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

[jungleheat]

Am I the only person who feels like there are enough GREAT songs out there, that it is absolutely POINTLESS to play crappy ones, just because you're in a cover band? It's like radio. How many great Who songs are there, and yet classic rock radio pretty much sticks to the same 5-10 all the time (and predominately WGFA).

I mean, regardless of genre, there are choices you can make to play BETTER music, even within the bounds of popular, accessible music. If you're playing 80s pop/rock, you could play the insidious "Mickey" by Toni Basil, OR you could play Sledgehammer by Peter Gabriel.

Unless you're playing around the clock for weeks on end, there are only so many songs you can actually play at a gig (and of course the same concept applies to learning songs too).

The same thing applies to established originals bands. Towards the end of his life, even though Hendrix had 3 plus albums worth of original material out there, plus a bunch of unreleased stuff, and a bunch of covers he would do; at a gig, he could only play so many songs. So maybe he has to choose Purple Haze instead of Spanish Castle Magic, or vice versa. But since he's Hendrix, ANYTHING he does is going to be amazing, and while some of the audience might be disappointed they don't get to hear a favorite song or 2, when you put on an excellent show otherwise, they will probably be satisfied with their experience.

 

[winstonthecat]

A song would have to be blatantly racist or sexist for me to draw the line.

Besides that, if a song is popular and we can do it, I'll give it a try. If we do it well and it gets a good crowd reaction, we keep it. I'm not the arbiter of paying customer's tastes.

 

[malthumb]

On the 8th page of this juggernaut.....here's where we stand. Reading between the "stop whinin' and play the darn song" posts and my own rants, I managed to pull together a list of nominees for the Cover Band Hall of Shame:

• Wild Horses - Rolling Stones
• Let Her Cry - Hootie & the Blowfish
• Sweet Home Alabama (two mentions)
• Go With The Flow - QOTSA
• Party in the USA
• The Logical Song - Super Tramp
• Anything by Toby Keith
• 867-5309 (Jenny) - Tommy TuTone (2 mentions)
• My Best Friend's Girl
• My Sharona - The Clash (?)
• Eye Of The Tiger
• Working For The Weekend
• Pour Some Sugar On Me
• Anything by Aerosmith
• Free Fallin' - Tom Petty, sans Heart Breakers
• Obla Di Obla Da
• Anything by the Plain White T's
• Anything by Jason Mraz
• Anything by Pearl Jam
• Brown Eyed Girl
• Mustang Sally
• Yesterday - The Beatles
• Mr. Moonlight - The Beatles
• Anything by Kiss
• Anyang by Jimmy Buffet
• Animal - Nickelback
• Rainy Night in Georgia
• International Harvester
• Anything by Barry Manilow
• Takin' Care Of Business
• How You Remind Me
• Save A Horse, Ride A Cowboy

Honorable Mention goes to:

• Hot n' Cold - Katie Perry
• Enter The Sandman - Metallica
• Sympathy For The Devil - Rolling Stones
• Paradise - Dashboard Lights
• Moves Like Jagger - Maroon5

Thanks to all who contributed! Special thanks to Mellowinman for providing the most comprehensive list.

Keep 'em coming!

 

[mambo4]

My answer has always been, "If I'm going to play music someone else picked out, I think I'd like it to be music my audience picked out..."

Not all musicians are willing to understand and accept this principle.

+1000

the most successful musicians I know personally have a cover band, one that makes them enough money that day jobs are not required. I once asked them how they got started and they told me:

"we took a bunch of cheesy song books to our first gigs, passed them out to the audience, and told them we'd learn anything the audience picked by the next gig. "

There certainly are songs to make one groan in their set, but rather than gag and roll their eyes, they turn up the cheese and play it fun and stylishly lounge. Whores? you bet. But they get paid well, and the audiences love it.

 

[MJ_Sotti]

You forgot
"last dance with MaryJane" or "MaryJane's last dance" or whatever the f it is.

 

[fenderhutz]

Anything by Fountains of Wayne.

 

[grinx]

as a band we will burn in hell because we play songs our BL/guitarist/singer/songwriter/PA owner wants to play

we don't give a damn what the audience wants to hear unless they are asking for one of our songs or our versions of covers that we do anyway

one of many reasons why we are not bigger

oh well! damn good thing we don't play for money. it's time to hide your women, whisky and cattle

 

[BBox Bass]

My band performs a version of "you're the one that I want" from the Grease soundtrack and people go nuts. I got over it.

That song has an awesome bassline, as do several of Olivia Newton-John's songs.

 

[slaps76]

I can empathize with the OP being nauseated by a particular song or songs. I don't make music for a living, so I have the luxury of choice when it comes to what I will and what I won't. I am a bit surprised, though, at how many people are willing to play complete dreck as long as it pays. I guess money isn't that important to me.
I'm also amazed at how many people seemingly willingly play in insipid cover bands. I don't understand: how can it be satisfying to play music that you have no passion for, in order to be paid enough to continue to play this same music? What's the point? Why wouldn't you just work a regular, uninspiring job, and skip the late nights and load outs? Not trolling here, I'm genuinely confused.

Well, if you were in a cover band(not sure if you are), would you rather play in better paying bars that have a built in crowd, where you know that no matter what, there's going to be a line out the door on the weekends? And tons of hot girls whooping it up right in front of you?

Or, you can play only the songs you and your bandmates want to play, and get booked in crappy bars who pay you very little or based on draw.

