AC/DC's Rock Me All Night Long, Allison, YWCA and a recent addition Michael Jackson's I Want You Back. But we are not a very traditional bluegrass band. Any of these gets a better response than Blackberry Blossom or Salt Creek. If it is a good song it can be done in any style. To me it shows your critical thinking and musical skills to cover a song in a different genre. To play a certain song the way it's always been done to me is not what I want to spend my time doing. Check out Pickin' on Coldplay for an example going the other way. Saw Nickel Creek do a medley of Beatles songs as an encore once. very memorable. As to not wanting to take the time to learn it, I've learned hundreds of songs, plenty of which did not work out but I always learn something by trying new material.

 

[jthisdell]

"Last Train to Clarksville" is a great banjo tune, open to harmonies, and fun for the audience.

Ironically we covered that in my rock/punk/new wave band in college.

 

[Steven Ayres]

If it is a good song it can be done in any style.

I've always thought of bluegrass as the jazz of the folk tradition. Jazz at its core is taking an existing song and applying blues rhythms and reharmonization to it. Going back to Bill Monroe, bluegrass has always done much the same with its own restyling of the country and folk idiom, and in the '70s younger players were commonly ranging wider for material. Anyone else remember when New Grass Revival was a gale of fresh air at the festivals (electric bass, gasp!)? Look at the stylistic range of the Red Clay Ramblers, the Neon Valley Boys, any number of great bands. None of those guys ever worried about whether their material choices were appropriate to the genre.

Lately it seems to me that bluegrass in the main has shifted to be more conservative, religious and inward-looking, maybe leading to the original question here. That will only help a more original approach stand out.

 

[jthisdell]

Steven, yeah I have to agree with your comments. So back in the days the fathers of bluegrass took country and old time and melded them into something new. Great, but does it have to stop right there forever? How was it wonderful for them to change what was and make something new and good but nothing can ever move forward from that space? Both the old and the new can live in the same musical universe and listeners can decide what they like. I don't think music should live in a museum where it sits behind glass not to be touched. It lives in the real world where it is affected by the people in the world and the people are affected by the music. So nothing stays the same. Even "classical" music continues to evolve. If one wants to play a certain style, fine. But that doesn't mean that others can't make music that they want. The thing is, while the roots of bluegrass are old, the music itself is pretty new. On the jazz side, after growing up playing swing and fusion in the 70's I am now playing gypsy swing from the 20's and 30's. So while I am playing "bluegrass" that is very much influenced by more modern pop I am also playing jazz that is pretty true to its old roots. And both are good if that is what you and your band mates want to do.

 

[martinc]

Neddy:
I don't care for labels too much...however the more "pop" a band becomes the less you will need the banjo. If you do a lot of "pop" stuff then just call yourselves an acoustic band. Then you will have so much material to choose from you will never have to worry about staying within a single genre.
But even if you want to retain your "bluegrass" identification, there is so much material being brought in to the bluegrass tent these days from non-bluegrass sources that might suit your wife's singing styles.
Jim and Jesse used to include a few late 50's rock songs in their sets but it was more for a quick change of pace and entertainment value than anything else. Many other bands have done the same thing for entertainment purposes.