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Ever hate a song so much you'd risk being fired?

#563
The Sloth said:
I would never in a million years play in a band who only plays top 40 songs. I don't participate in music for a dose of the mundane. We have the rest of day to day life for that.
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Funny thing is, avoiding being mundane (in other words, the kind of person I get to be in my day job) is one big reason why I'd much rather play popular things. And if I play something obscure, it sounds every bit as commercial as the popular stuff. It just happens to be from Uganda or something.
 
#564
Tampabass said:
You could always have an iPod or other music player connected to your board, and when it was time to play that tune, press "play" and do a lip sync to it. Probably would be just as entertaining, or more entertaining, and 1)audience gets the requested song and 2)band doesn't really have to play it.
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Then never get invited back to the venue because the owner is paying for live music not streamed :hiding:
 
#566
The Sloth said:
You won't play anything that doesn't make the top 40? What about albums? People listen to those too. Not quite as much nowadays, but it's strange that a musician only sees the value in top selling music. I would never in a million years play in a band who only plays top 40 songs. I don't participate in music for a dose of the mundane. We have the rest of day to day life for that.
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For me, it's a business. and the agents doing the booking look very closely at your playlist. If you have a bunch of obscure album cuts they'll tell you to take it off your website. If you play bars only...do what you want. If clients call and ask for specific music.....you play it or don't get booked! I personally prefer top40 (all charts, not just pop).

Don't get me wrong. I hear what you guys are saying. I'm just not that guy! Album cuts? Yeah maybe one or two folks in the crowd may have heard it before. The majority of folks listen to the radio and know way more top40 tunes. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few in my book!
 
#567
DWBass said:
For me, it's a business. and the agents doing the booking look very closely at your playlist. If you have a bunch of obscure album cuts they'll tell you to take it off your website. If you play bars only...do what you want. If clients call and ask for specific music.....you play it or don't get booked! I personally prefer top40 (all charts, not just pop).

Don't get me wrong. I hear what you guys are saying. I'm just not that guy! Album cuts? Yeah maybe one or two folks in the crowd may have heard it before. The majority of folks listen to the radio and know way more top40 tunes. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few in my book!
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Agree. I feel my job is entertainment. entertain the crowd, not yourself.
 
#569
Mike Sorr said:
I play in a rock cover band in New Jersey that somehow manages to keep busy with gigs, which is the main reason I joined up. I told the guys in the band on the day they invited me to join that I would be happy to play with them under one condition...NO BON JOVI COVERS! I would rather set my bass on fire than play Bon Jovi.
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Dude....Living On A Prayer kills!!
 
#576
PopaWoody said:
In these parts everyone sings along to wanted dead or alive. without fail, every gig.
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I play 12 string on Dead or Alive, and sing the backing vocals. My wife plays bass and sings lead. It's one of our best songs. I hate Bon Jovi, and 80's Hair Metal in general, but what are you gonna do? People LOVE that stuff! And really, it's not a bad song. Some of the lyrics are stupid, but that can be said for many songs.

Sometimes you tell the day
By the bottle that you drink
Sometimes when you're alone
All you do is think

That must've been written by John's fifth grade nephew, or something, but hey, I'm a Cowboy, on a STEEEEEEL horse I ride...
 
#580
No chance of me getting fired from my band, because well, it's MY band. I can tell you one thing though, there are tons of songs I will never play live on stage. Every single Bon Jovi song falls squarely into that category. I understand some of you believe you should do whatever it takes to entertain the audience. While I agree that is the ultimate goal, I am not willing to sell my soul to do it. I believe I can strike a balance between what I like and what the audience likes. In other words, I believe I can find the market for the material I like and apparently I am not too far off base. People seem to dig our shows. Most of those people would throw up if we broke into "Runaway" too. lol
 

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