I've done both...and I have much more fun playing the packed bars. The energy of the performance and crowd gets me going more than what the song is. And there's so many cover bands out there that don't stay current, even though a song like Call me Maybe SUCKS and is so cheesy, it's fun to get the reaction it gets, and the bar owners love having their crowd jumping all over the place too.

Just like the song Shout too. Hate it...goes over killer, I'm confused every time we play it

 

[QuietlyStormy]

my band once played the theme from two and a half men for 10 minutes. while that my not sound like a long time, it was an eternity. we were playing a frat/sorority mixer thing. our BL took a request list from them ahead of time and arranged/confirmed the worst set list of all time including many of the above songs plus an acoustic set that included save tonight - black eyed cherries and green day's good riddance (time of your life). you might enjoy these songs, but i hate playing them. as payback, the rhythm section agreed beforehand that we were going to play bits of the theme underneath the BL introducing any songs or changing instruments and then at one point we would do the whole thing on repeat for as long as we could tolerate it. so as soon as we finished the above 2 songs back to back, i hit that bass line, the harmonies came out, and disappointed faces were plentiful. we still got paid.

 

[ubermiguel]

A song would have to be blatantly racist or sexist for me to draw the line.

+1. Well said.

 

[topo morto]

[*]My Sharona - The Clash (?)

How dare you imply our musical gods had anything to do with your pedophile anthem!

 

[silentstranger]

How dare you imply our musical gods had anything to do with your pedophile anthem!

Yeah, My Sharona was by the Knack, malthumb

I actually love that song though, and definitely wouldn't mind playing it. Always figured it was about a legal girl younger than the narrator, not a pedo thing. Maybe it's just because I like my women young too though (but 21+ please!), and I'm definitely no pedo

 

[pedro]

I've done both...and I have much more fun playing the packed bars.D

Ditto.

 

[malthumb]

Silent stranger and topo morto.....thanks for that. I was totally not sure (and obviously wrong)

 

[lucas vigor]

On the 8th page of this juggernaut.....here's where we stand. Reading between the "stop whinin' and play the darn song" posts and my own rants, I managed to pull together a list of nominees for the Cover Band Hall of Shame:

• Wild Horses - Rolling Stones
• Let Her Cry - Hootie & the Blowfish
• Sweet Home Alabama (two mentions)
• Go With The Flow - QOTSA
• Party in the USA
• The Logical Song - Super Tramp
• Anything by Toby Keith
• 867-5309 (Jenny) - Tommy TuTone (2 mentions)
• My Best Friend's Girl
• My Sharona - The Clash (?)
• Eye Of The Tiger
• Working For The Weekend
• Pour Some Sugar On Me
• Anything by Aerosmith
• Free Fallin' - Tom Petty, sans Heart Breakers
• Obla Di Obla Da
• Anything by the Plain White T's
• Anything by Jason Mraz
• Anything by Pearl Jam
• Brown Eyed Girl
• Mustang Sally
• Yesterday - The Beatles
• Mr. Moonlight - The Beatles
• Anything by Kiss
• Anyang by Jimmy Buffet
• Animal - Nickelback
• Rainy Night in Georgia
• International Harvester
• Anything by Barry Manilow
• Takin' Care Of Business
• How You Remind Me
• Save A Horse, Ride A Cowboy

Honorable Mention goes to:

• Hot n' Cold - Katie Perry
• Enter The Sandman - Metallica
• Sympathy For The Devil - Rolling Stones
• Paradise - Dashboard Lights
• Moves Like Jagger - Maroon5

Thanks to all who contributed! Special thanks to Mellowinman for providing the most comprehensive list.

Keep 'em coming!

Maneater: hall and oates.

I did quit a band over that one.


also, Moondance: van Morrison

Threatened to quit over that one.

 

[PlayTheBass]

I gotta weigh in because I haven't seen this point emphasized, and it needs to be: there is zero room for dissension on stage. It is extremely unprofessional, and undermines everything your band is trying to do. I look at a band as a team, and everyone makes sacrifices for the greater good, especially on stage. Whining, making faces, not playing your best -- these are just selfish things. There won't be one other person in the room who would appreciate one of the players acting like that.

Any differences you have in the band should be hashed out before or after a performance, away from the venue preferably. On stage, it should be all smiles and let's kill this thing, together.

I've played plenty of songs I never want to hear again, but I always figured it was my job to make the song better, especially if I didn't like it. And just trying to make it better usually does.

 

[topo morto]

Yeah, My Sharona was by the Knack, malthumb

I actually love that song though, and definitely wouldn't mind playing it. Always figured it was about a legal girl younger than the narrator, not a pedo thing. Maybe it's just because I like my women young too though (but 21+ please!), and I'm definitely no pedo

It's about a girl who is 17. Problem in Tunisia... In Spain that would be seen as a bit old I guess.

She does appear rather under dressed on the cover art.

Silent stranger and topo morto.....thanks for that. I was totally not sure (and obviously wrong)

We have Gary Glitter for that kind of thing. I could see someone walking out of a band before belting one of his out...

 

[tekhedd]

Ugh, over 70 million views on youtube? I weep for the nations of the world.

 

[pedro]

(pedro puts on flame suit.)

Some months ago we got a request to do 'Red House' by Hendrix. I politely declined. We play mainly Motown, Stax and dance oriented music. The goal is to fill the dance floor and I can't imagine too many songs that would clear the dance floor faster than Hendrix.